Serving Physicians and Their Patients Since 1955
County Line
Clark County Medical Society
“
Newsletter 165 | October 2013
In This Issue:
We live in an era of personal
responsibility. We live in an era of
informed consent. Physicians need to stay
abreast of opioid treatment issues...
”
We Are All In This Together, President's Message...see page 1
Medicare
Meaningful
Use Audit
Q&A
with
Dr. Andy Pasternak
...see page 8
Community
Spotlight:
UMC
...see page 9
Government
Affairs
Committee
Update
...see page 15
NEW
Member
Benefit
...see page 20
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2013-14 Board of Trustees
Executive Council
Keith Brill, MD
President
George Alexander, MD
Past President
Michael Edwards, MD
President-Elect
Andrew Eisen, MD
Secretary
Arezo Fathie, MD
Treasurer
Lesley Dickson, MD
Delegate Chair
Trustees at Large
Joseph Adashek, MD
Howard Baron, MD
Souzan El-Eid, MD
Nicholas Fiore, MD
Weldon (Don) Havins, MD, Esq
Beata Kwiatkowska, MD
Peter Mansky, MD
Staci McHale, MD
Fred Redfern, MD
Warren Volker, MD
Highest Ranking NSMA Officer
Florence Jameson, MD
Ex-Officio Members
Larry Matheis
NSMA Executive Director
Marcia Turner, PhD
NV System of Higher Education
Mitchell Forman, DO
Touro University Nevada
Miriam Bar-on, MD
University of NV School of Medicine
Representative
John Ellerton, MD
Scholarship Chair
Ben Rodriguez, MD
NBME Liaison
Ronald Hedger, DO
NBOM Liaison
John Middaugh, MD
Chief Health Officer
Southern Nevada Health District
Marietta Nelson, MD
AMA Chief Delegate
Ron Kline, MD
AMA Alternate Delegate
2013-14 Alliance President
Addy Zilberman
President's Message
We Are All In This Together
By Keith R Brill, MD, FACOG, FACS
2013-14 CCMS President
I am a physician. I made this decision at age 17,
when I was admitted into the 6-year Honors
Program in Medicine at the University of Miami.
I was trained in every aspect of general medicine,
including pharmacology (the study of
medications), microbiology (the study of bacteria,
viruses, etc. that cause infections), pathology (the
study of disease), etc. I was trained that all
patients are unique. And I was trained that all
patients do not respond the same
way to medical treatment. One
man’s ankle sprain may recover
with 48 hours of rest and ice, and
another’s may require significant
pain-relieving medications to help
that patient function.
Opioid medications have been
used appropriately, for the correct
indications, for quite some time.
As physicians, we are trained to
help patients who are in pain and
who are suffering. Indeed, during my career,
“pain” has been considered the fifth vital sign. We
have been trained to assess every patient’s pain at
every patient encounter. Hospital rounds by
nurses include an assessment of pain. Why?
Because many years ago, regulatory bodies,
including the Joint Commission, spread the
message that pain was being undertreated in our
country. Thus, if a patient complained of pain,
using a pain scale of zero to ten (ten being the
worst pain “imaginable”), we felt obligated as
providers to help relieve that patient’s pain.
Nowadays, we are graded and sometimes even
paid based on patient satisfaction and perception
of care. Patients with adequately controlled pain
are much more likely to be “satisfied” with their
care. Thus, regulatory bodies and patient
experience surveys have created another incentive
for patients to receive pain medication. Is this in
the best interest of the patient? Probably not. But,
it looks good to hospital administrators when
survey results come in at top percentiles!
When I write orders for pain in the hospital
setting, I write for a variety of possible
medications, including acetaminophen (Tylenol),
anti-inflammatory
medications
(NSAIDS, such as ibuprofen), and
opioids. These medications work
differently, approaching pain at
different levels. Not surprisingly, the
pain medication that very often
reduces pain the quickest is the
opioid. In today’s healthcare
environment, surgical patients are
“encouraged” to leave the hospital as
soon as possible. In my parents’
generation, it was typical for a
hysterectomy patient to stay in the
hospital for five to seven days. One of the benefits
to this length of stay was that pain medications
could be properly changed from initial intravenous
medications to oral pain medications that worked
for the patient. There was enough time to have
the patient “walk the hallways” and adapt to her
new postoperative reality.
Nowadays, many surgeries are done on an
outpatient basis or with a one night stay in the
hospital maximum. For some patients, this will
be their first surgery. For others, it may be the
tenth procedure in two years! How is a caring,
concerned, and appropriately trained physician
supposed to know which pain medications will be
the best ones for that particular patient? How are
we as physicians supposed to know who is going
Continued on page 22...►
CCMS STAFF
Loretta Moses
Executive Director
Natalie McKenzie
Executive Assistant
Janiceanne Poblete
Membership Coordinator
Yanné Givens
Community & PR Specialist
Table of Contents:
President's Message.........................................................1
Board Member Highlight....................................................2
New Members................................................................4-6
Member News...................................................................6
Meidcare Meaningful Use Q&A.........................................8
Community Spotlight.........................................................9
BOT Minutes....................................................................10
Government Affairs..........................................................15
Southern NV Health District............................................16
Calendar of Events..........................................................18
Member Benefit Alert.......................................................20
Directory of Advertisers...................................................24
How to Contact CCMS:
2590 E Russell Road | Las Vegas, NV 89120
Phone 702.739.9989 | FAX 702.739.6345
[email protected] | www.clarkcountymedical.org
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
1
Board Member Highlight
Marcia L. Turner, Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences, NSHE
Marcia L. Turner (Ph.D.) serves as
vice chancellor for health sciences
for the Nevada System of Higher
Education (NSHE) where she is
responsible for managing the
Health Sciences System (HSS).
The HSS is charged with promoting the collaboration and advancement of more than 230 health sciences degree and certificate proMarcia L. Turner
grams throughout the eight institutions of NSHE. She has been with the Health Sciences
System since its inception in 2006.
Turner also serves as chair of the Governor’s Workforce
Investment Board Health Care and Medical Services Sector
Council and provides oversight and guidance in support of
the Governor’s mission to bring key stakeholders together to
discuss, develop and implement strategies to best meet
Nevada’s health workforce needs.
Prior to joining NSHE, Turner served as an administrator at
2
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, and has
worked extensively with governmental agencies in Nevada
and California, managing various strategic planning initiatives
as well as operational and infrastructure development initiatives.
In her roles as vice chancellor for health sciences, and chair of
the Sector Council, Turner is always looking to partner with
health care stakeholders in the state of Nevada to promote
health workforce development, and is excited for this opportunity to serve on the Board of the CCMS representing
NSHE and its public colleges and universities.
Turner holds a bachelor’s in communications and philosophy
from the University of San Diego, a master’s in communications from UNLV and a doctorate in environmental science,
also from UNLV.
Turner grew up in San Diego and moved to Las Vegas in
1994. Her husband Daniel is a pilot with American Airlines.
Her stepson, Nathan, is a junior at UNLV and stepdaughter,
Hunter, is a freshman at University of Oregon. ◘
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4/11/13 4:51 PM
New Student Members
Congratulations to Our New Student Members from Touro University Nevada
Erika Abueg
Shalease
Adams
Kimberly Ariza
Danilo Aurelio
Jennifer
Badger
Oscar Raymond Bascug
Jason Bass
Dmitry
Belchenko
Aleksandra
Betcher
Krupesh
Bhakta
Austin Bills
Daniel Burke
Nicole Calica
Charles
Carlson
Sarah
Chamanara
Shun-Zu Chen
Masoud
Chopan
Joshua Chou
Samantha
Chuang
Malia Collins
Sean Costello
Jerome Daniel
Neethi Dasu
Rommel James
Devera
Atish Dey
Fallon Vanessa
Dimaano
Calvin Doan
Grant Drake
Sarah Ehlers
Jonathan Ellis
Jennifer
Estanilla
Huijun Fan
Christopher
Folau
Jane Fung
Bryce Galbraith
Gevork
Geshgian
Mandeep Gill
Erik Grimm
Andrew Hanna
Omar Hashmi
Columban Heo
Andy Herman
David Hintze
Victor Huynh
Jennifer Hwang
Jonathon
James
Matthew
Johnson
Kaylee Kenyon
Yazer Khalid
Jay Kim
Ji Eun Kim
David La
Khwong Lam
Kimbley Lau
Cassandra Law
Robiña Lee
Justin Leeka
Andy Liao
Taissia Litvinova
Mussie Mahderekal
Jimmie Mar
John Markantonis
Emil Markulzs
Patrick Martinez
New Student Members continued...
Ramandeep
Mattu
Stephanie
Matza
Matthew
Maynard
Robert
McCabe
Ryan McCreery
Diane Meisles
Joshua
Meneses
Akash Mittal
Mehwish
Moinuddin
Michael
Mondheim
Travis Morstorf
Ibrahim
Mustafa
Emilio Narvaez
An Nguyen
Lam Nguyen
Kenisha
Nisbett
Shaunaq
Parikh
Hiromichi Park
Maulik Patel
Sara Patrizi
Tyler Peterson
Ali Pexvez
Chau Pham
Angela
Pinachos
Amarnath
Polepalle
Jorden Pope
Jonathan
Quinonez
Amit Rajaram
Ry Reyes
Rebecca Rice
Camille
Robertson
Daniel Rocks
Hunter Ross
Susan Ryan
Collin Sabatini
Justin Sagami
Tritia Schostak
Swetha
Sirisinahal
Kristen Skinner
Sam Slade
Gregory
Stewart
Aaron
Stoeclher
Eric Sumner
Allen Sung
Evan
Thompson
Robert Tidwell
Boris Tkach
Parth
Upadhyaya
Anson
Varghese
Kenney Vu
Phuoc Vu
Jennifer Waite
Derrick Ferguson
Victor Wang
Lin Wang
Jennifer Wong
John Wuthrich
Stephanie Yagi
Mona Yazdi
Kazumi
Yoshinaga
Jonathan
Youssefzadeh
Member News
Congratulations to Our
Newest Members
Bassam Al-Owir, MD
Internal Med
10120 S Eastern Ave #120
Henderson, NV 89052
Michael Benassi, MD
General Surgery
1111 Shadow Ln
LV, NV 89102
Bradley Potsic, MD
Diagnostic Radiology
2020 Palomino Ln #100
LV, NV 89106
Seema Sood, MD
Internal Med
8440 S Eastern Ave #A
LV, NV 89123
KC Tan, MD
Diagnostic Radiology
2020 Palomino Ln #100
LV, NV 89106
Rodney Welling, MD
Diagnostic Radiology
2020 Palomino Ln #100
LV, NV 89106
Membership Applicants
Lawrence Huff, MD
Orthopaedics
1681 W Horizon Ridge Pkwy, Henderson, NV 89012
Sukhjinder Singh Ahluwalia, MD
Diagnostic Radiology
2020 Palomino Ln #100, Las Vegas, NV 89106
If you have any pertinent information about these membership
candidates, please send written information to:
Clark County Medical Society
2590 East Russell Road
Las Vegas, NV 89120
6
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
Employment Opportunities
PHYSICIANS TO SHARE CLINIC GREEN VALLEY. Multi-specialty wellness clinic near 215 & St Rose Siena/Anthem. Beautiful
spacious waiting room and 7 exam rooms & consult room. MonFri 8-5. Please contact us at 263-4001
Classified Ads
FOR LEASE Two Story office/medical building 21,290 sq ft , elevator front, rear, underground parking 4 to 1 parking ratio. Northwest corner of Charleston/Rancho, next to Southwest Medical.
Walking distance to UMC and Valley medical and dental schools,
high tech bldg. Let’s deal. 702-378-2808.
Member Announcements
Congratulations to Dr. Jim Christensen, Dr. Florence Jameson
and Dr. Benjamin Rodriguez, for being honored by Las Vegas
HEALS as this year’s Inspired Excellence in Health Care Award
recipients.
Dr. Frank Nemec will be representing the CCMS Speakers
Bureau as a guest speaker at the Sixth Annual Shriners Symposium, scheduled for Thursday, October 17th at the Mandalay Bay
Resort & Casino.
Congratulations to Our
Reinstated Members
Sanford White, MD
Family Med
5771 S Fort Apache Rd #100
LV, NV 89148
Harold Zilberman, MD
Ped ER Med
3201 S Maryland Pkwy #608
LV, NV 89109
Special Events
October 5th
Annual Rose Regatta Dragon
Boat Festival
Lake Las Vegas Resort
October 17th
Shriners Symposium
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
October 22nd
Nevada Health Care Forum
Tuscany Suites & Casino
For more information about these
events and others, please visit
www.clarkcountymedical.org
or call 702.739.9989
CME Contacts
Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo......... 702-483-6024
NV Chapter AACE7................... 702-434-8400
Sunrise Hospital........................ 702-731-8210
UMC........................................... 702-383-2604
Touro University......................... 702-777-1831
Valley Hospital........................... 702-388-4847
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
7
Feature Article
Medicare Meaningful Use
Audit Q&A with Dr. Andy
Pasternak
Dr. Andy Pasternak is a family practice
physician with Silver Sage Family Medicine in Reno, Nevada.
1) Why did you get picked for an
audit? In 2011, with the help of
HealthInsight and our EHR vendor,
e-MDs, our office was one of the first
offices in the state of Nevada to attest
to the Medicare stage 1 meaningful
Dr. Andy Pasternak
use criteria. We started our attestation
period in February 2011 and wrapped up our 90 day period in
May. In speaking with the auditors, since we were one of the
first practices to attest, we were also one of the first practices in
the pool to be randomly picked for an audit.
2) How many practices are going to have to go through this?
According to recent interviews with Robert Anthony, the
deputy director of CMS’s Health IT Initiatives Group, CMS
is planning on auditing about 5% of all meaningful use participants. Going forward, CMS will conduct both prepayment
and postpayment audits. The majority of the audits are being
done by sending the requesting information to the CMS auditors Figliozzi & Co although there may be a few “in-person”
audits.
3) What kind of timeline do the auditors have? For our
office, the total time from the first request for information to
passing the audit was about six months. The turn-around time
for providing the requested information to the auditors was
usually about three weeks. It’s do-able but it’s a pretty tight
timeline. With the initial request for audit information in
November 2012, we needed to upload all of the information to
the auditor’s website. About one month later, we received a
request for additional information with a similar time frame to
get our information together and we could either fax or e-mail
that information. Finally, in May 2013, we were asked to submit a few more clarifying documents, and we were told we
passed our audit a few days later.
4) What was the most difficult part of the audit? There were
many. First off, the audit process was new to us, HealthInsight
and e-MDs. Nobody knew exactly what CMS and the auditors wanted. For criteria where we could run a discrete report,
the process was quite straightforward. Oddly enough, many of
the “Yes/No” criteria, which we initially thought would be the
easiest, ended up being the highest hurdles. We felt like we
had to try and prove a negative to the auditors in many cases.
I’d challenge providers to think about how you would demon8
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
strate to an auditor that you don’t have any patient records not
in your EHR system or that your drug-drug interactions
weren’t turned off during the period of attestation. Additionally, the data security risk assessment was an area where we were
worried that what our IT specialist had done might not live up
to what the auditors wanted to see. According to CMS, the
data security risk assessment has been one of the largest areas
where they have found non-compliance. Finally, since it was
about 18 months from our initial attestation to the audit, it was
difficult to go back in time and explain to the auditors why
things were different. For example, due to clarifications on the
meaningful use criteria and software upgrades, many of our
MU reports look different now compared to when we ran them
at the time of attestation. As a result of all these issues, my
office manager and I spent a considerable amount of time gathering the requested information or trying to figure out how to
prove some of these negatives.
5) What helped you with the audit? Because we are a small
3 provider office, we can sometimes feel isolated, especially in
the light of a CMS audit. Fortunately, we had incredible support from HealthInsight, e-MDs and our IT specialist, Josh
Latimer. When we initially attested, Eileen Colen at HealthInsight helped us organize our documentation on our “reportable” criteria. This really made portions of the audit much
easier. She was also incredibly valuable during the audit process
as someone to help figure out how to answer some of the auditor’s requests. e-MDs designated a few key contact people to
assist offices specifically with the audit process. Being able to
pick up the phone and talk to the same person through the
process helped streamline many of our solutions. Since both
HealthInsight and e-MDs had been working with other providers who had been audited, we were grateful that they shared
those experience and knowledge with us. Finally, believe it or
not, the auditors at Figliozzi and Co were very receptive to our
clarifying questions, got back with answers promptly and were
professional and pleasant during the entire process.
5) What will you do differently in the future? As we attest
for meaningful use in the future, we will definitely continue to
print a hard copy of all of our reports and keep them in a secure
place. We’re also considering scanning them to a secure site as
a back-up. For many of the “yes/no” criteria, we’re planning on
doing many, many more screen shots during our attestation
period that are date/time stamped to help prove that certain
functionalities were working. When it comes to choosing
menu items, I’m more inclined to pick items where we can
generate specific reports as opposed to the “yes/no” items that
may be more difficult to prove in an audit. Also, we’re emphasizing the importance of “clicking the box” with our providers.
It may not be the best place for medicine to be headed, but one
click could be the 0.01% difference that gets your office above
the threshold (and remember, the thresholds need to be
ABOVE 50%, not AT 50%). In general, we’re now trying to
look at our data the way an outside auditor might look at our
data. ◘
Community Spotlight
UMC - A Phenomenal
Community Resource and
Valley Jewel
UMC offers the highest level of care available anywhere in
Nevada, and serves as the community’s hospital. Since opening in 1931, UMC has grown with Southern Nevada—grown
in size, strength and vision. Today, UMC offers many unique
services to our community.
TRAUMA CENTER:
UMC is home to Nevada’s only Level I Trauma Center, and
only Designated Pediatric Trauma center. We serve not only
Southern Nevada, but parts of California, Utah and Arizona.
The UMC Trauma Center is staffed around the clock with
highly skilled specialists, working in concert to get a patient to
necessary surgery in less than five minutes. UMC’s Trauma
Center treats nearly 14,000 patients every year, and our survival rates rank among the best in the nation.
LIONS BURN CARE CENTER:
The UMC Lions Burn Care Center is the only Burn Care
Center in Nevada, ready to serve Clark County’s 2 million
residents, 40 million visitors and a 10,000 square mile radius
which includes parts of Arizona, California and Utah. The
UMC Burn Care Center’s Outpatient Clinic treats 17,000
patients per year, including pediatric burn patients.
CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL OF NEVADA:
When UMC set out to provide the highest level of care to the
youngest of patients, their efforts were acknowledged in a big
way. Children’s Hospital of Nevada at UMC is the only hospital in Nevada to be recognized as an Associate Member of
the national Children’s Hospital Association. This puts
Children’s Hospital of Nevada at UMC in an elite group of
only 216 Children’s Hospitals in the country. The Pediatric
Emergency Department and Pediatric ICU are staffed around
the clock with board-certified pediatric specialists who understand that growing bodies have specific needs. The Pediatric
ICU manages over 1000 patients a year and has been named
by Consumer Reports as one of the Top Five Hospitals in the
Country for preventing bloodstream infections. Children’s
Hospital of Nevada at UMC is home to the only Designated
Pediatric Trauma Center in Nevada, the only Burn and
Transplant Center in Nevada, along with the only Cystic
Fibrosis Center in Nevada.
In addition, Children’s Hospital of Nevada at UMC has an
exclusive partnership with the Kohl’s Corporation to provide
outreach and injury prevention awareness to the community in
areas such as car seat safety, bicycle safety, water safety and
pedestrian safety.
TRANSPLANT CENTER:
UMC is home to Nevada’s only Transplant Center. Nevada’s
first kidney transplant happened here on Christmas Day, 1989.
Today, we’re the only transplant program in Nevada, giving
hope and a second chance to hundreds of people. UMC kidney
transplant patients have a success rate of greater than 95% at
one year post-transplant. Because of advances in surgical techniques, medications and follow-up care, transplantation is the
most successful treatment for different types of kidney diseases.
UMC’s multi-disciplinary transplant team comprises physicians, nurses, pharmacists, financial counselors and an entire
staff dedicated to preparing a patient for transplant, along with
the important follow-up care.
CARDIOLOGY AND STROKE CENTER:
UMC’s Cardiology and Stroke Center is the most highly
awarded in Nevada. The American Heart Association has
recognized UMC’s care through Gold Plus awards, specifically
for the care of heart failure and stroke patients, and a Gold
award for high performance in the “ACTION Registry—Get
With the Guidelines” program for acute cardiac care. UMC
has received accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain
Centers, and has been recognized for the timely assessment of
cardiac patients and a comprehensive hypothermia program.
The Joint Commission also accredited UMC as a Primary
Stroke Center.
MATERNAL/CHILD SERVICES:
More than 3600 babies are born every year at UMC, which
offers state-of-the-art technology in a caring environment for
mom and baby. UMC is staffed around the clock by obstetricians and is the only hospital in Nevada with 24-hour in-house
anesthesiologists. It is supported by a Level III Neonatal
Nursery—the highest level of newborn care available. UMC
also specializes in high-risk obstetrics.
FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER:
UMC’s Family Resource Center has programs for all ages; from
moms-to-be and new families, to the Senior Celebrations program. With Baby Steps, expectant mothers can access early
and continuous prenatal care. And once baby arrives, the education at Bright Beginnings—from basics to breastfeeding to
sibling and dad classes and CPR—gives our families a great
start. Senior Celebrations offers seniors 50 years and older better health and wellness classes. For a list of free classes and
events, log onto umcsn.com or childrenshospitalofnevada.org.
SURGICAL SERVICES
UMC has 20 state-of-the-art operating suites, along with three
suites exclusive to the Trauma Center and four endoscopy
suites. These operating suites are used to perform kidney transplants, open heart surgery, neurosurgery, spine, orthopedic,
bariatric surgery, and a host of other emergent and elective
procedures.
Continued on page 23 ►...
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
9
Board of Trustees
CCMS Executive Council Meeting Minutes Synopsis August 20, 2013
The meeting was called to order by Dr. Brill at 6:35 pm.
Minutes: – by Dr. Brill
The Minutes from the July 16, 2013 meeting were reviewed.
Motion to approve July 16, 2013 minutes (M/S approved:
Eisen/Alexander)
Financial Report: (Fiscal Year 2013-14. July 2013; 1 month
aggregate) – by Dr. Brill (for Dr. Fathie)
General Revenue - $22,664.42. Operating Expenses
-$43,921.34. Overall, fiscal year expenses exceeded income by
$21,217.13. The bank balance for the end of July 2013 was
$703,321.72.
Motion to approve July 2013 financials (M/S approved:
Alexander/ Eisen)
Dr. Brill presented a budgeted advertising item for CCMS to
purchase an ad for the VMSN Medicine Ball program at
$1150 Motion to approve purchasing an ad for the VMSN
Medicine Ball program at $1150(M/S approved: Eisen/
Alexander).
10
Committee Reports:
Credentials: - by Dr. Brill for Dr. Adashek
Physicians: Bassam Al-Owir, MD, Internal Med; Michael
Benassi, MD, General Surgery; Bradley Potsic, MD, Diagnostic
Radiology; Seema Sood, MD, Internal Med; KC Tan, MD,
Diagnostic Radiology; Rodney Welling, MD, Diagnostic
Radiology Reinstated: Sanford White, MD, Family Med;
Harold Zilberman, MD, Ped ER Med
Students: Erika Abueg, Touro; Shalease Adams, Touro,
Kimberly Ariza, Touro; Danilo Aurelio, Touro; Jennifer Badger,
Touro; Oscar Raymond Bascug, Touro; Jason Bass,Touro ;
Dmitry Belchenko, Touro; Aleksandra Betcher, Touro; Krupesh
Bhakta, Touro ; Austin Bills, Touro; Daniel Burke, Touro ;
Nicole Calica, Touro; Charles Carlson, Touro; Sarah
Chamanara, Touro; Shun-Zu Chen, Touro; Masoud Chopan,
Touro; Joshua Chou, Touro; Samantha Chuang, Touro; Malia
Collins, Touro; Sean Costello, Touro; Jerome Daniel, Touro;
Neethi Dasu, Touro; Rommel James Devera, Touro; Atish Dey,
Touro; Fallon Vanessa Dimaano, Touro; Calvin Doan, Touro;
Grant Drake, Touro; Sarah Ehlers, Touro; Jonathan Ellis,
Touro; Jennifer Estanilla, Touro; Huijun Fan, Touro;
Christopher Folau, Touro; Jane Fung, Touro; Bryce Galbraith,
Touro; Gevork Geshgian, Touro; Madeep Gill, Touro; Erik
Grimm, Touro; Andrew Hanna, Touro; Omar Hashmi, Touro;
Columban Heo, Touro; Andy Herman, Touro; David Hintze,
Touro; Victor Huynh, Touro; Jennifer Hwang, Touro; Jonathon
James, Touro; Matthew Johnson, Touro; Kaylee Kenyon,
Touro; Yazer Khalid, Touro; Ji Eun Kim, Touro; Jay Kim,
Touro; David La, Touro; Khwong Lam, Touro; Kimbley Lau,
Touro; Cassandra Law, Touro; Robina Lee, Touro; Justin
Leeka, Touro; Andy Liao, Touro; Tassia Litvinova, Touro;
Mussie Mahderekal, Touro; Jimmie Mar, Touro; John
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
Markantonis; Emil Markulzs; Patrick Martinez; Ramandeep
Mattu; Stephanie Matza; Matthew Maynard, Touro; Robert
McCabe, Touro; Ryan McCreery, Touro; Diane Meiseles,
Touro; Joshua Meneses, Touro; Akash Mittal, Touro; Mehwish
Moinuddin, Touro; Michael Mondheim, Touro; Travis
Morstarf, Touro; Ibrahim Mustafa, Touro; Emilio Narvaez,
Touro; Lam Nguyen, Touro; An Nguyen, Touro; Kenisha
Nisbett, Touro; Shaunaq Parikh, Touro; Hiromichi Park,
Touro; Maulik Patel, Touro; Sara Patrizi, Touro; Tyler Peterson,
Touro; Ali Pexvez, Touro; Chau Pham, Touro; Angela Pinachos,
Touro; Amarnath Polepalle, Touro; Jorden Pope, Touro;
Jonathan Quinonez, Touro; Amit Rajaram, Touro; Ry Reyes,
Touro; Rebecca Rice, Touro; Camille Robertson, Touro; Daniel
Rocks, Touro; Hunter Ross, Touro; Susan Ryan, Touro; Collin
Sabatini, Touro; Justin Sagami, Touro; Tritia Schostak, Touro;
Swetha Sirisinahal, Touro; Kristen Skinner, Touro; Sam Slade,
Touro; Gregory Stewart, Touro; Gregory Stewart, Touro; Eric
Sumner, Touro; Allen Sung, Touro; Evan Thompson, Touro;
Robert Tidwell, Touro; Boris Tkach, Touro; Parth Upadhaya,
Touro; Anson Varghese, Touro; Phuoc Vu, Touro; Kenney Vu,
Touro; Jennifer Waite, Touro; Derrick Wallace-Ferguson,
Touro; Victor Wang, Touro; Ling Wang, Touro; Jennifer
Wong, Touro; John Wuthrich, Touro; Stephanie Yagi, Touro;
Mona Yazdi, Touro; Kazumi Yoshinaga, Touro; Jonathan
Youssefzadeh, Touro. Motion to approve new applicants
(M/S approved: Dickson/ Alexander)
NSMA: by Dr. Jameson & Larry Matheis
1)NSMA received a total of 57 applications for Executive
Director from July 1-August 12, 2013. There are 22 candidates who scored 44 or above. Larry has interviewed 13
candidates as of August 20. This process will narrow it down
to 6-7 candidates to be interviewed by the NSMA Council
for final decision. Dr. Jameson had information on the applicants available for those interested.
2)Larry is scheduling an appointment with Richard Perkins to
discuss a two-year contract. With the exception of NEMPAC, the Commissions are scheduled and have agendas in
the process of being approved. Internal Affairs is scheduled
for August 26 and Gov’t Affairs is scheduled for August 29,
2013.
Government Affairs: by Dr. Redfern (Monthly report on file)
1)Met with Dr. Brill, Loretta & Natalie to discuss setting up
monthly meetings, venues, topics format. Discussed a roundtable, Town Hall, and/ or speaker format. Potential speakers
would be Carolyn Goodman, Oscar Goodman, Joe Heck,
DO, Dean Heller, Lobbyists. Jennifer Frischmann, Chief
Provider Support w/ Dept of Health and Human Services
has committed to November 6. A proposal on behalf of Dr.
Redfern from the Las Vegas Country Club was received for
cost and tentative meeting dates for the First Wednesday of
each month (alternating months until participation increases) at a $250 minimum food/ bever-
Continued on page 15...►
CCMS
TOWN
HALL
MEETING
Everything You Need to Know...
...about Medicaid Expansion, Benefit Plan Changes, Enhanced Provider Screening
Requirements, and the Medicaid Eligibility Process
Where/When/Cost/Registration...
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Las Vegas Country Club
5:30 PM Networking & Registration
6:00 PM Program
FREE to All CCMS Members | Non-Members $25
RSVP (702) 739.9989 | [email protected]
Department of Health & Human Services Presents…
Jennifer Frishchmann, Chief Provider Support
Division of Health Care Financing and Policy
Our presenter Jennifer Frischmann from the Division of Health Care Financing and Policy (DHCFP)
and the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS), will provide a targeted overview of the
ACA as it pertains to Nevada Medicaid providers and patients. Topics will include the anticipated
Medicaid expansion, benefit plan changes, enhanced provider screening requirements, and the
Medicaid eligibility process. In addition, the DHCFP will help to dispel the many myths of being a
Medicaid provider and highlight some of the steps the Division is taking to improve the relationship
with health care providers. This will provide a forum to have your questions answered about the
involvement of Nevada Medicaid, and it includes a “question and answer” session!
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
11
FROM HOSPITAL
TO HOME, WE
HAVE RECOVERY
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At Kindred we understand that when a
patient is discharged from a traditional
hospital they often need post-acute care to
recover completely. Every day we help guide
patients to the proper care setting in order to
improve the quality and cost of patient care,
and reduce re-hospitalization.
Discharged isn’t the last word on a patient’s
healthcare journey. Recovery is. Come see
how Kindred continues the care every day at
continuethecare.com.
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In the Las Vegas area Kindred offers services in: 3
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Care • RehabCare Contract Rehabilitation.
TO REFER A PATIENT, CALL:
702.784.4333 • 888.378.9431
14
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
Government Affairs Committee Update
By Fred Redfern MD, Chair
The Government Affairs Committee
looks forward to a very active nonlegislative year. As we saw during the
past legislative session, those groups
who were the most active during the
“off season” had the greatest access and
momentum to get bills introduced and
passed.
As noted in our CCMS policies, the
Government Affairs Committee’s
responsibilities shall be: To monitor and respond to governmental, political activities or potential restrictions affecting the public health and provisions of medical care and the practice of
medicine.
Fred Redfern, MD
1st Town Hall Meeting
The committee also will provide opportunities for the rankand-file to have their voice heard. Starting November 6, 2013,
we will be holding a series of Town Hall meetings. Our first
guest host is Jennifer Frischmann from the Division of Health
Care Financing and Policy (DHCFP) and the Division of
Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS), who will provide a
targeted overview of the ACA as it pertains to Nevada
Medicaid providers and patients. Topics will include the
anticipated Medicaid expansion, benefit plan changes,
enhanced provider screening requirements, and the Medicaid
eligibility process. In addition, the DHCFP will help to dispel
the many myths of being a Medicaid provider and highlight
some of the steps the Division is taking to improve the relationship with health care providers. This will provide a forum
to have your questions answered about the involvement of
Nevada Medicaid. (See page 11.)
Welcome “New Member” Mixer
We will also use this Town Hall to welcome our new members.
Reception and networking opportunities will start at 5:30pm.
A short presentation with a “question and answer” forum will
run from 6 -7 pm. This is a free event for all CCMS members,
$25 for non-members.
Future Town Hall Meetings
We have secured Mayor Carolyn Goodman for February 26,
2014. We will be reaching out to other elected officials for
future Town Halls. If you have a topic for a town hall, or can
help us secure a speaker, please contact me at redfern.fred@
gmail.com.
CCMS Government Affairs Committee Meeting…JOIN
US! I would like to invite any CCMS member with an interest
in politics and policy to become a member of the CCMS Government Affairs Committee. We are holding our first meeting
at the CCMS office on October 1, 2014 at 5:30 pm. Please
RSVP to Natalie at [email protected]
if you will be able to attend. If you have a relationship with an
elected state assemblyperson or state senator, please consider
joining and becoming a designated key contact for your legislator. I will be looking for members to develop our key contact
program.
I look forward to seeing everyone on November 6! ◘
BOT Minutes continued from page 10...
age purchase and will be reviewed by the committee. This is
a working concept with possible sponsor’s off-setting costs.
CCMS Administrative:
President’s Report: by Dr. Brill (Monthly report on file)
1)Celebration for Dot Freel’s retirement after 12+ years with
CCMS was held this evening prior to the board meeting.
2)Phone conference w/ Loretta, Natalie and Dr. Redfern to
discuss upcoming Gov’t Affairs Committee strategy.
3)Will attend a Medical tourism dinner meeting w/ Dr.
Edwards, Loretta and Cheryl Smith from Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority on Aug 28.
4)CCMS submitted a Petition of Amendment and the Proposed Regulation to NAC 630 to the NBME. Dr.
Edwards will give testimony and comments on behalf of
CCMS at the NBME meeting on Friday, Sept. 6 at 8:40
am. The NSMA Executive Committee voted to support
the CCMS proposed revision of the PA supervision regulations.
Executive Director Report: by Dr. Brill for L. Moses (Monthly
report on file)
1)Strategic Planning Session on October 12, 9:00am-1:00pm
@ Jim Rodgers Car Museum. Discussion will include
Media training and Media strategy. Refreshments will be
provided.
2)O utdoor Advertising (Billboard) via Clear Channel- “Is
your doctor a member of CCMS?” campaign slated for
September 2013
3)On Aug 5, CCMS had a Las Vegas Business Press
ADVERTISEMENT, Volume 30, Issue 31, P27 (Inside
Back Cover, full page) “Is your physician a member of the
Clark County Medical Society? Call us for a referral.” +
CCMS logo, “Serving Physicians and Their Patients Since
1955”
4)CCMS staff is pricing out decals to send to members stating they are a CCMS Member for them to post in their
office windows.
Future Meeting: September 17, 2013 at 6:00 pm
Adjournment: 7:40pm
◘
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
15
Southern Nevada Health District Update
“Vital Records” are Vital to
Public Health: How Inaccurate
Death-Certificates Can Lead Public
Health Down The Wrong Paths
by Nancy Williams, MD, MPH, Acting Chief Health Officer,
Southern Nevada Health District
As the local public health agency tasked with preventing disease and injuries and promoting the health of Clark County’s 2
million residents, the Southern Nevada Health District relies
on and cultivates a variety of data sources in order to target its
resources at the public health issues of most importance to our
community. One “vital,” but often underappreciated source of
data for conducting epidemiological studies is an accurate
death certificate. For every person who dies in the United
States, a death certificate is created and documents the immediate and underlying causes of death.
A death certificate database for a community like Clark County
(where 14,886 deaths occurred in the past year) offers answers
to questions that help us decide where to focus our prevention
efforts, such as:
• What are the top causes of death among Clark County residents?
• In what proportion of deaths did diabetes play a role?
• Have rates of heart disease-related deaths declined
since we began a particular smoking cessation program?
As you can imagine, accurate death-certificate reporting is crucial in order for us to obtain the true answers to these questions.
Inaccurate reporting could mislead us into thinking problems
exist where they do not, to miss recognizing true public health
concerns, or to be misdirected as to where our public-health
funding would have the greatest effect.
Death certificate inaccuracies can be significant and have
potentially detrimental effects for public health. Just look at
the case of New York City… Research into New York City
death-certificate accuracy was prompted when, in 2003, public
health officials observed some disturbing mortality trends.
Heart-disease mortality among 34-75 year olds in New York
City was more than 50 percent higher than the US average.
Among 75- to 84-year olds and those 85 and over, the differential was even greater (more than 90 percent and nearly 140
percent higher, respectively). The New York City Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) could have reactively redirected resources from other programs to try to
address the apparently excessive rate of heart disease in their
city. Fortunately, they first thought to ask, ‘How could New
York City residents have so much heart disease when other
research shows their risk factors to be the same or lower than
the US average?’ and decided to look into the accuracy of
death-certificate data first.
16
Evidence of inaccurate death-certificate documentation
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
mounted. In one New York City study, high numbers of death
certificates were found that showed heart disease as the underlying causes of death for people who died of unrelated diseases
like cancer, pneumonia, or stroke. In another study, more than
half of medical residents polled reported that they had knowingly documented inaccurate causes of death. Explanations
included lack of training in death certificate completion, being
too busy, having to complete death certificates for patients they
had not personally treated, technical glitches, and having been
misdirected by others.
In the end, rather than directing more efforts toward heart
disease prevention, New York City’s DOHMH developed an
intervention to improve the accuracy of death certificates and
later determined through a follow-up study that it was effective. Results from the follow-up study imply that while heart
disease had been over-reported as cause of death, influenza,
pneumonia, chronic lower respiratory disease, and cerebrovascular disease had been under-reported. New York City’s experiences with death certificates were brought to the public’s
attention in a July 2013 New York Times article. (http://www.
nytimes.com/2013/07/02/health/making-the-right-call-evenin-death.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 )
Although we have not assessed Clark County death certificates
to the same extent, we know that the problem of death certificate inaccuracy is common in the U.S. and believe that Clark
County’s death certificates are likely, to some degree, to have
inaccuracies similar to New York City’s. Fortunately, the
health district’s Vital Record’s program recently joined our
Office of Epidemiology, a relationship that should facilitate the
improvement of death certificate reporting in Clark County.
Already, astute vital records staff members have brought to the
attention of the Office of Epidemiology their observations
that a significant number of recent death certificates showed
underlying cause of death as ‘cardiopulmonary arrest’ or ‘cardiac arrest’ but with no contributing causes indicated, which
effectively translates to ‘unknown’. (Cardiopulmonary arrest is
death, after all.) A cursory review indicated that these death
certificates are likely to number in the many hundreds per year,
which could skew our assessment of our population’s health.
Therefore, we are now working on quantifying those findings.
Subsequently, recognizing that there is additional need for
training in completing the cause-of-death section of death
certificates, we hope to develop an online training program
similar to New York City’s (http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/
media/video/icdr/index.html) that would help those in Clark
County who complete death certificates improve their skills.
In the meantime, we recommend taking advantage of a free
CME opportunity through Medscape (http://www.medscape.
org/viewarticle/771961_4), which focuses on New York City’s
clinician-education intervention that is now required for all
persons before they may complete a death certificate, and using
CDC’S simple guidance for documenting cause of death
(http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/blue_form.pdf ).
Stay tuned for an update on our findings and an announcement of future educational opportunities. ◘
Cancer erases.
What will you do to
erase cancer?
In October the lawyers and staff of
Hutchison & Steffen actively participate
in breast cancer awareness, and the rm
donates a percentage of the month’s
revenues to breast cancer research.
We encourage you to join in
the ght against breast cancer, too.
Let’s see the future...
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PECCOLE PROFESSIONAL PARK
10080 WEST ALTA DRIVE, SUITE 200
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 89145
702.385.2500
HUTCHLEGAL.COM
©2013
HUTCHISON & STEFFEN
CCMS Calendar of Events
October
1
7
9
CCMS Governmental Affairs Meeting
5:30-6:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
31
1 - October 7-17 CCMS Fall Mini-Internship
November
2 - NSMA Long Term Planning Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
CCMS Membership Committee Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
10
CCMS CHPR Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
12
CCMS BOT Strategic Planning/Retreat
9:00-12:00pm
Jim Rogers – Auto Collection Venue
1420 Grayson, Las Vegas 89101
14
Columbus Holiday
Office Closed
15
CCMS BOT Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
NSMA Governmental Affairs Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
NSMA Medicare CAC Meeting
9:00-10:00am • 2590 E Russell Rd
17
CCMS Fall Mini-Internship Debriefing Dinner
6:00-9:00pm • Fogo de Chao
360 E Flamingo Rd, Las Vegas 89169
NSMA Governmental Affairs Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
18
21
NSMA Public Health Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
24
NSMA Continuing Medical Practice
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
25
Nevada Day
Office Closed
3
6
Happy Halloween
Daylight Savings End
CCMS Government Affairs Town Hall – Jennifer Frischmann,
NV Medicaid / Welcome New Member Mixer
5:30-8:00pm • Las Vegas Country Club
3000 Joe W Brown Dr, • Las Vegas 89109
RSVP: 702-739-9989 or [email protected]
11
Veteran’s Day
Office Closed
13
CCMS Membership Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
14
CCMS CHPR Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
18
19
20
21
NSMA Public Health Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
CCMS BOT Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
NSMA Continuing Medical Accreditation Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
CCMS Small Business HCR Survival Lunch and Learn
11:00-1:00pm • 7055 Lindell Rd. Las Vegas, NV 89118
RSVP: 702-739-9989 or [email protected]
NSMA Governmental Affairs Meeting
6:00-7:00pm • 2590 E Russell Rd
28&29
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
Thanksgiving and Family Day
Office Closed
Looking for new and different ways to stay ahead?
Do you want to attract and retain the BEST employees?
Not sure how health care reform will impact your business?
Are you concerned about the rising health insurance premiums?
WE HEAR YOU...
AND WE HAVE ANSWERS!
Clark County Medical Society presents…
Lunch & Learn
Small Business Strategies for Surviving Health Care Reform
Thursday, November 21, 2013
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Brady Industries, Inc. | 7055 Lindell Road | LV, NV 89118
Please join Clark County Medical Society, Clark & Associates, and featured speakers as we
hold a Lunch & Learn to discuss employee benefit strategies in the new era of healthcare
reform. We will have various speakers presenting creative and cost-effective ideas for 2014
and beyond, as well as keep you up-to-date on the changes that you can expect next year with
the law’s new requirements.
Speaker line up:
• Valerie Clark, presenting “Small Business Strategies for Surviving Health Care Reform”
•CJ Bawden, Nevada Health Link; Operated by the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange
•Rob Westra, Connect Your Care “CDHP and Defined Contribution”
•Sarah Sommers, Solutions At Work, Payroll Technology and HR Consulting “The Value of Total Compensation Statements”
Seating is Limited - RSVP Today!
702.739.9989 | [email protected]
Member Benefit Alert
By Howard Baron, MD Chair 30
Savi %
Offic ngs O
n
e Su
ppli
es!
Howard Baron, MD
The Membership Committee is pleased to announce a new
CCMS Member “Office Supplies Discount” benefit through
the business-to-business division of Office Depot. We are
excited to extend this opportunity through our partnership
with one of the world’s premier office products providers.
Through the Clark County Medical Society Office Depot
program, CCMS members can now purchase all of the supplies
your office needs at a discounted rate. Members will experience
online ordering made simple, while having access to thousands
of products via the Office Depot website. In addition, should
you need to make “last minute” purchases, you may request an
Office Depot Store Purchasing Card (SPC), good at any of the
Office Depot retail stores. CCMS members can receive up to
30% off per item on more than 700 selected items, with additional discounts for Copy and Print.
Office Depot offers a fast and stress-free solution, 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. And all from the convenience of your
computer! Furthermore, CCMS members will have access to
Office Depot Account Manager, Matthew Paczko, and the
customer service team to answer questions and offer assistance
with your Office Depot Account.
To register today, log onto www.clarkcountymedical.org and
click on the “Office Depot” logo, or contact Matthew Paczko
via email at [email protected] or by phone at
(702) 324-6192 to begin shopping now!
To take advantage of all of the Member Benefits your Clark
County Medical Society has to offer, visit www.clarkcountymedical.org/membership or contact the CCMS at (702) 7399989 to schedule an appointment. ◘
2013 Fall Mini-Internship
October 7-17
Physicians
Needed!
To download an application, please visit www.clarkcountymedical.org or,
call Janice Poblete at 702.739.9989
Mini-Internship
Debriefing Dinner
Fogo de Chao
October 17, 2013
20
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
Falcon Technology’s Cost and
Time Saving Medical Billing Solution
We are a comprehensive local medical billing service that
handles all aspects of your billing needs. Our certified staff
generates and sends claims and statements, follows up
with payers, answers patient billing questions, and operates like an extension of your practice.
highlights and benefits of our services:
• We provide the management and administration of the billing process – allowing the
practice owner and office manager to attend to other concerns.
• You don’t pay overtime, office space or
benefits normally associated with billing
personnel.
• Falcon offers the most advanced EHR
practice management systems - giving you
complete transparency and control of your
own books.
• Our Billing Bridge Services allow us to fulfill
part or all of your billing needs while training
your staff on key elements of RCM for
optimum utilization. The result is increased
revenue to your practice.
• We don’t get paid unless you do.
• We include a dedicated local phone line answered by our team to handle billing inquiries.
CCMS Members: Call today to schedule your free billing assessment!
(value $450)
702-629-4945
[email protected]
President's Message from page 1...
to take their medication appropriately, and who is going to
overuse their medication? Who is going to not follow postprocedure instructions and lift too much weight too soon?
Who is going to just “walk around the block a few times” and
ultimately, cause more pain in the process?
The bottom line is…we can’t.
Relieving pain is not the job of just a certain “group of
specialist” doctors. Every specialty, in one form or another, is
going to treat patients with pain. Indeed, when I perform
surgery on a patient, I expect that she will have pain, and I give
prescriptions for pain relievers based on my training and
experience treating similar patients. Primary care physicians
treat pain all the time—for headaches, injuries, outpatient
minor procedures, chronic pain, etc.
There is current legislation being introduced that would punish
physicians who prescribe opioid pain medications to patients
who subsequently become “addicted” to these medications. The
reasoning is that “physicians caused the problem” and therefore
should be responsible to pay for treatment of addiction for the
patient.
Education is the key to solving this problem. Not punitive
damages, not the threat of being sued by aggressive plaintiff ’s
attorneys. We are no longer living in the 1950s, when a
physician, wearing a bow-tie, likely smoking a cigarette, would
tell a patient what to do and that patient would blindly follow
the “fatherly” doctor’s advice. We live in an era of personal
responsibility. We live in an era of informed consent. Physicians
need to stay abreast of opioid treatment issues—proper
informed consent and documentation; identifying signs of
patient misuse or abuse of medications (early refills, requests
for refills on Friday afternoons, doctor shopping (including
urgent care settings); utilizing a soon to be improved Prescription
Monitoring Program. Furthermore, improvements in opioid
medications themselves are emerging—newer medications are
focusing more on opioid receptor agonists and less on euphoric
and dysphoric side effects. Of course, these newer medications
come at a higher cost, and many insurance plans will not cover
them without trying a cheaper (i.e. generic) alternative. This
leaves the prescribing physician in a quandary once again.
Getting lists of high prescribers of Oxycontin is not the answer.
No, this is the wrong approach and needs to be called out for
what it ultimately is—a witch hunt. Each and every one of
those prescribers would need to be investigated, and I am
certain that many are prescribing the medication appropriately.
But, in a profession where reputation and integrity matter, a
wonderful, caring oncologist or rheumatologist or pain
management specialist may be subject to a regulatory
investigation process that would interfere with physicianpatient confidentiality and possibly cause the physician to
consider a change in career paths.
CCMS upholds the highest ethical standards in our members.
If a physician is a “bad apple” and ultimately found to be
running a “pill mill,” where improper and inappropriate
prescriptions are handed out to anyone willing to pay a co-pay,
that physician should be appropriately reported to the NBME,
NBOM, DEA, etc. Practicing medicine is a privilege. But each
provider of care works in his or her own unique specialty, with
unique patients and unique patient needs.
It’s been said that education will set you free. Let’s continue to
educate our providers, our citizens, and our legislators. We are
all in this together. ◘
Ultimately, if legislation were to pass, most, if not all, physicians
would likely stop prescribing opioids. Yes, stop. Is this the
intention of this proposed bill? I certainly hope not, as it would
lead to patients seeking alternative forms of pain control—not
just medical marijuana, but illicit drugs, such as heroin. There
are many patients on high amounts of opioids, for appropriate
reasons—such as rheumatological disorders (arthritis, lupus,
auto-immune disorders), musculoskeletal disorders (injuries,
vertebral and spinal nerve compressions), as well as many
others (post-surgical recovery patients, cancer patients, etc.).
Who is going to prescribe appropriate pain relieving medications
if there is the potential to have to pay for a patient’s future
addiction?
22
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
Community Spotlight continued from page 9...
QUICK CARE/PRIMARY CARE:
UMC provides Quick Care and Primary Care Clinics across
the valley. For an ache or pain, a bump or bruise, or anything
else that doesn’t require an emergency room, UMC Quick
Cares offer urgent care services. Ten locations around the valley provide walk-in service for minor emergencies, immunizations and screenings. Primary Care facilities are connected to
UMC’s Quick Cares. At UMC Primary Care sites, family
doctors are assigned for ongoing health needs. To find the
UMC Quick Care and Primary Care in your neighborhood,
log onto umcsn.com.
EMERGENCY SERVICES:
With dedicated departments for adults and children, serving
more than 120,000 patients each year, UMC has one of the
busiest Emergency Departments in the country. Staffed by
Board Certified Emergency Department Physicians and specially trained nurses, UMC’s Emergency Department treats the
most unique of conditions and people come here from across
the region to get specialty care. UMC’s Adult ED has been
recognized by the Joint Commission, The American Heart
Association, and The Society for Chest Pain Centers for our
exceptional outcomes in the treatment of stroke and heart
attack patients. UMC meets the national standard for Doorto-Balloon time in under 90 minutes more than 95% of the
time, and consistently meets national best practices of Arrivalto-CT time of under 25 minutes in stroke patients. UMC has
been recognized as innovators in post-cardiac arrest hypothermia care. UMC’s 20 bed Pediatric ED boasts an extraordinary
door-to-doctor time of less than 20 minutes
• Cares for 650 patients who utilize our 10 Quick Care and
Primary Care locations
Every year, UMC works to care for the entire community by
providing $250 Million in uncompensated care to uninsured
and underinsured patients. This compassionate treatment
coupled with state-of-the-art services is vital to the health of
the whole community. ◘
Message from the CCMS Alliance:
October 2013
Hello Clark County Medical Society and
Alliance Members,
I am extremely excited, as we started our year with a
very successful luncheon and our membership is steadily increasing.
What a great luncheon we had at Mastros last month!
We had a fantastic turn-out ,with about 70 people attending, and we definitely increased our membership
that day. Thank you to Ercy Rosen, Julie Leon, Dawn
Blum and Renee Tice for working so hard to put this
event together and make it successful.
I’d like to invite all physicians and their spouses to join
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: us at our Halloween Wine Mixer at the home of Dr.
UMC is proud to be the premier teaching hospital in Nevada, and Mrs. Kirk on Friday, October 25th at 7:00 PM.
partnering with the University of Nevada School of Medicine This event is for our paid and potential members and
to provide medical residency programs. As Nevada’s teaching their significant others.
hospital, UMC provides training for more than 200 medical
residents in disciplines including Surgery, Psychiatry, Pediatrics,
OB/GYN, Internal Medicine, Family Medicine and Emergency
Medicine. UMC provides more than 50% of the clinical teaching environment to all nursing and allied health professions
students from UNLV and CSN. UNSOM also encompasses
16 clinical departments including family medicine, pediatrics,
OB/GYN, internal medicine and psychiatry and behavioral
sciences—staying at the forefront of every discipline to bring
the best possible patient care to our halls.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF UMC:
On any given day, UMC
•Provides life-saving care to 8 Trauma patients in our Level1 Trauma Center.
• Admits 75 patients for in-hospital stays, with an average stay length of five days
• Delivers 12-15 babies
• Treats more than 230 people in our Adult Emergency Department Treats 100 children in our dedicated Pediatric
Emergency Department
• Treats 1,550 people in our outpatient clinics
• Receives 350 outpatient visits at our 10 specialty clinics
I’m pleased to announce that Communities in Schools
will be our charity recipient for our annual fashion
show. There were other charities considered, however,
Communities in Schools fit all of our requirements and
they are extremely excited to work with us!
I also want to request the Board of Trustees of the Clark
County Medical Society to help us by encouraging your
significant others to join the Alliance. We will be distributing membership applications at your next board
meeting.
For any questions regarding
membership, please visit
www.CCMSA-LV.org
Sincerely,
Addy I. Zilberman, MBA
CCMS Alliance President
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
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Thank You to Our Advertisers
Bank of Nevada........................................................................................................................Back Cover
Falcon Technology..................................................................................................................................21
Hutchison & Steffen................................................................................................................................17
Integrity Document Imaging & EMR Solutions........................................................................................22
Kindred Healthcare.................................................................................................................................12
Medical Protective...................................................................................................................................3
Nevada Mutual Insurance Company, LLC................................................................................Inside FrontCover
Nutile Pitz & Assoc..................................................................................................................................7
Personalized Health Care.......................................................................................................................13
Premier Physicians Insurance Company..................................................................................Inside Back Cover
Physicians Billing Services......................................................................................................................7
TriMed.....................................................................................................................................................2
The County Line is a monthly publication distributed to the physician members of the Clark County Medical Society
(CCMS) via mail and email with a circulation of around 1,200. To advertise in the County Line, please download the
advertising insertion order from our website at www.clarkcountymedical.org and email it to Yanné Givens, Editor of the
County Line at [email protected] or fax it to 702-739-6345.
Banner ads available on our website
We had over 1,400 hits last month! Call Yanné Givens at 739-9989 or
email her at [email protected] for more
information about advertising opportunities.
24
County Line | Clark County Medical Society | www.clarkcountymedical.org
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Premier Physicians Insurance Company is a fully licensed, "A-Rated" risk retention group that is
wholly owned by its member physicians. We help our physicians reclaim control of their medical
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medical practices. Available to all physician specialties, Premier Physicians provides solutions
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• 100% physician owned and controlled
• "A-Rated" by Demotech, Inc.
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• Discounts given for medical society members
If you are interested in speaking to someone about becoming a Premier Physician call
(866) 371-7742 or visit us online at www.ppicdocs.com.
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
LAS VEGAS, NV
PERMIT NO. 314
Change
Service
Requested
Clark County Medical Society
2590 E Russell Rd.
Las Vegas, NV 89120
HEALTHCARE
BANKING
Designed for you and your practice.
MEMBER BENEFIT
AFFILIATE PROGRAM
Discounted products and services
exclusively for Clark County
Medical Society members
For more information, contact:
Healthcare Banking Group
7/13
702.248.4200
bankofnevada.com/ccms
Bank of Nevada is an affiliate of Western Alliance Bancorporation