Western Carolina Medical Society: The Physicians' Voice for a Health Community
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 Weekly e-News of the Western Carolina Medical Society 
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January 13, 2016


In This Issue:
Sponsor Message: Four Seasons (left)
Register Now: WCMS Annual Celebration 1/31/2016
Upcoming MAHEC CME Events
Register Now: Advance Care Planning: Making it Work in Your Practice and Getting Paid for it 1/27/2016
Southeastern Fitness and Rehabilitation to Manage Pardee Rehabilitation at Two Locations
Smoky Mountain Needs Assessment: We Want to Hear from You
2016 WCMS Preferred Vendors
2016 Circle of Friends
Preventing Burnout: Finding Joy in Medicine
Advanced Care Planning Workshops for Patients: Letter from WCMS Member Dr. David Mouw
Job Board & Classified Ads
UPCOMING EVENTS 
 
Register Now: WCMS Annual Celebration 1/31/2016
The WCMS Annual Celebration is January 31st, 2016 at Highland Brewing from 6 - 8 p.m. We hope you'll join us for some great music from physician-led band Blues Crew, unique appetizers in the spirit of Chinese New Year, and an introduction to your new WCMS Board of Directors. And of course, try a delicious beverage from Highland Brewing!
Please RSVP today. 
Upcoming MAHEC CME Events
Course: Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Initial and Re-certification Provider Courses
Date: January 21st, 8 AM - Noon
Register here

Course: Management of Diabetes throughout the Lifespan
Date: January 22nd, 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Register here

Course: Mountain Children's Network: Evidence-based Management of Sickle Cell Disease: Review of Updated NHLBI Guidelines
Date: January 28th, 6 PM - 8 PM
Register here
Register Now: Advance Care Planning: Making it Work in Your Practice and Getting Paid for it  1/27/16
Date: January 27, 2016 6:00 PM
Location: MAHEC Education Building
On Oct. 30, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule including two CPT codes to reimburse for advance care planning (ACP). Reimbursement for ACP is a game changer for providers!
Get more information about this educational event here.
LOCAL NEWS
 
Southeastern Fitness and Rehabilitation to Manage Pardee Rehabilitation at Two Locations
From a press release:
Pardee Hospital announced today that Southeastern Fitness and Rehabilitation will manage two Pardee Rehabilitation locations, effective Jan. 1, 2016. Southeastern Fitness and Rehabilitation will manage operations at Pardee Rehabilitation's new Turtle Creek location in South Asheville as well as its existing location at the Mission Pardee Health Campus in Arden.
Click here to continue reading. 
Smoky Mountain Needs Assessment: We Want to Hear from You. Help us Improve Services in WNC
Want to help Smoky improve healthcare services for people living throughout western North Carolina? Here's your chance to participate in the 2016 Community Needs Assessment Survey.

Each year, Smoky conducts a survey to find out what various types of individuals think about the state of services for mental illness, substance use disorder and intellectual/ developmental disabilities. The Community Needs Assessment Survey gives participants the opportunity to report any services currently needed in their community, as well as other related topics, throughout the 23-county region where Smoky operates.
The 2016 survey will be available through Friday, January 22.

Ready to get started?
Questions? Email [email protected]
or call 828-586-5501, ext. 5904.

Thank you for your time and support!
2016 WCMS Preferred Vendors
WCMS partners with a variety of companies who provide critical services to our physicians and practices- AND offer discounted rates to our members! The companies partnering with us in 2016 are:
* Johnson Price Sprinkle PA (Financial- Accounting)
* Parsec Financial (Financial- Wealth Management)
* Ward and Smith, PA (Legal Advice & Representation)
* Current Medical Services (Practice Management)

For more information about WCMS vendors and the discounted services you could receive from them, visit our website.
2016 Circle of Friends
WCMS is proud to have Johnson Price Sprinkle PA continue as a Circle of Friends partner in 2016.

The Circle of Friends is WCMS' highest level of corporate partnership. It is by invitation only and reserved for companies who are singled out by physicians as trusted and valued organizations of excellence. These companies must have demonstrated an unflagging commitment to serving physicians and have an outstanding reputation in the physician community. The Circle of Friends and WCMS mutually work together to strategize and strengthen their respective organizations' capacities to serve physicians.

Johnson Price Sprinkle PA is a leading accounting firm in WNC with an experienced team dedicated to healthcare clients of all sizes. The JPS Healthcare Services team's goal is to provide physicians with solid financial intelligence about their practice and optimize profitability.
To learn more about JPS and the Circle of Friends, click here.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
 
Preventing Burnout: Finding Joy in Medicine
Does your organization pass the Quadruple Aim Mission Statement Challenge ?

Remember the old Triple Aim in Healthcare?

1) Improved population heath
2) Improved patient experience
3) Lower cost

The Triple Aim is built of noble ideals AND we now know the Triple Aim has had ruinous unintended consequences.

If all you focus on is quality, cost and patient satisfaction ... you burn out the people providing care. Physician burnout rates are up from 45% to 54% in just three years with no end in sight on this trajectory.
Enter healthcare's new Quadruple Aim
1) Improved population heath
2) Improved patient experience
3) Lower cost
4) AND ... Improving the work life of health care clinicians and staff

The concept was born last year in an Annals of Family Medicine article and is spreading through the healthcare industry by word of mouth. We hope the Quadruple Aim concept marks an inflection point in our industry ... that it provides justification for taking better care of the doctors and staff going forward.

However, your organization might have drunk the Triple Aim KoolAid along the way, putting you at risk for a high stress workplace. The Triple Aim may have been incorporated into your Mission Statement.
If this is true, there is nothing stopping your leadership from sacrificing your health and well being along the road to the Triple Aim if they choose to do so.
Click here to take the Quadruple Aim Mission Statement challenge and see if you are at risk.
Advanced Care Planning Workshops for Patients: Letter from WCMS Member Dr. David Mouw
Dear Fellow WCMS members, 

Medicare will now reimburse your practice when you talk to patients about end-of-life care, including the legal documents: (Health Care Power of Attorney, Living Will). Hopefully this will better enable you to spend some time during office visits on this very important topic. When you have an introductory discussion at an office visit, you can use the CPT code 99497 and charge for this extra service. If you would then refer the patient to us, my colleagues and I can answer additional questions and then help the patient complete and notarize the legal documents for the patient's medical record in your office.

All you have to do is write the date/time of our next workshop on an Rx slip, and give it to the patient; you can always quickly obtain the date of the next workshop by Googling "OLLI ACP" on your smart phone.

At the UNCA College for seniors (now called O.L.L.I.), one of my volunteer retirement activities is to coordinate an Advance Care Planning Workshop every 4 months. Check this link to learn all about these free 2-hr sessions, open to any adult. The next workshop is Friday, February 5, 2016, 3-5 p.m. at the Reuter Center.

So far we have had 12 workshops, attended by over 650 adults, half of whom completed and notarized the NC Short form (used by Mission Hospital, includes Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney).
I hope we can help you. And....thanks for helping me by referring some patients. 

Sincerely,

David Mouw MD PhD
MAHEC Family Practice Faculty 1997-2007
Job Board & Classified Ads

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

WCMS is a thriving 700+ 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
WCMS Association: WCMSA is the physicians' voice advocating for the health of the physician, the patient, and the community, through strengthening the physician-patient relationship.

WCMS Foundation: WCMSF is the physician and community-led charitable arm of the medical society improving access to quality healthcare, decreasing disparities in health, and promoting health & wellness.

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