From the Legislative Council | | | | | |
Join the Washington County Medical Society on Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Dine at Café Del Sol East, 1130 Conrad Court, Hagerstown, MD, 21740 at 5:30 PM. Greet your colleagues and enjoy good company! RSVP to Cathy Peters @ cpeters@medchi.org.
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Join MPHP for a free CME event on April 16th
Join MPHP for a virtual lecture with Dr. Jill Star, PhD "Addressing Stigma Associated with Mental Health and SUDs within the Healthcare Professions and Community". this is a virtual CME lecture free of charge occurring April 16th, 2025, from 6-7:30 PM. Register Here.
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Charles County Medical Society Meeting, Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Dr. Richard Cook, President of the Charles County Medical Society, invites physicians for dinner at the Prime Street Grill at 5:30 PM. There will be an updated presentation on the PDMP and Substance Abuse, by Colleen George. CME is available. Please join us for dining, education and networking! RSVP by April 23 to Cathy Peters. cpeters@medchi.org.
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The Advancing Practice Transformation (APT) Program is a unique opportunity for physician practices to receive personalized guidance and support from a dedicated MedChi Care Transformation Organization practice coach
This program is designed to help you collect, analyze, and utilize patient data in a way that enhances both your practice's efficiency and patient care. With tailored coaching, workflow redesign support, and training on risk assessment screening and stratification, the APT Program ensures you have the knowledge needed to drive meaningful change. Best of all, it's completely complimentary!
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact Alyssa Mills at 410-878-9689 or via email at amills@medchi.org. We look forward to your participation and hope you take this opportunity to transform your practice for the better!
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In response to AMA advocacy urging CMS to hold physicians harmless from Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) penalties as a result of the nationwide IV fluid shortage and to reopen the MIPS Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances (EUC) hardship exception, the agency announced that it will accept new applications to avoid a MIPS penalty. We greatly appreciate CMS for recognizing that physicians and their patients continue to face hardships due to the nationwide shortage of IV fluids exacerbated by Hurricane Helene in September 2024 and a severe winter respiratory season leading to lower supply and increased demand for these drug products.
Physicians will be able to submit an EUC hardship exception application between March 31, 2025, and April 14, 2025, to avoid a MIPS penalty of up to -9% if they were affected by the shortage. This hardship exception will apply to the 2024 performance period, which will adjust Medicare payments in 2026. To avoid a MIPS penalty, physicians who were affected by the IV fluid shortage should submit an EUC application requesting reweighting of all four MIPS categories – quality, cost, promoting interoperability, and improvement activities. Note that CMS will not reweight any performance category for which the agency has received data. However, if three performance categories are reweighted to 0% and only one performance category can be scored, then the physician or group will earn a final score equal to the performance threshold and avoid a MIPS penalty. Additionally, because the MIPS cost performance category relies entirely on claims-based measures that do not require submission from physicians or groups, we recommend requesting reweighting of this category if a physician or group needed to conserve IV fluids, use alternatives, restrict access to elective surgery or take any other measures due to the nationwide IV fluid shortage. In addition, CMS is extending the MIPS data submission window for the 2024 performance period for two weeks from March 31, 2025, until April 14, 2025, at 8 pm ET. Click here for more.
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MedChi Member Dan Morhaim Featured in Baltimore Banner
To read Dr. Morhaim's letter, Hospitals need adequate staff to keep patients safe , click here.
| | | Opportunities for Members | | | | | |
Endocrinology Position Available at Concierge Practice in Howard County
Part time or full-time position for an endocrinologist in an established Endocrinology / Primary Care concierge practice located in Columbia, Maryland. For more information, please email info@barrylance.com or call 443. 286-3166. Website: drbarrylance.com. READ MORE: https://www.drbarrylance.com/
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MedChi Surveys for Maryland Vaccine Policies
MedChi is conducting a survey to assess how vaccine policies affect Maryland physicians’ ability to provide care. We are examining the impact of shared clinical decision-making (SCDM) recommendations on vaccine uptake. We ask that you take 5 minutes of your time to share your experience! Click Here to Take Our Survey.
SCDM is a vaccine recommendation option used by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a sub-committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While routine vaccine recommendations apply universally to certain age groups, SCDM requires a discussion between physicians and patients – this can decrease vaccine rates and put our community at higher risk for infection. Your insights are crucial to help us understand how SCDM impacts physicians and patients in Maryland.
We want to learn more about how SCDM recommendations impact you and your patients. Click below to take the survey today – it should take no longer than 5 minutes. Take The 5-Minute Survey Today!
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MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society
800.492.1056 • www.medchi.org
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