ASAP e-newsletter: Sept. 4, 2024

Brigitta Robinson, MD, to be new president-elect, AMA delegation re-elected

Thank you to all CMS members who voted in the 2024 CMS Leadership Election. Your voice matters, and thanks to your engagement, the results are in! Congratulations: your new president-elect is Brigitta Robinson, MD, a longtime leader in organized medicine and current member of the Colorado Delegation to the American Medical Association. She will be sworn in during the September 2025 Annual Meeting.

Dr. Robinson says there are three things she will focus on as CMS president: Increasing AMA membership, decreasing the barriers for practicing medicine and improving mental health access. "While these are certainly national issues, I would like to focus on Colorado, and find solutions to lead the rest of the country by example."

Congratulations, also, to the re-elected Colorado delegation to the American Medical Association: David Downs, MD; Mark Johnson, MD, MPH; Rachelle Klammer, MD; and A. Lee Morgan, MD.

There is still time to register for the CMS Annual Meeting

There is still space to register for the 154th Annual Meeting, next weekend -- Sept. 13-14 -- in Breckenridge. Celebrate Colorado physicians and your contributions to medicine during this fun weekend.

Rooms are sold out at our host hotel, but may be available at other properties within Vail Resorts or outside of their system. To reach Vail Resorts reservations, call 855-948-0690 and follow the prompts to The Village at Breckenridge. Provide the group code (BBRCMS24) or group name (Colorado Medical Society 2024 Annual Meeting) and date for check-in for availability at this and neighboring properties.

Registrants: Watch for a know-before-you-go email coming soon to your inbox!

View the digital event program here!

Call to action: Mightier than measles

Measles outbreaks are surging nationally and around the world. Already this year in the United States, there have been more than three times as many measles cases than in all of 2023. Cases have been reported in more than 27 jurisdictions, including a large outbreak in Chicago. Approximately 85% of these cases were in people who were unvaccinated or of unknown vaccination status, and 49% of these cases have been hospitalized. Vaccination rates in many Colorado communities fall well below the community immunity threshold needed to protect our communities from measles.

Health care providers continue to be families’ most trusted source of vaccine information, even for families who are vaccine-hesitant or delaying vaccination. You can watch the recording and view the slides from the August 29 webinar presented by subject matter experts from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). During the webinar, CDPHE reviewed Colorado’s vaccination rates, strategic activities to increase immunization coverage, and efforts providers can adopt within their practice.

For questions about the Mightier than Measles campaign or immunizations in general, email the Immunization Branch at CDPHE at cdphe.dcdimmunizations@state.co.us.

Questions about vaccinations for school-age children? Attend a Sept. 25 webinar

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Education, National Association of School Nurses, and Alliance for a Healthier Generation will host a webinar on Sept. 25 from 1-2:30 p.m.: “Vaccinations for School-Age Children: Opportunities for Health Promotion, Collaboration, and Family Engagement!” This webinar will provide attendees an overview of current trends in national kindergarten vaccination coverage, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) vaccination recommendations for K-12 students, evidence-based strategies and promising practices for strengthening vaccination coverage, and the role of the school nurse as a community leader in health promotion. Register here.

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Dues season is coming; thank you in advance for renewing your membership!

Dues invoices for Colorado Medical Society members for individual physicians and practices who have opted into group billing are on their way to you or your billing manager! All invoices are due Dec. 31, 2024 for the membership period ending Dec. 31, 2025. Pay early to ensure you have no disruption in benefits through the end of 2025 -- especially if you are Copic insured and benefit from a significant discount in medical liability insurance! If you have updates to your contact information or billing contact, please contact our membership department at 720-859-1001 or membership@cms.org.

Modernizing our dues structure to remain a strong CMS

The Colorado Medical Society Board of Directors, working with staff, took action this summer to ensure the continued strength of our organization by modernizing CMS’s membership categories and dues structure. In the latest issue of Colorado Medicine, CMS Treasurer Hap Young, MD, explains how these changes -- which take effect starting with the 2025 dues year -- will provide greater flexibility and better meet the needs of Colorado’s evolving physician demographics and marketplace. Read more here.

The Colorado Pain Society invites you to our 7th Annual Chronic Pain Conference, Oct. 11-13, 2024, in Vail, Colo., at The Hythe

Live-streaming; Live or virtual attendance; No-cost virtual option for Colorado PCPs.

This will be a CME event (up to 16 CME credits), including 5 MATE credits towards DEA license renewal requirements, for physicians of all specialties, advanced practice providers (APPs), psychologists and others interested in pain management. The Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention is sponsoring a virtual primary care attendance opportunity (16 CME credits) at no cost (for PCPs only), working in conjunction with Medical Education Resources and Colorado Pain Society. Virtual streaming will be available for live and virtual attendees including lecture access for 7 days post-conference.

Thanks to our Partners in Medicine

View all Partners here

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has some major provisions that will affect all Medicare Beneficiaries in 2025, specifically when it comes to their Part D prescription Drug coverage. During this CMS Partner in Medicine Lunch and Learn, Pepple Insurance will review what those changes are and how it will impact your patients – what you can do to help them understand their options and what resources they have to make sure they have the best plan for next year. It's normal to see about 14% of the Medicare population change plans during the Annual Enrollment Period (Oct. 15-Dec. 7); Pepple Insurance anticipates 60% will need to change plans as a result of this new legislation set to take effect.

Job board

Do you have a position open at your practice? Space to sub-let? Selling your practice? Place a job board or classified ad with CMS! CMS members receive the first month free. Contact debra_will@cms.org for more information!

Upcoming CMS meetings and events

All Colorado Medical Society committee meetings and events are open to all CMS members and you are welcome to attend! All are held via Zoom unless otherwise noted. Find a full list of events here: cms.org/events. Questions? Contact membership@cms.org.

CMS Annual Meeting (in person) - Sept. 13-14, 2024 at the Village at Breckenridge; register

Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (virtual) - Saturday, Sept. 14, 2-3 p.m. Email kate_alfano@cms.org to register

Committee on Physician Wellbeing (virtual) - Tuesday, Sept. 17, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Email kate_alfano@cms.org to register

Registration is required for most meetings; non-members or those unable to be identified at the time of virtual meetings may be removed. Unsure if you are a CMS member? Contact membership@cms.org.

Let's connect!

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