CAPSULES
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Sanne Magnan, MD, PhD. “It builds and expands the highly effective DIAMOND program which targets depression, and it addresses one of the leading preventable causes of illness and death—alcohol.” Bloomington-based ICSI will receive $900,000 for the three-year program. As part of the AHRQ collaborative project, ICSI will incorporate substance abuse screening methods used by a Wisconsin initiative, and some Wisconsin clinics will start using the DIAMOND program for depression treatment.
ICSI Included in Multi-State Project The Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) will receive part of a $3.5 million grant for a multi-state project that implements screening and early intervention in the areas of behavioral health and substance abuse. The program is sponsored by the Rockville, MD-based Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and will work with up to 90 primary care practices in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania to screen patients for both depression and substance abuse, rather than one or the other. ICSI officials say the program will complement the successful DIAMOND program, which has been adopted by many clinics in Minnesota as a more comprehensive approach to treating depression. “This grant is exciting in two ways,” says ICSI President and CEO
Dayton Budget Gets Mixed Reviews from Health Care Interests Gov. Mark Dayton’s budget proposal drew a mixed response from the health care community last week, as the new governor put forth a plan to eliminate the state’s $6 billion deficit. Health and human services took big hits, with reduced reimbursements to providers, cuts to health services, and 7,200
enrollees of MinnesotaCare slated to lose coverage, but health groups seemed resigned to painful cuts. In a statement, Dayton’s office painted the budget as a balanced approach to making tough choices. In the area of health care, the budget calls for raising $877 million in revenues through Medical Assistance surcharges to providers. It would then give back some of the MA surcharges by providing $265 million in provider reimbursement increases. It would reduce overall spending for health care programs by $775 million. Analysis and commentary from different health groups quickly followed the Feb. 15 announcement. The Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) noted that the budget retains coverage for children on state plans. However, the physician association questioned the MinnesotaCare cuts, which would affect adult enrollees. “We appreciate Governor Dayton’s effort to protect Minnesota’s health care safety net, but we are concerned about
the loss of MinnesotaCare coverage for 7,200 working Minnesotans,” says MMA President Patricia Lindholm, MD. Lindholm says MMA supports Dayton’s decision to continue to fund health reform efforts such as the Statewide Health Improvement Program. “The governor’s proposal seeks to balance the state budget by using a combination of new revenues and cuts—an approach that the MMA believes is preferable to a cuts-only budget fix,” Lindholm says. Lawrence Massa, president and CEO of the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA), says his group supports Dayton’s approach of generating new revenues—raising taxes— as part of the solution to the state’s budget woes. However, he says MHA has concerns about the new provider surcharges, which he says will hit hospitals hard.
Upcoming CME Courses www.cmecourses.umn.edu Office of Continuing Medical Education U 612-626-7600 or 1-800-776-8636 U email: cme@umn.edu
2011 CME SPRING COURSES 12th Annual Lillehei Symposium: Cardiovascular Care for Primary Care Practitioners April 18 – 19, 2011 “Bridging the Transition to Life after Cancer Treatment” Cancer Survivorship Conference April 29 – 30, 2011 North Central Chapter Infectious Disease Society of America (NCC-IDSA) Annual Meeting April 30, 2011 Bariatric Education Day May 25 – 26, 2011 Workshops in Clinical Hypnosis “Introductory and Advanced Sections” June 2 – 4, 2011 Topics and Advances in Pediatrics June 9 – 10, 2011 Advances in Breast, Endocrine, and Cancer Surgery June 16 – 18, 2011
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MINNESOTA PHYSICIAN
2011 AHRQ National PBRN Research Conference June 22 – 24, 2011 Global Health Training August 1 – 26, 2011
UPCOMING FALL 2011 COURSES Psychiatry Review September, 2011 Pediatric Clinical Hypnosis September 15 – 17, 2011 Pediatric Trauma Summit September 22 – 23, 2011 Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Women’s Health Autumn Seminar September 23, 2011 Pain Management for Primary Care September 28, 2011 Practical Dermatology September 30 – October 1, 2011 Twin Cities Sports Medicine September 30 – October 1, 2011
MARCH 2011
Urology for Primary Care October 6, 2011 Transplant Immunosuppression “The Difficult Issues” October 12 – 15, 2011 Internal Medicine Review and Update November 2 – 4, 2011 Emerging Infections November 18, 2011
ON-LINE COURSES Courses available for AMA PRA category 1 credit. http://www.cme.umn.edu/online s Reducing Recurrent Preterm Birth s Travel Medicine s Healthcare for Immigrant & Refugee Populations s ECG of the Week s Adult Congenital Heart Disease All courses are held in the Twin Cities unless noted