Western Carolina Medical Society: The Physicians' Voice for a Health Community
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June 18, 2014

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WCMS Circle of Friends: Van Winkle Law Firm & Johnson Prics Sprinkle, PA
In This Issue:
Inaugural Primary Care Affinity Group Meeting (6/26)
White Coat Wednesday
Smoky Mountain Center's Needs/Gaps Analysis
NC House of Representatives Budget
Say What? Many Patients Struggling To Learn The Foreign Language Of Health Insurance
Using WCMS Member-Only Benefit, DocBookMD, to Connect Rural Communities Together
Mission Health and AllCare Clinical Associates Partner with Medical Device Companies
The "MemoryCare Plays"
From NCMS: Accountable Care Guide Now Available!re Guides for Cardiologists and Oncologists Now Available!
Member Announcement: Thomas R. Hill, MD, Joins AllCare Clinical Associates
Job Board & Classified Ads
UPCOMING EVENTS 
 
Inaugural Primary Care Affinity Group Meeting (6/26) 
Join us for our new Primary Care Physicians Affinity Group for an evening of education and networking featuring:

Primary Care Physicians - To Be or Not To Be - in an ACO, CIN, IPA
 
A frank one-on-one discussion with Carolyn Coward, a health care attorney with Van Winkle Law Firm, about the issues challenging primary care physicians in the wake of health care reform.

When: Thursday June 26, 2014
From 6pm - 8pm

Where: Eleanora W. Meloun Community Education Room
Blue Ridge Community Health Services
2579 Chimney Rock Rd, Hendersonville, NC 28792

Because WCMS is now a regional medical society, we are holding the first Primary Care Affinity Group meeting in Henderson county.  Future meetings of Affinity Groups may be held in various locations throughout WNC, but are open to all WCMS members.

LOCAL NEWS 
White Coat Wednesday 
WCMS staff and member physicians are back in Raleigh today participating in our second White Coat Wednesday.  We'll be meeting with legislators to discuss the Senate and House budgets, Medicaid Reform proposals and other healthcare topics. 

We have appointments scheduled with Senators Jim Davis, Tom Apodaca and Terry Van Duyn and Representatives Roger West and Mike Hager and hope to visit even more legislators.  

Want to see who what we're doing and who we're meeting with in Raleigh?  Follow us on Twitter!
Smoky Mountain Center's Needs/Gaps Analysis
Smoky LME/MCO contracted with Addiction Consulting and Training Associates (ACT, LLC) to conduct a Needs and Gaps Analysis of the 23 counties comprising the Local Management Entity (LME)/Managed Care Organization (MCO) region. The purpose was to identify the unique needs and gaps of geographic service area and to make recommendations about how to accommodate the specific needs of this region.

Continue reading.
STATE NEWS 
 
NC House of Representatives Budget
The House released its budget on Tuesday, June 10, which is more favorable than the Senate version. 

Click here to read summary.
NATIONAL NEWS 
 
Say What? Many Patients Struggling To Learn The Foreign Language Of Health Insurance

Click here to read the article

 

Note that WCMS has developed a partnership with OnTrack Financial for health insurance literacy classes. For more information, contact Katherine Hensley here at WCMS. 828-274-2267.

 

Additionally, CMS has just launched a national initiative "From Coverage to Care" (C2C), which is designed to help answer questions that people may have about their new health coverage, to help them make the most of their new benefits, including taking full advantage of primary care and preventive services.  The launch also marks the release of the new Roadmap to Better Care and a Healthier You, which includes 8 steps to help consumers and health care providers be informed about the diverse benefits available through their coverage and how to use it appropriately to access to primary care and preventive services. Among other things, the "Roadmap" contains information on health care coverage terms, the differences between primary care and emergency care, and the cost differences of decisions to seek care in- and out-of-network, where applicable to the consumer's health plan.  

 

More information about C2C and other helpful resources, including a 10-part video series, to help those with new health care coverage make the most of their coverage, and raise awareness about the importance of getting routine primary care and regular preventive care are available at: marketplace.cms.gov.  

 

People with related questions about the C2C initiative should write to [email protected] 

 

ITEMS OF INTEREST 
 
Using WCMS Member-Only Benefit, DocBookMD, to Connect Rural Communities Together
Testimonial from Jed Grisel, MD (Otolaryngologist) in Texas

"The app has been extremely helpful for us. It will be even more helpful as we get more physicians working in small, rural areas on board. The app gives rural physicians direct, immediate access to their colleagues in other parts of the state. Physicians can communicate efficiently and securely without having to wait for a phone call. DocbookMD provides a support network at your fingertips that is beneficial to physicians and their patients."

"DocbookMD is a prime example of technology that allows healthcare providers to work together to better take care of patients."

Continue reading testimonial.
Posted: 13 Jun 2014 06:54 AM PDT

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (June 13, 2014) - Mission Health is collaborating with AllCare Clinical Associates (AllCare) to partner with medical device companies to help bring innovative health care products to market that will enhance the care of Mission and AllCare patients.

""AllCare's commitment to quality and safety aligns closely with Mission's patient care innovation initiatives and our BIG(GER) Aim: to get each patient to their desired outcome, first without harm, also without waste, and with an exceptional experience for the patient and the family[...]"

 Continue reading article.

The "MemoryCare Plays"

Chosen by a juried panel from over 90 submissions from the U.S. and other countries, the three professionally crafted plays contained in The MemoryCare Plays anthology strive to dramatize the full impact of progressive memory disorders upon the individual, and to illustrate the richness and complexity of the caregiving relationship, with all of its challenges and rewards. All proceeds from this anthology will be donated to benefit families affected by dementia.  The book may be ordered on Amazon.

memorycare.org/the-memorycare-plays
From NCMS: Accountable Care Guide Now Available!
The most recent specialty guide to be released is the Accountable Care Guide for Emergency Medicine Physicians. It can be found on the TAC website under resources; or accessed more directly here.

The next guide to be released will be on bundled payments. 
Member Announcement: Thomas R. Hill, MD, Joins AllCare Clinical Associates 
Thomas R. Hill, MD, has joined AllCare Clinical Associates, PA. He attended undergraduate/graduate programs at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania and Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Hill received his medical degree from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and completed his anesthesiology residency training through Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. Prior to joining AllCare Clinical Associates, Dr. Hill was employed as an anesthesiologist with Western Piedmont Anesthesia in Conover, North Carolina.

Dr. Hill is certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology and the National Board of Echocardiography. He is a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, North Carolina Society of Anesthesiologists, North Carolina Medical Society and the American Heart Association.

AllCare Clinical Associates, www.allcareclinical.com, is one of the largest private physician-owned anesthesia practices serving North Carolina and provides anesthesia and pain services for over 70,000 procedures annually. The practice employs over 200 Anesthesiologists, Anesthetists and business and management professionals. AllCare Clinical Associates provides anesthesia, perioperative care and pain clinic management services for hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers of all sizes. 
Job Board & Classified Ads
Job Board:
Billing Supervisor (Family Practice)
Front Office Receptionist (Asheville Neurology)
Practice Manager  (Mountain Kidney & Hypertension)
Certified Application Counselor  (WCMS)

To find out how you can post a Job or Classified Ad Click here.

WCMS is a thriving 700-plus member professional association of the physicians of western North Carolina and a chartered component medical society of the NC Medical Society and the AMA. The WCMS is an organization run by physicians for physicians.


Our Mission
The WCMS is the physicians' voice advocating for the health of the medical profession, the health of the patient, and the health of the community.  

Our Vision
To be a dynamic physician community dedicated to a healthy, vibrant Western North Carolina.


About WCMS
The purpose of WCMS is: 

  • To strengthen the voice of WNC physicians in advocating for the health of the medical profession, the health of the patient, and the health of our region
  • To inform, educate and prepare physicians for rapidly occurring changes in health care at national, state, and local levels
  • To share legislative and policy information and advocate on behalf of physicians in areas of mutual interest
  • To share available resources in areas of mutual interest
  • To promote physician-to-physician communication and dialogue in an open, honest and safe environment

We hope you enjoy our weekly e-newsletter. If you have questions or suggestions please feel free to contact me.  

Sincerely,

Photo: Miriam Schwarz, WCMS CEO
Miriam Schwarz

 

Miriam Schwarz signature




 

Miriam Schwarz, MPA

WCMS CEO/Executive Director