The Governor’s Institute and NC Division of Public Health will be presenting The Opioid Epidemic: Guidance for Healthcare Providers, which focuses on the practical clinical aspects of providing pain management, prevention and early intervention for substance use disorders. The session will be held in three times in three locations:

  • Henderson County, at Pardee Signature Care Center on Thursday, Oct. 6, from 5:30 – 8:30 pm. Register here.
  • Haywood County at Lake Junaleska Conference & Retreat Center on Tuesday, Oct. 11, from 5:30 – 8:30 pm. Register here.
  • Buncombe County at MAHEC Biltmore Campus on Thursday, Oct. 13, from 5:30 – 8:30 pm. Register here.

In addition to the in-person program, participants may receive vouchers for the online, Guide to Rational Opioid Prescribing for Chronic Pain, training course courtesy of the Mountain Area Health Education Center. Completion of the online course is intended to satisfy 3 hours of the North Carolina Medical Board controlled substances CME requirements.
Special Note: Save the date for an upcoming Buprenorphine Waiver Training planned for Hickory, NC on Saturday, Nov. 5. Details coming soon.


NCHICA is hosting a Telehealth Forum on Oct. 6, at the Greenville Convention Center. The interactive forum, scheduled for 1-5 pm, will feature three presentations followed by small table discussions on telehealth issues. The registration fee is $50 NCHICA members/$75 non-members. Learn more and register here.


The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will offer the third session of a three-part Virtual Office Hours series regarding 2016 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) quality measures titled “2016 PQRS Reporting: Measure Applicability Validation (MAV) and How to Get Started (session 3 of 3)” on Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 1 – 2 p.m. A brief presentation will be followed by a question and answer session during which participants can ask a CMS representative clarifying questions about the MAV process. Questions regarding specialty specific scenarios may be referred for additional research. Note that MAV only applies to claims-based and registry-based reporting of individual measures. Click here to access the registration page. Complete information about PQRS is available on the CMS PQRS website.
For questions about PQRS or the Virtual Office Hours registration process, please contact the QualityNet Help Desk 1-866-288-8912 or via email at [email protected] from 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. CT.


The National Rural Accountable Care Consortium (NRACC) a Practice Transformation Network is offering free workshops in Raleigh and Charlotte to learn how to survive – and thrive – in the coming value-based era of health care. The Raleigh workshop will be on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) Center for Leadership in Medicine, 222 N. Person St., Raleigh. The Charlotte workshop will be held the next day, on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 895 West Trade St., Charlotte. Learn more and register here. See related article in this issue of the Bulletin.


NC Tracks will offer a Provider Re-Credentialing/Re-Verification Refresher WebEx course on Thursday, Oct. 20 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. This course serves as a refresher for the steps taken by the provider to complete the Re-Verification process through NCTracks. It 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. Providers can register for these courses in SkillPort, the NCTracks Learning Management System. Logon to the secure NCTracks Provider Portal and click Provider Training to access SkillPort.


28th Annual Fall Foliage Cancer Conference, “Update on Melanoma and Gastrointestinal Cancers,” will be held Oct. 21-22 at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville. More information and registration available here.


MAHEC, working with the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, The Governor’s Institute on Substance Abuse and Project Lazarus: A Project of CCNC, is offering A Guide to Rational Opioid Prescribing for Chronic Pain, an online education course. The course is designed for all prescribing health care practitioners who are interested in an overview of the rational prescribing approaches for persons with chronic pain disorders. It will fulfill the North Carolina Medical Board’s requirement of at least one hour of continuing education designed specifically to address prescribing practices for chronic pain management. The course cost is $15 for the first 6 months. Offers 3 hours of AAFP, AMA/AAFP Equivalency, and CDE; www.mahec.net/opioid


NCTracks has Computer-Based Training (CBT) courses on a variety of topics available to providers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. Anyone who is a registered user with NCID access to the NCTracks secure Provider Portal can access and take a self-paced course. A list of courses available can be found here and under Quick Links on the NCTracks Provider Training page of the public Provider Portal.


The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Department of Healthcare Leadership and Management is offering the 19th Annual Healthcare Leadership Conference on Friday, October 21st, 2016 at Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston.  Panels will focus on composition and development of our health care workforce.  The three sessions focus on: 1) Talent Management for Bench Strength Development; 2) Diversity and Inclusion and 3) Developing an Environment of Civility and Respect In Healthcare Organizations: Resources to Empower Healthcare Leaders to Identify, Intervene, and Prevent Workplace Bullying, Incivility and Disrespect. Learn more and register here.


The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine will be hosting the Point-of-Care and Critical Care Ultrasound course, Nov. 12-13 at Wake Forest University. This event uses live models, simulations, and didactic lectures to provide a comprehensive and in-depth look at how and where medical ultrasound can effectively be used in point-of-care and critical care settings. The course is eligible for up to 15 CMEs. Learn more and register here.