President Obama announced a plan on Tuesday by which qualified doctors treating those with substance use disorder would be able to double the number of patients receiving drugs that combat addiction.

Current rules limit doctors from prescribing buprenorphine and similar drugs to no more than 100 patients. The new plan would allow M.D.s to treat 200 patients. Buprenorphine helps prevent withdrawal symptoms and helps people quit opioids.

Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) has been a long-time supporter of expanding the prescribing limits for buprenorphine and co-sponsored The Recovery Enhancement for Addiction Treatment (TREAT) Act to do so. Obama’s proposed regulatory change goes even further than the TREAT Act’s expansion.

Also, as part of his opioid-fighting package, the president Tuesday created a new task force on mental health parity – that is, ensuring that insurance coverage for those with behavioral health issues, including addiction problems, is on par with benefits for medical and surgical care.

Kaiser Health News quoted the president as saying, “The goal of the task force is to essentially develop a set of tools, guidelines, mechanisms so that it’s actually enforced, that the concept is not just a phrase — an empty phrase. We’ve got to let the insurance carriers know that we’re serious about this.” 

The Health Policy Commission (HPC) announced this week that it will not proceed with a Cost and Market Impact Review of a proposed affiliation between Boston Children’s Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital, and Mount Auburn Cambridge Independent Practice Association (MACIPA), which has 400 physicians.  According to the HPC, under the affiliation, “Children's would become the preferred pediatric academic medical center for MACIPA patients and Children's would provide a discount on certain services provided to MACIPA risk members. MACIPA has stated that it will share any funds received as a result of that arrangement with payers pursuant to the terms of their respective risk-sharing agreements.” 

The Massachusetts Alliance for Communication and Resolution following Medical Injury (MACRMI) is holding its fourth annual forum on Communication, Apology, and Resolution (CARe) on Tuesday, April 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Massachusetts Medical Society, Waltham. The CARe model is a transparent and honest approach for healthcare systems and liability insurers to respond to cases of preventable harm. This year’s forum will include an update on the completed CARe pilot study; a panel discussion with insurers, plaintiffs, and defense attorneys who resolve CARe cases; and a panel of providers, who will share their experiences and how to create CARe buy-in.  Participants will also hear about recent MACRMI accomplishments, and how to become a MACRMI member. 

This program is designated for CME/CPD credit. For more information, please contact Melinda Van Niel at mvanniel@bidmc.harvard.edu  or visit www.macrmi.info.

Dick Davidson, the president of the American Hospital Association from 1991 to 2006, passed away on Monday at his home in Maryland. He was 79. His colleagues at MHA and in Massachusetts remember him as someone who urged hospitals to connect closely with the communities they served. He understood the finances of healthcare as well as anyone but reminded hospital leaders that their fundamental mission was to provide high-quality safe care to all people during oftentimes the most trying times of their lives. Davidson is survived by his wife of 59 years, Janet, and was the father of three children and grandchildren. Donations in his name may be made to Healthcare for the Homeless, which he helped found, or to the Delmarva Nesting Foundation.

FRIDAY, APRIL 15; 8 A.M. - 12 P.M.
MHA CONFERENCE CENTER, BURLINGTON, MASS.

As healthcare providers and organizations work to transform care delivery, it’s critical to develop effective efficiencies of care and population health management programs. There are opportunities to be found in management of patients with certain diagnoses and chronic conditions. Patients with cardiovascular issues are a population of people whose care, if managed effectively, can help keep them healthier and out of the hospital. This also helps keep unnecessary costs out of the system. Join us at this CME/CEU program focusing on advances in care management of cardiac patient populations. We will hear from local cardiologists who are heading up programs at their hospitals and practices to better manage their cardiac patients. We’ll also feature a “Home Run Innovation” panel looking at specific new tactics being various healthcare providers are using in the cardiovascular area to benefit patients and keep them from being admitted or re-admitted.