Halfway through the week! Here’s Wednesday’s NCMS Morning Rounds

Feb. 3, 2021

NCMS President’s Message on COVID-19 Vaccine Equity

NCMS President Philip M. Brown, Jr., MD, issued a brief message expressing the need to ensure equitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Brown noted that this is the first week of Black History Month, drawing attention to historically marginalized populations and the opportunity the current vaccination efforts present to remedy historic inequities.

Watch Dr. Brown’s message here.

Here is a written version of the message:
We know for sure that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a profoundly disproportionate amount of suffering for people of color, with disparities in disease and death rate across the country. As we deploy preventive vaccination with the power to defeat the disease, it is of critical importance that we ensure equitable and, in many cases, preferential access to vaccination for those groups most adversely affected. We must not allow historic patterns of inequitable access to health care to be repeated with COVID vaccination, and we are committed to assure equity is achieved.

Don’t Forget to Complete This Week’s Practice Survey

As we have since March 2020, the NCMS has partnered with the NC Medical Group Management Association and Curi to survey our member practices on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on staffing, financial resources, wellness and other challenges and issues surrounding this public health crisis.

Please take just a moment to complete this week’s survey to help us track trends to help inform our advocacy and resource development efforts on your behalf. And watch your NCMS Morning Rounds for a summary of the trends revealed over 2020 and the results of our latest survey that included questions on the COVID-19 vaccination roll out.

TAKE THE SURVEY NOW.

SAVE THE DATE: March 11 for the NC Population Health Collaborative

Save the Date for our first quarter NC Population Health Collaborative on Thursday, March 11 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Join us as we discuss ‘The Journey Towards Medicaid Managed Care: Get Your Go Bag Ready!’

This meeting will be held virtually (via Zoom). If you’re not already signed up for our NC Population Health Collaborative mailing list, please click here to ensure you don’t miss out.

Registration details will be coming soon! Lastly, don’t forget to mark your calendars for our Fall NC Population Health Collaborative meeting on Sept. 9.

In the News

When Will the Covid-19 Epidemic End?, Advisory Board, 2-1-21

Learning Opportunity

Care Transformation State of the Union, Tuesday, Feb. 9 from 1 to 2 p.m. 
Covid-19 placed a burden on health systems across the country, but providers with robust population health capabilities had faster, more coordinated responses to the outbreak than those without. These capabilities are even more important as the pandemic persists and exacerbates patients’ chronic conditions and behavioral health needs.

In this webinar, we’ll explore strategies to improve your Covid-19 response and succeed in your broader population health strategy.

Things You’ll Learn:

-Why now is the time for some organizations to accelerate their commitment to population health
-Fill gaps in cross-continuum care management
-Profitably push services to virtual channels
-Respond to rising behavioral health needs
-Address root causes of health inequity

Register here.

If you have policies you’d like your NCMS Board of Directors to consider, please complete the Board input form here. Thanks for reading!