Spring conference May 1-3, 2015

Sunday, March 01, 2015 11:34 AM

This year’s conference seeks to break down barriers

by Michael Volz, MD, CMS president-elect

As president-elect of the Colorado Medical Society, it is my express pleasure to invite you to the 2015 CMS Spring Conference, May 1-3 at the Sonnenalp Hotel in Vail.

The theme this year, “Breaking Down Barriers: Reunifying Physicians and Patients,” draws parallels between the fall of the Berlin wall and efforts to dismantle barriers in health care between patients and physicians. This historic event took place 25 years ago as the result of grassroots political, economic and diplomatic forces that ultimately broke through the barrier, brick by brick, and reunified Germany. The wall that has grown over that same stretch of time between patients and physicians – systemic, economic, political, and cultural – is being chipped away by the determined forces of medicine.

Through the generosity of the Colorado Medical Society, all attendees will receive a special gift copy of “What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine” by Danielle Ofri, MD, an internist at New York’s Bellevue Hospital. In the book, Ofri tells stories of caregivers caught up in the range of emotions – shame, fear, anger, anxiety, empathy and even love – revealing the undeniable truth that emotions have a distinct effect on how doctors care for their patients.

CMS will kick off the conference with a social reception Friday evening hosted by the Intermountain Medical Society featuring appetizers, live music, cocktails and dessert. Then we’ll bring in national experts for interactive sessions on Saturday morning and Sunday morning.

After kicking off the sessions Saturday with my presentation on the conference theme, COPIC will lead an interactive review of several medical liability cases. The audience will divide into breakout groups to ask in-depth questions about the cases, identify and record the barriers that caused the claim and how they could have been avoided, and then vote on whether the care was appropriate. In addition, each breakout group will make recommendations about what CMS should be doing to improve safety based on the cases. Later Saturday morning, Simon Hambidge, MD, of Denver Health will explore issues facing ambulatory care delivery and how his organization developed “21st Century Care” to address these barriers.

Saturday evening we’ll come together for a dessert reception and the Fireside Chat to discuss CMS governance reform. In this open forum, attendees will consider and provide feedback on various aspects of CMS governance as well as ways to enhance physician participation and increase transparency and effective decision-making. The 2014 HOD directed the board of directors to develop new structures that will move our organization to the next level.

Sunday morning Ed Dauer, LL.B., MPH, presents “Improving the Care Experience,” which focuses on barriers to communication in health care. Physicians will learn how to embrace patients’ expectations, frustrations, presumptions and different frames of reference in the medical encounter to achieve effective communication; and share resources for dealing with treatment barriers.

The purpose of the conference is to create unity among physicians, attract new faces to CMS, develop ideas to address the critical issues facing physicians, and broaden the view of attendees on relevant policy matters by bringing in outside experts. CMS encourages all members, staff and stakeholders to make plans to attend what continues to be a lively celebration of fellowship in the Colorado medical community, and a provocative discussion on the how-to’s of patient engagement and safety, improving care value and collaboration. CMS extends a particularly warm invitation to physicians who have never experienced one of CMS’ spring conferences before or who haven’t attended in awhile.

Registration is free for Colorado physicians and component society staff, and is available online at www.cms.org/events/spring-conference. Hotel reservations under the hotel group rate at the Sonnenalp can be made by phone through the Sonnenalp reservations department at (800) 654-8312 or online through the link on the CMS website. When booking by phone, be sure to mention that you are with the Colorado Medical Society to receive this group rate.

I hope you’ll consider attending to learn, network and be inspired.