NCTracks is offering the following course this week. Providers can register in SkillPort, the NCTracks Learning Management System. Logon to the secure NCTracks Provider Portal and click Provider Training to access SkillPort.
Friday, Jan. 15 – 9 to 10:30 a.m. – Using the Provider Message Center Inbox (WebEx) will guide authorized users on how to use the Provider Inbox within the Provider Message Center of NCTracks. This course is taught via WebEx and can be attended remotely from any location with a telephone, computer and internet connection. The WebEx will be limited to 115 participants.


The North Carolina Medical Society Foundation, in cooperation with the North Carolina Medical Group Managers, invites you to a discussion of social media in health care through a free webinar titled “Managing Online Reputation in a Busy Health Care Practice” on Tuesday, Jan. 19 from noon to 1 p.m. There’s more to reputation management than having a LinkedIn profile (although that’s important). In this webinar, Get Social Health social media coach Janet Kennedy will walk you through the basics of establishing, maintaining and protecting the online reputation of your practice and providers. Register here. You must be registered to attend. Space is limited so register early!


The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering the following national provider calls. For more information about each of them, click here.

  • Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2-3 PM ET: ESRD QIP: Payment Year 2019 Final Rule CMS subject matter experts discuss the final rule that operationalizes the ESRD QIP for Payment Year (PY) 2019. The performance period for PY 2019 will begin on Jan. 1, 2017.
  • Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2:30-4 PM ET: Collecting Data on Global Surgery as Required by MACRA: Listening Session This listening session provides an opportunity for CMS to learn from stakeholders about how to conduct the data collection required under Section 523 of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA).
  • Thursday, Feb. 4, 1:30-3 PM ET: IMPACT Act: Connecting Post-Acute Care across the Care Continuum CMS subject matter experts and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT discuss the implications of the IMPACT Act for health information exchange across the care continuum.

Registration is now open for the next Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic Violence and Injury Prevention (GLMA) Webinar “Prescription Drug Overdose – The Truth about Opioids: Treating Pain in the United States” on Jan. 21, from 3- 4 PM, EST. Read more about it. Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.


A Neuromuscular Review Course will be held on Jan. 23, in Raleigh at the Renaissance Raleigh North Hills. The faculty include Dr. Richard Barohn, University of Kansas Medical Center, Dr. Mazen Dimachkie, University of Kansas Medical Center, Dr. Jonathan Katz, California Pacific Medical Center and Dr. Todd Levine, Phoenix Neurological Associates and University of Arizona. The course provides 6.0 hours of AMA PRA category I CME.  All healthcare professionals interested in neuromuscular disorders are invited to attend including physicians of all disciplines, physicians in training, fellows, RNs, NPs, PAs, therapists, etc. For more information and registration, click here.


The 2nd Annual Bundled Payment Implementation Forum: How to Make Your Bundled Payment Program Work will be held Jan. 25-26, 2016 at the Wyndham Orlando Resort in Orlando, FL. Learn more about the program and register here. For questions, call 866-676-7689.


The Pain Society of the Carolinas invites you earn 3.5 CME at a free SAFE Opioid Prescribing Course on Saturday, Jan. 30, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Medical University of South Carolina. To register click here.


NCHICA Thought Leader Forum: How Telehealth is Transforming Patient Care, Jan. 27, 9:30-11:30 am, Research Triangle Foundation Headquarters. Learn how telehealth is transforming patient care in North Carolina from Mary Foster, Telehealth Program Manager at the VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network, and Patty Upham, Director of Care Transitions at FirstHealth of the Carolinas. The registration fee is $50 for NCHICA members, $75 for non-members. Click here to register.


2016 Emerging Issues Forum: FutureWork, Feb. 8-9 in Raleigh.  Join leaders and learners from every North Carolina sector, region and point of view at the Institute for Emerging Issues 2016 Emerging Issues Forum, FutureWork. The forum seeks new models and strategies to position North Carolina as a leader in the global battle for good jobs for tomorrow’s diverse workforce. Focus on health care sector will be on day two when Thomas Aldridge, Manager, Public Consulting Group Health, and Carol Lewis Associate Director, UNC Innovation and Health Care System Transformation, will speak about how technology is transforming the health care landscape. Stakeholders and the general public are welcome. Register today.


Mark your calendar now for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) hosted series of one-hour webinars to discuss recent updates and the future of Physician Compare, including a publicly reported benchmark. The webinar will be conducted via WebEx at the following times. (All sessions will present the same information.):

  • Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 at noon ET
  • Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016 at 4 pm ET
  • Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016 at 11 am ET

Registration details will be sent at a later date.


USF Health and i3 Health are hosting the 2nd Annual Hematologic Malignancies Symposium in Asheville on April 16 at the Asheville Renaissance Hotel. This live 1-day CME/CE-certified meeting is targeted towards medical oncologists, hematologists, oncology advanced practitioners, oncology nurses and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies. Participants will receive expert insights from leading investigators in treatment selection and supportive care best practices for patients with hematologic malignancies. More information and register here. Early bird discount available until March 1.


USF Health and i3 health are hosting the 1st Annual Gastrointestinal Malignancies Symposium in Asheville on April 16 at the Asheville Renaissance Hotel. This live 1-day CME/CE-certified meeting is targeted toward medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, oncology advanced practitioners, oncology nurses and other health care professionals involved in the treatment of patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. More information and register here.


The Pain Society of the Carolinas (PSOC) urges you to save the dates for several other courses on pain management.

  • DUKE Pain Meeting, on April 29-May 1, covering cancer pain, palliative care and end-of-life. To be held in Chapel Hill. Registration Coming soon!
  • PSOC Annual Meeting, Sept. 25, at The Omni Grove Park Inn, Asheville NC