MSSNY Pulse: September 16, 2022
Message from MSSNY President Parag Mehta, MD:
Tomorrow is National Physician Suicide Awareness Day: Create Hope Through Action
Colleagues:
September 17 is National Physician Suicide Awareness Day (NPSADay), an opportunity to create hope through action. As physicians, we work every day to keep our patients well so they can lead happy and healthy lives. But we must remember to care for ourselves—and our physician colleagues—as well. We can signal to people experiencing suicidal thoughts that there is hope and that we care and want to support them. Remember to reach out, connect, inspire hope, and offer help.
NPSADay is a reminder and a call to action to be available to talk – and to act – so physicians’ struggles don’t become mental health emergencies. MSSNY is proud to take action to prevent physician suicide by sharing resources to help improve physician wellbeing, including suicide prevention resources, tips for starting important conversations about mental health, a crisis management plan, and more. MSSNY’s Peer-to-Peer Program provides physicians, residents, and medical students the opportunity to talk with a peer about their life stressors.
Today, help us recognize #NPSADay by visiting NPSADay.org and learn how you can take action. We must shift the current practice landscape to better support a culture of well-being and come together to take the necessary actions to reduce burnout, safeguard job satisfaction, remove barriers to seeking mental health services and destigmatize seeking these services. There are six actions to help reduce physician burnout and ensure physicians’ struggles don’t become mental health emergencies.
- Learn the Vital Signs
- Share suicide prevention resources
- Prepare before a moment of crisis
- Check in with a physician
- Understand and remove structural barriers
- Create a culture of wellbeing
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
For more info on physician mental health, read part two of the Physician’s Foundation’s 2022 Survey of America’s Physicians: Understanding the State of Physicians’ Wellbeing and Assessing Solutions to Address It.
Wellness Corner. Positivity increases our ability to think creatively, to progress in our careers, to cope with challenges, and to work with other people. It can reduce absenteeism and staff turnover, and lead to more satisfied and productive teams. In short, it’s an essential ingredient for success.
Parag Mehta, MD
MSSNY President
New York State Suicide Prevention Conference September 20-22, 2022
Social connection is the experience of feeling close to and a sense of belonging with others. A large volume of research with diverse populations and age groups shows that social connectedness is one of the most important factors in determining not only our mental health, but also our physical health. This three-day, virtual conference will bring together internationally recognized experts to summarize the latest prevention science and explain why we should all be more focused on supporting social connection across the lifespan—from early childhood and adolescence through our working and older-age years. Participants will be able to take ideas showcased in the conference back to their diverse communities and begin or build on existing work aimed at supporting healthy social connections.
MSSNY Recoups Potential Losses and Influences Change in UHC Policy
The following testimony was submitted by MSSNY Member Ross Zeltser, MD, FAAD, FACMS of the Hudson Dermatology group:
“I strongly commend Heather K. Lopez, MSSNY’s Director of Physician Payment & Practice. We first reached out to her earlier this year, asking for help with unfair reimbursement practices by UHC. She replied within minutes and used her connections at UHC to help us recover several thousand dollars and, more importantly, compel UHC to reverse the unjust and unjustified policy. A similar scenario played out more recently with Aetna. It is difficult to imagine a more responsive, proactive, and, most importantly, effective advocate than Heather. Having the benefit of access to Heather would more than pay for the yearly dues! In the strongest possible terms, I urge all NY physicians to join MSSNY.”
MSSNY YPS/Residents Social Meet Up – Friday, September 23, 2022 @ 7:00 pm
MSSNY YPS and Residents are invited to a social meet up on September 23rd at 7 PM at Cooper Bluff Waterfront Bar in Oyster Bay, NY. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet, mingle and make contacts. View full flyer here. To RSVP, contact Kathy Rohrer at: krohrer@mssny.org 516-488-6100 x 396.
How Student Loan Forgiveness Could Affect Your Credit Score
If you are one of the 43 million Americans eligible to have a portion of your student loan forgiven, your credit score might take a temporary hit. Credit scores are calculated by a “credit mix,” which are the different types of loans a user has, from revolving debt like credit cards, to installment debt like student loans, car loans, and mortgages. Lenders like to see various credit types and eliminating one from your profile could negatively impact your score. The user’s credit mix affects only 10% of a FICO score, which can cause a slight dip that may immediately affect a significant purchase like a house or car.
Others may see an immediate benefit from deducting their student loan debt. That’s because eliminating debt could significantly decrease your total debt balance, which accounts for 30% of your FICO score. A smaller debt balance can lead to a higher credit score, but FICO scores calculate a user’s total credit utilization and the user’s total amount of revolving credit and exclude installment debt like student loans. The US Department of Education student loan cancellation applications will release more information in October. It could take up to six weeks for forgiveness to occur. Plan accordingly.
Why Student Loan Forgiveness Could Hurt Your Credit Score (Hansen, Money, 9/9).
How to Use Digital Health Data to Improve Outcome
Digital health is becoming more accessible thanks to electronic health records, personal fitness apps, gadgets, and home genome test kits. The amount of health information generated by digital tools is rapidly growing. When used correctly, these tools will improve the quality of health care. With the right combination of systems in place to detect and analyze the data, physicians will be able to have more data to make a decision that is best for their patient’s health.
The author uses examples of how physicians outside the United States currently use digital health tools to communicate and diagnose patients while offering suggestions on how the development of digital measures will allow physicians to more accurately and effectively assess and improve their performance.
How to Use Digital Health Data to Improve Outcome (Glaser, HBR. (9/12).
DEA Warning: Scammers Impersonating DEA Agents
In March 2021 The Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning to the public of a widespread fraud scheme in which telephone scammers impersonate DEA agents in an attempt to extort money or steal personal identifiable information. MSSNY has recently been alerted that this scam is still circulating among physicians.
Remember, DEA personnel will never contact members of the public or medical practitioners by telephone to demand money or any other form of payment. They will never request personal or sensitive information over the phone and will only notify people of a legitimate investigation or legal action in person or by official letter. In fact, no legitimate federal law enforcement officer will demand cash or gift cards from a member of the public. For more information, view the public service announcement on these scams or check out this DEA Warning: Scammers Impersonating DEA Agents.
MSSNYPAC Releases End of Session Report & Legislator Scorecard
With the summer primaries behind us and just seven weeks until the midterm elections in November, MSSNYPAC has released its end of session report and its legislator scorecard.
The end of session report describes, in detail, the results of this year’s legislative session. This includes information on public health wins that will benefit the lives of physicians and their patients, as well as concerning legislation that passed against MSSNY efforts. The report also details the $220 billon state budget for fiscal year 2022-2023, which produced several significant victories for organized medicine. You can view the end of session report here.
The scorecard is a valuable tool for physicians that contains the voting and co-sponsorship records of each state legislator on issues important to New York physicians, their patients, and our health care system. This year, the scorecard encompasses seven bills supported by MSSNY and four bills opposed by MSSNY.
Bills supported by MSSNY:
A879/S8113 – Requires Same Specialty Peer Review by Health Plans
A1741-A/S5299-A – Limits Health Insurer “Copay Accumulators”
A3276/S5909 – Limits Mental Health Step Therapy
A9687-B/S9079-B – Protects Physicians Who Provide Reproductive Health Care
A10502/S9113-A – Expands Red Flags & Background Checks for Firearm Purchases
A6256/S5055 – Telehealth Payment Parity
A9908-A/S8299 – Reduces Prior Authorization Hassles through “Gold Cards”
Bills opposed by MSSNY:
A6770/S74-A – Wrongful Death Expansion
A3470C/S2521C – Facility Fee Disclosure
A273/S4640 – Mandatory Opioid Prescribing Alternatives
A6008-E/S9449 – Mental Health Counselors Diagnosis
MSSNYPAC has also released specialized, county by county versions of its scorecard. This way, you will be able to see how the legislators that represent your county are voting on issues important to you and your patients. There are currently 20 county scorecards available. To request a scorecard from a county not listed, please contact mssnypac@mssny.org or call 518-465-8085.
US House Passes Legislation to Reduce Medicare Advantage Claim Hassles
With the US House of Representatives passing legislation this week – the Improving Seniors’ Access to Timely Care Act (HR 3173) – we now need the US Senate to follow suit. Please urge Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to pass this legislation before the end of the year.
This bipartisan legislation would require Medicare Advantage plans to adopt transparent prior authorization programs that adhere to evidence-based medical guidelines and hold plans accountable for making timely prior authorization determinations and providing rationales for denials.
As noted by the AMA, physicians complete an average of 41 prior authorizations per week. This unnecessary burden amounts to roughly 13 hours weekly that physicians and their staff must spend on administrative work instead of seeing and treating patients. If an insurance plan covers a treatment that would benefit a patient, physicians should not have to waste time ensuring access to it.
Please contact your Senators today and urge them to pass this important legislation.
Lawsuit Reform Alliance of NY Announces Campaign to Protect New York from Disastrous Lawsuit Expansion Bill
As physicians continue to press Governor Hochul to veto legislation that would strike a huge blow to New York’s health care safety net, the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York released a new ad campaign, “Not One More Cost Hike”, to educate elected officials, local business owners, families, and voters of the costly consequences of A.6770/S.74-A. As written, the bill will radically expand the types of damages recoverable in wrongful death lawsuits – sending insurance premiums skyrocketing.
The first ad of the campaign ran in the New York Daily News on Thursday, September 15, 2022.
More information can be found at www.NotOneMoreCostHike.org
An analysis from Milliman, Inc. finds that if A.6770/S.74-A is enacted, insurance costs could increase by more than $2 billion. For medical professional liability insurance, costs are projected to spike a staggering 45%!
As part of a press release Local governments: wrongful death expansion will hike costs (nystateofpolitics.com) announcing the campaign, MSSNY President Dr. Parag Mehta stated:
“New York’s physicians have been fighting on the frontlines of the COVID, Monkeypox and now polio pandemics. This wrongful death bill passed by the State Legislature presents a new crisis for these physician heroes as it imposes new costs in malpractice insurance. This bill will be devastating for patients, as it undermines the financial survival of their primary care doctors, pediatricians, OBGYNS, any specialty doctor they see as well as emergency physicians – particularly those in underserved and diverse communities who are already financially challenged. New York physicians already pay among the highest liability costs in the country. They can’t afford to watch this bill increase those costs by more than 40%, putting the integrity of our healthcare system at risk and chasing many physicians out of the state.”
The press release also included quotes from the New York State Conference of Mayors and the New York State Business Council, highlighting the staggeringly adverse impact this bill would have on municipal services and on our business community.
Letter to the Editor from President Parag Mehta, MD in Crain’s New York
Crain’s New York today published a letter to the editor from MSSNY President Parag Mehta, MD entitled “Patients prefer—and deserve—to be treated by the best and most highly trained physicians.”
“We agree with the concern expressed in “Study finds that nearly half of New Yorkers’ primary care providers are not physicians” (Aug. 31) that a shortage of primary care physicians in New York has resulted in an increased number of patients having a nurse practitioner or physician assistant as their primary care provider.
“Patients should make decisions with a highly qualified physician who has rigorous training—including four years of medical school and three to seven years of residency and fellowship training—compared to a non-physician without that level of expertise. The future of health care is team-based care—and physicians should be the leader of that team…Read More
New Resources from AMA STEPS Forward®: Toolkits, Podcasts, Webinars and More
| Simplified Outpatient E/M Documentation and Coding | View Toolkit | |
| AMA STEPS Forward® Podcast: Improve Patient Care With Collaborative Care Team Models | Listen Here: (Apple Podcasts | Spotify) | |
| Webinar: Demonstrating the Value of Virtual Care | September 23, 2022, 11:00 am ET
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Register Now |
| Webinar:
Private Practice Simple Solutions – Recruitment |
September 22, 2022, 11:00 am ET
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Register Now |
| Webinar:
Private Practice Simple Solutions: Team Documentation |
Session 1: Available Now
Session 2: October 18, 2022, 11:00 am ET
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Register Now
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| Private Practice Playbook | Video
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New Webinars on Veterans as Patients, Vaccines for Adults and Children, and Treating Patients with Biosimilars
| Military Culture: Everything Physicians Need to Know About Veterans as Patients | Register Now
September 20th at 6:00pm |
1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credits™ |
| Vaccines for Adults and Children | Register Now
September 21st at 7:30am |
1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credits™ |
| What Physicians Need to Know When Treating Patients With FDA-Approved “Biosimilar | Register Now
October 5, 2022 at 7:30am |
Additional information or assistance with registration may be obtained by contacting Melissa Hoffman at mhoffman@mssny.org.
MSSNY Job Board
Members have access to the MSSNY Job Board. Whether you are looking for the next step in your career or looking for your next hire, we have you covered!
Physicians’ search services • allied medical placements • locum tenens • practice valuation • practice brokerage • practice consulting • real estate
For help, information or to place your ad, call Roseann Raia at 516-488-6100
ext. 302
For the MSSNY 2022 Ad RateSheet, please click here.
Concierge Practice for Sale Boca Raton Florida
FOR SALE: Established Independent Concierge Internal Medicine Practice in Boca Raton, Florida. Stable turnkey operation in a pleasant work environment. Ideal for someone with the desire to transition to a better approach to medical practice. Financing available.
Contact planahead2023@gmail.com.
Hollywood Beach, FL 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath Condo Direct Ocean View
One of a kind two-bedroom two bath condo directly on Hollywood Beach and boardwalk. Terrace overlooking the ocean is cruise ship-like, with unobstructed views of the ocean and intercostal. Penthouse unit without neighbors above or adjacent. Features white 24-inch tile floors, two bedrooms with queen beds, two marble tiled bathrooms, central air conditioning and building just upgraded. Edgewaters Beach Towers, 400 North Surf Rd., Hollywood Beach. $779,000. Call 917-861-8273 / CenedeseLuis@gmail.com
30 Central Park South Office for Lease or Sale
Prime ground floor office, two AAAHC accredited operatories plus four exam rooms lab, large reception and secretarial areas and two full bathrooms. Four rooms with external windows. Will help with building to suit. Lease $16500/month with option to buy $3.3mil. Contact CenedeseLuis@gmail.com or 917-861-8273
Rheumatology Practice Sublet – Great Neck, NY
Sublet opportunity available at an established medical office in Great Neck, NY. Prime location near LIJ, Northshore University and St. Francis Hospitals. Fully equipped office with onsite parking and proximity to mass transit. Contact 516-972-2986/susanrita1@msny.com for more info.
Medical Office with Ample Patient Parking + 1 Family For Sale in the Most Desired Area of Hollis Hills. Priced to Sell!
One of a kind medical office investment opportunity and growth in the most desirable areas of Hollis Hills! This property is an S1 zoning that allows a medical practice, located within proximity of LIJ and Manhasset hospital, Lake Success Pro Health Medical offices with ample patient parking and much more, this unique property features a residential space split level style with 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths living room, dining room with a wood burning fireplace, kitchen, oversized sunroom/den, 1 car garage and laundry room.
The Lower level has a separate entrance, 4 exam rooms, a doctor’s private office, filling rooms and endless closet storage.
Conveniently located near schools, worship houses, transportation, GCP, LIE, Cross Island & Clearview Expressway, restaurants, shopping centers and much more! To inquire, please call Claudia (917-554-4158) or Bella at (718-344-2153).
Recruiting for Full or Part time (20 hours per week Chief of Medical Services). Salary is negotiable.
Oversees and directs the planning, implementation, and supervision of health and medical services for residents at the NYS Veterans Home at St Albans. Develops, implements, and evaluates medical treatment standards and procedures; and provides technical and operational guidance and direction to medical and health care staff. Serves as a medical consultant and liaison; and develops recommendations for medical assessments, treatments, and care. Implements and monitors contract agreements and the provision of contracted medical and health related services. Participates in program audits and reviews. Supervises the credentialing and privileging process to ensure that medical staff possess appropriate credentials and maintain appropriate levels of continuing education; and participates in the development of recruitment programs and hiring and selection processes. Provides clinical and administrative supervision and guidance to physicians and other health care professionals. Possession of a license and current registration to practice medicine in New York State and six years of post-licensure medical practice experience, two years of which must have been in an administrative or supervisory capacity. Must be fully COVID 19 vaccinated.
Send CV to: RecruitmentStAlbans@nysvets.org
Office Space To Share / Financial District NYC.
LOCATION:
111 John St., Ste 1460, NYC 10038 (between Cliff & Pearl St.)
A block away from the South Street Seaport. Easy access to office Central hub for all subway lines (A, C, 2, 3, 4, 5, J, Z, E), a quick walk from NJ path train.
Beautifully renovated, 1,300 sq ft. modern space. Available Monday, Wednesday, Friday and weekends.
Private rooms with pocket doors. Access to building 24/7, security/door man in the lobby, very safe. Daily rate $450. Contact (917) 514-1299 text/call.
Medical Office for Share in Medical Park with Free Big Parking Lot in Westchester County
Medical office for sublet in Medical Park with free big parking lot, located at West Harrison, border of White Plains in Westchester County. Office includes a big waiting room with a kitchen, doctors office, exam room, and reception area. All rooms are available for whole days of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Thursday (Thursday full day on every 1st and 3rd week and Thursday morning on every 2nd and 4th week each month, or we can discuss more options). Monthly rent $600 for once a week usage, $1100 for twice a week usage, $1500 for three-day a week usage. Newly renovated and fully furnished. Text May if you are interested 646-338-4803
Board Certified Internal or Family Medicine Physician
Join our caring team and our mission to provide the highest standard of healthcare to each of our patients. Medical office in Eastern Nassau County looking a for a hard-working, responsible Physician to join our team.
Responsibilities include care for, diagnosing and managing patients.
Please send Curriculum Vitae to drg2555@yahoo.com.
Rendr – Transforming Healthcare – Leadership Opportunity: Associate Chief Medical Office, SVP of Population Health, Bilingual English and Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) preferred
Job Position: Associate Chief Medical Office, SVP of Population Health in this role, you will lead and provide a wide range of support through population health, quality measures, practice transformation, Rendr360 department, House Calls, and other projects. Please send resumes careers@rendrcare.com. We are offering leadership opportunities to Physicians who are interested in providing high-quality clinical care to our patients in the diverse communities that we serve. As a rapidly growing network, we provide a supportive environment for our physicians to practice medicine under the guidance of dedicated medical leadership. www.rendrcare.com.