|
|
|
Your Champion.
Your Cheerleader.
Your Voice.
| |
|
Sunday, March 2, 2025
AI Tips, Access to Care Award, State & Federal Issues Watch List,
and Medicaid Funding Alert
| |
|
EARLY CAREER PHYSICIAN
TIPS FROM COFFEE & KVETCH
| |
|
This week, early career physicians gathered for an open discussion about their experiences in medicine. A major topic was the role of AI in clinical practice, research, and administration.
Here are some key insights:
-
Freed AI was highlighted for its ability to generate cohesive paragraphs from written notes.
- The Open Evidence app was discussed for providing precise and up-to-date medical information, helping physicians stay informed with the latest research and clinical guidelines.
- AI is proving useful for summarizing research, preparing lectures or talks, and drafting letters, including medical necessity letters and other routine documents.
As AI continues to evolve, physicians are finding practical ways to incorporate it into their workflows, reducing administrative burdens and enhancing productivity. Stay tuned for our next Early Career Physicians Coffee & Kvetch session, June 24th on Zoom from 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM.
| |
|
MAKING A DIFFERENCE BY
EXPANDING ACCESS TO CARE
| |
|
Honor a Non-Profit Making a Difference – Nominate Them for the 2025
Sewell Access to Care Award!
Do you know a local clinic or healthcare organization going above and beyond to ensure access to care for those in need? Now is your chance to recognize their impact!
Montgomery County Medical Society and the National Capital Physicians Foundation are accepting nominations for the 2025 Webster Sewell, M.D. Access to Care Award, honoring organizations that embody Dr. Sewell’s lifelong commitment to patient care access.
Past recipients include:
- RotaCare
- Primary Care Coalition
- Western Upper Montgomery County Help, Inc.
If you volunteer with or know of a non-profit dedicated to breaking down barriers to healthcare, nominate them today! Let’s celebrate the organizations making a real difference in our community.
Learn more about the award here. Nominations are open through April 1, 2025!
| |
STATE AND FEDERAL ISSUES WE ARE WATCHING | |
|
Please note: many of the federal decisions may be paused or overturned by the courts. We will update you accordingly in future issues of eNews.
STATE
-
Budget: Decisions to balance the state budget are ongoing. The state Senate now warns that additional cuts, possibly as much as $500 million, are possible. Read more.
-
Maryland Health Department says federal Medicaid portal is working, but there are concerns. Read more.
-
Public Health: With measles spreading, how protected in Maryland from measles outbreak? Read more.
FEDERAL
-
Medicaid Funding: A coalition of state medical societies, including MedChi, have sent letters to Congress asking them to protect Medicaid from proposed cuts. Read the letter here.
-
Workforce Reductions Across Federal Healthcare Agencies: The CDC, FDA, HHS, NIH, and the VA have laid off thousands of employees. As of this writing, a judge has deemed the terminations illegal but has not rescinded the terminations yet. Read more.
- Fired HHS civil servants, veterans fear for the future of US healthcare
- Trump is firing federal workers at FDA who are not funded by taxpayers
-
FDA cancels vaccine advisory committee meeting: The Food and Drug Administration canceled an upcoming vaccine advisory committee meeting to discuss influenza virus strains, according to committee member Paul Offit. The meeting was scheduled for March 13.
-
The Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, passed by Congress in 2022 in honor of a physician who died by suicide, aimed to support health care workers’ mental health needs. It expired last year, and Congress has yet to reauthorize it.
| |
CONTACT YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS | |
|
Tell Them to Protect Medicaid Payments! Ask them to support the Governor's Proposed FY2026 Budget and to reject any reduction to Medicaid E&M Payment Rates
The current FY2026 Budget proposal restores Medicaid E&M payment rates to over 100% of Medicare from 98% of Medicare. Medicaid enrollment has expanded to over 1.6 million Marylanders. We must maintain payments at the rate proposed in the Governor’s FY2026 budget for physicians to continue to provide care to Maryland’s most vulnerable populations and to help Maryland recruit and retain physicians.
| |
PROFESSIONAL & PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES | |
|
Please don't miss gifted speaker and clinician, Dr. Jeffrey LaPratt, March 7th at 11:30 AM discuss how to manage chronic suicidality in the outpatient setting. This lecture was specially developed for our Suicide Prevention Webinar Series funded by a generous grant from SAMSHA.
Use this link to register. If you do not have a Sheppard Pratt Account, you simply create one first. It offers 1.5 CEUs/CMEs for free.
| |
|
The Maryland Health Care Commission and MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society, invite you to attend a free virtual event:
Optimizing the Role of Patient and
Family Advisory Councils (PFACs)
March 14, 2025 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST
Register here.
Three presenters will define Patient and Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) and their role in health care, highlight key benefits and success stories, and share actionable strategies for effective implementation. We look forward to seeing you at the event!
Continuing Medical Education Credits: 1.0 - This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society (MedChi) and the Maryland Health Care Commission. MedChi is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
MedChi designates this virtual online educational activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity
| |
|
Texas measles outbreak marks first fatality as more cases reported - Stat News, February 26, 2025
A New Legal Standard for Medical Malpractice - JAMA, February 26, 2025
Telemedicine Adoption and Low-Value Care Use and Spending Among Fee-for-Service Medicare Beneficiaries - JAMA Internal Medicine, February 24, 2025
Claims Adjudication Costs Providers $25.7 Billion - $18 Billion is Potentially Unnecessary Expense - Premier, Inc, February 26, 2025
An ENT hospitalist boosts care coordination - Today's Hospitalist, February 2025
CMS data: Medicare Advantage enrollment growth hits skids - Fierce Healthcare, February 26, 2025
2024 Immun-Insights: Empowering Physicians to Strengthen Immunization Rates - Atlantic Health Partners
Women Physicians Die by Suicide 1.5 Times More than Women In General Population - JAMA Psychiatry, February 26, 2025
Johns Hopkins bet big on federal funding. The losses could now be $200 million a year. - Baltimore Banner, February 28, 2025
| |
Montgomery County Medical Society’s Physician Connect partnership program provides physicians with valuable personal and professional resources that help them thrive, while offering businesses opportunities to develop quality leads and strategic connections with practice decision-makers. | |
|
This edition of eNews is brought to you by Physician Connect Strategic Partner Peake Technology Partners. Technology is often a liability for medical practices working to offer quality care and grow their organization. PEAKE's proven methodology for healthcare IT turns technology from a liability into an asset, creating a pathway for growing medical practices to achieve operational efficiency, expand their business and care for more patients. For more information please contact Chris Knotts at cknotts@peaketechnology.com or by phone at (410) 703-3375. | |
|
Is the Cloud Inherently Unsafe? The Truth About Cloud Security in Healthcare
If you manage a medical practice, you've likely heard about the Change Healthcare cyberattack in early 2024. Change Healthcare processes about 40% of all medical claims in the country, and the breach potentially exposed patient data for up to a third of Americans.
This devastating attack has many practice managers wondering—Is the cloud inherently unsafe?
The good news is that cloud technology itself isn't the problem.
The real risk stems from inadequate security measures. Your practice can safely leverage the cloud—you just need the right strategies to protect your patients' data.
Let's explore what this means for your practice.
Read the full article here.
| | |
|
CLASSIFIEDS:
Access Local Practice Sales, Leases, Equipment, Job Postings, and more!
| |
| | | |
