The North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition along with the NC Urban Survivors Union are hosting a conference on Integrating Harm Reduction into Existing Service Provisions on Aug. 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an evening social event from 6:30-11 p.m. at Castle McCulloch, 3925 Kivett Dr, Jamestown, NC. Sign up here.  For more information contact Louise Vincent, [email protected].


The North Carolina Department of Justice is bringing together law enforcement, public health, medical, legal and public policy professionals to discuss how to curb prescription drug and opioid abuse in North Carolina at a conference to be held on August 11 at the McKimmon Center on the North Carolina State University Campus in Raleigh. Register here. For more information contact Natalie Wood, [email protected] or 919-716-6073.


The North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) Foundation in cooperation with the North Carolina Medical Group Management Association, invites you to join an Employment Law Update webinar to review the significant changes in employment law facing medical practices today. The review includes the new overtime regulations, ADA and FMLA compliance challenges, expanding protections for LGBT workers, and independent contractor misclassification risks. The webinar will be held Tuesday, Aug. 16, from noon to 1 pm and features Patti Bartis, Partner, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein. The webinar is free but you must register here to attend.


“Opioid Safety in the Hospital and After Discharge,” a webinar on how a patient can manage their own persistent pain through the use of non-drug alternatives and possibly refrain from the use of opioids will be offered Wednesday, Aug. 17, from 1 – 2 pm. More information and to register.


“Innovations in Patient Safety: A Deeper Dive into Medication Effectiveness and Safety with Comprehensive Medication Management,” a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Learning Network webinar will be offered Wednesday, Aug. 17, from 1 to 2 p.m. Register here.


The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will hold the first session of a three-part Virtual Office Hours series regarding 2016 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) quality measures. The first session, titled “2016 PQRS Reporting: Introduction to Quality Measures Reporting (session 1 of 3)”, will take place on Tuesday, August 16, 2016 from 1 to 2 p.m. Topics to be discussed in this session include How to Get Started with PQRS and what are claims/qualified registry clinical quality measures. This PQRS Virtual Office Hours session will allow stakeholders an opportunity to ask a CMS representative questions about how to get started with quality measures for 2016 PQRS reporting. You must register to participate in this session. Click here to access the registration page. Complete information about PQRS is available on the CMS PQRS web site.


Take a deep dive into value-based health care at the second annual Move-to-Value Summit in Winston-Salem on Aug. 21-23. Learn more and register here.


Get Help in Making the Transition from Fee-for-Service to Value-based Payment Models on Wednesday, Aug. 24, from 1 to 4 p.m., at MAHEC in Asheville. This workshop presented by the National Rural Accountable Care Consortium (NRACC) to help practices succeed under the new guidelines for the Physician’s Quality Reporting System (PQRS) and the Value-Based Modifiers (VBM). For a basic introduction to NRACC and the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative (TCPI) please view the webinar presentation, “Surviving Value-Based Payment Reform Including an Update on the New MACRA Proposed Rule” here. And read the story in this Bulletin for more information.


The North Carolina Healthcare Information and Communications Alliance (NCHICA) 22nd Annual Conference & Exhibition, “The New Healthcare Ecosystem,” is scheduled for Aug. 29-31 at the Omni Grove Park Resort in Asheville. The conference provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the latest developments and best practices in healthcare IT, and network with your peers.


28th Annual Fall Foliage Cancer Conference, “Update on Melanoma and Gastrointestinal Cancers,” will be held Oct. 21-22 at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville. More information and registration available here.


The North Carolina Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) will hold its 2016 Health Insurance Institute on Sept. 22-23, at the Sheraton Hotel, Four Seasons in Greensboro. Learn more and register here.


MAHEC, working with the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, The Governor’s Institute on Substance Abuse and Project Lazarus: A Project of CCNC, is offering A Guide to Rational Opioid Prescribing for Chronic Pain, an online education course. The course is designed for all prescribing health care practitioners who are interested in an overview of the rational prescribing approaches for persons with chronic pain disorders. It will fulfill the North Carolina Medical Board’s requirement of at least one hour of continuing education designed specifically to address prescribing practices for chronic pain management. The course cost is $15 for the first 6 months. Offers 3 hours of AAFP, AMA/AAFP Equivalency, and CDE; www.mahec.net/opioid


NCTracks has Computer-Based Training (CBT) courses on a variety of topics available to providers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. Anyone who is a registered user with NCID access to the NCTracks secure Provider Portal can access and take a self-paced course. A list of courses available can be found here and under Quick Links on the NCTracks Provider Training page of the public Provider Portal.