Urgent Care Relationships for CHA Patients
Over the past few months, CHA patients have gained new options for urgent care services. In August, Beth Israel Deaconess opened an urgent care at their
Chelsea Health Center. At the same time, CHA became affiliated with
CareWell Urgent Care, which has locations in both Cambridge and Somerville.
When patients are sick or injured, we encourage them to start with their CHA primary care team or visit a CHA Emergency Room for true emergencies. But as many patients are already using urgent care for convenience or when their primary care team is not available, it made sense for us to enhance our network to meet patient preferences and needs.
With these relationships in place, patients can get the right care, at the right time, in an appropriate setting - with partner organizations who share their medical records with us. We hope this will result in more coordinated care and better support for patients who seek urgent care but need follow-up in primary care or with our specialists.
Please see the
attached FAQ for more details about CHA's new urgent care relationships.
Hand Clinic Coming to Malden in December
 As we continue to work on increasing access to MCREW patients, we are excited to share that Dr.
Deborah Mulley will be providing regular hand services at CHA Malden starting in January on Fridays and at Assembly Square on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mondays and Wednesdays will be dedicated to surgical procedures.
To gain the upper hand on the official January opening, Dr. Mulley will offer an initial hand clinic on
December 22, 2017.
CHA providers can place an order in EPIC or can call today for an appointment (617-665-1566). "There is an identified need for these services in MCREW which CHA has responded to", says Linda Coultas, Sr. Director, Surgery, Orthopedics and Rehab.
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CHA Recognized by American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer
This accreditation is awarded to cancer programs that have made a commitment to high quality, comprehensive and multidisciplinary patient-centered care.
CHA is surveyed every three years and evaluated in 36 specific compliance areas.
 "CoC accreditation is bestowed on comprehensive cancer programs around the country that meet rigorous standards for multidisciplinary care," says Lisa Weissmann, MD, CHA Division Chief of Hematology and Oncology. "This recognition signifies that CHA has met or exceeded all these standards and that patients can be assured that the cancer care they receive is the highest level."
 "It is important to point out that there are
different cancer program categories under the ACOS," says
Heidi Rayala, MD, PhD, CHA Urologic Surgeon and CHA Cancer Committee Chair. "Our accreditation as a Community Cancer Program aligns perfectly with CHA's community-based mission; serving a
patient population with a variety of healthcare barriers such as unpredictable work hours, different cultural backgrounds, an unfamiliarity with the US medical system, as well as mental health barriers. All of these obstacles can be especially challenging for patients diagnosed with cancer."
The Work of the CHA Cancer Committee
"The CHA Cancer Committee has focused efforts on helping our unique patient population navigate the complicated and sometimes overwhelming world of cancer screening, prevention and ultimately treatment," explains Dr. Rayala.
"This past year, we worked with patients and community groups to develop and disseminate culturally-sensitive, language-specific educational tools on colon and prostate cancer. We've also implemented a Psychosocial Distress Screening (Distress Thermometer) for newly diagnosed cancer patients to identify people in need of extra support as they go through treatment. Our amazing group of Social Workers reach out to patients with high distress scores and help guide them toward needed services. We have also found that CHA patients are diagnosed at later stages of cancer when compared to surrounding communities. So we continue to develop system-based approaches to help prevent late-stage cancer presentation.
New projects this coming year include developing guidelines and tools for mammogram shared-decision making. We are also looking to better understand the psychosocial stressors that are unique to our patient population so that we can better tailor the services we provide."
Endocrine e-Consults Prove Beneficial
  In January 2017, CHA began allowing Primary Care clinicians to request an electronic consult for Endocrinology, expanding access in this high-demand specialty. During the pilot phase of the program, providers at CHA Malden and CHA Cambridge Family Health were able to submit an Epic referral for a consult along with specific clinical questions. CHA Endocrinologist, Henry He, MD, the lead physician for the pilot, responds to requests to help guide clinical decisions in the primary care setting.
According to Melanie Brunt, MD, Chief of Endocrinology, "Now that the program is almost a year old we have found that primary care providers appreciate the rapid access to endocrinology consultation. It has decreased wait times until advice can be obtained from endocrinology, and has enabled a conversation about what can be done in advance of the visit to help make the in-person endocrinology consult as efficient and as helpful as possible to the patient."
"It is a significant improvement in care," says Brian Green, MD, Primary Care Regional Medical Director. "The patients receive more rapid feedback, and the service also helps us as primary care providers to improve our own clinical skills."
"This has streamlined the old 'curbside consult' requests," says Joel Sawady, MD, Medical Director at Cambridge Family Health/North. "I now get timely, action-oriented help for my patients with endocrine issues just beyond my knowledge base. I also learn from the experience! I appreciate having the input of the endocrinologists, without having to make the patient go to a visit and without feeling like I have to ask a personal favor."
Guidelines for e-consults
- Please do not use e-consults for urgent cases
- E-consults will not replace in person consults where needed
- Responses provided within 5 business days (though we strive for more timely responses)
- E-consult recommendations are based on limited patient information. Thus, specialist consults are meant to guide the PC clinician. The specialist is not be responsible for execution of the recommendation
E-consults in Endocrinology are not a new phenomenon, but are proving effective in improving access. CHA's Department of Medicine is committed to improving the timeliness of specialty care and plans on piloting e-consults for all Medical Specialties over the next few years.
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Save the Date: Annual Chalfen Lecture on Public Health - December 20, 2017
CHA holds an informative lecture every year in honor of Dr. Melvin Chalfen, former Commissioner of Health for the City of Cambridge. This year's speaker will be
Dr. Ichiro Kawachi from the T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health.
Dr. Kawachi is the John L. Loeb and Frances Lehman Loeb Professor of Social Epidemiology and Chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Topic:
Income Inequality and Population Health
When:
Wednesday, December 20, 2017, 8:00-9:00 am
Where: CHA Cambridge Hospital, Macht Auditorium, 2nd Floor
Videocast available at Broadway, East Cambridge, Everett, Revere, Somerville Hospital Primary Care, Windsor Street and CHA Everett West One Conference Rooms.
Gender and Sexuality Clinic Referrals
Last month's specialty newsletter highlighted the new Gender and Sexuality Clinic at CHA.
This clinic provides clinical services for any CHA patient wanting a consultation or evaluation with the possibility of ongoing treatment to address questions and concerns around gender and sexuality.
To make a referral
, just complete an order in Epic to the Child/Adolescent Psychiatry Ambulatory Service (please note, all ages are served). In the "comments" section, type in Gender and Sexuality Clinic.
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Welcome to our Newest Staff
Michael Metzmaker, PA, recently joined our Department of Orthopaedics and will be working primarily with Dr. Bill Lipman. Michael is a graduate of the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions who has prior experience as both a medical assistant and in the non-profit sector.
Alex Adler, PsyD, is a new addition to our Adult Outpatient Psychology team. He is a graduate of William James College in Newton, MA who completed his post-doctoral Fellowship at the Cambridge Eating Disorder Center. For the past several years he has been working as a Psychotherapist at the North Shore Medical Center Department of Psychiatry in Lynn.
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Newsletter Archives
Click here for the full list of CHA Specialty Update Newsletters.
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