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Feb. 20, 2006 |
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IN THIS ISSUE
Executive Director's
Column: Resolutions, What's The Point?
Editor's Column: Positioning Physicians And Physicians'
Positioning
Seeking Emergency Volunteers
Ultimed Update
Call For Articles On Your Membership Experience
Maternal Health Conference
Remembering James Gallagher
Meet Sandy Levin
Medical Legal Committee: Bluesman Addresses HSAs
Women Physician Conference
Are You Presidential Material?
Searching For Authors
March 4 Section Meeting
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Click Here To Contact Us
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Executive
Director's Column:
Resolutions, What's The Point?
By ADAM JABLONOWSKI
Why spend the time to write a resolution for introduction into
the MSMS House of Delegates? Well, at this time, the House sets
policy for the MSMS and if you, one of the members, wishes to
establish new policy or change existing policy, that is the way
to do it.
The structure
of organized medicine at our county, the state and at the national
level allows the most democratic means of expression of any
organization that I know. Sure it's not always efficient or even
speedy but the job gets done every year, year after year. Could we
find a better way? Probably. But, right now there does not seem to
be the will to make any drastic change to this long established
process.
Of course if
you don't like it, write a resolution for introduction at the MSMS
House of Delegates meeting in Grand Rapids, April 28-30. If you are
interested in being a WCMSSM delegate, contact me at
arj@msms.org for more
information. If you are not satisfied with the way things are, you
need only resolve to change them, although that will require a good
deal of support from other physicians of like mind.
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Editor's Column:
Positioning Physicians And Physicians' Positioning
BY JOSEPH WEISS, MD
The Wayne County Medical Society heard a talk by Frank DeLaura,
COO of United Physicians last month. His presentation and the
discussion that followed brought out the following:
(1)
Physicians need protection. We have few
friends. The hospitals will not look after us, the health insurers
certainly will not. The contracts that come in front of us are
complex and bargaining as single doctors is impossible. If we don’t
like what that health insurer offers, the representative closes his
briefcase and take his contract to the physician across the street.
In matters of contracting we need to
be part of a group, such as a physician organization. We need to pay
for the services of a person who represents us.
(2)
Health care is an industry. We cannot
look upon ourselves as being indispensable. Nurse practitioners and
physician assistants can provide services that satisfy the public
and make if feasible for the health care industry to rely less on
physician manpower.
(3)
Pay-for-performance or its equivalent
will prevail. Whoever the insurer is, Medicare, Medicaid, BCBS,
Aetna, United HealthCare, Care Choices, etc., payment for our
services will be tied to evidence we are providing a specified
standard of care. Either insurers will set those standards with
claims data, or we will do it through our physician organizations.
If we do the surveillance, we can set up the methods of monitoring
and the panels to whom we appeal when we feel it’s needed.
(4)
Technology for small practices is in
flux. Cost, training, the specific equipment that is appropriate,
and the best way to achieve connectivity between offices, hospitals
and medical centers, remains unanswered. Despite these unknowns,
physicians should expect to implement the computer-competent office
and pay for its cost and maintenance.
(5)
We must accept lower reimbursements.
Unjustly, the medical community is blamed for spiraling health care
costs. Expect no help from insurance carriers or government.
We face a serious future. But by
carrying through the above agenda we will place ourselves in a
position to absorb the shocks to come in the finance and philosophy
of health care in America.
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Seeking Emergency
Volunteers
The
Michigan Department of Community Health Office of Public Health
Preparedness is pleased to announce that the Web-based Michigan
Volunteer Registry is now live and ready to accept volunteers!
Through
the Michigan Volunteer Registry, residents can offer whatever skills
they may have in the event of a large-scale emergency. The site
divides volunteers into licensed and unlicensed health
professionals, food industry workers, and general support
volunteers. The system automatically registers volunteers for events
in their home county, but allows them to offer services in other
counties, as well as in Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin. This site will
be used as an initial database by the eight Biodefense Networks in
Michigan (Michigan’s Emergency Preparedness Regions) to track
individuals who are willing to provide assistance in a disaster.
Key Points:
· This
site will send email alerts to volunteers to let them know when they
are needed
· Signing
up does not obligate you to respond to any events, but will
streamline the process if you want to respond
· Hospital
and EMS agency employees should register, as they can volunteer for
emergencies outside their own areas
· Registration
takes less than 10 minutes
To register,
visit
www.mivolunteerregistry.org. Each individual must register
himself or herself on the site to become a volunteer. The individual
is responsible for maintaining his or her own contact information on
the site to keep it current.
For additional
information about the Registry, visit
www.michigan.gov/ophp or contact Ann Maher, Region 2
South BT Coordinator at 734-727-8001 or
amaher@waynecountyemd.com.
Also,
be sure to visit the MSMS Biodefense Resource Center at
www.msms.org/biodefense.
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Ultimed Enters
State Rehabilitation
By PAUL NATINSKY
Yet another Michigan HMO has landed in state rehabilitation.
Ultimed HMO of Michigan, Inc. was placed in rehabilitation
status in late January for failing to pay more than $2.44
million in claims. Ultimed has 1,900 members, most of whom live
in southeast Michigan.
The Michigan Office of Financial
and Insurance Services (OFIS) examined the HMO last fall, found it
was short of assets and ordered Ultimed to secure $3.5 million and
pay all unpaid claims by Nov. 14. The HMO failed to comply, reported
OFIS.
"As the regulator for HMOs, I have
responsibility to ensure that consumers receive the health care
services they are promised," said OFIS Commissioner Linda Watters in
a statement. "Failure to pay claims is a violation of the basic
contract between Ultimed, its members, providers and employers.
Management left me no choice given the large number of unpaid claims
and lack of cash to support the operations of the company."
The Order of Rehabilitation
suspends the authority of Ultimed's Board of Directors and transfers
full power to direct and manage the company in the court-appointed
rehabilitator. The rehabilitator oversees payment to providers for
health services on a "going-forward basis to the extent possible,"
according to OFIS.
OFIS reported last month that "it
is too early to know when or if all outstanding claims at Ultimed
can be paid."
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Please Tell Us In
250 Words Or Less
What Membership Has Meant To You
By ADAM JABLONOWSKI
We are preparing the March issue of the Detroit Medical News. It
will be mostly about membership, with a focus on IMG members and
their important role in the delivery of medical care in
southeast Michigan. We intend to use this as a springboard to
conduct our Membership Recruitment Campaign in March. This will
consist of a multi pronged approach which will include columns
in the Detroit Medical News written by prominent IMG members and
non-IMG members, I hope that you can be on of those
contributors. We need about 250 words about your experience with
organized medicine at the local state and/or national level; the
impact it has made on you, your practice and life in southeast
Michigan. The deadline for receipt of your comments is February
27th. We really need your help with this. Please let me know
that you will be able to help out on this very important
recruiting effort. Thanks in advance. Click the link that
follows to send your contribution,
arj@msms.org
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45th Annual
Conference On Maternal & Perinatal Health:
Maternal & Perinatal Care: A Continuum
March 23, 2006
The Inn At St. John's, Plymouth
The Michigan State Medical Society
Foundation Maternal and Perinatal Health Conference Planning
Committee (chaired by WCMSSM President Federico Mariona, MD) worked
with representatives of hospital departments, specialty societies
and medical schools to develop this statewide conference. The
purpose of the conference is to provide quality continuing medical
education to physicians, nurses and other health care professionals
in Michigan. The conference is intended for physicians of all
specialties, nurses and others who are engaged in health care, with
special emphasis on improving care for mothers and their children.
The conference fee is $140 for MSMS
members and $185 for non-members and provides six Category I CME
credits. To register online, visit
http://msmsnet.msms.org/general/ or e-mail
abatten@msms.org. You can also
call the registrar at (517) 336-7581.
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Obituary:
Dr. James Patrick Gallagher
Dr. James Patrick
Gallagher died February 15, 2006. He was 73 years old and lived in
Dearborn Heights. Beloved husband of Patricia. Dear father of Barry
Gallagher, Daphne (Paul) Betley. Dear stepfather of Jeffrey
(Kristen) Skutnick. Dear brother of Moira (Stanley) Conroy, Alice
Hines, Annie Gallagher, Kate (Jackie) McConnell, Eilish Gallagher,
Liam (Jane) Gallagher, the late Sean (Annie) Gallagher, and the late
Michael Gallagher. Loving grandfather of Kelsey, Erik, Grace and
Jack. Also survived by many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and
grand-nephews in Ireland, England and Australia. Visitation Monday
2-9 p.m. at Voran Funeral Home (Dearborn Chapel) 23701 Ford Rd. with
a Rosary at 7 p.m. Funeral Mass Tuesday 10 a.m. at St. Anselm Church
(17650 W. Outer Drive Dearborn Heights, MI 48127) with visitation
Tuesday at Church 9:30 a.m. until time of Mass. Family suggests
memorials to Wayne County Medical Society Foundation or Angela
Hospice. Editor's note: A full remembrance of Dr. Gallagher will be
published in the March DMN magazine.
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The
Michigan State Medical Society would like to invite you to a meet
and greet Congressman Sandy Levin. The meeting is
scheduled for Monday, March 20, 2006, beginning at 8:00 a.m.
This meeting will take place:
March 20, 2006
Westin Southfield
Board of Regents Room
1500 Town Center
Southfield, Michigan 48075
(248) 827-4000
This
will be an informal meeting that will provide the opportunity to
discuss congressional issues pertinent to Michigan physicians.
Should
you have any questions or need additional information, please
contact Kevin A. Kelly, Executive Director, at (517) 336-5742 or by
e-mail at
kkelly@msms.org. You may also contact Laura Mercer, Executive
Office Intern, at (517) 336-5738 or via email at
lmercer@msms.org.
Please RSVP to Joyce Crum, Executive Assistant, at
(517) 336-5742, via email at
jcrum@msms.org or by fax at (517) 337-2490 or Laura Mercer,
Executive Office Intern, at
lmercer@msms.org
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Medical Legal
Committee:
Presentation On HSAs
Speaker: Donald Whitford
Director, Product Development & Management
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan
Date/Time:
Thursday, March 9, 7:30 a.m.
3031 W. Grand Blvd, Ste. 410 (two floors down from WCMSSM
headquarters and the opposite direction from the elevators)
Call (313) 874-1360 to RSVP as
space is limited, or e-mail
info@wcmssm.org
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WCMS Foundation 13th
Annual
Golf Classic
Monday, May 8,
2006
Lochmoor Country Club
Grosse Pointe Woods
To Register: Call (313) 874-1360,
ext. 23 or e-mail info@wcmssm.org
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MSMS Women Physicians Conference Offers Unique
Experience
The MSMS Foundation is proud to announce the 2006 Conference for
Women Physicians, an event focused on the needs and interests unique
to women physicians. The event will take place on Saturday, March
25, from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Somerset Inn in Troy. Designed
by a planning committee of women physicians, residents and medical
students, the conference will feature an impressive line-up of
thought-provoking, inspirational speakers with various areas of
expertise. Presentations and breakout sessions will include
• Preserving the Beauty of the Female Heart
• Advances in Breast Cancer
• Improve Your Communication Style
• Better Health and Nutrition for Women
• Yoga: Balance of Body, Mind and Spirit
• Strategies for Efficient and Effective Practice Management
• Financial Planning for the Woman Physician (Basic and Advanced)
• Communication Barriers: Clinical Case Presentations
A maximum of five credits of Category I CME credit may be earned.
Childcare is available with advance arrangements. A Friday,
pre-conference dinner also is available. For more information, visit
www.msms.org/eo/index.html or contact Melinda Sandford at (517)
336-7575. To register, visit
http://msmsnet.msms.org/general/ or
contact the MSMS Registrar at (517) 336-7581 or
abatten@msms.org.
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Are You
Presidential Material?
If you are a WCMSSM member and serve as president of a national
medical specialty society or any service organizations, please let
us know at info@wcmssm.org so we can recognize you at the MSMS
Annual Meeting.
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Searching For
Authors
If you are a WCMSSM member who has written a book on anything
(wines, hunting, fiction, non-fiction, medicine) please let us know.
We can help you publicize your work. Contact us at
info@wcmssm.org
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March 4 Section Meeting
Time: 9:00am - 3:30pm
Location: MSMS
Headquarters - East Lansing
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Members of
MSMS membership sections will gather for the annual Joint
Section Meeting on Saturday, March 4, at MSMS headquarters
in East Lansing. The event brings together International
Medical Graduates, Medical Students, Organized Medical
Staffs, Resident & Fellow Physicians, and Young Physicians
to promote mentoring among physician groups and to discuss
resolutions for the upcoming House of Delegates meeting at
the end of April.
Agenda:
10:00 - 10:20 a.m.
Registration and Networking Breakfast - Dining Room
10:20 - 10:30 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Daniel B. Michael, MD, Speaker of the House
Rose M. Ramirez, MD, Vice Speaker of the House
10:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Avian Flu and Pandemic
Eden Wells, MD
Michigan Department of Community Health, Bureau of
Epidemiology
11:00 - 11:35 a.m.
Under the Dome
Tim Skubick
Capital Correspondent, WILX TV-10
11:35 - 11:55 a.m.
Future of Medicine
John M. MacKeigan, MD
Immediate Past President, Michigan State Medical Society
11:55 - 12:05 p.m.
MSMS Alliance Report
Marilyn Milko or Dee Wacker
President, MSMS Alliance
12:05 - 12:15 p.m.
President-Elect Candidate Speech
AppaRao Mukkamala, MD
12:15 - 1:00 p.m.
Joint Section Luncheon
Dining Room
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Section Meetings
OMSS - Directors Room
YPS - Atrium
IMGs - Board Room
RFS - PSG Conference Room
MSS - PROM Conference Room
For more information, contact Rebecca Blake at 517-336-5729
or rblake@msms.org.
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