The Fall 2021 Bulletin Is Now Online
Perfect for this season of giving, the fall edition of the NCMS Bulletin magazine focuses on the work that physicians are doing beyond the walls of their practices. Learn more about your peers and their passions outside of their clinic walls, including:
- Stuart Levin, MD, FACP, FCCP, and his work with the city of Raleigh to build more walkable spaces and better health for his patients;
- Robert Majors, Jr., MD, Benjamin Ferndon, MD, and their fellow physician volunteers who share a love of gardening and the joy of offering healthy produce to the community;
- Kerianne Crockett, MD, and her legislative advocacy to deliver dignity to incarcerated women;
- Karen L. Smith, MD, FAAFP, and her tireless outreach efforts to vaccinate more people in the state against COVID-19; and
- David T. Tayloe, Jr., MD, FAAP, and his belief in the power of physician advocacy.
NCMS/NCMGMA Lunch & Learn Webinar: Legislative Update (11/16/2021)
Watch as Dave Horne, Josh Grant and Robert Shaw from Smith Anderson provide a year-end legislative update. Tune in to find out what happened this year at the NC General Assembly and what we're anticipating for 2022.
Presented by the North Carolina Medical Society Foundation in partnership with the North Carolina Medical Group Management Association.
KIPL Power Hour: Colorectal Cancer Screenings (10/22/2021)
In 2020, there was an estimated 104,610 new cases of colon cancer and 43,340 cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed in the US according to the American Cancer Society. Despite ample research that show the impact of screening on the incidence of the diagnosis and improvement of survival, colorectal cancer is still the fourth leading cause of death in North Carolina. In addition, minorities and low-income patients have lower screening rates. With the Medicaid expansion, the aspiration is to increase screening across all groups. While there is no study that shows a direct correlation between Medicaid expansion and colorectal cancer care, simply having insurance means the patient is two times more likely to get colorectal cancer screening. Join us for this month’s Power Hour for an important conversation around this pressing topic with a group of experts and advocates including a former patient and stage 4 colon cancer survivor.
Political Pulse for October 22, 2021
Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, doesn’t have too much to report from the legislature this week, but she does have an important announcement to share. Watch this week’s Political Pulse for her update.
Our External Affairs Team:
Alan Skipper - [email protected]
Ashley Rodriguez - [email protected]
Kristen Spaduzzi - [email protected]
Political Pulse for Sept. 17, 2021
Director of Legislative Relations, Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, highlights some important events in this week's Political Pulse: today (Sept. 17) is National Physician Suicide Awareness Day. She also shares that registration is now open for the upcoming NCMS Virtual LEAD Health Care Conference. The Conference kicks off with a lively discussion among a panel of legislators on Thursday, Oct. 14. Sue Ann also offers the latest news on budget negotiations and a possible timetable for its release, as well as information on how you can become involved in legislative redistricting meetings across the state.
Related Links
National Physician Suicide Awareness Day website
NCMS 2021 Virtual LEAD Health Care Conference
House Redistricting Committee Upcoming Meeting Schedule
Political Pulse for Sept. 3, 2021
NCMS Director of Legislative Relations Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, thanks those who attended the Sept. 1st advocacy event with US Rep. Greg Murphy, MD, and NC Rep. Kristin Baker, MD, and also NCMS members who volunteered as experts for the WRAL hotline, answering viewers' questions on vaccinations. In addition, she provides an update on HB 608 (Dignity for Women Who are Incarcerated) and the slow-moving budget negotiation process. Be sure to watch this week's Political Pulse!
Political Pulse for August 27, 2021
It was a week of slow-moving negotiations on the budget process and of faster action on several healthcare-related bills. NCMS Director of Legislative Relations, Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, shares her summary of all of this week's legislative developments that could impact you and your patients.
In addition, Sue Ann invites you to attend "The Importance of Grassroots Advocacy – How You Can Make a Difference," on Sept. 1 at 6:00pm. This virtual NCMS event gives you a chance to hear from your physician colleagues who represent you and your profession at the state and national levels. NC Rep. Kristin Baker, MD, and US Rep. Greg Murphy, MD, will share their experiences and insights into physician engagement in advocacy.
Helpful Links in our NCMS Legislative Blog:
- SB 228: Allow Employers to Offer EPO Benefit Plans
- HB 608: Dignity for Women Who are Incarcerated Act
- SB 711: NC Compassionate Care Act
- House Budget Summary
- Senate Budget Summary
Political Pulse for August 13, 2021
The NC House released their budget this week and NCMS Director of Legislative Relations Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, offers the highlights that most impact health care. She also shares what's next in the budget process and provides an update on a couple of other bills that moved this week.
If you would like Sue Ann to speak at an upcoming meeting or event, please contact her at [email protected].
For the latest developments in the current session of the NCGA, visit our Legislative Blog.
Political Pulse for July 30, 2021
Additional Information:
- American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
Health Related Draft Policies at ALEC that are being considered:
https://www.alec.org/task-force/health-and-human-services/ - NCMS Medicare Cuts Action Alert
https://app.muster.com/take-action/rCzdvpbZzC/ - Language on amending SB 257
Copay Accumulator Adjustment Programs
https://p2a.co/a7O1Aqa
Most North Carolina health insurers are now implementing “copay accumulator adjustment programs," which prohibit copay assistance from any third-party, including a church, foundation, GoFundMe, or copay card, from counting toward a patient’s annual deductible or out-of-pocket maximum.
This means any third-party copay assistance will reduce a patient or family's cost sharing burden, and means that copays are paid twice: once from copay assistance and again from the patient or family. It's not fair and only pads the pockets of health insurers and PBMs.
We must include protections against copay accumulator adjustment programs in Senate Bill 257, which is currently being considered by the NC General Assembly.
Sign on now to send a message to your North Carolina legislators to ask them to help patients afford lifesaving treatment. Feel free to edit your message with your own story or perspective in your own words.
WCMS Members Enjoy Sidecar Social Club at Booth Amphitheater
On July 16, about 38 WCMS doctors and their guests enjoyed a delightful summer evening of music by the Sidecar Social Club presented by the NC Symphony at the beautiful, wooded Booth Amphitheater in Cary. A cooling early drizzle cleared by showtime leaving a delightful summer breeze and the evening could not have been more delightful with good fellowship, food on the VIP deck, and beverage.
This was the first of a series of small group events being planned for the upcoming year. Previous events before being curtailed by COVID have included a guided tour of an exhibit at the NC Museum of History and a visit to the Raleigh Islamic Center. At least four more events are being planned for the coming year -- stay tuned for announcements.
Summer 2021 Bulletin Magazine Now Online
Happy summer! In this issue of the NCMS Bulletin we explore health behavior and an innovative approach to treating patients called lifestyle medicine.
Articles Included:
- "Lifestyle Medicine: Rethinking How to Treat Patients" featuring Andrew Nance, MD, DipABLM and Bonnie Coyle, MD, DipABLM
- "Health & Wellness Coaches: Partners on the Road to Changing Health Behaviors" featuring Simone Horvitz
- "Zumba at the Doctor’s Office" featuring Lourdes Pereda, MD
- "NCMS: Committed to a Healthy NC"
Remember to send any comments or ‘letters to the editor’ to Elaine Ellis, [email protected]. We like to hear your insights and thoughts on the topics presented and will share them – with your permission – in future issues.
NCMS Political Pulse for June 25, 2021
Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, NCMS Director of Legislative Relations, has delved into the details of the Senate budget that was released this week and shares an overview of items in the proposal that could impact health care in the state. Watch the Political Pulse to learn more about the Senate budget and get the latest updates on other legislative developments from the week.
Related Links:
View the NCMS Summary of the Senate Budget.
NCMS Political Pulse for June 18, 2021
NCMS Director of Legislative Relations Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, reports from the NC General Assembly regarding the latest estimate on the release of the Senate budget and shares other legislative developments.
Related information:
HB 96 - Allow Pharmacists to Admin. Injectable Drugs.
NCMS Political Pulse for June 11, 2021
Could a budget agreement be near? NCMS Director of Legislative Relations Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, shares the latest developments on budget negotiations, as well as news on several healthcare-related bills. Get the details in this week's Political Pulse.
For more details, visit the NCMS Legislative Blog www.ncmedsoc.org/currentsession
KIPL Power Hour: End of Life and Palliative Care (6/4/2021)
Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.
Learn more about this topic from our guests:
- Christine Khandelwal, DO - VP of Education and Strategic Outreach at Transitions LifeCare
- Rikki Hooper, MSN, Chief Clinical Officer, Four Seasons Care
- Lynn Bowlby, MD - Internal Medicine Specialist, Duke Health
- Michael Nichols, MD, PhD - Coastal Carolina Oncology Center - Radiation Oncology, Cervical Cancer
Additional End of Life/Palliative Care Resources
- Atul Gawande – Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
- Center for Advancing Palliative Care
- Advanced Care Planning from the NIH National Institute on Aging
- NCIOM Task Force on Serious Illness (PDF)
- NC Coalition for Compassionate Care
KIPL Power Hour: Mental Health and Indigenous Populations
In the US, 5.2 million Americans identify as American Indian or Alaska Native (2010 decennial census) which equates to 1.7% of the population. However, compared to all other groups, there are alarming health disparities among Native Americans in terms of life expectancy as well as death from chronic illness. Even more troubling: during 2019, 18.7% of Native adults experienced mental illness and the suicide rate among American Indians and Alaska Native youth, is 2.5 times higher than the rest of the country. Alcohol dependency rates are three times higher than the national average, and almost twenty percent of deaths are related to alcohol. Many suggest the traumatic historic context has caused the alarming rates of mental health illness, allowing the tragic and disgraceful history to cause intergenerational trauma in these communities. Join us for a conversation around mental health and indigenous populations as we bring much needed visibility to this epidemic.
Guests include:
Mehul Mankad, MD – CMO, Alliance Health/ 2017 President of NCPA
Sid Hosseini, DO, PhD – CMO Eastpoint LME/MCO
Kathleen Dunlap, MD - Psychiatrist in Cherokee
Richard Bunio, MD - Executive Medical Director at CIHA; President WCMS
Freida Saylor - Clinical Director of Behavioral Health Services at Cherokee Indian Hospital
View additional Power Hours...
KIPL Power Hour: Lifestyle Medicine and Nutrition (5/7/2021)
In the United States, health care costs are some of the most expensive in the world, however our health outcomes do not reflect that cost. This discrepancy shows an urgent need to focus on healthy behaviors and their impact on health outcomes. Lifestyle Medicine is one of the fastest emerging branches of medicine world-wide as an evidence-based approach to prevent, treat, and often reverse chronic disease.
Join us for this Power Hour as we continue our conversation around Lifestyle Medicine. Our guests include board certified lifestyle medicine physicians as well as scientists who will be talking about lifestyle medicine, promoting health and the importance of nutrition and phytonutrients in preventing disease.
Featured Guests:
- Bonnie S. Coyle, MD – Public Health Director, Cabarrus Health Alliance
- Mike Cowan, MD – Co-Founder, Ruckus Health
- Mary Ann Lila, PhD - Director, Plants for Human Health Institute, David H. Murdock Distinguished Professor, Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences
- David C. Nieman, DrPH, FACSM - professor in the Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, at Appalachian State University, and director of the Human Performance Lab at the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC)
Additional Resources
- Boosting Immune Function with Polyphenols Nieman Lila
- Building better guidelines for healthy and sustainable diets 2020-2025 AJCN Willett Criticisms 2021
- NutritionFacts.org
NCMS Political Pulse for May 7, 2021
NCMS Director of Legislative Relations Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, provides the highlights of a busy week at the NC General Assembly. With crossover approaching, hundreds of bills were filed this week and a flurry of bills moved forward through the legislative process. Sue Ann shares which health care bills progressed and how you can reach out to your legislators on specific issues through our Action Alerts.
Please note you can always view the latest health care bill summaries and sign up for Action Alerts on our legislative blog: www.ncmedsoc.org/currentsession.
KIPL Power Hour: Healthy behaviors during and beyond the pandemic
The pandemic has impacted our lives and shaped new consumer behaviors, whether that is increasingly relying on drive-through services, re-thinking going to any crowded places or approach to health. Recent articles highlight the need to focus on the latter and examine potential changes with respect to health behaviors. Apart from changes in sleep, substance use, exercise routines and diet there are also alarming issues such as social determinants, racism and implicit biases that need to be part of the conversation. Join us for this Power Hour as we discuss the importance of clear communication with patients, provider assumptions versus patient understanding, and the fundamental importance of building trust in patient relationships.
Featured Power Hour guests:
Anu Rao-Patel, MD - Lead Medical Director, Care Management and Government Programs at Blue Cross Blue Shield NC
Cynthia M. Gary, MPH, PA-C - Johnston County Public Health Department
Michelle Hughes, MA, MSW - Executive Director, NC Child
KIPL Power Hour: Telehealth (Part 2 - 3/19/2021)
Due to COVID-19, telehealth is now a necessity, rather than a complementary service, to operate business across the healthcare spectrum. The CARES Act passed by Congress in March 2020 in response to COVID-19 included key provisions to eliminate geographical restrictions for telehealth use in Medicare Advantage plans and ultimately expand access to telehealth and other connected technology services. Additionally, in a response to promote telehealth services, many health plans waived cost-share requirements for their members, while expanding paid telehealth services to providers. With these shifts, telehealth companies were catapulted into the healthcare spotlight, and telemedicine has become big business.
Featured Power Hour Guests:
Steve North, MD – Vice President of Medical Operations and NC State Medical Director, Eleanor Health
Ken Dunham, MD – Psychiatrist, Kairos Medical Consulting; CMO Behavioral Health, Carolina Complete Health
Kathy Wibberly, PhD – Director, Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center
Matt Lastrina – Director of Telehealth, Carolina Complete Health
Lunch & Learn Webinar: Diabetes Prevention Program
More than 84 million Americans or 1 in 3 adults has prediabetes, and the majority of them don’t know they have it. Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions, and if prediabetes is left undetected and untreated, the progression to diabetes will continue to place a tremendous strain on physicians, clinical practices and health care costs associated with diabetes care and management. Through the statewide initiative in North Carolina to prevent type 2 diabetes called DiabetesFreeNC, physicians and care teams have an opportunity to support their patients with prediabetes with a free or low-cost, evidence-based National Diabetes Prevention Program.
This presentation featuring Dr. Karen Smith and NCMS Vice President of Rural Health Systems Franklin Walker, addresses the growing epidemic of type 2 diabetes in primary care and will discuss actions that physicians and care teams can take immediately to identify and manage their patients with prediabetes, including referral to an evidence-based lifestyle change program.
View additional Lunch & Learn Webinars
KIPL Power Hour: Black Maternal Health
In honor of Black Maternal Health Week (April 11th-17th), we focused this Power Hour on how statistics bear out a distinct health inequity in outcomes for black mothers and their infants.
Health inequity in the US has become more apparent during the pandemic, with COVID-19 disproportionately hitting populations of color. Statistics confirm similar health outcomes for this population in other areas like maternal health. The US has the worst maternal mortality rates overall compared to other developed countries, with black mothers at least three times more likely to die in childbirth than white mothers. Black babies have a mortality rate almost four times the rate of their non-Hispanic white counterparts.
Joining us to examine this issue are Power Hour guests:
- Michaela Penix, MPH – Director, Maternal Infant Health with the March of Dimes
- Venus Standard, MSN, CNM – 4Moms2Be (https://4moms2be.com/)
- Tammy McNeill – Cumberland Co HD, ICO4MCH Breastfeeding Program Coordinator
- Kaitlyn Franklin – Cumberland Co HD, ICO4MCH Reproductive Life Planning Program Coordinator
Spring 2021 Bulletin Magazine Now Online
The spring issue of your NCMS Bulletin focuses on the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on health care in North Carolina. Read NC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen’s, MD, MPH, views on how health care may be different post-pandemic. Also see how the NCMS Foundation has responded during this critical time in health care and in our nation's history.
Lunch & Learn Webinar: Arm Yourself - COVID Vaccine Planning and Resources
This webinar featuring Bill Shenton, JD, a partner at Poyner Spruill, provides an overview of key considerations in planning a COVID-19 vaccine administration program in a medical practice and will touch on some available resources that can be accessed to prepare. Topics covered include:
- Planning and organizing the effort
- Selecting and training staff to administer vaccine
- Administration of the vaccine and documenting immunizations
- Planning for contingencies
- Addressing HIPAA compliance issues
View additional Lunch & Learn Webinars
KIPL Power Hour: Schools and COVID-19 (3/5/2021)
Recently the NCMS and NC Pediatric Society issued a joint media statement supporting students and teachers returning to in-person schooling based on the important role schools play in children’s educational achievement, health and wellbeing. Our panel discusses this statement, their thoughts on the pandemic and considerations about school staff and teachers.
Power Hour guests include:
Christoph Diasio, MD - Pediatrician at Sandhills Pediatrics and current president of the NC Pediatric Society;
Yun Bolyston, MD - Pediatrician at Burlington Pediatrics and current board member with the NC Pediatric Society;
Elizabeth Hudgins, MPP - Executive Director of the NC Pediatric Society;
Michael Utecht, MD - Emergency Physician at the Durham VA Hospital and current president of the NC Medical Society
MEDTalks 2020: Zachary Fleming -- "The Development of a Pediatrics Sepsis Analytics Dashboard"
Campbell University Medical Student Zachary Fleming shares his Leadership College Project, " Development of a Pediatric Sepsis Analytics Dashboard"
MEDTalks 2020: Robert Henihan, MD -- "What I Learned While I Was Waiting"
Dr. Henihan, a gastroenterologist from Wilmington, NC, shares his Leadership College project entitled "What I Learned While I Was Waiting," which studied at patient wait times and how that impacts perception of care.
MEDTalks 2020: Amy Marietta, MD, MPH, FAAFP -- "Perinatal Recovery Groups"
Dr. Marietta shares her Leadership College project entitled, "Perinatal Recovery Groups: Working Together to Treat Substance Use Disorders among Pregnant and Parenting Women in Western NC."
MEDTalks 2020: Marion Mull McCrary, MD, FACP -- "Creating the Stepping Stones to Engage Physicians 'Where They Are'"
Dr. McCrary delivers her Leadership Project where she shares her journey to discover the best ways to engage physicians in addressing their workplace burnout and work/life balance issues.
MEDTalks 2020: Jennifer L. Parker Cote, MD -- "Efficacy of a Substance Abuse Screening Tool in the ED"
Dr. Parker Cote shares her Leadership College project where she looked into if a substance abuse screening would be effective if added as part of the emergency department triage screening at Vidant Medical Center. Her project aimed to assess the efficacy of the Tobacco, Alcohol, and Prescription Medication, and Other Substance use (TAPS) tool by screening adult patients in the ED, providing outpatient resources to those patients who screen positive, and assessing the number of patients who contacted one of the provided resources after two weeks.
MEDTalks 2020: Arin Piramzadian, DO, FACOEP -- "How to Alleviate the Impact of COVID-19 on the Hispanic Community of NC"
Dr. Piramzadian shares his practice's efforts to reduce COVID-19 numbers among Hispanic males through education and sharing this information by targeting both their workplaces and homes.
The methods included multiple different steps: hiring multilingual staff, Spanish speaking interpreters and creating discharge instructions in Spanish; developing and running radio talk shows and ads; and working with four factory and manual labor companies to improve PPEs and social distancing.
MEDTalks 2020: Lourdes Pereda, MD, FAAP -- "Pediatric Obesity and Overweight Rates"
Dr. Pereda shares her Leadership College Project, which examined efforts implemented in her rural pediatric practice in North Carolina to reduce the number of overweight and obese children.
MEDTalks 2020: Geoffrey Slaughter, MD -- "Let's Intend to End Unintended Pregnancy"
Dr. Slaughter shares his journey of trying to reduce unintended pregnancy rates as an ob-gyn resident during his year-long Leadership College project.
MEDTalks 2020: Kailey Remien, DO -- "Evaluating the Didactic Medical Education on How to Treat Sexual Assault Victims"
Dr. Remien's Leadership College Project Abstract: Providing structured education for medical students on the treatment of sexual assault victims is critical to ensuring that student doctors are prepared to adequately address with the complex medical, psychological, and social aspects of their care. However, most medical schools within the United States fail to incorporate this key clinical knowledge into their curriculums. In this study, it was found that a wide spectrum of medical schools include little to no formal education on the treatment of sexual assault victims and many medical students do not feel comfortable treating these patients.
This educational gap leaves these already vulnerable patients at risk for inappropriate medical care and misinformation about their medical care, their legal options, and the public health resources that may be available to them. These patients also require a more advanced level of emotional support from their health care team, which requires a delicate and cautious approach that must be taught to ensure that re-traumatization is minimized. Medical students are often the first to interact with these patients and have the potential to establish a level of trust necessary to make the patient feel confident in the care that their healthcare team is to provide. This study reveals a clear need for the incorporation of a course within the preclinical years of medical school education to equip student doctors with the tools necessary to treat this unique patient population.
MEDTalks 2020: Gretchen Velazquez, MD, FACP -- "Implementing the Collaborative Care Model"
Dr. Velazquez focused her Leadership College project on "Implementing the Collaborative Care Model for Integration of Physical and Mental Healthcare in the Primary Care Setting."
MEDTalks 2020: Kaitlin Warta, MD, MPH -- "Same Day Discharge for Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy"
Dr. Warta's Leadership College Project Abstract: Minimally invasive hysterectomy (MIH) can be performed safely and effectively on an outpatient basis. However, same day discharge (SDD) is not a universal standard, and many hospitals are still admitting uncomplicated patients overnight for this procedure. The purpose of this project is to create and enact same day discharge protocol for MIH at New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC).
Lunch & Learn Webinar: Recovering and Building Financial Resiliency in the Wake of COVID
Join us as we discuss practice finances in the wake of the current Covid-19 Pandemic. Hear from rural medical business owner Dr. Karen Smith along with the practice’s Population Health Administrator, Michaela Latham, as they review the financial lessons learned through the Pandemic and how building financial resiliency is key to practice stability. We will discuss the practical aspects of recovering from the costly impacts of COVID, and what is being done to build up their practice resiliency for a stronger, more stable future.
View additional Lunch & Learn Webinars
KIPL Power Hour: Covid and Mental Health (Part 2 - 2/5/2021)
Isolation due to the pandemic and increased stress due to financial and family pressures have taken an extraordinary toll on people’s mental health. Health care providers in particular have to deal with the added stressors of burnout and physical exhaustion from the worsening spread of COVID-19. Tune in for a discussion around caring for your mental health during such challenging times.
Power Hour Guests
- Dr. Yun Boylston – Burlington Pediatrics
- Dr. Jennie Byrne – CareMore Health
- Dr. Alexandra Cupito – Burlington Pediatrics
- Dr. Robyn Jordan – UNC Substance Abuse Treatment & Recovery clinic
- Dr. Marion McCrary – Marion McCrary Wellness LLC
- Dr. Cormac O’Donovan – Wake Forest Baptist Health
KIPL Power Hour: Overcoming Vaccination Hesitancy in Minority Populations (1/8/2021)
View this important Zoom discussion on how local health systems and private practices are experiencing the vaccine roll-out and how they are finding ways to address concerns among minority populations regarding the Covid-19 vaccine.
Power Hour guests include:
- Chamaine Brooks-Locklear, MD – Family Medicine Physician, Pembroke Family Practice, Pembroke, NC
- Artina Dawkins, PhD, MPA – Program Manager and Co-Director of Diversity & Inclusion, Orthopaedic Surgery, Wake Forest Baptist Health
- Bryant A. Murphy, MD, MBA – NCMS Board Member and Anesthesiologist with UNC Healthcare
- Karen L. Smith, MD, FAAFP – NCMS Board Member and Family Physician, Karen L. Smith, MD, PA, Raeford, NC
KIPL Power Hour: Covid-19 and Mental Health (1/22/2021)
A few weeks into the new year, the situation with COVID-19 seems far from over and communities across the country wonder when will we see an end to the pandemic. As the health care community struggles to contain the spread, there are growing concerns on the impact on mental health among patients. In July, Victor Armstrong, director of the NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, Substance Abuse Services reported that symptoms of depression and anxiety have tripled during the pandemic and mentioned there has been a 15% increase emergency department visits of opioid overdose. In another study, findings showed that 1 in 5 COVID-19 survivors develop mental illness within 90 days. So how are our patients doing? How are people dealing with and making sense of COVID-19 ten months later and how well are systems responding?
Join a chat around COVID-19 and the impact of mental health on patients. Moderated by Franklin Walker, VP Rural Health Systems Innovation, you will have the opportunity to listen and converse with Jennie Byrne, MD, PhD, Staff VP, Clinical Excellence at CareMore Health; Vinay Saranga, MD, Saranga Comprehensive Psychiatry; Robyn Jordan, MD, PhD, Medical Director at UNC Substance Abuse Treatment & Recovery clinic; and Michele Kim, NP, Nurse Practitioner at Cherry Hospital (Inpatient Psychiatric Facility in Goldsboro).
KIPL Power Hour: Emergency Medicine during Covid-19 (Part 2 - 12/18/2020)
As the situation with Covid-19 continues to spread and the upsurge in cases is steadily increasing across the world, the roll out of vaccinations brings hope for an end in sight. However, health care experts warn the situation will only get worse over the next few weeks and many dread the consequences of Thanksgiving gatherings on the upcoming holiday season. In April 2020, we checked in with a group of Emergency Medicine clinicians about the situation back then. It’s time to hear from them again and talk about how the ED departments are coping with the current situation and how are doing in terms of their own stress and workload. What challenges are they up against and what are their thoughts around the near future?
Power Hour Guests:
Charul Haugan, MD, UNC Rex
Jennifer Parker Cote, MD, Vidant Health
Arin Piramzadian, DO, FACOEP, MSHCA-HCL, MRO, CPMA, Star Med Family Practice and Urgent Care
Stephen Small, MD, Mid-Atlantic Emergency Medical Associates
Mike Utecht, MD, Veterans Affairs, Durham
Distribution of Financial Recovery Program Funds Begins
The NCMS Foundation-administered Financial Recovery Program (FRP) will begin distributing reimbursement funds within the week to eligible practices that applied for this state-allocated funding. From the beginning of October until the end of November, the FRP has been collecting and reviewing applications from medical practices statewide that have been struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning next week, 643 practices representing 3,830 providers will be receiving funds. The average grant per practice is just under $38,000. Nearly 70,000 requests were received through the FRP portal representing $44 million.
This massive undertaking to distribute the $25 million allocated to the NCMS Foundation by the NC General Assembly in a matter of months involved 1,338 email conversations between NCMS staff and consultants and practices throughout the state.
“The need is great among medical practices in our state and I am thrilled to begin the distribution of this money to help those struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic,” said NCMS Vice President for Innovative Solutions Franklin Walker, MBA. “The success of this program shows how effective and beneficial such collaborative work can be.”
The NCMS advocacy team worked closely with the NC Academy of Family Physicians, the NC Pediatric Society, the NC College of Emergency Physicians, the NC Academy of Physician Assistants, the NC Obstetrics and Gynecology Society and the NC Dermatology Association in order to secure the state appropriation that funded the FRP.
Walker also brought in Reynold Yordy and his team at Greenlight Ventures to create and launch — in record time — the portal necessary to accept and vet online applications from practices. The Greenlight Ventures also provides the technology that powers the NCMS Foundation’s Project OBOT and Our Community Health Initiative programs.
“It was a privilege to be part of a project that provided so much assistance to our frontline health care workers,” Yordy said. “By leveraging the technology we created, we were able to distribute a significant amount of money in a very short timeframe, while ensuring all auditing could be performed in an efficient manner.”
If you are a practice expecting FRP reimbursement funds, you should receive them in time to make your holidays a little brighter this year.
Lunch & Learn Webinar: Practice Transformation with Intentional Culture Shaping
Dr. Scott Paviol and practice manager Pam Myers discuss their experience in transforming a well-established practice with a history of 44 years, to a new practice in the Charlotte area. They will describe how they aligned the past with the future and paid tribute to what had been established, while creating a new way to work with patients, staff and the community at large.
Dr. Paviol and Ms. Myers highlight their approach to:
- culture clash and the intentional formation of a new office dynamic;
- introducing patients to the new practice and reshaped culture;
- intentionally blending existing and new staff;
- practice transformation, including office design and the introduction of EMR and insurance coverage;
- intentional culture shaping through branding, social media and an online presence;
- and more...
View additional Lunch & Learn Webinars
KIPL Power Hour: Racism and Health Equity (Part 5)
Our crucial conversation around health equity and racism continues in this Power Hour, as we focus on the need to address this critical issue in North Carolina and what we as individuals, as organizations and as a society can do to actively drive change. Join our guests as they provide their thoughts and perspectives around the topic and share specific action.
Power Hour Guests:
Julie Freischlag, MD, FACS, FRCSEd (Hon), DFSVS – Chief Executive Officer of Wake Forest Baptist Health, Dean of Wake Forest School of Medicine, and Chief Academic Office of Atrium Health Enterprise
Artina Dawkins, PhD, MPA – Program Manager and Co-Director of Diversity & Inclusion, Orthopaedic Surgery, Wake Forest Baptist Health
David McIntosh, PhD – Vice President and Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer, Wake Forest Baptist Health
Diane R. Johnson, MPH – Adjunct Professor, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Philip M. Brown, Jr., MD – NCMS President and Chief Physician Executive, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Wilmington, NC
Karen L. Smith, MD, FAAFP – NCMS Board Member and Family Physician, Karen L. Smith, MD, PA, Raeford, NC
KIPL Power Hour: Lifestyle Medicine
The gap between what the US spends on healthcare compared towards other western countries continues to grow, spending close to 20% of GDP today. However, although being first in cost, which includes spending the most on prescription drugs per capita, the US is unfortunately far away from being first in healthcare outcomes. With an increasing attention to looking at healthcare from a whole perspective and factor in e.g. nutrition, exercise, sleep and other lifestyle factors, Lifestyle Medicine is one of the fastest growing career fields in medicine. Lifestyle Medicine is the use of a whole food, plant-predominant dietary lifestyle, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connection as a primary therapeutic modality for treatment and reversal of chronic disease.
Power Hour Guests:
Mark Allison – Director of Culinary Nutrition, Cabarrus Health Alliance
Bonnie S. Coyle, MD – Public Health Director, Cabarrus Health Alliance
Andrew W. Nance, MD – Family Medicine Physician, Atrium Health
Stephen E. Robinson, MD – Cardiologist/Internal Medicine Physician, Duke Health