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In this Issue:
- Governor's Corner
- ACP Colorado Chapter – Resident/Fellow Abstract Competition Winners:
- CECP Update:
- DO YOU HAVE A CONTACT IN THE COLORADO STATE LEGISLATURE?
- ACP Well-being and Professional Fulfillment Activities Now Eligible for CME Credit
- Upcoming COVID-19 Webinars
- Interesting JAMA Article
- ACP Releases New Policy Statement Addressing Racism, Discrimination and Police Violence
Alwinn Steinmann, MD, FACP, ACP Governor
Governor's Corner
I hope this edition of our Chapter newsletter finds you all well and coping with what has been a very challenging and stressful 2020! Still reeling from the medical, financial and social impact of the COVID pandemic, we find ourselves confronted with the issue of racism in America. You are all likely aware of the multitude of COVID-19 related resources available on the national ACP website, but you may not yet know about our organization's recent statement on Racial Health Disparities, Prejudice and Violence.
Our national organization has been very active in advocating for help for our primary care practices that have been so negatively impacted by the coronavirus. Most recently, they have been engaged in asking HHS Secretary Azar to make a targeted allocation out of the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) to help primary care practices devastated by the pandemic.
On the Colorado front, most of the legislative activity has been in reconciling the state budget to accommodate a projected $3.3 billion revenue shortfall. There is a current bill (SB-212) that seeks to maintain recent changes in the regulations for and reimbursement of telehealth services, including parity with E&M codes for both video and telephone visits. I have been representing the ACP on the Primary Care Payment Reform Collaborative since august 2019. While our work plan was delayed due to the pandemic, we are getting back to a more regular meeting schedule but did decide to tackle a few COVID related issues facing primary care first. We will be drafting a series of recommendations to the Department of Insurance. The first of these deals with recommendations around telehealth, and I am part of a subgroup working on this.
A shout out and thank you to Dr. Robert Doolan who represented the Colorado ACP Chapter as one of the speakers for a Colorado Medical Society virtual grand rounds on Wednesday May 13 that dealt with reopening practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While most of our chapter activities have been slowed or curtailed due to the pandemic, our Meeting Planning Committee has been hard at work finalizing speakers and topics for our 2021 chapter meeting. (Many thanks to the Committee for its work!) It is hard to think that far ahead these days, but someone has to! We were fortunate that our annual meeting occurs in February, as most ACP chapters had to cancel their 2020 meetings or scramble to utilize a virtual format. While nothing is certain, we hope to be able to meet in person at the Broadmoor in 2021!
Speaking of chapter activities, we plan to hold a virtual Resident and Fellow Meeting this year with judging of posters and abstract presentations concluding by June 12. We hope to post the entries for members to view and will send out a notification when this happens. Thanks to all the folks that helped make this happen!
Lastly, we were able to participate as a chapter in the Colorado Medical Society's recent survey on the impact of COVID on your practices. Thank you to all our members who participated. One advantage of participating as a chapter is that we received a breakdown of our ACP member responses broken out from the entire pool of respondents. Both reports may be found on the What's New side bar of our Chapter webpage. As a brief summary, over 60% of you are extremely concerned or very concerned about your practice's financial health. Most of you have seen your volumes and revenue drop by a third to a half, and the vast majority have either started up new telehealth services or ramped up existing services. Around 2/3 are under stress, but don't yet feel burned out, though 16% do feel burned out. Please take a few moments to review both the full report as well as the ACP member report.
With the summer approaching, I do hope you are all able to de-stress and enjoy some time in nature, maybe even get back to a restaurant or brewery! Please stay safe and well.
Al Steinmann
Governor, Colorado Chapter of the American College of Physicians
ACP Colorado Chapter – Resident/Fellow Abstract Competition Winners:
Oral Presentations:
FIRST Place Winner - Pedro Giro, University of Colorado, Longitudinal Study of Hemodynamic Parameters Prior to and Following LVAD Implantation
Second Place - Rachel Kubowicz, St Joseph Hospital, Another Obscure 3 Letter Diagnosis
Third Place - Matthew Rockstrom, University of Colorado, High Volume Plasma Exchange in Acute Liver Failure Following Acetaminophen Toxicity
Poster Presentations:
FIRST Place Winner - Karl Greenblatt, University of Colorado, An Uncommon Clue to the Diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma
Second Place - Leah Wells, St Joseph Hospital, Contrast Induced Sialadenitis: A Benign Reaction
Third Place - Andrea Keiffer, Sky Ridge, ANCA-Associated Vasculitis and Systemic Manifestations With Volatile Solvent Exposure
The abstracts and posters are posted on the News and Meetings Page.
CECP Update:
The ACP Colorado Chapter Council for Early Career Physicians (CECP), like everything else, had our usual routine interrupted by COVID. But now we hope to roar back to life! CECP is interested in hearing from you! Send your input, suggested or desired speakers and topics, and reach out if interested in joining our community. Contact info juan.lessing@ucdenver.edu.
DO YOU HAVE A CONTACT IN THE COLORADO STATE LEGISLATURE?
One of the criteria by which ACP chapters are evaluated for performance awards is having a member with a special tie or close relationship with a state legislator. If you do have such a relationship, please let Christine Westbrook ( cochapteracp@msn.com) know so that we may include it in our annual chapter report. If you are also interested in participating in our chapter Health and Public Policy Committee, please let us know that as well.
ACP Well-being and Professional Fulfillment Activities Now Eligible for CME Credit
Selected ACP well-being and professional fulfillment activities are now eligible for CME. The activities are free to access on ACP's Physician Well-being and Professional Fulfillment website. Activities approved for CME include short ten-minute Mini but Mighty Skills for Well-being recordings as well as COVID-19 physician resources and well-being management webinars:
- Mini But Mighty Skills for Well-being
- COVID-19: Practical Advice and Support from Internists on the Front Lines
- Positive Psychology in Times of Crisis
- Optimizing Well-being, Practice Culture, and Professional Thriving in an Era of Turbulence
- Building Your Resilient Self
- Mindfulness in Medicine: What Physicians Need to Know
CME credit for these activities is free for ACP members. Nonmembers who wish to submit for CME may do so for a nominal fee. For questions about the well-being CME activities, email acpwellbeing@acponline.org.
Upcoming COVID-19 Webinars
The ACP Leadership Academy will present three webinars in June. Webinars are open to all ACP members, and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions following the presentations. We encourage chapters to promote these webinars to their members. Please contact us at lead@acponline.org with any questions.
Storytelling in the Age of COVID-19
Date/Time: Wednesday, June 10, at 8:00 p.m. ET
Description: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the health care landscape, altered the training experience for residents, and changed the medical school experience for students. In this free, 1-hour webinar, author Danielle Ofri, MD, PhD, FACP, shares her journey of becoming a physician–writer; looks back at her experience as a resident during the emergence of HIV; and shares guidance for residents and medical students interested in storytelling during the age of COVID-19.
Addressing and Supporting Physician Mental Health during Challenging Times
Date/Time: Tuesday, June 16, 2020 | 3:00–4:00 p.m. ET
Description: Presented in partnership with the ACP Well-being and Professional Fulfillment Program, this webinar will describe psychological and behavioral responses to crisis events as well as discuss a follow up framework for individual, peer, and organizational interventions that promote healthcare worker well-being and sustainment. Speakers Kerri Palamara, MD, FACP, and Joshua C. Morganstein, MD, will list individual, peer, and team actions that facilitate self-care, connection, and recovery. Participants will learn to identify actions to help better prepare them for future crisis events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. (CME available)
Innovations in the Care of Outpatients with COVID-19
Date/Time: Wednesday, June 24, 2020 | 5:00–6:00 p.m. ET
Description: Moderated by Heather E. Gantzer, MD, FACP, Chair of ACP's Board of Regents, this webinar will explore innovative approaches in care delivery to COVID-19 outpatients, including how to address health disparities and the challenges related to the diverse presentations of the disease. Kristen Kopski MD, PhD, and Margaret Doose, MD, of HealthPartners Minnesota, will review that system's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a discussion of transitions of care best practices as well as how to develop a better understanding of this patient population. Following, Christopher Kellner, MD, and David Putrino, PhD, of the Mount Sinai Health System, New York, will discuss innovations in remote patient monitoring and how to apply these technologies to patients with COVID-19. (CME available)
Interesting JAMA Article
With recent events causing us to grapple with the issue of systemic racism, we must also look at the impact on people's health. Here is a link to a thoughtful article by Don Berwick on “Moral Determinants of Health”, recently published in JAMA.
Addressing and Supporting Physician Mental Health During Challenging Times Webinar Available
Presented in partnership with the ACP Well-being and Professional Fulfillment Program, this webinar will describe psychological and behavioral responses to crisis events as well as discuss a follow up framework for individual, peer, and organizational interventions that promote healthcare worker well-being and sustainment. Speakers Kerri Palamara, MD, FACP, and Joshua C. Morganstein, MD, will list individual, peer, and team actions that facilitate self-care, connection, and recovery. Participants will learn to identify actions that can help them to be better prepare for future crisis events.
Kerri Palamara, MD, FACP, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and practices as a primary care general internist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Palamara leads the American College of Physicians “Physician Coach Training Program”, which focuses on training physicians to integrate coaching techniques into their quality improvement and well-being initiatives.
Joshua C. Morganstein, MD, is Associate Professor and Assistant Chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Assistant Director at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and a Captain in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service.
The ACP Leadership Academy will present several free member webinars during the summer and fall. We encourage you to participate and to inform your members about these learning opportunities. More information and registration for one or more of these webinars here.
For questions, please contact Susan Koger, Manager, Membership Programs.
Recorded: June 16, 2020
ACP Releases New Policy Statement Addressing Racism, Discrimination and Police Violence
ACP's new policy statement, released on June 19, is a follow-up to a May 29 statement in which ACP said it is “gravely concerned whenever any person is subject to discrimination, racism, harassment and violence, whether it's by police and other public authorities, or by private individuals discriminating and committing violence against others because of their race or other characteristics.”