UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - August 4, 2026/CLINICAL | | |
Table of Contents
Message from the Chair
Upcoming Events
Focus of the Week - Clinical
Announcements
Publications and Presentations
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Resources
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Message from the Chair
M. Diane McKee, MD, MS, Professor and Chair,
UMass Memorial Ledwith Chair in Family and Community Medicine
I want to acknowledge an incredible step forward for family medicine and primary care in Massachusetts. As noted by Ron Adler and Manju Mahajan in a separate communication last week, the Massachusetts House passed landmark primary care legislation!
Details of next steps to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill can be found here (https://conta.cc/4c7dAwg). In addition to adoption of advanced primary care payment models and increasing statewide primary care spending over the next few years, there are provisions to support CHCs and $25 million for primary care pathways.
I want to also take a moment to thank Wayne Altman for his leadership, passion, and above all persistence to make this happen. And of course, enormous thanks to the leadership of the Mass Academy of Family Physicians, in particular our own Ron Adler and Manju Mahajan, for the tireless advocacy.
And importantly, efforts over many years to educate our legislators about the importance of family medicine have paid off two fold. Taken together, there is meaningful progress toward sustainability of practice, and via the $10 million in scholarships support, the student pipeline. Two sessions are planned (see below under Upcoming Events) for faculty input as we quickly work to make sure that we step up support for students interested in family medicine as the scholarship program gets going. Please join either session if you can.
I know you all share my pride for family medicine and the incredible work of our colleagues. I hope everyone can enjoy the remainder of the summer with time for family and friends.
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Upcoming Events
FM Scholarship Program Planning:
Jeanne Cawse-Lucas is convening several meetings to plan how our department will support the students who elect the new state funding for tuition and fee support, match in FM, and practice in the state. If you want to join the conversation, there are two meetings scheduled:
- Tuesday, August 4 at 4PM
- Monday, August 10 at 12PM/noon
The zoom link for both is found below or contact Linda.Cragin@umassmed.edu if you want a calendar invite.
https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/3971147218?pwd=NmJoaThZczc1MGJMMUlMZWpCSG1BZz09&omn=91911196427&from=addon
SAVE the DATE - FMCH Grand Rounds
Annual Steven L. Putterman Memorial Lecture. A hybrid event scheduled for Tuesday, September 29th, 12:00-1:00pm, will be presented by guest speaker Michael A. Curry, Esq., President & CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.
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Focus of the Week - Clinical
Jeanne Cawse-Lucas, MD, Executive Vice Chair of Education
Executive Vice Chair Update:
In the new role of executive vice chair opens an opportunity to synergize clinical and educational leadership. For the past two years as vice chair for education, I have had the privilege to work in many of our ambulatory settings, both in my own clinical practice at White City Plaza (formerly Benedict) and as a rotating preceptor at Barre, Hahnemann, Fitchburg, and Family Health Center of Worcester. In the executive VC role, I will be leading departmental efforts in ambulatory care and continue collaborating with our learners, educators, and clinical leaders.
I hope to provide regular, clinically useful updates in Tuesday Talk; if you have ideas for how this space can be more useful or updates that we can share here, please don't hesitate to reach out. Meanwhile, I’ve included a silly picture of my stethoscope, which was blinged for me by a patient. It makes me a walking disco ball when the light is right!
From Pankaj Ksheersagar and Jason Numbers who are working with several students this summer on a community health assistantship:
Hi Team,
We need your input!
We're working to improve how we communicate transitions of care and standardize our discharge summaries to ensure they are clear, consistent, and provide the information you need to deliver the best possible care after patients leave the hospital. Better discharge communication can lead to smoother transitions, fewer misunderstandings, and ultimately better outcomes for our patients. We want your lives to be easier, and for you to have confidence that your patients receive excellent care while in the hospital. To help shape this effort, we've created a short 5-minute survey. Your insights and experiences are essential in helping us design a discharge summary that works for everyone.
✅ Please take a few minutes to complete the survey:
Improving Transitions of Care - PCP Survey – Fill out form
Every response helps us move closer to a standardized approach that improves communication, enhances collaboration, and supports high-quality patient care. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and for your continued commitment to excellence. Let's work together to create a discharge summary process that makes a real difference! Your voice matters—please complete the survey today! Thanks to the work of students Prethipan Sakthivel and Reshma Subramonian in formulating these questions and creating this survey based on up-to-date literature on transitions of care.
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EPIC Tip
Thanks to Henry Del Rosario
Follow-up activity has changed! There are pros, cons, trade-offs compared to the old way.
You can follow users to copy their follow-up favorites (speed buttons). Under follow-up click the magnifying glass near the top right. Search a name (like mine). Their speed buttons will show up under their name under your favorites (e.g. Manju's buttons are below mine).
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From Steve Anderson, our administrator:
AI Readiness: Copilot Training
UMMH is introducing Copilot training and licensing for leaders (managers with direct reports and physician leaders) via a phased rollout. Starting at the end of July, Medical Group managers and physician leaders will be invited to Responsible Use training in Workday as the first step of the Copilot training. After this step, leaders will be invited to prompt engineering and Microsoft products training, as well as Copilot use-case webinars and office hours.
- Division 40/Corporate leaders: If you didn’t complete Responsible Use training in June, you can still do so in Workday.
- Medical Center and Community Hospital leaders: Watch for an invitation at the end of August to begin your Copilot training.
Once Copilot licenses have been assigned following training, leaders will be invited to join the UMass Memorial Health AI Academy – powered by Coursera – to continue on their AI learning journey. Here is the link to the AI hub page for the Health System: Artificial Intelligence (AI) | The Hub.
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Announcements
MassAHEC is currently recruiting faculty and residents to serve as Longitudinal Preceptors and to participate in skills sessions for the next academic year. This is a great opportunity to mentor first and second year medical students and to show them how great it is to be in Family Medicine. Please email Philip.day@umassmed.edu if you’re interested!
The UMass Chan Day of Service is just weeks away! We would love to have a department team. On the morning of Wednesday, August 19th, there are 15+ projects around the city that need our help. Planting flowers, cleaning a food bank, sorting books, packing back packs for children - please email Hugh Silk (hugh.silk@umassmemorial.org) if you are interested in being on the department team. Thanks.
(From Rahi Patel)
Breast Cancer Screening Survey
This short survey from the breast radiology department is a project on breast cancer risk models and will take 5 minutes to complete. The goal of the study, in combination with retrospective data on breast cancer risk assessment models and its impact on breast cancer rates, is to understand how primary care providers view breast cancer risk assessment and what can be done to improve screening practices. Your input will help breast radiologists better understand and improve breast cancer risk assessment and screenings. Thank you for your time!
https://qualtricsxmfxpdkgpgj.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6R87tuveQIoxLEO
Back by popular demand, Yoga is returning to Polar Park’s Outfield on Saturday, August 29th, and tickets are now on sale! The event has new ticket options this year allowing you to choose if you’d like to stay for breakfast in the DCU Club or leave immediately after the yoga flow ends. The first 250 attendees will receive this year’s event gift of a cooling workout towel. We hope you’ll join us for a relaxing flow in the outfield.
Click here to buy tickets. Click here for more info.
Ticket Types
- Yoga with Breakfast: $43/person
- Yoga Only: $18/person
Event Details
- Gates Open: 6:30am
- Yoga: 7:00am
- Breakfast: 8:00am
SAVE THE DATE FOR MED MOTH - Tuesday, October 13th at 5:30 PM in the Albert Sherman Center Multi-Purpose Room (Cafeteria).
Med Moth is an event based on The Moth Story Hour, where members of the UMass Chan community (including SOM, GSN, GSBS, faculty, residents, and hospital staff) share stories for 5–10 minutes each. This year, we'll also be welcoming live music, poetry, visual art, and other forms of expression. Past talks have explored speakers' journeys into medicine, meaningful patient encounters, and other experiences that shape personal or professional identity in health care. Some have been humorous and others more serious.
They are looking for speakers too! Those interested in sharing a story can contact the event organizers, Mariam Tolba (mariam.tolba@umassmed.edu) or Maddie Mulkern (madeline.mulkern2@umassmed.edu), for more information.
Unlock your teaching potential at the TOT Workshop - 2 Days of Training
October 23rd and April 2nd, 8:00-4:00pm, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. Contact susan.foley@umassmed.edu for more information or visit the website Teaching of Tomorrow.
iCELS Intro to POCUS hands on course
October 6th, 8:00-5:00pm, Albert Sherman Center. See flyer for more information.
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Frankly Speaking Podcast
Please join us for a weekly Podcast series. Adolescents who use cannabis-especially at a younger age or higher frequency-face substantially elevated risks of mood and psychiatric disorders. Listen in to hear practical, evidence-based strategies for screening teens for substance use, counseling patients and families, and recognizing the significant risks associated with adolescent cannabis use. Guest: Jillian Joseph, MPAS, PA-C, presents, "The Cannabis Conversation: Discussing the Risks with Adolescent Patients". Frankly Speaking Episode #496. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367
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Please help us continue gathering information about instances of racism, bias, and microaggressions experienced by our learners, faculty, and staff. We encourage everyone to use our support tool, which takes approximately five minutes to complete. The information collected helps us identify appropriate and meaningful intervention options. Please access the form using the QR code or by using the Ombuds Support Form link: https://umassmed.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a3LP0h8mpHYDnqS
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