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IN THIS ISSUE
Compliance Calendar: Is Yours Up to Date?

May 4: Education, Advice, & A Celebration of Medicine



MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Wednesday, April 19
CME: PDMP Update
Thursday, April 20
Webinar: MACRA/QPP Update

Tuesday, April 25
Practice Management Update: 
Save the Date! 

Thursday, May 4
Educational Conference 
11:30 AM - 5 PM

Resources Reception
5 PM - 7 PM

General Membership Meeting & Installation of Officers
7 PM

RESOURCE OF THE WEEK

The Well-Being Index is a validated screening tool to evaluate fatigue, depression, burnout, anxiety/stress, and mental/physical quality of life.  It helps to understand how you compare to your peers. The website also includes resources for physicians. 

The index was developed through a rigorous process with multi-step validation in >18,000 working U.S. adults.  Evidence indicates that the index is useful not only for identifying working U.S. adults in distress, but also for identifying those whose degree of distress places them at risk for adverse consequences (e.g. burnout, intent to leave their current job, and/or suicidal ideation). Index scores also correlate with quality of life and fatigue. 

CONNECT WITH US
The MCMS mission is to be  the foremost physician organization to advocate for and serve physicians, their medical practices, and their patients in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Compliance Calendar: Is Yours Up to Date?Calendar
Ambulatory providers in Maryland should be aware of a number of new requirements and deadlines over the coming months. Here's what we have highlighted on our calendars.  Click here for a printable version.

License Renewals & Background Checks
October 1, 2016
  • State Board of Physicians applicants and licensees are required to submit to Criminal History Records Checks (CHRCs), including fingerprinting, as a qualification for licensure.
  • Creates new grounds for disciplinary action if a licensee fails to submit to a required CHRC.
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP)
July 1, 2017
  • Practitioners authorized to prescribe CDS in Maryland must be registered with the PDMP.
  • This applies to physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, dentists, podiatrists and veterinarians. This mandate does not apply to nurses.
  • Providers get free, online access through Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP.)
  • Prescribers may delegate healthcare staff to obtain CRISP user accounts and query PDMP data on their behalf.
July 1, 2018
  • Prescribers must, with some exceptions, query and review their patient's PDMP data prior to initially prescribing an opioid or benzodiazepine AND at least every 90 days thereafter as long as the course of treatment continues to include prescribing an opioid and benzodiazepine.
  • Prescribers must also document the PDMP data query and review in the patient's medical record.
Quality Payment Program (MIPS/APM)
March 31, 2018
  • Providers are part of a Quality Payment Program in 2017 if in an Advanced APM or if they bill Medicare more than $30,000 a year AND provide care for more than 100 Medicare patients a year. Both the billing and the patient number thresholds must be met to be in the program.
  • Performance data can be collected anytime between January 1, 2017 and October 2, 2017. This data must be submitted by March 31, 2018.
  • The first payment adjustments based on performance go into effect on January 1, 2019. Please note that payment adjustments can be positive OR negative!
May 4: Education, Advice, and a Celebration of MedicineMay4
We asked you what your practice's greatest challenges are, and the results are in! Join us on May 4 to hear about payors dictating healthcare, getting paid, managing practice finances, compliance concerns, and staffing issues.
Please join us for a celebration of medicine in Montgomery County and to witness the changing of the guard as Dr. Lynne Diggs passes the gavel to Dr. Natasha Herz. Special Guest Governor Larry Hogan is invited to attend. In addition to celebrating your new Executive Board, we take this opportunity to acknowledge our new members, 25- and 40-year members, and recipients of President's Awards. We'll see you on May 4!
Repairing "Difficult" Patient-Clinician RelationshipsRelationships
Using a case example,  AMA Journal of Ethics
contributors  Denise M. Dudzinski, PhD, MTS, and Carrol Alvarez, MS, RN  offer guidance for improving "difficult" clinician-patient relationships. These relationships may be repaired by acknowledging a clinician's part in conflict, empathizing with patients, identifying a patient's skill deficits, and employing communication and engagement techniques used by mental health professionals. Clinicians will inevitably take on more of the work of repairing damaged relationships, but doing so improves the odds of these patients receiving the help they need.   Read the full article.
CME: A Must-Attend for Controlled Substances Prescriberspmupdate
- Register -
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program registration is required for CDS prescribers by July 1, 2017.   Join us on April 19 at 6 PM to learn from Colleen George, Director of the MedChi Center for the Private Practice of Medicine, how to register for the PDMP, and what the new requirement will mean for your practice.  
Atlantic Health Partners: Your Flu & Vaccine Partner!vaccine
Atlantic Health Partners is the nation's leading vaccine buying group and works with many of our members.  Atlantic offers MCMS practices the most favorable terms for Sanofi and Seqirus flu products, and can help you plan for flu season.

They also provide the best pricing for the complete range of Merck and Sanofi vaccines for members.  Working with Atlantic will improve your ability to effectively and efficiently provide immunizations to your patients and strengthen your practice performance.

Contact Atlantic: 
- 800.741.2044 
Montgomery County Medical Society    |   info@montgomerymedicine.org  |    301.921.4300