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March 6,
2006
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IN
THIS ISSUE
MSMS
Ponders Medicine's Future
Editor's Column: Free Lunch Versus Free Will
OB/GYN Study: Job Satisfaction
And Med/Mal Issues
Survey
Says, Michigan Is Headed For Physician Shortage
Discussion
Group Works On 'Free Clinic' Idea
Maternal
Health Conference
Free CME On Red
Hot Issues Added To HOD Slate
Meet
Sandy Levin
Medical
Legal Committee: Bluesman Addresses HSAs
Women
Physician Conference
Are
You Presidential Material?
Are
Your Colleagues Really Members?
Bird
Flu Fears Result In Planning Summit,
Preparation Funds
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MSMS
Ponders Medicine's Future
MSMS announced a detailed
action plan calling for unprecedented collaboration among
various stakeholders to help transform the delivery of
health care in Michigan.
The MSMS plan, titled The Future of Medicine: Leading the Way to
a Better Health Care System, is based on four basic principles: wellness,
value, quality and universal coverage.
"We are asking patients, businesses, insurance companies, legislators, physicians
and other health care professionals to work with us to address the underlying
problems that currently plague medicine and health care in Michigan," said
MSMS president Alan Mindlin, MD, a Pontiac ophthalmologist.
Areas of improvement could include statewide coordination of preventive
health programs, advancing the use of electronic medical records,
streamlined health insurance and claims processing, and ensuring
that everyone in Michigan has health care coverage, according to
the MSMS plan that includes 47 specific action steps.
The plan was presented March 1 to
more than 40 representatives of stakeholder groups at
MSMS headquarters in East Lansing. Each was presented
with the opportunity to participate in workgroups addressing
these and other focus areas including patient safety
and physician supply.
"Over the past few years, report after report has shown that Michigan has
problems with overall health and with its health care system," said MSMS
immediate past president John MacKeigan, MD, a Grand Rapids colorectal surgeon
and chair of the MSMS Future of Medicine Task Force. "We physicians believe
it is our professional obligation to take a lead in coordinating efforts to improve
health care in Michigan.
"This will not be easy and it will not be accomplished immediately," Dr.
MacKeigan said, "but we must get started. With coordinated efforts, we could
see significant improvements in one to five years."
MSMS developed its plan after conducting a major study to assess
where health care should be in five years. With the help of Public
Sector Consultants, a Lansing-based public policy think tank, MSMS
asked 67 leaders in business, health care, government, and labor
for their input. Nine specific themes emerged from the study, from
quality to personal responsibility to shared decision-making. One
answer was very clear; physicians must help drive health care reform.
The MSMS Task Force on the Future
of Medicine, made up of physician members from all over
Michigan, reviewed the consensus reached in the study
and boiled it down to the four major themes of wellness,
value, quality and universal coverage. Suggested action
steps were developed for each theme. The MSMS Board of
Directors gave final approval to the plan in January.
"Physicians cannot do this alone," said MSMS Board chair and WCMSSM
member Michael Sandler, MD, a radiologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. "To
get a handle on cost, quality and access, we will need all parties at the table
working in a spirit of collaboration. The time has come to begin this process
together."
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Editor's
Column:
Free Lunch Versus Free Will
BY JOSEPH WEISS,
MD
The medical
profession returns to guilt and self-reproach. I refer to
the recent campaign initiated in the Journal of the American
Medical Association urging us to refuse to speak with, listen
to, or accept anything from the nation’s pharmaceutical companies.
The zealots promoting such abstinence claim that any contact with
drug companies taints our thinking. They claim that accepting even
a paper pad or fountain pen from a pharmaceutical representative
causes us to lose our ability to know right from wrong or recognize
the difference between evidence-based results and Madison Avenue
posturing. The zealots are wrong.
If a physician decides to ignore responsible judgment, that is the
physician’s choice.
Outlawing the presence of drug representatives in medical institutions
is reprehensible. Medical school students and residents-in-training
are adults, many of them have life experience that make them more
mature than the faculty who teach them. What is more in order is
for faculty to expose those in their number who lie about their ties
with pharmaceutical stocks and their role as pharmacy consultants.
The Cleveland Clinic experience likely is not an isolated example
in academia.
The way to teach physicians how to deal with deceptions regarding
pharmaceutical drugs is not to hide those deceptions from us. The
better way is for medical schools and continuing medical education
courses to discuss and debate drug advertising. Bringing lies to
light is a better action then trying to stop the spread of lies by
merely momentarily suppressing them.
As politicians should not try to legislate
our conduct, neither should fellow physicians take on the
task of prescribing behavior for the rest of us. Physicians
will choose common sense over piety and personal interest
over someone else’s philosophy. The self-righteous are not
changing our response, just getting in the way of decisions
we eventually will make on our own.
Besides, isn’t our greatest grievance not with drug publicity but
with drug pricing?
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OB/GYN
Study: Job Satisfaction And Med/Mal Issues
Detroit-area
OB/GYNs will soon be invited to participate in a research
study designed to assess the influence of medical liability
on the job satisfaction and clinical practice of obstetrical
providers (physicians and nurse-midwives) (project title “The
impact of medical liability on obstetrical care in Michigan”;
IRBMED# HUM00000435). Providers who may provide obstetrical
care to patients in the State of Michigan, including obstetrician-gynecologists,
family physicians and nurse-midwives, may be contacted
by mail/e-mail for participation in the study. Even if
you are not currently involved in obstetrical care, your
responses are still important to the study.
This study will help evaluate the medical liability climate in Michigan
and understand the implications for patient access to and quality
of obstetrical care. Participation in the study is completely voluntary,
and all information collected during the survey will be kept strictly
confidential.
If you have any questions regarding this study, please do not hesitate
to contact the research team at the University of Michigan headed
by:
Xiao Xu, PhD
Principal Investigator
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Michigan
L4000 Women’s Hospital
1500 E. Medical Center Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0276
Phone: (734) 930-5614
E-Mail: xiaox@med.umich.edu
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Survey
Says, Michigan Is Headed For Physician Shortage
BY PAUL NATINSKY
A recent survey of licensed
physicians in Michigan confirmed what had long been suspected:
Michigan is headed for a physician shortage. The study
was conducted by Lansing research group and think tank
Public Sector Consultants for the Michigan Department of
Community Health. Some of its findings forecasted an aging
physician workforce and physician practices that will soon
stop accepting new patients, especially those dependent
upon low-paying government health care plans.
The survey prompted MDCH to create the Michigan Healthcare Workforce
Center, a collaborative effort between MDCH, the Michigan Department
of Labor and Economic Growth, the Michigan Department of Human Services
and the Michigan Department of Education. The Center will establish
two Web sites at www.michigan.gov to promote careers in the health
professions and facilitate those who choose to pursue them.
The survey results are
sure to generate conversation on a number of fronts and
illuminated physician reaction to a number of hot-button
issues.
"The MDCH results show the continuing problems in Medicaid participation
and the realities of increased paperwork and decreased reimbursement," said
MSMS Executive Director Kevin Kelly in a statement.
The complete survey can be viewed at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Survey_of_Physicians_2005_147639_7.pdf. If
you have any observations you would like to share, please contact
us at info@wcmssm.org.
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Discussion
Group Works On 'Free Clinic' Idea
Representatives
from area free clinics met with WCMSSM physicians last
month to move forward on solutions to providing health
care to Detroit's uninsured population.
Spreading referrals evenly among physicians and finding an efficient
system to do so tops the group's early list of priorities. The Detroit
Wayne County Health Authority surfaced as a possible clearinghouse
for referrals.
Other front-and-center issues include who will provide diagnostic
tests such as x-rays; how pharmacy and medication issues will be
addressed; and how to coordinate care for very sick patients and
those who need surgery.
Attendees at the meeting included Cabrini Clinic, Detroit Community
Health Connection, Detroit Hope Hospital, Detroit Wayne County Health
Authority, MAPI Free Medical Clinic, Mercy Primary Care Center, NOAH
and St. John Community Health Center.
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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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Free
CME On Red Hot Issues Added To HOD Slate
During the 2006
MSMS House of Delegates meeting in Grand Rapids (April
28-30), physicians will have the opportunity to earn up
to 3.5 hours of Category I CME credit and learn about a
number of interesting topics during two afternoon sessions.
The programs are free and open to any MSMS member.
The popular MSMS Physician Issues Forum – which will take place 12:00-2:00
p.m. on Saturday, April 29 – will offer attendees the opportunity
to earn 1.5 hours of Category I CME credit. Topics and presenters
include:
• Future of Medicine Depends on Grassroots Political Participation – Darlene
Smith Medlock, South Carolina Medical Association Alliance. Ms. Medlock is the
2005 recipient of the AMA’s Belle Chenault Award for Political Participation.
She will explain the necessity for physicians and their spouses to become involved
in the issues impacting medicine including medical liability reform.
• Health Courts as an Alternative for
Determining Medical Liability – Paul J. Barringer, III, General Counsel
of Common Good. Mr. Barringer will review the goals of Common Good,
a bipartisan legal and health care reform coalition, including support
for health courts as an alternative for determining medical liability
litigation.
• MSMS Leading the Way to the Future of Medicine – John M. MacKeigan, MD, MSMS
Immediate Past President; Peter Pratt, Senior Vice President, Public Sector Consultants.
Doctor MacKeigan and Mr. Pratt will present the reasoning behind the MSMS Guiding
Principles for the Future of Medicine and Health Care and the next steps in creating
a better health care delivery system in Michigan.
Following the Physician Issues Forum will be another educational
session, “Evidence Based Medicine: Past Experiences, Present Practices
and Future Implications.” The session will be held from 2:30 p.m.
to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, and offers up to two additional
hours of Category I CME credit.
A free box lunch, sponsored
by American Physicians Assurance Corporation, is included
at the Physician Issues Forum. For details about either
educational session, contact Jeanne Miller at MSMS at
(517) 336-5731 or jkmiller@msms.org.
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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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Are
Your Colleagues Really Members?
BY
ADAM JABLONOWSKI, MPA
So, here we are in March and it’s time for the membership recruitment
blitz. While we recruit members year round, March is the highpoint
for recruiting. Since you are receiving this E-edition, you are a
member; but what I would like you to do is ask one of your colleagues
if he or she is a member. Often a physician tells me that he/she
is a member and has been for years. Later I discover that the membership
has lapsed. Try this approach, ask if he/she likes the new look of
the Detroit Medical News. If the response seems non-committal or
confused, I’m willing to bet that you are asking a non-member. May
I suggest the next step? Forward this e-mail edition of DMN
or hand them the monthly DMN magazine. Contacting arj@msms.org will
get them the information they need to be a member again. In order
to be effective we need every physician in the membership ranks of
WCMSSM, MSMS and the AMA. Thanks for your help.
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Bird
Flu Fears Result In Planning Meeting, Preparation Funds
BY PAUL NATINSKY
Reports are that bird flu
has reached the French domestic turkey population, prompting
fears of further spread to poultry in Europe and worldwide
preparations to deal with infected birds and potential
human cases of the virus. So far, the H5N1 strain of the
avian virus has been transmitted from infected birds to
people, but not from person to person. Some 92 people in
10 countries have died of the disease, reports the World
Health Organization, but public health officials fear a
pandemic if the virus develops the ability to move from
one human being to another.
A March 15 summit in Metro Detroit will put to work Michigan's $3
million share of the $100 million doled out to states by the federal
government. Preparations likely will include detection and quarantine
measures for infected birds and those suspected of having come into
contact with the virus as well as stockpiling of the antiviral drug,
Tamiflu, which can help reduce the effects of the virus. There is
no vaccine for bird flu. There have been no documented cases of the
avian flu in the United States.
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