E-DMN - January 7, 2008

January 7, 2008

WSUSOM Strengthens Research, Education
AMA Promotes Agenda In New Hampshire
Liability Rate Drop Shows Reform Is Working
Medicare Cutes Posponed, More Work Ahead
Maternal Perinatal Health Conference
Revised Blues Contracts, What Docs Need To Know
Dr. Adelman's Art On Exhibit This Week

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WSUSOM Strengthens Research, Education

The program, under the direction of Patrick Bridge, Ph.D., assistant dean for Evaluation, Student Information and Education Research, seeks to improve teaching and education research by having participants learn education and research strategies.

“The applicants are actually studying the theory behind education and medical education research,” Dr. Bridge explained. “They are receiving access to medical education research. They learn how to teach, how to evaluate curricula, and educational theory.”

Twenty faculty members applied for the inaugural program’s five openings. The finalists were selected by the Medical Education Research Leadership Committee. All enrollees are junior faculty members at the assistant professor level. They are educators, though they may have not received formal education in teaching.

The applicants receive $11,000 in salary support for their commitment to the one-year training program. Training consists of two half-days per month for education research seminars. The participants must also develop and present an educational research project identified through the process. Dr. Bridge said his goal is that the projects become published articles.

The program was championed by Robert R. Frank, M.D., executive vice dean, and is now a key component of Vision 2011, Dean and Senior Advisor to the President for Medical Affairs Robert M. Mentzer Jr.’s plan for the School of Medicine.

“Dean Frank and Dean Mentzer had the foresight to see that this instruction would strengthen the faculty, which in turn, will help develop stronger students and physicians,” Dr. Bridge said.

The program, which launched in September, will be continued next year, said Dr. Bridge, who hopes its success serves as a catalyst for permanent continuation.

The enrollees -- from Surgery, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Genetics and Family Medicine -- have praised both the program and the instructors. Dr. Bridge said the five students have provided “extremely positive” feedback via immediate evaluations of each session and each presenter.

The real test, Dr. Bridge, said, will come through evaluations of the outcomes, including more effective teaching and securing grants.

Application for the next cycle of training will begin in May 2008. The program starts in September. Ideal candidates should have an M.D., Ph.D. or M.S. degree and a faculty appointment with the School of Medicine. When the Medical Education Research Leadership Committee selects enrollees, it considers the applicants’ education responsibilities, personal goals toward enhancing their careers in medical education research, and support from the department chair.

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AMA Promotes Agenda In New Hampshire

The American Medical Association in recent weeks has promoted a health care proposal in New Hampshire as the state presidential primary nears, the Nashua Telegraph reports.

The proposal would provide vouchers or tax credits to help uninsured U.S. residents purchase health insurance as part of an effort to expand coverage to all residents. In addition, thin e proposal would seek to provide all residents with a choice of portable health plans. It also would offer health insurers financial incentives to cover high-risk residents and encourage residents to seek health insurance before they develop serious illnesses.

AMA board member Joseph Annis said, "Everyone should have health insurance. Be able to choose it. Take it state to state," adding, "This is controversial, clearly. There's no question about it."

AMA does not endorse specific presidential candidates but has asked residents to vote for candidates based on their support for the proposal. Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured -- which includes AMA and 15 other health care organizations, such as AARP, the American Hospital Association and America's Health Insurance Plans -- released the proposal last January (Smith, Nashua Telegraph, 1/3).

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Liability Rate Drop Signals Tort Reform Is Working

A clear indication that Michigan’s 1993 tort reforms are working is that the state’s largest physician medical liability insurer is cutting its premiums by 12 to 25 percent for Wayne County physicians. The average decrease for all physicians in Wayne County will be 13 percent this year, according to American Physicians Assurance Corporation. Statewide, American Physicians’ malpractice insurance rates will be reduced by an average of 6.5 percent in 2008. MSMS members also receive an additional three percent discount from American Physicians. For more information or to receive a quote, contact the MSMS Physicians Insurance Agency at 877-PIA-ASK-US (742-2758) or msmsagency@msms.org.

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Medicare Cuts Postponed, More Work Ahead

In the waning hours of the 2007 legislative session, the US Congress passed and the President signed a law that postponed for six months the projected 10 percent cut to Medicare physician payments that was slated to occur on January 1. The law replaces the cut with a 0.5 percent increase from January to June. The law also authorizes an additional 1.5 percent for Medicare physician quality reporting initiative (PQRI) activities through December 31. For more information, visit www.msms.org/medicare, or contact MSMS Executive Director Kevin A. Kelly at 517-336-5742 or kkelly@msms.org.

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Maternal Perinatal Health Conference

The annual MSMS Conference on Maternal & Perinatal Health will take place from 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, at The Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth. The conference will provide attendees with new and evolving information about contemporary issues in maternal-fetal-perinatal-neonatal care and neonatal/perinatal medicine. Primary Care Update will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 16, at MSMS Headquarters in East Lansing. Presentations will include Immunization Update, Childhood Obesity, HPV Vaccinations, and Psychiatric Evaluation in the Primary Care Office. To register, visit www.msms.org/eo or contact the MSMS Registrar at 517-336-5784 or abatten@msms.org.

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Revised Blues Contracts, What Docs Need To Know

Participating physicians should have received revised participation agreements for the Blue Cross Traditional and TRUST (PPO) networks. Following a request to have input about the language contained in the contracts, MSMS and MOA were given an unprecedented opportunity to seek clarification and to recommend alternative language. For most physicians, a signature is not required to continue participation under contracts (Upper Peninsula physicians are required to sign and return the contract), but physicians who choose to terminate either contract must notify Blue Cross before March 1. For more information, visit www.msms.org/yourpractice or contact Julie Novak at 517-336-5768 or jnovak@msms.org.

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Dr. Adelman's Art On Exhibit This Week

LAWRENCE STREET GALLERY JANUARY EXHIBITION:

SUSAN HERSHBERG ADELMAN - ‘CONTRASTS’

Show Dates : January 9 - February 2, 2008

Opening Reception (public Invited) , Fri.,Jan.11, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

New Gallery hours are Wed, Thurs, Sat, Noon - 5. Fri, Noon - 9

Location: Lawrence Street Gallery is at 22620 Woodward, Ferndale (East side of

Woodward, two blocks south of 9 Mile.

Telephone 248-544-0394, or visit us at www.lawrencestreetgallery.com

Susan Hershberg Adelman, MD, displays her latest work, both jewelry and paintings, at the Lawrence Street Gallery for the month of January. She is a woman with many interests and prodigious talents. Dr. Adelman practiced pediatric surgery for 28 years at hospitals in Detroit and Ann Arbor, as well as serving on many hospital committees and boards, and was the first woman president of the Michigan State Medical Society and the Wayne State Medical Society and was a trustee of the American Medical Association. She has maintained her interest in art and jewelry making and, since 2002, has devoted herself to these pursuits.

The following is excerpted from her artist statement:

“This show has grown from my travels and exploration of the world around me. I have been fascinated with portraiture, with nature and with cityscapes.

"My artistic vision has evolved ever since I spent my childhood collecting 'pretty stones.' In college I majored in geology. I thought this would prepare me for making jewelry, but what it actually taught me was an awe of the earth’s structure and patterns. Medical school and my 30-year career in surgery taught me anatomy and my teacher Zubel Kachadoorian helped me to integrate this knowledge into my painting.

"Later, my travels around the world and intensive study of several religions impressed me with our cultural and spiritual interconnectedness. Such disparate activities as observing artisans in India, learning Arabic and Hebrew, collecting jewelry worldwide and admiring Japanese calligraphy have continued to enrich my art.

"My paintings, jewelry and sculptures well up out of hidden places. Often I realize the source only after I see the finished piece. Very often I uncover later a meaning that I never consciously intended. It seems to me that I have been on a lifelong journey to find patterns in life; I believe that my artistic work is a continuation of that quest.”

Dr. Adelman has shown in many exhibitions and has work in both private and public collections.

This publication brought to you by Natinsky Publishing Network.

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