FOCUS TOPICS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH & ADDICTION ICD-10/PRACTICE MANAGEMENT HEALTHCARE REAL ESTATE
April 2009 2015 >> $5 December
PHYSICIAN SPOTLIGHT PAGE 3
Kenneth Ennis, MD
Some Answers in Short Supply During ‘Day on the Hill’ Event years, leaving 200,000 to 300,000 lives uncovered. Attendance was up approximately 20 “These people cannot qualify for tradipercent for this year’s Day on the Hill, the tional Medicaid or vouchers or buy insurannual one-on-one meeting in Nashville ance on the free market. Most are working of legislators and physicians, nurses and part-time in service industries, are seasonal healthcare administrators for the opporhelp, or are PRN in health care,” he said. tunity to exchange opinions and concerns Anderson said they were not given a about issues affecting healthcare. reason for the two-year window. He exThe two chief issues for the physiplained it might just be a political cycle. The cians and administrators involved during reason given for the failure of the measure, last month’s gathering, according to Keith he said, was discontent with the Affordable G. Anderson, MD, were Governor Bill Care Act which is what was perceived as the Haslam’s failed Insure Tennessee effort and driver of this plan, and that this was a statethe Payor Accountability Act. ment from the local legislature. He cited a Anderson, a cardiologist with Sutherheavy, organized coalition against Insure land Clinic and the new president of the Tennessee that had protested on the hill beTennessee Medical Association (TMA), fore the vote was taken. observed, “One of our priorities as a medi“It was a very well-written plan and I Keith G. Anderson cal community has been to promote Insure commend Governor Haslam for his hard Tennessee, but this year, since it’s already work on it. The time and effort put into crebeen voted down, we went with a ‘What happened? Can you give us ating it was tremendous. I’m just so sorry it failed so quickly in the the details of why Insure Tennessee did not pass?’ mindset.” legislature,” Anderson said. Anderson, a physician for 25 years, expressed his discontent The Payor Accountability bill, addressed in the 109th General (CONTINUED ON PAGE 10) that such an initiative is prohibited from coming up again for two BY GINGER H. PORTER
ON ROUNDS New Group Brings More Health Services to the Underserved After years at Christ Community Health Services, doctors open Resurrection Health Fueled by faith and driven by compassion for the poor, Rick Donlon, MD, has spent the last two decades of his medical career aggressively reaching out to underserved populations in Memphis ... 6
Integrating for Improved Outcomes Community-Based Solutions Answer Some of Tennessee’s Toughest Behavioral Health Challenges Hillary Clinton famously said, “It takes a village.” For behavioral health providers, that concept – played out in communities all across Tennessee – has proven to be true ... 12
ONLINE: MEMPHIS MEDICAL NEWS.COM
HealthcareLeader Cameron Brackett Executive Director, Mid-South eHealth Alliance BY JUDY OTTO
Perhaps it’s no accident that the acronym for Health Information Exchange is HIE, which literally means “to go quickly or hasten,” since the man spearheading the Mid-South eHealth Alliance seems driven by a contagious sense of excitement and urgency to spread the HIE gospel to Memphis-area medical professionals and
institutions. According to Executive Director Cameron Brackett, that beneficiary category includes all Memphis-area medical professionals because the ability to electronically and instantaneously access a patient’s vital medical information does unquestionably improve the speed, quality, safety and cost of patient care. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 8)
To promote your business or practice in this high profile spot, contact Pamela Harris at Memphis Medical News. pamela@memphismedicalnews.com 501.247.9189 PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
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