Western Carolina Medical Society: The Physicians' Voice for a Health Community
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August 27, 2014
WCMS Circle of Friends: Van Winkle Law Firm & Johnson Prics Sprinkle, PA
In This Issue:
Quest Diagnostics- Sponsor Message (Left)
Am I Getting Paid for Everything I Do?
Early Career Physicians' Night
Newcomers'/Cornerstones' Picnic
New Members to WCMS
Legislative Update
County, Pardee Agree to Lease, Not Buy, Joint Outpatient Center
Cancer Center Will Bring 'Advanced Care' to WNC
Mission Moving In: Haywood Regional Facing Battle over Home Turf
Faces of the Uninsured Video
Mission Family Medical- Nebo Cites Impact of YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program
CMS Releases ICD-10 Training and Preparation Webcast
Job Board & Classified Ads
UPCOMING EVENTS 
 
Am I Getting Paid for Everything I Do? (9/2) 
Last chance to register for next Tuesday's event! 

This presentation will focus on how to answer the question of getting paid for your healthcare practice.  We will provide analytical tools that you can take back to your practice and utilize within your organization.

This seminar is ideal for physicians who are business owners and their practice managers. This is a benefit for WCMS members, but we encourage you to invite your practice administrators and non-member physician colleagues to attend as well.

Speaker: Cameron Cox, Management Services on Call

 

When: Tuesday, September 2nd
6:00pm - 8:00pm

 

Where: Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Lenoir-Rhyne Boardroom

 

Other: Hors d'ouevres and beverages will be provided.

  

RSVP Here.

 

Sponsored by Med Mutual


Early Career Physicians' Night (9/9) 
Trailhead Restaurant & Bar, Black Mountain
Tuesday, September 9th, 6-8pm

All WNC physicians within the first 10 years of practice (residents and fellows are welcome!) - join your peers for an evening of casual conversation and good brews/food. Check out the Trailhead website for more info on the location!

RSVP Now!  (Please RSVP if possible so we can reserve enough space)
2014 Newcomers'/Cornerstones' Picnic (9/28) 
Enjoy a fun-filled, family-friendly afternoon to welcome new physicians to Western North Carolina and celebrate physicians who have served our community for 30+ years.

We've combined two of our most treasured and celebrated events into one- the annual Newcomers' Picnic and our Cornerstones' Picnic (formerly known as the bi-annual Shrimp Picnic).

When: Sunday, September 28th  4:00-7:00pm
Where: Yesterday Spaces in Leicester, NC
Food: Buffet dinner provided along with beer and wine.  Plus s'mores at the outdoor fire pit!
Activities: Wagon ride, petting farm animals, cornhole and other outdoor games and a short presentation to welcome the Newcomer physicians and honor the Cornerstone physicians!                                   

This event is free to attend, but please RSVP ahead of time.  RSVP Now.

 

Thanks to our sponsors: 

Asheville Radiology logo

All Care Clinical Associates
Southeastern Sports Medicine
LOCAL NEWS 
New Members to WCMS   
Legislative Update 
Special session is off the table:
Plans to hold Medicaid Reform discussions during a special legislative session in November, 2014 are off the table. Medicaid Reform may be taken up in the next official session in January 2015.

Mental Health in WNC:
On 8/19, Senator Terry Van Duyn met with WCMS leadership and psychiatrists to bring her up to speed on mental health issues in WNC. Topics included the Emergency Room bed crisis, the paucity of outpatient services for children, inadequate workforce to address needs, the benefits of integrated primary/psychiatric care, and the benefits of integrated ACOs.
County, Pardee Agree to Lease, Not Buy, Joint Outpatient Center
"Pardee CEO Jay Kirby told commissioners "circumstances have changed" since the two hospitals agreed to share land, building ownership and governance at the joint venture. Pardee's board no longer wants to purchase half of the current outpatient building, a decision that commissioners ratified with a 4-0 vote."

Read article.
Cancer Center Will Bring 'Advanced Care' to WNC
"Cancer patients won't have to drive to Chapel Hill for advanced therapies once Pardee Hospital opens a state-of-the-art cancer center within a new medical education facility here, hospital President Jay Kirby told county commissioners Wednesday."

Read article.
Mission Moving In: Haywood Regional Facing Battle over Home Turf
"Mission Health plans to expand its presence in Haywood County with a large medical complex housing doctors' offices and a line of healthcare services.

The move is unwelcome competition for Haywood Regional Medical Center. But to Mission, it's a reflection of "the strong preference that many Haywood County residents" have already shown by traveling to Asheville."

Read the article from Smoky Mountain News. 
Faces of the Uninsured Video 
Meet a local cancer survivor who was uninsured, whose life was saved by Project Access, and who is now insured via insurance marketplace thanks to WCMS Certified Application Counselors. She was "lucky" that she was poor enough to qualify for subsidies in the insurance marketplace. The terrible irony is if she'd been TOO poor she would not have qualified for federal subsidies nor would she be eligible for state Medicaid because North Carolina opted to not expand Medicaid. Local physician volunteer programs like Project Access continue to be absolutely critical to our community.

Watch video
Mission Family Medical- Nebo Cites Impact of YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program  
Drs. Jeff Domingus and Adam Kinninger from Mission Family Medical- Nebo, referred the majority of the 237 participants who took advantage of the YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program at the Corpening Memorial YMCA since it began in 2011.

Read the full release.
ITEMS OF INTEREST 
 
CMS Releases ICD-10 Training and Preparation Webcast
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a new webcast with information on ICD-10 training and preparation from the "Road to 10" tool. Accessible through the "Road to 10" link on the CMS website, the webcast discusses key elements to include in your training plan. This is the second webcast in the new "Road to 10" series. Four more webcasts will follow-all aimed at helping small physician practices get ready for ICD-10 by the October 1, 2015, compliance date.

Go to the CMS ICD-10 website to get started on the "Road to 10" today.

Keep Up to Date on ICD-10
Visit the CMS ICD-10 website for the latest news and resources to help you prepare. Sign up for CMS ICD-10 Industry Email Updates and follow them on Twitter.
Job Board & Classified Ads
Job Board:
Practice Consultant  (Allergy Partners, PA)
Bookkeeper/Administrator  (WCMS)
Medical Interpreter  (WCMS)
Insurance Clerk  (Asheville Arthritis & Osteoporosis)
Receptionist  (Asheville Arthritis & Osteoporosis)
Associate Medical Director  (Rutherford Health Center)
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