In this edition:

• 2015 CC-AACE Annual Meeting This Weekend in Asheville
• ICD-10 National Provider Conference Call August 27
• NC: Medicaid Reform Update
• NC: How to Thrive in a Value-Driven Health Care System, Sept. 16
• NC: Meet the New DHHS Secretary
• SC: 2015 Medically Related Legislation in South Carolina
• WITN-TV “Doctors on Call” Needs Physician Volunteers, Sept. 30
• NCMS Annual Meeting, Oct. 23-24

See you this weekend
at the...

Carolinas Chapter-AACE
2015 Annual Meeting

The Omni Grove Park Inn

Walk-in Registrations Welcome This Weekend at the 2015 CC-AACE Annual Meeting

There's always room for one more! Escape the summer heat and retreat to the mountains THIS WEEKEND, August 28-30, for the 2015 CC-AACE Annual Meeting. Enjoy a weekend of education, networking and collegiality at the historic Omni Grove Park Inn. Participants can earn up to 7.5 hours of CME, enjoy optional recreational activities, and take in world-class resort ammenities. Clinical topics to be covered include:

• Pre-Diabetes (Leigh Perreault, MD, University of Colorado)
• Diabetes Update (Michael Carlson, MD, FACE, Frist Clinic, Nashville)
• Spectrum of Hypothyroidism: New Views about Significance and Therapy (Paul Ladenson, MD, Johns Hopkins Hospital)
• Not-So-Incidental Adrenal Nodule, and Ten Rules of Adrenal Steroidogenesis (James Findling, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin)
• Endocrinology Maintenance of Certification (Cacia Soares-Welch, MD, NE Georgia Diagnostics)
• Inpatient Diabetes (Tom O’Connell, MD, FACE, Novant Health)
• And more!

Download the Registration Brochure for
complete program details and the registration form.

The Southern Regional AHEC designates this live activity for a maximum of 7.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Accommodations - Call the Omni Grove Park Inn at (800) 438-5800, reference CC-AACE.

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ICD-10 National Provider Conference Call August 27

To help physicians prepare for the October 1 impementation deadline, CMS will host a national provider conference call on Thursday, August 27 from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm (Eastern). All providers are invited. Experts will discuss coding guidance and tips, answer your coding questions, provide instructions for handling claims that span before and after the implementation date, and more. Register online to participate.

Are you ready for ICD-10?

• Download the ICD-10 Quick Start Guide.
• Check out this handy "The beginner and expert's guide to ICD-10 prep: Steps for August" from AMA Wire.
• Find ICD-10 information for endocrinologists on the AACE website.
• Free primers for clinical documentation, clinical scenarios, and other specialty-specific resources to help with implementation are available on the “Road to 10” website.

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NC: Medicaid Reform Update

As the "long session" continues to drag on well past the 100 day mark, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel. In an effort to revive budget negotiations with the House, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger announced on Wednesday, August 5, that the Senate would remove Medicaid reform from the budget discussion in which it had been entangled since earlier this summer. Since then, the Senate passed a Medicaid reform bill and sent it back to the House. The House voted to not concur with the Senate plan. Now, the details are being worked out by a conference committee comprised of representatives from both chambers. Negotiators reached a tentative agreement last week to pursue a "hybrid" model in which both managed care organizations and provider-led entities would play a role. 

Now is the time to make your voice heard. Your continued advocacy on this issue can have a BIG impact. Please continue to communicate with your legislators during this critical time. Use the NCMS's online Action Center to sent a message to your representative and senator today.

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NC: How to Thrive in a Value-Driven Health Care System, Sept. 16

Register today for this this inspiring and informative session presented by the North Carolina Medical Society. On September 16, from 11:30am to 2:00pm, the NCMS will welcome nationally renowned health care payment reform expert Harold D. Miller and Karen Cannon, MD, a North Carolina physician leader on the front lines of health care delivery redesign. They will provide a vision for health care transformation now and into the future and how to thrive in a value-driven environment. Mr. Miller and Dr. Cannon look forward to an engaging conversation with you as a stakeholder in North Carolina’s health care community.

September 16, 2015 - 11:30am-2:00pm
North Carolina Medical Society
Center for Leadership in Medicine
222 N. Person Street, Raleigh, NC

Cost $25; Lunch served from 11:30-12:00.

REGISTER BY SEPTEMBER 11. SPACE IS LIMITED!

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NC: Meet the New DHHS Secretary

Aldona Wos, MD has stepped down as Secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Mr. Rick Brajer, a former biotech executive, was sworn in as the new DHHS Secretary on Friday, August 14.  The change in leadership, which was announced on Wednesday, August 5, is the second major leadership change at DHHS this year. Mr. Brajer’s history reflects work in the private/corporate sector. Dr. Robin Cummings resigned as Medicaid Director in May. He was succeeded by Mr. Dave Richard who has considerable DHHS experience. It is unclear what impact, if any, this change in leadership at DHHS will have on Medicaid reform going forward.

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SC: 2015 Medically Related Legislation in South Carolina

APRN Bills

• H.3508 (G.M. Smith – Physician Bill) – House 3M Committee adjourned debate in May 2015
• H.3078 (Horne - APRN bill for independent practice) – House 3M Subcommittee adjourned debate in May 2015.

Podiatry

• H.3143 (Ryhal) – Would allow podiatrists to surgically move up above a specific threshold in the ankle. House 3M Subcommittee adjourned debate in May 2015.

Optometry

• S.466/H.3433 (Senator Cleary & Representative Long) – bill authorizes optometrists to prescribe hydrocodone for specific eye conditions. The bills allow optometrists to continue to prescribe hydrocodone which they have not been allowed to do since the medication was reclassified from Schedule III to Schedule II of the federal Controlled Substances Act in October, 2014. The bill was done with the support of the Ophthalmologists and SCMA. Signed into law by the Governor on May 7, 2015 (R32, Act No. 43).

Anesthesiology Assistant

• H.3451 (Hayes) – Would allow an Anesthesiologist to supervise up to four Anesthesiology assistants – House 3M Subcommittee adjourned debate on April 14, 2015

Medical Marijuana

• S.559 (Davis) – Industrial Hemp Bill which on the surface is a bill to allow for the growth of Hemp in the state is in actuality a bill to allow for the full use of marijuana in the state. Referred to House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources in March 2015. No further action taken.
• S.672 (Hutto) – Would allow for palliative use of medical marijuana for specific conditions. Referred to Senate Medical Affairs Committee. No further action taken.
• S.584/H.3140 (Sen. Davis and Rep. Rutherford) - Would allow for the use of “Medical Marijuana” for any non-treatable medical condition. Referred to House Judiciary Committee in March 2015. No further action taken.
• H.3117 (Pitts) – Allows for the full decriminalization of Marijuana in SC. Referred to House Judiciary Committee. No further action taken.
• H.4004/H.4037 (Horne) – Would allow for the use of medical marijuana for specified conditions and for palliative use for specific conditions. House 3M Committee adjourned debate on these bills in May 2015.

Dense Breast Tissue

• S.339 (Lourie) – Passed by the Senate on March 17, 2015 it would put forth a requirement on mammogram outcomes to inform the patient if they have dense breast tissue. No Further action is required by the Physician. Referred to House 3M Subcommittee in March 2015. No further action was taken.

Naloxone/Overdose protection

• H.3083 (Huggins) – This legislation creates the "South Carolina Overdose Prevention Act" by providing first responders, physicians, and pharmacists protection from civil and criminal liability and professional discipline for prescribing, dispensing, or administering an opioid antidote to individuals at risk of an opioid overdose and providing for funding and for grants to organizations to support opioid overdose prevention and awareness projects. Signed into law by the Governor on June 3, 2015 (R85, Act No. 54).

Vaccines

• S.413 (Cleary) - provides a procedure for creating protocol through which pharmacists may administer certain vaccines without a written order or prescription from a practitioner. It also provides acceptances under certain circumstances in which a CPR trained pharmacy intern may also administer vaccinations. The Board of Medical Examiners is the final approval authority for any proposed protocols under this legislation. This bill was written with the consent of the SCMA. Signed into law by the Governor on June 1, 2015 (R53, Act No. 29).

Death Certificate bill

• S.176 (Alexander) – requires a medical certification of death be submitted to the funeral home within 48 hours of notice of the death, physicians who need more time to determine the cause of death can enter “pending” and submit a supplemental report. For anyone who misses the deadline without good cause shown the penalty is no longer a criminal matter but is now a permissive administrative penalty. Signed into law by the Governor on June 8, 2015 (R101, Act No. 72).

Nurses Discipline/License Revocation for Misreading Doctors’ Orders

• S.371 (Bryant) – provides that a nurse’s license shall be revoked if the nurse misreads the physician's order and overmedicates or undermedicates a patient. Bill was reported out of a Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee in March, the Full Senate Medical Affairs Committee re-committed it to the Subcommittee for further consideration.

Mental Health – Authorized Health Care Provider

• S.474 (O'Dell) – Amends the statute relating to care at the Department of Mental Health such that “authorized health care provider” includes APRNs and PAs practicing pursuant to their practices acts as defined in Title 40. Signed into law by the Governor on June 1, 2015 (R56, Act No. 32).

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WITN-TV “Doctors on Call” Needs Physician Volunteers

Help Answer Viewers' Medical Questions During This Important Community Event

Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Time: 5:00pm-7:00pm

Location: WITN-TV's new studio, located at 275 East Arlington Blvd, Greenville

Doctors on Call is an annual event sponsored by the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) and the Pitt County Medical Society in conjunction with WITN in Greenville, where physician volunteers answer medical questions called in by local TV viewers. We encourage you to take part in this important community service event by volunteering just one or two hours of your time. Doctors on Call physician volunteers have helped thousands of people over the years, supporting our mission of promoting access to quality health care.

Physicians and residents from all specialties are needed. Please note: all volunteers must hold an active medical license in the State of North Carolina.

Sign up today!

• Register online at www.ncmedsoc.org/docsoncall; or
• Email your name, specialty, and times you are available to news@ncmedsoc.org

For questions regarding the program, please contact Kristen Shipherd with the NCMS or Tricia Maddrey-Baker with the Pitt County Medical Society.

NCMS membership is not required to participate in this event, so please forward this email along to your colleagues.  Thank you for your support of this program!

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NCMS Annual Meeting, Oct. 23-24

Registration is now open for the 2015 North Carolina Medical Society Annual Meeting. With a new and exciting format for broad physician appeal, this year's meeting theme, "Resilience in Challenging Times," hints at the program's focus on introducing physicians to basic approaches for developing greater fulfillment and resilience in practicing medicine. Pop on over to the NCMS website for complete program details and secure online registration.

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