News & Media
MSMS Mid-Summer Board Meeting Focuses on Strategic Planning, SafeHaven™ and Scope of Practice Activity
Last week the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) Board of Directors held their two-day mid-summer board meeting in Lansing. While the meeting was focused on strategic planning, among the topics discussed were SafeHaven™, Scope of Practice activity, and a presentation on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s Community Based Crisis Services. Below are some highlights from the week's meeting:
- SafeHaven™: The MSMS Board of Directors as well as other specialty society leaders were given an introduction to SafeHaven™, MSMS’s resource for physician and provider well being. SafeHaven™ is a new service offered by MSMS using its service partner, VITAL WorkLife. This resource ensures physicians and providers can seek confidential assistance and support for burnout, career fatigue, and mental health reasons. For more information about the services offered visit https://msms.org/SafeHaven.
- Three Components of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s Community-Based Crisis Services: The Health Care Delivery committee heard a presentation from William Beecroft, M.D., D.L.F.A.P.A., the Medical Director Behavioral Health for Blue Cross Blues Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) and Blue Care Network (BCN). Doctor Beecroft discussed Blue Cross’s launch of three programs to increase access to crisis services. They include:
- Mobile Crisis – An emergency mobile mental health assessment and intervention for adults and children in immediate crisis. This mobile unit can be deployed to a home, an office oran emergency department. It is designed to assess clinical need, reduce symptoms, initiate co-occurring treatment, prevent additional functional impairment, and facilitate transition to the least restrictive level of care. Individualized treatment plans are completed within 96 hours of service.
- Crisis Stabilization – The goal is to medically stabilize and evaluate patients for appropriate treatment, like medical observation services. The facilities are open 24/7 and use a multidisciplinary team. Blue Cross members may be referred from Mobile Crisis, law enforcement, other community-based servicers or they may walk-in.
- Crisis Residential – A program designed for short-term residential crisis treatment for those ready to actively participate in recovery. The program uses a multidisciplinary team offering individual, group and family therapy, therapeutic activities, additional psychiatric evaluations medication administration and peer support. Blue Cross members may be referred from Crisis Stabilization or an inpatient hospital.
The Committee had a robust discussion following the presentation.
- Scope of Practice: MSMS is anticipating the emergence of various scope of practice expansion bills during this current Legislative Session. House Bill 4359, which sought to allow Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) to provide anesthesia care as the sole independent provider without any physician supervision, input, or collaboration was the first scope expansion battle of the 2021-2022 Legislative Session. Despite opposition from MSMS, the Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists, and other physician specialty societies, the House moved the bill quickly and sent it over to the Senate by a vote of 82-25.
The Senate took a more deliberative position thanks to the advocacy of MSMS and MSA and continued engagement of physicians to contact their legislators. As a result, substantial changes to the bill were adopted on the Senate floor prior to its passage on June 17, 2021. The House concurred with the Senate-passed version of House Bill 4359 and the Governor recently signed it into law.
Despite the consistent and vigorous advocacy efforts from MSMS members, leadership, and staff on the issue of CRNA independent practice, MSMS is concerned that other bills expanding scope of practice are forthcoming during this current Legislative Session. In an effort to preempt such action, MSMS will be utilizing a $50,000 grant from the American Medical Association’s Scope of Practice Program (SOPP) to assemble a coalition of partnering physician organizations modeled after the Mississippi State Medical Association’s State SOPP. This initiative will include a public awareness campaign supporting the value to patients of physician-led health care teams, common messaging to target scope of practice initiatives already underway and those anticipated in the current 2021-2022 legislative session. Additional activities will include direct legislative and executive lobbying and advocacy training focused on the value of physician-led health care teams and importance of medical school education in delivering quality, cost-effective care will be key components of the initiative.
Committee discussion confirmed the need for physicians to proactively join together to advocate for policy that supports patient safety. Education on the roles of health care team members and ensuring patients know who is delivering their care and team member’s level of training and credentials is critical. Members believe this should be an area of focus for MSMS as patients are often confused as to who is or is not the physician on the care team, organizations representing advanced practice professionals (APPs) are seeking additional scope expansions or title changes, and hospitals are more frequently replacing physicians with APPs.
- Recommendations for the Michigan Board of Medicine: The Legislative Committee approved the following candidates be recommended Governor, to serve on the Michigan Board of Medicine:
- John A. Hopper, MD
- Mustafa M. Hamed,MD, MBA, MPH
- Edward P. Fody,MD
- Shahrokh Mansoori, MD, PC
- Adarsh K. Varma, MD, be presented to the