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Medigram - September 11, 2008


NEWS


FEATURES


NEWS BRIEFS

Green Bay Health forum to feature lawsuit update, Congressional candidates

As part of the Society’s efforts to update members and others about its lawsuit to restore $200 million to the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund, it has teamed up with Brown County Medical Society to present a special Forum Tuesday, October 7 at the St. Norbert Fort Howard Theatre in Green Bay. Along with a lawsuit update, this event will feature an open forum on healthcare policy with candidates from the 8th Congressional District. The agenda will kick off at 5:30 p.m. and includes the following:
  • Reception featuring hors d’oeuvres and cash bar
  • IPFCF lawsuit: Legal update, video presentation and key messages to assist you in talking to your patients, community members and local media, financing and Q&A
  • Open Forum on Healthcare Policy with Congressional candidates Congressman Steven Kagen, MD, (invited) and John Gard (confirmed)
If you are interested in attending or have questions regarding this forum, please RSVP by October 3 to Kate Suttner. If you are unable to attend, another lawsuit update meeting is being scheduled in the Milwaukee area in October.


New e-mail addresses for Society staff

Wisconsin Medical Society (Society) staff members began using new e-mail addresses Monday. The change was made in an effort to bring Society e-mail addresses to a more standardized format, using both first and last name. While the previous e-mail addresses will continue to work until November 15, 2008, please update any contact information you have on file for our staff members to reflect the change. For a list of Society staff members and their new e-mail address, click here. You must login to the Web site to see the staff list. For assistance with your login information, view the FAQ in this issue of Medigram.


Society announces 4th quarter seminars

The Wisconsin Medical Society (Society) Education department has announced four teleconferences and three face-to-face seminars to round out the rest of the year. Topics include changes to the Stark law, 2009 CPT updates, and how health care professionals can improve their collection processes. The face-to-face seminars will be held in multiple locations throughout the state. Click here to read more information about each program, or for registration materials.


CMS seeks feedback—Town Hall meeting September 22

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is holding a Town Hall meeting on September 22, from 1-3 p.m. to listen to feedback from health care professionals. The meeting will be held via conference call and live in the CMS auditorium in Baltimore, Md.

The meeting’s purpose is to capture individual provider feedback on relevant Fee-for-Service (FFS) Medicare policy and operational issues, and in turn enhance the relationship with health care professionals and suppliers. It is open to all Medicare FFS professionals and suppliers that participate in the Medicare program.

For more information or to pre-register, click here. Meeting agenda and discussion materials will be available to download here by September 19, 2008. Due to time constraints not all participants will be able to speak, but written submissions will be accepted via e-mail through September 30, 2008.


Rabies, 'under-reported, untreatable disease'

Wisconsin is home to the only known unvaccinated survivor of rabies. But that one positive case may be due to good luck and prompt medical care, so Society member Robert E. Dedmon, MD, of the Medical College of Wisconsin, is urging greater vigilance to prevent this fatal disease. World Rabies Day, September 28, is held annually to increase awareness of the disease and encourage vaccination of pets. The attention from last year’s events resulted in more than 600,000 animal immunizations.

Most rabies deaths occur in Africa and Asia, caused by stray dogs. Although the Centers for Disease Control has declared the United States free of canine rabies, it is still found in North America in cats, bats, foxes, raccoons and skunks.

In his commentary in the August, 2008 issue of Asian Biomedicine, Dr. Dedmon writes that “Rabies remains a neglected, enigmatic, tragic, under-reported, and untreatable disease,” writes Dr. Dedmon. To read his full commentary, click here. For more rabies information, click here for the World Rabies Day Web site.

NEWSMAKERS

Milwaukee County welcomes new Chief Medical Examiner

Christopher Happy, MD, has been named Milwaukee County Chief Medical Examiner. He comes to Wisconsin from San Jose, California, where he served as a pathologist in a county medical examiner-coroner’s office. Doctor Happy began his new position August 1, and the Medical Society of Milwaukee County will be holding a welcome reception for him later this month. For more information about Dr. Happy, read this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article.

QUALITY & EFFICIENCY

Don’t miss Efficiency Symposium September 16

The Wisconsin Medical Society and the Wisconsin Collaborative for Health Care Quality will be holding The Efficiency Symposium: Methods, Measures and Policy Impact next Tuesday, September 16. While the symposium will delve into many topics, one area of exploration presented at the Symposium will be Episode-based Physician Profiling. For more information on the topic, read this article recently published by presenter Mark C. Rattray, MD. Following the presentations, attendees can participate in a discussion with the speakers.

To date, nearly 100 physicians and other health care stakeholders have registered for the event. Seating is still available. Click here to RSVP.

FOUNDATION FOCUS

Save the Date—You won’t want to miss this!

How Medicine Solves Crime
The 2009 Foundation Fundraising Event
Featuring Gary Telgenhoff, MD, Consultant to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Thursday, April 16, 2009
5:30–9 p.m.
Monona Terrace Convention Center, Madison

Physicians all have a unique story to tell about their path to medicine and their chosen specialty. Doctor Gary Telgenhoff’s involved a childhood fascination with how things work, a chance meeting with musician Bob Seger and the realization during his clinical rotations that he was not interested in healing sick people. What does interest and inspire him is the gratitude on the faces of family and friends when he is able to help them understand how their loved one died. Dr. Telgenhoff attended graduate school at Eastern Michigan University and received an MS in biology and physiology in 1989. He completed medical school at Michigan State University in 1992. He served five years of pathology residency in different locations in Ohio before relocating to Las Vegas.

Dr. Telgenhoff is currently employed as a Forensic Pathologist and is Deputy Medical Examiner at the Clark County Coroner’s Office, Las Vegas, Nev. He sees approximately 1,000 bodies a year, 450 of which he autopsies. Of these cases, about 45 are homicides. His presence is often required in court with regard to his findings and determination of cause and manner of death.

What the Foundation finds most fascinating about Dr. Telgenhoff however, is that he is also the forensics consultant on the hit television drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Part of his presentation, “How Medicine Solves Crime” will dispel myths about solving crime that are perpetuated by shows such as CSI.

Dr. Telgenhoff copes with the stress of his chosen specialty through his other profession as a rock musician. He often writes songs and, in fact, some of his music has been used on CSI.


Foundation welcomes new staff

Melissa Breen and Mary Oleson have joined the Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation. They may be new to the Foundation, but chances are you’re already familiar with both of them. Breen, who has worked for the Society for close to 11 years, most recently in the membership department, joins the Foundation in the newly created position of Development Director.

Oleson has welcomed visitors to the Society in person or by phone for the past year as receptionist and will now serve as the Foundation’s Administrative Assistant and Event Coordinator. Please join us in welcoming them to the Foundation.

QUALITY CORNER

Grant Community Clinic: case studies of patient- and family-centered primary care practices

The Grant Community Clinic in Cassville, Wis., is one of 12 primary care practices included in a case study project of high-performing, patient-centered primary care practices by the Commonwealth Fund. Practices were selected for study from a sample of more than 2,000 sites on the basis of their exceptional patient experience survey scores across multiple domains. The purpose of the case studies is to document models of high-quality, patient-centered care and to extract lessons regarding the organizational factors and specific processes used by these practices to achieve favorable patient experiences. To read the case study, click here.

A July 17 Quality Corner article highlighted the Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group, which is also featured in the case study.

FAQ

Question:
How do I log in to the “Members-only” section of the Society Web site?

Answer:
If you are a Society member and you’ve forgotten your username and password, you’ll need to reset your password. To do so, follow these simple steps:

  1. From the left menu bar, click “Log in”
  2. Click the “Request New Password” tab
  3. Enter your e-mail address
  4. Click “E-mail new password”
  5. You will receive an e-mail message from it@wismed.org
  6. Click the link in that e-mail message. (Your username is on the first line and in the subject)
  7. Click “Log in”
  8. Enter new Password (twice)
  9. Click “Submit”
To confirm the new password is working:
  1. Click “Sign Out”
  2. Click “Log in”
  3. Enter your username (NOT your e-mail address) and password
  4. Click “Log in”
If you have questions about this, e-mail communications@wismed.org.