American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2023 Annual Meeting Registration Opens Soon

2023 AAOS Annual Meeting:  March 7-11, 2023 - Las Vegas, NV

AAOS 2023 registration will be available November 9. In the meantime, plan ahead by securing your Las Vegas hotel.

Learn more here.


Registration Now Open for CODEQUEST 2023

The North Carolina Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives proudly present two courses to help you run a successful practice. Speaker Heather H. Dunn, COA, OCS, OCSR, Manager of Coding and Reimbursement for the AAO, will help you stay up to date on shifting regulations, compliance with federal and commercial payers’ rules and the latest tactics to appropriately maximize reimbursement. Best of all, Codequest is ophthalmology-specific and state-specific to focus on the coding information you need most.

LEARN MORE and REGISTER


CAP22 Annual Meeting Synopsis: Blood Shortages, COVID, Monkeypox and more

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) hosted its CAP22 Annual Meeting with timely and informative educational sessions from Sat., October 8 through Tues., October 11 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. This year's media briefing took place Tuesday, October 11th from 11a.m. ET - 12p.m. ET and consisted of two panels with CAP president Emily E. Volk, MD, FCAP, Chief Medical Officer at Baptist Health Floyd in New Albany, Indiana, and Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, moderating and participating in each session. This year, the focus was on the current blood supply shortage, as well as navigating COVID-19 changes to the resurgence of polio. READ MORE


NCSOHNS Leader Named President-Elect of the NC Medical Society

              Dr. Eileen Raynor

At the 2022 LEAD Conference held on October 15, Philip Brown, MD, Chair of the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) Nominating and Leadership Development Committee, announced that NCSOHNS Past-President Eileen Raynor, MD, FACS, FAAP, would be the 2022-2023 President-Elect of the state society.

Dr. Eileen Raynor works as an Associate Professor of Surgery and an Associate Professor in Pediatrics in the Department of Surgery, Division of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences within the Duke University Health System. Dr. Raynor currently serves as Secretary-Treasurer of NCSOHNS and served as NCSOHNS President in 2014-2015. She has been an active member of the NC Medical Society for a number of years, serving on the NCMS Board of Directors, in the Legislative Cabinet, and the Medical Education Committee, and she is also an alumna of the KIPL Leadership College Class of 2012.

Congratulations, Dr. Raynor!


NCDA's November Webinar Announced

The North Carolina Dermatology Association presents its latest webinar in its Practice Pearls Series:

"Lessons Learned from the Front Lines – Update on Payer Policy and Appropriate Use of Modifiers" with Dr. Mollie MacCormack

November 14, 2022 |  7:30PM  |  REGISTER HERE

For more information, please contact Kerry Kendall, [email protected].Read more


Registration now open for the 2023 NC Neurological Society Annual Meeting

Join us Feb. 10-12, 2023 at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, NC!

REGISTER NOW

Download the Brochure

Interested in Exhibiting at this event? Please download an Exhibitor Prospectus or contact Gail Stephenson for more details.

CALL FOR SCIENTIFIC POSTERS

View the Call for Posters Application. Deadline for poster submissions is December 1, 2022. For more information, please contact Megan Eberle.


NC Dermatology Association Presents October 17 Practice Pearls Webinar on Having Difficult Conversations

The NCDA presents its next free webinar

Coaching and Counseling for Improved Performance: How to Have Crucial and Difficult Conversations

October 17, 2022  |  7:30pm

Register today!

For more information, please contact Kerry Kendall with the NCDA.

Featured Speaker: Darryl Harris

Darryl Harris is a powerhouse with expertise that enables him to empower, develop, teach, train and energize teams, team leaders, managers and staff across the USA and internationally. He helps improve productivity, processes, skills and working relationships for enhanced bottom line results.

Darryl's area of expertise is within the people development arena – from leadership, sales, team building, negotiating, customer service, interpersonal and intra-personal and business improvement.

His undergraduate degree in Education, Communications and Psychology as well as 30 years of real world experience in a cross section of business disciplines on a global scale have prepared this dynamo well for his role in successfully empowering, training and coaching others.


NC Dermatology Association Presents Free Webinar, Sept. 12th: "Doing More with Less"

Doing More with Less: Practice Efficiency in Your Dermatology Practice

September 12, 2022  |  7:30pm

As reimbursement declines and costs escalate, maximizing your dermatology practice's efficiency becomes priority number one in this chaotic environment. Workflow optimization while balancing your investment in it -- doing more with less -- isn’t natural, it’s learned. National speaker and author Elizabeth Woodcock shows you how to apply innovative management principles to improve practice efficiency. You’ll come away from this fast-paced session with ideas to:

  • Streamline practice operations and improve practice efficiency
  • Reduce appointment no-shows and improve scheduling
  • Implement stellar service techniques that increase patient satisfaction and loyalty
  • Recognize key operations benchmarks to enhance performance improvement opportunities

Register Today!

For more information, please contact Kerry Kendall with the NCDA.


Elizabeth WoodcockFeatured Speaker: Elizabeth Woodcock

Dr. Elizabeth Woodcock is the founder and principal of Atlanta-based Woodcock & Associates. She is also the author of “The Well-Managed Ambulatory Practice”. She has focused on medical practice operations and revenue cycle management for more than 25 years. She has led educational sessions for a multitude of national professional associations and specialty societies, and consulted for clients as diverse as a solo orthopaedic surgeon in rural Georgia to the Mayo Clinic. She is author or co-author of 17 best-selling practice management books, to include Mastering Patient Flow and The Physician Billing Process: Avoiding Potholes in the Road to Getting Paid.

Prior to founding Woodcock & Associates, she worked as a Group Practice Services Administrator at the University of Virginia Health Services Foundation, a Senior Associate at the Advisory Board Company, and a Consultant for the Medical Group Management Association.

Elizabeth is a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives and a Certified Professional Coder. In addition to a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University, she completed a Master of Business Administration in healthcare management from The Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her Doctor of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from the Bloomberg School of Public Health of Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.


Richard Herring, MD Installed as New 2022 NCAAIS President

At their 2022 Annual Meeting, Richard Herring, MD was installed as President.  Dr. Herring practices at Carolina Asthma and Allergy Center in their Eastover, Concord and Huntersville locations.

Dr. Herring graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in biology. After 2 years of research at UNC Cystic Fibrosis Center, he decided to go to medical school. At East Carolina University, he graduated medical school and completed a combined 4-year residency program in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics, caring for both adults and children. He then completed an adult and pediatric specialty fellowship program in Allergy & Immunology at the UVA Medical Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dr. Herring is board certified in both Allergy & Immunology and Internal Medicine.

Dr. Herring first became interested in this field when his wife’s allergies dramatically improved with allergy shots. He truly loves helping patients of all ages lead healthier lives and assisting them in actively changing the course of their allergic disorders. He also enjoys helping children and adults in all areas of his field such as severe nasal & eye allergies, allergic asthma, allergic eczema, as well as food allergy and immune deficiency syndromes.

For fun, Dr. Herring loves spending quality time with his family, being outdoors, and traveling. He has 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls ranging in age from 2 to 11 years old.


WCMS Members Invited to Neuse River Valley Model Railroad Club Open House September 17

Do you remember the joy of running your model train as a kid? Maybe you still love trains. If so, bring your kids to visit the Neuse River Valley Model Railroad Club Open House between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM Saturday, September 17, 2022, at 1615 Old Louisburg Road, Raleigh 27609.  (www.nrvclub.net) WCMS members and their families are invited to view N, HO, S, O, and G gauge trains in operation and enjoy light refreshments. Several of our retired physicians are members and will be pleased to show you around. Contact [email protected] for more information.

NRVMRR Club will also hold its big annual Train Show November 5-6, 2022, in the Graham Building of the NC State Fair.


Wake County Medical Society Call for Nominations for Executive Council

Because COVID restrictions curtailed meetings, recent annual elections of WCMS officers and Executive Council members were suspended, and current members of the Executive Council extended their time in office for several years. Now the time has come to again elect officers and at-large members of our Executive Council at our October general meeting. While several of our senior members are willing to continue to serve, we are very much in need of fresh new leadership, younger and more diverse.

Service on the Executive Council is not arduous, about 4 -5 meetings per year, currently being held in person / Zoom hybrid format.  Please contact Ted Kunstling [email protected] if you are interested in serving or would like more information. Perhaps you have a goal or aspiration which you would like to achieve or accomplish with the support of the WCMS.

Medical professionals in Wake County deserve and need their own independent professional organization, but if it is to survive, it is essential that leaders step forward. We need you. You will find that it is very personally rewarding and gratifying to serve your fellow physicians and surgeons.


On Point: 2030 - North Carolina Takes America’s Top Rank for Overall Health - by Philip M. Brown, Jr., MD

Imagine if we had the ability to elevate North Carolina to become the healthiest state in America. We could enhance people’s lives, eliminate suffering, and make our state truly able to claim to the honor of being the best place to live, work, and play. North Carolina would also be the best place to build and maintain a business, because our workforce would be well educated, healthy, and less expensive to insure. Our economy would be robust and our tax base secure. While it seems perhaps too good to be true, the reality is that such a vision is possible to achieve within the decade.

Yes, by 2030 North Carolina has the opportunity to become the healthiest state in America. But, it will take something we have never achieved on scale, which is an alignment of public and private sectors, individuals and communities, and people from different backgrounds who have not always seen eye-to-eye. Fortunately, we now have a source of information that makes factual alignment possible. The other parts are up to each of us.

While most people have been solidly and reasonably focused on surviving a global pandemic, during the last year something truly remarkable has emerged. The most powerful alignment tool for improving the health of North Carolinians in state history has been created through collaboration between Cape Fear Collective, Novant Health, Community Care of North Carolina, Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, and Datawheel. Based on the 10 year state health plan Healthy NC 2030, the Healthy Communities Dashboard is now live online for all 100 counties in North Carolina. In many cases, it is possible to view the information at census block level and download the source data
for use in grant applications, subset analysis, and tracking of community-based interventions.

As a native North Carolinian and physician leader, it is hard for me to describe how excited I am to be part of developing a tool which gives free access to data-derived insights on the key factors underlying health. But I am even more excited that this information is readily available to everyone. For the first time ever, anyone with internet access will be able to see and use actionable information about health that is derived from 1300+ community metrics. Also for the first time ever, any organization intending to have a positive impact on health is enabled to use a common language based on evidence to elevate the health of people they serve. Putting all these things together,
we have the opportunity to make North Carolina the healthiest state in America, which will be incredibly important to us if we intend to keep our recent status as America’s Top State for Business.

So the real question is, where do we need improvement and who among all the sectors will be willing to step up to help make the lift? Let’s explore this with a few questions:

Do we have the need to improve job training in order to make our citizens better candidates for all the new job opportunities in North Carolina?

Are there opportunities to improve our education system?

Would we benefit from addressing the housing crisis that plagues many of our communities?

Would neighborhood revitalization that provided more people with safe places to exercise and connect be helpful to communities and attractive to businesses?

How do we best eliminate the problem of food insecurity among children and the elderly?

What can we do to better understand and respond to the impending mental health crisis?

Of course this short list of questions is only a fraction of what’s available to be analyzed through the Healthy Communities NC Dashboard. But the most imposing question that remains in my mind is, will we be able to align enough stakeholders working together to take action on these powerful insights? I am optimistic, and I hope you are too. It will take many of us working humbly and nobly together to make this vision our new reality, but it is possible. Creating the future is up to us.


Katie Lowry, MD, shares her giving moment...

NCMS member Dr. Katie Lowry with Robeson Pediatrics shares why she supports the NCMS Foundation’s Destination Health annual giving fund.


2021 Legislative Wrap-Up

NCOGS Legislative News and Priorities

NCOGS lobbyist Rob Lamme provides his wrap-up of the 2022 Legislative Session (July 1, 2022)

 


NCMS Member to receive prestigious 2022 Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons for pioneering work in regenerative medicine.

Anthony Atala, MD - NCMS member since 2004

Pediatric urologist Dr. Anthony Atala, MD, FACS, of Winston-Salem will be presented with the 2022 Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) at a dinner held in his honor this evening in Chicago. He is currently the George Link, Jr. Professor and Director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) and the W. H. Boyce Professor and Chair of Urology at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

The award honors living surgeons who are innovators of a new development or technique in any field of surgery.

Dr. Atala is a pediatric urologist, researcher, professor, and mentor who is renowned for developing foundational principles for regenerative medicine research, which holds great promise for people who require tissue substitution and reconstruction. Dr. Atala and his team successfully implanted the world’s first laboratory-grown bladder in 1999.

He currently leads an interdisciplinary team of more than 450 researchers and physicians. Beyond many other world firsts, WFIRM has also developed 15 clinically used technology-based applications, including muscle, urethra, cartilage, reproductive tissues, and skin. Currently, the Institute is working on more than 40 tissues and organs.

Through Dr. Atala's vision, ingenuity, and leadership, the WFIRM team has developed specialized 3-D printers to engineer tissues. This work is accomplished by using cells to create various tissues and organs, including miniature organs called organoids to create body-on-a-chip systems. Dr. Atala and his team also discovered a stem cell population derived from both the amniotic fluid and the placenta, which are currently being used for clinically relevant research applications.

Dr. Atala's theory is that every cell within the human body should be capable of regeneration. What reproduces naturally inside the body should also have the same capabilities of reproduction outside of the body. According to Dr. Atala, “the key benefit to the approach of cell and tissue regeneration is that a patient will not reject their own cells or tissue, which is always a concern related to traditional organ match transplantation.”

In addition to this award, Dr. Atala has also been recognized as one of Time magazine’s Top 10 Medical reakthroughs in 2007, Smithsonian's 2010 Top Science Story of the Year, and U.S. News & World Report's honor as one of 14 top Pioneers of Medical Progress in the 21st Century. He has been named by Scientific American as one of the world's most influential people in biotechnology, by Life Sciences Intellectual Property Review as one of 50 Key Influencers in the Life Sciences Intellectual Property arena, and by Nature Biotechnology as one of the top 10 Translational Researchers in the World.

Other honors include being the recipient of the U.S. Congress-funded Christopher Columbus Foundation Award, which is bestowed on a living American that currently is working on a discovery that will significantly affect society; the World Technology Award in Health and Medicine for achieving significant and lasting progress; the Edison Science/Medical Award; and the Smithsonian Ingenuity Award. 


Political Pulse for June 17, 2022

NCMS CEO/EVP Chip Baggett, JD, dives into the details around three important hot-topic legislative items in this week's can't-miss Political Pulse.

Related Links:

This bill won't improve healthcare in rural NC - Charlotte Observer - Op-Ed by Chip Baggett


Political Pulse for June 10, 2022

NCMS EVP/CEO Chip Baggett, JD, catches you up on all of the legislative news from this week and offers more details on several concerning provisions in the health care omnibus bill, HB 149. He also shares some good news regarding two health care bills that are moving through the legislature. Get all of the highlights in today's Political Pulse!

Related Links:
HB 149 - Expanding Access to Healthcare

SB 345 - PA Team-Based Practice

HB 1090 - Family Medicine Loan Forgiveness Pilot

 


Who wants to spend a weekend in Myrtle Beach?

Join the NCMS by June 15th for your chance to win!

As part of our #NCMS2000Stronger membership campaign, we are offering a weekend stay at the Marriott Myrtle Beach Resort and Spa at Grande Dunes for one lucky winner. Anyone who signs on with the NCMS as a brand new member by the June 15th deadline will be eligible to win.

Get your name in the running — join today!

Already a member? Share this exciting offer with a colleague!

Join NCMS

Political Pulse for May 25, 2022 - The rumors were true...


The new legislative session began this week, and NCMS CEO Chip Baggett summarizes the fast-moving developments already unfolding. Rumors began flying fast that the SAVE Act was going to move quite quickly in some form down at the General Assembly, and the rumors were true. In Wednesday's Senate Health Care Committee, Sen. Krawiec (R - Dist. 31) introduced an amended version of HB 149, originally the telehealth bill. This amended bill rolls in additions to the original bill such as Medicaid Expansion (supported by the NCMS), the SAVE Act language (opposed by the NCMS), onerous provisions around Surprise Billing, and new changes to the Certificate of Need law. Find out more about this amended bill and when it may go up for a vote by watching this week's Political Pulse.

For more information, please see the proposed language here and a summary of the changes here.


Lunch & Learn Webinar: No Surprises Act


This Lunch & Learn webinar is presented by Joy Hord, JD from Parker Poe, and highlights the provisions of the No Surprises Act that are impacting practices, including:

  • What actions physician groups must take now in order to comply with the No Surprises Act, including provisions applicable to all physicians and physician groups (regardless of whether services are provided in facilities);
  • Process to obtain patient consent to bill as an out-of-network provider for certain services provided to patients at facilities,
  • Impact on physician groups of No Surprise Act rules applicable to payors, and
  • Reporting and enforcement rules.

Webinar Q&A (PDF)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES - NO SURPRISES ACT


Political Pulse for March 25, 2022

NCMS CEO/EVP Chip Baggett shares news about an important committee meeting at the Legislative Office Building next week and offers suggestions and talking points for you to reach out to your legislators. Watch this week’s Political Pulse for his update.


WCMS holds first in-person meeting since the pandemic with speaker Col. (Ret) Robert Adams, MD, MBA

On March 15, 2022, the WCMS hosted their first in-person meeting since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  At the meeting, members had an informal discussion on reengaging our strong medical community. Guest speaker was a local colleague, Dr. Bob Adams, who discussed his recent book “Swords and Saints: A Doctor’s Journey.”

About Dr. Adams:

Colonel (ret) Robert Adams, MD, MBA is a US Naval Academy graduate who served thirty-six years in the Navy and Army (18 years in each service) as a Navy SEAL, the DELTA Force Command Surgeon, and an Army family medicine physician (with obstetrics). He attended Wake Forest Medical School, then an Army residency at Madigan Army Medical center in Tacoma, Washington was followed by service with the famed DELTA Force and the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC, and in Iraq during the 2003-2004 war.  After the military, he developed a thriving private practice in Knightdale, NC, and designed and built a 14,000 square foot clinic where he won numerous awards for clinical excellence and practiced for 13 more years.  He currently works at the Fischer Clinic in Raleigh part-time while looking for more places to fish.


Blue banner with stars asking for people to save the date for the Golden Stethoscope Awards Gala - October 15, 2022

NCMS Golden Stethoscope Awards Gala

DIAMOND PRESENTING SPONSORS:

Make Plans to Join Us October 15th in Raleigh for the Golden Stethoscope Awards and Presidential Inauguration Gala

We have made it through two of the most challenging years the health care community has had to navigate in some time. Many of our physician and PA members went above and beyond the call of duty, placing their own lives at risk, sacrificing precious time with family and loved ones, while selflessly serving their patients. The NCMS thought it only right that we celebrate all of the health care heroes who made a huge impact on our state — that’s why we are holding our first Golden Stethoscope Awards Gala this year! Be sure to mark your calendar now so that you may attend this event created exclusively for NCMS members, their guests and event sponsors.

Michael Utecht, MD

Arthur Apolinario, MD

In addition to the Inaugural festivities where we will honor outgoing NCMS President Michael J. Utecht, MD, FACEP and welcome Arthur E. Apolinario, MD, MPH, FAAFP, as the 2022-2023 NCMS President, we plan to celebrate an NCMS member from each of the four regions of the state with a Golden Stethoscope Award.

Golden Stethoscope Award Winners Announced

Lisa Kaufmann, MD

About Dr. Kaufmann:

Lisa Kaufmann, MD is the Medical Director of the Adult  Inpatient and Emergency Department Service Line at Appalachian Regional Health Care System in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains. She is also the Medical Director of their Hospitalist Program, and Clinical Inpatient Faculty in the  MAHEC Boone Family Medicine Residency .  Dr Kaufmann came to love the Blue Ridge during her undergraduate and medical school years at Duke.   Her Internal Medicine residency was at the University of Pennsylvania. After 8 years in private practice in Tucson, AZ, she joined the faculty of the University of Arizona, and late the State University of New York in Syracuse, from which she retired early as full professor to move to the mountains she loves.  Dr Kaufmann’s academic focus is on quality improvement and clinical teaching.  This past experience in rapid process  improvement was particularly useful during the COVID epidemic, with the need to combine disaster preparedness, coordinating with emergency management including managing supply chain and physical plant adaptations, staffing shortages and having to develop clinical protocols and training in a small rural health system.   Dr Kaufmann is also passionate about addressing social determinants of care, including coordination between the inpatient team and community services like the “Food is Medicine” program.  When she is not working, Dr Kaufmann loves hiking in the mountains, writing, and hanging out with her large family.

Allison Kerianne Crockett, MD, FACOG

About Dr. Crockett:

Dr. Crockett grew up outside of Charlotte and graduated from NC State in 2006. Crockett Attended Ross University School of Medicine and met her husband and graduated from there in 2012. She has been in Greenville since 2012 when she started her residency  (formerly ECU/Vidant, now ECUHealth Medical Center). She graduated residency in 2016 and joined the faculty that year. Dr. Crockett is passionate about addressing the barriers to care and disparities in health outcomes the patients in our region face every day. She and her husband Adam have two little boys; Bradley (6, almost 7) and Alexander (3 and a half).  Dr. Crockett lead the NC OB/GYN Society’s effort to pass protections for pregnant incarcerated women after a harrowing experience with a pregnant, shackled patient, which included the death of her patient’s infant.

Suneya Gupta Hogarty, DO, FACOI

About Dr. Hogarty:

Dr. Suneya Hogarty is a native North Carolinian.  After obtaining her undergraduate degree in religious studies from Davidson College, she attended Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Missouri, where she met her future husband, David.  She completed her osteopathic Internal Medicine residency in Lansing through Michigan State University, and then moved to New Hampshire for Rheumatology fellowship at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center.

She returned to Goldsboro in 2005 with 2 young sons to be closer to family.  She has been serving Wayne county residents since that time. During the first fourteen years in Goldsboro, her family grew to include a daughter.  In 2019, David and Suneya Hogarty opened their independent private practice, Integrative Arthritis and Pain Consultants (IAPC), with the goal of providing holistic osteopathic care to the whole person, since all disease affects mind, body, and spirit.  Dr. Suneya integrates both Eastern and Western philosophy in her Rheumatology practice.

Rebecca Hayes, MD, MBA-HM, CPE, FAAFP

About Dr. Hayes:

Rebecca Hayes, MD, MBA-HM, CPE, FAAFP currently serves as the Vice-Chair of Clinical and Community Operations in the Department of Family Medicine and the Assistant Specialty Medical Director of the community clinics in the Emerging Care Model Division at Atrium Health. She leads the primary care community and teaching clinics in the Greater Charlotte Area through positive healthcare delivery transformation to better care for and improve the lives of underserved communities, while also developing highly skilled, competent, and compassionate primary care physicians.  In her 15 years with Atrium Health, Dr. Hayes has served as medical director and core faculty at Elizabeth Family Medicine, and associate program director for Cabarrus Family Medicine Residency Program. In addition she is currently a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She was selected as the 2009 Cabarrus Family Medicine Residency Family Physician of the year. Prior to joining Atrium Health, Dr. Hayes had the honor to serve in multiple leadership positions within the US Navy Medical Corp to include faculty and team leader at Naval Hospital Pensacola Family Medicine Residency Program, Senior Medical Officer for the Naval Aviation Technical Training Center Medical Clinic, and Regimental Surgeon, 10th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, NC.  Dr. Hayes holds a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from UNC-Greensboro and is a graduate of the Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine.  She completed her family medicine residency at Naval Hospital Bremerton, WA and her Faculty Development Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Hayes earned her MBA in Healthcare Management from Western Governor’s University in 2021.  Dr. Hayes lives in Concord, NC with her husband and 8 year old son.  They enjoy all things Disney/Star Wars and spending time at the beach.

Golden Stethoscope Awards Gala
Sponsorship opportunities

We hope that you will join us in Celebrating Medicine!

The 2022 Golden Stethoscope Awards Gala is the North Carolina Medical Society’s way of thanking our physician and PA members for their tireless and remarkable dedication to their profession and service to their patients and communities.This year we are “Celebrating Medicine” by holding the Golden Stethoscope Awards, which will honor four NCMS members for their dedication to the profession of medicine, communities, and their patients during the COVID pandemic.

Corporate partners are invited to share in this event honoring the sacrifices of these health care heroes. Your gifts will ensure a spectacular evening spent celebrating the North Carolina physicians and PAs who helped steer us through one of the most challenging times in our history.

Please download a Sponsor Prospectus or contact Pam Highsmith for more information.

DIAMOND PRESENTING SPONSORS:

Carolina Complete Health Network (CCHN) Interim CEO Steve Keene shares why their organization is happy to be a Diamond Sponsor of the Golden Stethoscope Awards Gala
James Holmes, Sentinel Managing Partner, and Jason Sandner, Curi CEO, have joined up to talk about their partnership with the North Carolina Medical Society and why they are excited about the 2022 Golden Stethoscope Awards Gala.

Our New Membership Campaign

The NCMS has launched its new member campaign for 2022 — #NCMS2000stronger — and we need YOU!

Now more than ever in this challenging health care climate, you need your voice to be heard. The NCMS is that voice for your profession and your patients — and the greater the number of voices behind us, the more powerful our impact can be.

This year, we have a new goal to increase our numbers by 2,000 brand new physician and PA members. Is this goal possible? Yes! Do we need you? Yes, yes we do!

Here's how you can help. Are you...

A current NCMS member?

Become an NCMS champion! Talk to your colleagues and find out if they are NCMS members, too. Let them know about your experience and why YOU joined. Encourage them to visit our website, review our membership information and become a member online at www.ncmedsoc.org/join. Forward them a copy of our membership handout and urge them to help make us #NCMS2000stronger!

A lapsed NCMS member?

How can we help you? Let us know about your experience and how you think we can improve by taking our latest member experience survey or by contacting us at [email protected]. We want your feedback!

Did you just forget about renewing? Visit www.ncmedsoc.org/renew to fix that.

Never been a member?

Join our NCMS community and become one of our #NCMS2000stronger heroes! Being an NCMS member has its privileges. Find out what the benefits of membership are and sign up online today! Need an invoice sent to you instead? Please contact us at [email protected], and we'll be happy to send one over.

JOIN NOW


Download our Membership Handout


NCMS Supports Governor’s Decision and Offers Recommendations on Transitioning to COVID Endemic

Since March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted and radically changed many behaviors we once considered normal, from the way we shop, work, access health care, and educate children, to the way we interact with neighbors, colleagues, family, and friends. From the onset of the pandemic, the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) supported the strong mitigation efforts to lessen the transmission of COVID-19 and its potential negative impact on the health of North Carolinians. Our members—representing North Carolina’s physicians and physician assistants—understood clearly how these mitigation efforts were critical tools for them as frontline responders treating COVID-19 patients. NCMS members also understood that these mitigation efforts were important to protecting all healthcare workers. As the key metrics begin to trend in the right direction, it is now time to use what we know about public health pandemics and endemics to critically and judiciously plan the next steps that we should take. The next steps we take should be geared more towards individual behaviors to manage and assess ongoing personal risk and less towards public mandates.

“Vaccines have been an effective tool for minimizing potential health (personal and public) hazards associated with COVID. Vaccines are also vital in slowing widespread viral transmission resulting in increased disease progression as measured by hospitalizations and deaths. We are seeing success to that end. Now, we must accept that very much like the seasonal flu, COVID-19 will be among us on the list of SARs viruses. We must learn to live with it in a safe and thoughtful way. Patients should rely on their trusted physician to help them evaluate their personal risk and safely navigate life in the new post-pandemic COVID era,” said Michael Utecht, MD, NCMS President.

Assessing personal risk includes identifying hazards where you could be exposed to COVID, deciding your personal risk tolerance on your health status and the health status of those in your immediate family and environment, and the impact on you and your family if you were to contract COVID. “Evaluating risk is something that we commonly do without thinking, like when we drive a car.” said Chip Baggett, EVP & CEO of NCMS. “Your primary physician has the deep understanding of your personal health history and lifestyle to assist you in developing a personal COVID risk determination. That is where people should now turn to for guidance.”

Baggett says: “We are mindful, however, that there are communities and segments of the population who may not have a primary care provider or local physician. Health disparities and inequities remain serious issues that we must continue to confront and address. For people who may never visit a doctor until a disease has worsened, it is important that they have clear guidance on what they can do to practice healthy behaviors to minimize their personal risk. Therefore, the NCMS will be exploring ways to collaborate with stakeholders to promote public messaging to reach wider audiences than those who have primary care physicians or meet regularly with their local doctors.”


Join us at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley this October 14-16 for LEAD 2022

Thank you for helping to make LEAD 2022 a success!

LEAD highlights at a glance…

0
NCMS PAC Funds Raised at LEAD
0
Foundation Dollars Raised at LEAD
0
Registered Attendees
0
Award Winners Named

Annual Scientific Poster Session Winners

Over 30 residents and students participated in the LEAD Annual Scientific Poster Session. The winners are listed below; click here to view all of the poster submissions.

Student Clinical Research Category:

3rd place ($50)Julia Canick from Duke. “Predictive Factors in Identifying Pediatric Patients at Risk of Diagnostically Limited Videofluoroscopic Swallow Studies”

2nd & 1st place ($150) tiedCatherine Malisse, BS from Wake Forest. “Exploring Leader Identity: An Approach to Professional Identity Formation Training for Healthcare Trainees in North Carolina” and Ishaq Ibrahim from Campbell. “A Comparison of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Self-Reported Uptake and Knowledge of Other Recommended Adult Immunizations”

Student Clinical Vignette Category:

3rd place ($50) – N/A only two submissions in this category

2nd place ($100)Morgan Belina, BS from Duke. “Pseudoporphyria associated with combined use of doxycycline and NSAIDs”

1st place ($200) –  Jackson Moorefield from UNC. “A Stimulating Case of Acute Limb Ischemia”

Resident Clinical Research:

3rd place ($50 )Kristin Sheehan, MD from Wake Forest. “An Initiative to Improve the Utility of Best Practice Advisories”

2nd place ($100)Matthew Sabatini, DO from Campbell. “Concussion: Underdiagnosis and Need for Raising Awareness”

1st place ($200) Isabelle Dagher, MD from UNC. “Progression of Upper Airway Manifestations in Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia Throughout Childhood”

Resident Clinical Vignette:

3rd place ($50)Chirag Patel, MD from CMC. “Renal Leukemic Infiltration and CLL”

2nd place ($100)Vincent Tang, MD from UNC. “Bilateral Vision Loss and Headache in a Healthy Young Woman”

1st place ($200) Jigisha Srivastav, MD from Wake Forest. “Heart Block in Lyme Disease”

NCMS Annual Business Meeting Materials

2022 State Health Directors Report to the North Carolina Medical Society

Advocacy Update – Aug 2022

2023 Board Meeting Dates

2020 Financial Statements

Minutes from 2022 Board Meetings

NCMS Election Results

During the NCMS Annual Business Meeting, Dr. Philip Brown, NCMS Past President and Chair of the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee, shared the results of the NCMS elections. Below are the newly elected members of NCMS leadership.

NCMS Board of Directors President-Elect Eileen Raynor, MD

NCMS Board Region 2 Representative Charul Haugan, MD

NCMS Board At-Large Member Merritt Seshul, MD

AMA Delegation Member Rebecca Hayes, MD

AMA Delegation Member Karen Smith, MD

AMA Delegation Member Roy Syracuse, MD


2022 NCMS Member Calendar Available

As you may know, the printed calendar for 2022 is now available; but did you know that it's also available for viewing and downloading online?

Take a look below at the 2022 NCMS Member Calendar!

Using the toolbar at the bottom, you can zoom in, view full screen or download a PDF version to your computer.

If you're a current NCMS member and you haven't received your printed calendar yet, please contact [email protected] and share your name and mailing address.

The images in our annual calendar are always taken by your peers -- NCMS physician and PA photographers who have an eye for beauty and who have participated in our yearly Photo Contest. The full calendar showcases all of our contestants and their stunning work, with the contest finalists being featured each month of the year.


The Fall 2021 Bulletin Is Now Online

Perfect for this season of giving, the fall edition of the NCMS Bulletin magazine focuses on the work that physicians are doing beyond the walls of their practices. Learn more about your peers and their passions outside of their clinic walls, including:

  • Stuart Levin, MD, FACP, FCCP, and his work with the city of Raleigh to build more walkable spaces and better health for his patients;
  • Robert Majors, Jr., MD, Benjamin Ferndon, MD, and their fellow physician volunteers who share a love of gardening and the joy of offering healthy produce to the community;
  • Kerianne Crockett, MD, and her legislative advocacy to deliver dignity to incarcerated women;
  • Karen L. Smith, MD, FAAFP, and her tireless outreach efforts to vaccinate more people in the state against COVID-19; and
  • David T. Tayloe, Jr., MD, FAAP, and his belief in the power of physician advocacy.

View the Bulletin now


NCMS/NCMGMA Lunch & Learn Webinar: Legislative Update (11/16/2021)

Watch as Dave Horne, Josh Grant and Robert Shaw from Smith Anderson provide a year-end legislative update. Tune in to find out what happened this year at the NC General Assembly and what we're anticipating for 2022.

Presented by the North Carolina Medical Society Foundation in partnership with the North Carolina Medical Group Management Association.


KIPL Power Hour: Colorectal Cancer Screenings (10/22/2021)

In 2020, there was an estimated 104,610 new cases of colon cancer and 43,340 cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed in the US according to the American Cancer Society. Despite ample research that show the impact of screening on the incidence of the diagnosis and improvement of survival, colorectal cancer is still the fourth leading cause of death in North Carolina. In addition, minorities and low-income patients have lower screening rates. With the Medicaid expansion, the aspiration is to increase screening across all groups. While there is no study that shows a direct correlation between Medicaid expansion and colorectal cancer care, simply having insurance means the patient is two times more likely to get colorectal cancer screening. Join us for this month’s Power Hour for an important conversation around this pressing topic with a group of experts and advocates including a former patient and stage 4 colon cancer survivor.


Political Pulse for October 22, 2021

Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, doesn’t have too much to report from the legislature this week, but she does have an important announcement to share. Watch this week’s Political Pulse for her update.

Our External Affairs Team:

Alan Skipper - [email protected]

Ashley Rodriguez - [email protected]

Kristen Spaduzzi - [email protected]


Political Pulse for Sept. 17, 2021

Director of Legislative Relations, Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, highlights some important events in this week's Political Pulse: today (Sept. 17) is National Physician Suicide Awareness Day. She also shares that registration is now open for the upcoming NCMS Virtual LEAD Health Care Conference. The Conference kicks off with a lively discussion among a panel of legislators on Thursday, Oct. 14. Sue Ann also offers the latest news on budget negotiations and a possible timetable for its release, as well as information on how you can become involved in legislative redistricting meetings across the state.

Related Links

National Physician Suicide Awareness Day website

NCMS 2021 Virtual LEAD Health Care Conference

House Redistricting Committee Upcoming Meeting Schedule

NCMS White Coat Days


Political Pulse for Sept. 3, 2021

NCMS Director of Legislative Relations Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, thanks those who attended the Sept. 1st advocacy event with US Rep. Greg Murphy, MD, and NC Rep. Kristin Baker, MD, and also NCMS members who volunteered as experts for the WRAL hotline, answering viewers' questions on vaccinations. In addition, she provides an update on HB 608 (Dignity for Women Who are Incarcerated) and the slow-moving budget negotiation process. Be sure to watch this week's Political Pulse!


Political Pulse for August 27, 2021

It was a week of slow-moving negotiations on the budget process and of faster action on several healthcare-related bills. NCMS Director of Legislative Relations, Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, shares her summary of all of this week's legislative developments that could impact you and your patients.

In addition, Sue Ann invites you to attend "The Importance of Grassroots Advocacy – How You Can Make a Difference," on Sept. 1 at 6:00pm. This virtual NCMS event gives you a chance to hear from your physician colleagues who represent you and your profession at the state and national levels. NC Rep. Kristin Baker, MD, and US Rep. Greg Murphy, MD, will share their experiences and insights into physician engagement in advocacy.

REGISTER NOW

 

Helpful Links in our NCMS Legislative Blog:


Political Pulse for August 13, 2021

The NC House released their budget this week and NCMS Director of Legislative Relations Sue Ann Forrest, MPA, offers the highlights that most impact health care. She also shares what's next in the budget process and provides an update on a couple of other bills that moved this week.

If you would like Sue Ann to speak at an upcoming meeting or event, please contact her at [email protected].

For the latest developments in the current session of the NCGA, visit our Legislative Blog.


Political Pulse for July 30, 2021

Additional Information:

Most North Carolina health insurers are now implementing “copay accumulator adjustment programs," which prohibit copay assistance from any third-party, including a church, foundation, GoFundMe, or copay card, from counting toward a patient’s annual deductible or out-of-pocket maximum.

This means any third-party copay assistance will reduce a patient or family's cost sharing burden, and means that copays are paid twice: once from copay assistance and again from the patient or family. It's not fair and only pads the pockets of health insurers and PBMs.

We must include protections against copay accumulator adjustment programs in Senate Bill 257, which is currently being considered by the NC General Assembly.

Sign on now to send a message to your North Carolina legislators to ask them to help patients afford lifesaving treatment. Feel free to edit your message with your own story or perspective in your own words.


WCMS Members Enjoy Sidecar Social Club at Booth Amphitheater

On July 16, about 38 WCMS doctors and their guests enjoyed a delightful summer evening of music by the Sidecar Social Club presented by the NC Symphony at the beautiful, wooded Booth Amphitheater in Cary. A cooling early drizzle cleared by showtime leaving a delightful summer breeze and the evening could not have been more delightful with good fellowship, food on the VIP deck, and beverage.

This was the first of a series of small group events being planned for the upcoming year. Previous events before being curtailed by COVID have included a guided tour of an exhibit at the NC Museum of History and a visit to the Raleigh Islamic Center. At least four more events are being planned for the coming year -- stay tuned for announcements.