July 2013 July 16, 2013 General MMS, MMS News Briefs July 2013, MMS News Briefs 0 • New MMS vision: Lead Marin County into better health • Responses requested for MMS/CMA survey about Covered California exchange • Marin County Physician Directory available for sale • CDC soliciting nominations for infectious-diseases board • Top stories from CMA Alert • PEOPLE • MEDICAL ORGANIZATIONS • RESOURCES • CLASSIFIEDS • APPLICANTS • ABOUT MMS New MMS vision: Lead Marin County into better health The MMS board of directors has approved a new five-year strategic plan whose central vision is to lead Marin County into better health. The plan, based on the results of a member survey distributed earlier this year, encompasses a revised mission statement for the medical association, along with statements of MMS’s vision, values and strategies. The revised mission of MMS is “To enhance the health of our communities and promote the practice of medicine by advocating for quality healthcare, strong physician-patient relationships, and for personal and professional well-being for physicians.” The revision brings more detail and specificity to the previous mission, which was “To support Marin County physicians and their efforts to enhance the health of the community.” Coupled with this revised mission statement is MMS’s new vision of leading Marin County into better health, along with five core values: advocacy, collaboration, integrity, quality and well-being. All those factors support MMS’s five main strategies for the coming years, described below: Lead change in health care. Support implementation of the Affordable Care Act, advance legislative advocacy, and increase access to needed care and services. Promote a healthy community. Reduce obesity and improve access to healthy lifestyle resources. Physician practice and wellness. Advocate for physician practice viability and physician wellness. Increase membership 5% each year. Promote awareness of membership value and create membership retention and recruitment campaigns. Strengthen MMS organization effectiveness and efficiency. Develop physician leadership and refine MMS governance. More details on the new strategic plan will be distributed to local physicians in the coming months. Responses requested for MMS/CMA survey about Covered California exchange In October 2013, open enrollment will begin for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The enrollment will be conducted through the Covered California health benefit exchange. MMS and the California Medical Association would like to assess the opportunities and challenges your practice is experiencing with ACA implementation. The information from this survey will be used to better understand what those challenges and opportunities are. Your response to this survey will be kept confidential. This online survey is voluntary, but your participation is strongly encouraged and appreciated. The survey will take less than five minutes to complete. All respondents will have an opportunity to participate in a drawing to win a $50 Amazon gift card. To participate in the survey please visit www.surveymonkey.com/s/6MS65FN. Marin County Physician Directory available for sale Each MMS member has received one free copy of the 2013-14 Marin County Physician Directory, which lists every practicing physician in the county. Extra copies are now available for $40 each to nonmember physicians, healthcare facilities and the general public. Cost of extra copies for MMS members is just $30 each. To order, contact Rachel Pandolfi at 415-924-3891 or rachel@marinmedicalsociety.org, or visit www.marinmedicalsociety.org/directory. The directory provides details photographic listings for MMS members, including primary and secondary specialties, board certifications, special medical interest, office address, phone, fax, email and medical training. Listings for nonmembers include primary specialty and phone. The directory also offers complete specialty indexes and an extensive list of local medical resources. CDC soliciting nominations for infectious-diseases board The CDC is soliciting nominations for the Board of Scientific Counselors at the Office of Infectious Diseases (OID). The board consists of 17 experts in fields related to infectious diseases who advise the government concerning strategies, goals and priorities for infectious-disease programs and research. Interested physicians with expertise in infectious diseases should submit a CV (5 pages maximum) and a statement of interest by July 19 to Cynthia Melody at cynthia@marinmedicalsociety.org. For the complete nomination announcement, visit federalregister.gov/a/2013-16182. Top stories from CMA Alert Here are the top stories from the latest CMA Alert, the California Medical Association’s biweekly email newsletter. For a free subscription, visit www.cmanet.org/cma-alert. • Attestation for Medi-Cal primary care rate increase to begin in July • Bill to define patient-centered medical homes in California is on the move • CMA Foundation seeking donations for annual gala auction • What you can do to prepare your practice for the transition from Medicare claims administrator Palmetto to Noridian • Exchange "grace period" continues to confound PEOPLE Dr. Georgianna Farren, president-elect of MMS, was honored as a Community Health Champion at the Summer Solstice Celebration held at the Marin Art & Garden Center on June 21. The annual celebration--cosponsored by Marin Community Clinics, County of Marin and many other organizations--recognizes health champions throughout the community. Also honored at this year’s celebration was Dr. Steven Schroeder, a UCSF professor and director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center. Dr. Toni Brayer, a prominent San Francisco internist, has been named CEO of the Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, which includes more than 250 physicians in Marin, Sonoma, Lake, Del Norte and San Francisco counties. Dr. Brayer, who lives in Mill Valley, has practiced internal medicine in San Francisco for more than two decades and is a past president of the San Francisco Medical Society. She previously served as chief of staff at California Pacific Medical Center and as vice president and chief medical officer of the Sutter West Bay Region. She succeeds Mike Cohill as CEO of the Sutter Foundation, but he will remain as CEO of the West Bay Region. Medical oncologists Dr. Bobbie Head and Dr. Jennifer Lucas are raising money for the Breast Cancer Fund by undertaking an 11-day trek in Nepal during September. They are paying all their own expenses but are asking for donations to support breast cancer research. They have already raised more than half of their $20,000 goal. To make a donation, visit prevention.breastcancerfund.org. Anna Bretan, daughter of MMS past president Dr. Peter Bretan, was the top female runner in the recent San Francisco Marathon. She completed the 26-mile course in two hours and 42 minutes, a new record for female runners. A Berkeley resident, Bretan was also the women’s winner in the 2012 Oakland Marathon. MEDICAL ORGANIZATIONS Marin General Hospital has received a Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for its adherence to numerous quality measures, including time to treatment and aggressive use of medications. “An experienced stroke team significantly increases the chance of a better outcome,” said neurologist Dr. John Panagotacos, a stroke specialist at MGH. “There’s a limited time period to assess the patient, diagnose a stroke, and determine the optimal treatment.” Partnership HealthPlan is transferring $13.8 million in federal grants directly to county health departments and hospitals throughout the North Bay. The main grant recipient in Marin County is the Health & Human Services Department, which will use the funds to provide services in mental health, case management, specialty care access and oral health. Both Marin General and Kaiser San Rafael hospitals have been recognized as “leaders in LGBT healthcare equality” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. The recognition means that both hospitals met criteria for providing equitable care, having non-discrimination policies for LGBT patients and employees, guaranteeing equal visitation for same-sex partners and parents, and providing LGBT health education for key staff members. RESOURCES To help physicians prepare for the health insurance exchanges mandated by the Affordable Care Act, CMA has created a Health Insurance Exchange Resources page at www.cmanet.org/exchange. The page includes links to exchange-related guidebooks, fact sheets, webinars, seminars and news feeds. All of the material is free to CMA members. Redwood Mednet is presenting its seventh annual Connecting California to Improve Patient Care conference on Thursday, July 25, at the Hyatt Hotel in Santa Rosa. The conference features experts on electronic health records, personal health records and health information interoperability. Presentations will focus practical solutions for securely sharing electronic clinical information. For complete details, including registration, visit www.redwoodmednet.org. Local hematologists and oncologists are invited to attend a morning workshop on Treating Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma, to be held at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 27. The workshop, which qualifies for 2.5 hours of CME, is chaired by faculty from the Mayo Clinic and the Winship Cancer Institute. To register, visit www.med-iq.com/a706 or call 866-858-7434. Dr. Daphne Miller, a well-known San Francisco family physician and author, will discuss her newest book, Farmacology: What innovative family farming can teach us about health and healing, at the American Legion Hall in Larkspur on Friday evening, Aug. 23. Her appearance is a fundraiser for UC Marin Master Gardeners. Tickets are $30, and seating is limited. To purchase, visit ucanr.edu/farmacology. A conference on Integrating Mind-Body Medicine into Clinical Practice will be held in San Francisco Oct. 5-9. Sponsored by the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, the conference offers a maximum of 31 Category 1 credits. The focus is on medical techniques to address stress, anxiety, trauma, insomnia and chronic illness. To register, visit www.cmbm.org. MMS members can get registration discounts for the Napa Primary Care Conference: Caring for the Active and Athletic Patient, to be held at the Napa Valley Marriott from Nov. 6 to 10. The conference is designed for physicians and medical professionals who care for active and athletic patients or who themselves lead such a lifestyle. Topics include common medical and musculoskeletal problems, healthy lifestyles and personal wellness. The conference offers up to 16 hours of CME. To register, visit the conference website. CMA Practice Resources (CPR) is a free monthly email bulletin from MCA’S Center for Economic Services. The bulletin is full of tips and tools to help physicians and their office staff improve practice efficiency and viability. For a free subscription visit, www.cmanet.org/news-and-events/publications. The following CMA webinars are scheduled for July and early August. Webinars begin at 12:15 p.m. and run until 1:15 or later. To register, visit www.cmanet.org. Seminars are free for CMA members and their staff; cost for nonmembers is $99 per person. • Preparing for Phases 3 and 4 of the Healthy Families Program Transition to Medi-Cal • Protect and Preserve Your Patient Relationships • Medicare Transition-MAC Jurisdiction E Implementation Overview CLASSIFIEDS House for lease, Santa Rosa Nicely furnished cozy two-bedroom home plus office available for one-year lease. Five minutes from downtown Santa Rosa. Walk to shopping and public transportation. All furnishings, flat screen TV, linens, dishes, etc. included. Photos available. $1,800 monthly. Deposit and references required. Contact mcandgn@aol.com. Office space available Primary Care MD has exam room at 1000 S. Eliseo Dr. Available monthly: 0.5 to 5 days/wk. • well-maintained building • close to MGH & other practices • your assistant(s) welcome • storage, scheduling assistance possible Perfect for specialist or therapist. Contact Heidi at heidi@rossvalleymedical.com or 415-461-2262. Urodynamic monitor for sale Urodynamic monitor--$2,900. Bard 4-Channel Urodynamic Monitor with extra supplies. Like new. I left private practice and joined a large group and no longer need this monitor. It is in great condition and was hardly used. I am in the Santa Rosa area but can arrange delivery to other Bay Area locations. Contact Janet at 650-814-7155 or janetpulskamp@comcast.net. MMS members get free classifieds! MMS members can place free classified ads in News Briefs or Marin Medicine. Cost for nonmember physicians and the general public is $1 per word. To place a classified ad, contact Linda McLaughlin at Linda@scma.org or 707-525-4359. APPLICANTS Eric Bava, MD, Orthopaedic Surgery, 99 Montecillo Rd., San Rafael 94903, Univ Southern California 2004 ABOUT MMS The Marin Medical Society, a 501(c)(6) nonprofit association, supports local physicians and their efforts to enhance the health of the community. We are affiliated with the California Medical Association and the American Medical Association. © 2013 MMS, PO Box 246, Corte Madera, CA 94976 Comments are closed.