Western Carolina Medical Society: The Physicians' Voice for a Health Community
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April 6, 2016


In This Issue:
Sponsor Message: Parsec (left)
Upcoming MAHEC Educational Events
Early Career Affinity Group 4/27/16
WCMS Showed Appreciation to WNC Physicians on Doctor's Day
Dr. Gus Vickery Presented at Independent Physician Affinity Group
20th Anniversary Celebration of the WNCPA William Bruce Award
Attend an Upcoming Listening Session on Medicaid Reform and Make Your Voice Heard
Buncombe County Safety Net Steering Committee Discusses Opiate Addiction Crisis
WCMS Meets with WNC Legislators
Bowtie Briefings for March 24 and April 1, 2016
Slow VA Choice Authorization, Reimbursements Frustrate Doctors' Offices
Physicians' Salaries in 2016
Mission Health's Unique Immersion Day
Preventing Burnout: Finding Joy in Medicine
Job Board & Classified Ads
UPCOMING EVENTS 
 
Upcoming MAHEC Educational Events
Team Based Whole Person Care: Choose from 5 dates and locations beginning on April 13th from 5:30-8:45pm
7th Annual Communicable Disease Conference: Growing Deep Roots and Strong Branches: April 25-27, times vary
Early Career Affinity Group 4/27/16
WCMS is hosting an Early Career Affinity Group on Wednesday, April 27th. This will be a casual mix and mingle event that provides early career physicians an opportunity to connect with each other. The event will be held at the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company in North Asheville from 5:30-7:30pm. Beer and appetizers are on us. Staff members from Johnson Price Sprinkle, PA, a WCMS Circle of Friends member, will also be joining us for this event. If you'd like to attend, please register here.
LOCAL NEWS
 
WCMS Showed Appreciation to WNC Physicians on Doctor's Day
On March 30th, WCMS covered a lot of ground thanking doctors all over WNC with flowers - both real and virtual. We hope you enjoyed yours. We are so grateful for your membership and your generous participation and support of Project Access and our Interpreter Network (WIN). 

We also set up tables at Mission, Park Ridge, Cherokee Indian Hospital, and MAHEC with gifts. 

We hope you had a wonderful day. Thank you for all that you do. 
Dr. Gus Vickery Presented at Independent Physician Affinity Group 

On 4/4/16, 18 doctors came out to hear Dr. Vickery give an overview of his direct care practice, Synergy Health Solutions. 

Dr. Vickery uses innovation solutions to reduce administrative burdens and barriers to care in order to improve patient-doctor relationships. 

We videotaped the presentation, and will have it available on our website for those who were not able to attend. Stay tuned!

20th Anniversary Celebration of the WNCPA William Bruce Award 4/12/16
Date: April 12, 2016 
Location: The University of North Carolina Asheville
You are invited to join your physician colleagues and area psychologists for the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the WNCPA William Bruce Award on April 12 honoring all past recipients. In 1994 the Western North Carolina Psychological Association (WNCPA) began hosting a dinner for local physicians and psychologists in recognition that when physicians, psychologists and patients collaborate in providing care for their patients, the end result is best quality of care possible.
Click here to continue reading. 
Attend an Upcoming Listening Session on Medicaid Reform and Make Your Voice Heard!
April 6, 2016
Holiday Inn Express
1943 Blowing Rock Road
Boone, NC 28607
12 p.m. - 2 p.m.

Asheville-Buncombe Tech Community College
Mission Health / A-B Tech Conference Center
340 Victoria Road
Asheville, NC 28801
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Here is the complete list of tour dates. For additional information about Medicaid reform, click here.
Buncombe County Safety Net Steering Committee Discusses Opiate Addiction Crisis
On 4/5/16, the committee met to discuss opiate addiction and treatment issues. Miriam Schwarz, representing WCMS Project Access, is a member of this committee. Specifically, we discussed:
* Ways that the SN community can commit to follow the CDC guidelines and engage the medical community (including dental and behavioral health) and citizens about the guidelines and the importance of vigilance in following the guidelines
* The need for more substance abuse treatment services and the importance of engaging law enforcement and Smoky LME/MCO in the discussions
* Strategies for chronic pain management within a SN practice

As we look to subsequent discussions, the group will focus on specific action steps that we can do to influence the issue. We agreed that law enforcement and the LME/MCO have important roles in helping the SN address opiate addiction and treatment. The committee will invite them for a specific discussion about their work and role with the SN providers.
MAHEC provides a pain management program and is involved in educating patients and clinicians. Here is an online MAHEC course for prescribing health care practitioners for chronic pain management.

If you are interested in working with WCMS on this issue, please contact Miriam at Miriam@mywcms.org.
WCMS Meets with WNC Legislators 4/5/16

On April 5th, WCMS CEO Miriam Schwarz led a discussion with Senators Hise and Van Duyn, as well as Representatives Ager, Queen, and Presnell. The topics discussed were Medicaid Reform, Mental Health Access, Scope of Practice, and Legislative Impacts on the Practice of Medicine. 15 physicians and residents were in attendance for this lively and productive discussion. 
STATE NEWS
 
Bowtie Briefings for March 24 and April 1, 2016

3/24: Chip Baggett, NCMS Director of Legislative Relations, throws us some curve balls in this week's legislative briefing, where he focuses on the NCMS talking points regarding the Medicaid Reform draft waiver. 

4/1: Chip Baggett shares his advice on how to best communicate with your legislator regarding issues such as the Medicaid Reform draft waiver. Below are some helpful links.

NATIONAL NEWS
 
Slow VA Choice Authorization, Reimbursements Frustrate Doctors' Offices
SALISBURY, NC (WBTV) - Local doctors are having to stop accepting patients through a program designed to provide veterans with faster access to specialty care because of systemic problems within the program, an On Your Side investigation has found.

The VA Choice Program was created in 2014 following reports of some veterans waiting months or years for specialty care.
Click here to continue reading. 
ITEMS OF INTEREST
 
Physicians' Salaries in 2016
Nearly 19,200 physicians in over 26 specialties responded to this year's Medscape compensation survey and disclosed not only their compensation but also how many hours they work per week, how many minutes they spend with each patient, the most rewarding part of their job, changes to their practice resulting from healthcare reform, and more. (Note: Values in charts have been rounded and may not match the sums described in the captions.)
Click here to view the report.
Mission Health's Unique Immersion Day For Board, Journalists And Policy Makers Provides Necessary Insight For Governance And Policy
ASHEVILLE, N.C., March 30, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mission Health's innovative Immersion Day program creates new paths for key stakeholders to better understand the real challenges and opportunities facing health systems.  It has resulted in improved insights on how to lead, regulate and report on the most complex health care issues facing the nation.  A description of the program entitled, "Immersion Day - Transforming Governance and Policy by Putting on Scrubs," co-written by Ronald A. Paulus, MD, President and CEO of Mission Health and Richard W. Bock, MD, Immersion Advisors is published in the March 31, 2016 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). It outlines how Mission's unique, three-year-old program has strengthened governance and engendered trust in our community, staff and physicians.
Click here to continue reading. 
Preventing Burnout: Finding Joy in Medicine
National Doctor's Day 2016: Why We Should Care About Improving Physician Health

Doctors are those with whom we place our complete trust, often relying on them in our most vulnerable moments. National Doctors Day, which occurs this year on March 30th, is meant to bring attention to the service of all physicians - living or dead - and their contribution to individual health and medical progress. But the day may also be a time to reflect on the health of doctors themselves, and how our medical system can better accommodate them. A doctor needs to be well both mentally and physically in order to make others well.  On National Doctor's Day, let's take a moment to remember that while doctors provide immeasurable service to society, they're not invincible - and improving care for them will better the medical system as a whole.
Click here to read more.
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