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MEDICAL SOCIETY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
NEWS OF NEW YORK
Volume 70 • Number 11 • www.mssny.org
Providing Information to Assist Physicians in the State of New York
The Physicians Foundation’s
Survey of America’s Physicians:
Practice Patterns And Perspectives
Responses From The State Of New York
Following are responses from the state of New York to a national
survey of physicians commissioned by The Physicians Foundation
and conducted by Merritt Hawkins. Of 20,088 survey responses,
1,587 (or 7.9%) were from physicians in New York. Responses of
New York physicians are compared to all survey responses.
(Continued on page 6)
Which best describes your professional morale and
your feelings about the current state of the medical
profession?
Very positive Somewhat positive Somewhat negative
Very negative
New York 9.0%
35.3%
36.1%
19.6%
All
8.8%
35.6%
37.1%
18.5%
Which best describes how you feel about the future of
the medical profession?
Very positive/optimistic
Somewhat positive/optimistic
Somewhat negative/pessimistic
Very negative/pessimistic
New York 9.2%
44.2%
33.3%
13.3%
Physicians’
Comments About
Ebola Situation
All
10.2%
38.7%
39.5%
11.6%
Map of 2015 Health Plans
Offered in NY State of Health
Plans offered in NY State of Health are available in four easy-tocompare metal tiers (platinum, gold, silver and bronze). Plans on the
Marketplace cover doctor’s visits; hospital stays; emergency care; maternity and newborn care; mental health and substance abuse disorder
services; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and
devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services, chronic
disease management and pediatric dental and vision. Some plans offer
additional benefits such as adult dental and vision coverage.
Visit http://info.nystateofhealth.ny.gov/PlansMap for more information.
What Is Your Latest Email Address?
As a MSSNY member, you should be receiving the MSSNY
Daily and the weekly Enews. These publications contain valuable
information about upcoming meetings, webinars, ICD-10 news,
e-prescribing, EMR information and so much more vital information to help our members try to keep their heads above the regulatory
waters.
If you are NOT receiving these publications, please be sure that
we have your e-mail address. It’s possible that if you’ve updated or
changed your email, we might not have the most current one on file
for you. Please send your current email address to rarsenian@mssny.
org. Your email address is never sold or given to any other entity.
Page 2
December 2014
MSSNY Online CME Program On Ebola Now Available
MSSNY has an online educational program entitled,
“Ebola and What Physicians Need to Know.” This
program has been accredited for one hour of AMA
PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Educational objectives
are: 1) Describe the current 2014 epidemic; 2) Describe
the clinical features of Ebola; 3) Recognize the myth
versus reality of transmission; 4) Describe the strategies to control Ebola transmission; 5) Be familiar with
the physician’s role for patients and the role of public
health officials. Physicians may access the program at
http://cme.mssny.org/.
Physicians and other health care workers who are
new to the site must first register by clicking onto
“new users” and filling out the required information.
Physicians would then access the modules by clicking
on “My Training” at the top of the screen. After completing the module, physicians will be required to take
a post test, and to also evaluate the program. Upon successful completion of the post-test, a physician’s CME
certificate then becomes available for downloading.
The “My Training” page provides customized information on which modules have been viewed, the test status,
survey completion, and the certificate. Physicians who
have already registered for the site, would just need to
log onto the site, enter their email and password and
go directly to the training page. Further information
may be obtained by contacting Pat Clancy, VP, Public
Health and Education at [email protected].
MSSNY Welcomes ENT and Allergy Associates
MSSNY is pleased to announce that the physicians
of ENT and Allergy Associates (ENTA) have entered
into a group membership. ENTA has over 160 physicians in 40+ office locations throughout New York
City and in Westchester, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess,
Rockland, Nassau and Suffolk counties, and New
Jersey. Each ENT and Allergy Associates clinical
location provides access to a full complement of
services, including general adult and pediatric ENT,
facial plastics and reconstructive surgery, voice and
swallowing, asthma, clinical immunology, and diagnostic audiology.
“MSSNY has one of the best voices in Albany on
behalf of physician issues,” said Robert Glazer, CEO
of ENTA. “At our board meeting in June, our president, Dr. Rob Green, voiced his strong opinion that
in the current medical practice environment it’s more
important than ever to have a voice at the legislative
level.”
The ever-changing environment makes it crucial
to be part of the conversation, according to Glazer.
“With exchange plans more of a focus, we need a
voice to ensure that insurance companies play by the
rules,” he said. “MSSNY is a vehicle to ensure that
sensible regulations are put into place and that these
regulations don’t take away from our most important
focus, which is patient care.”
The ENTA group membership is the result of
all 160 physicians making a commitment to these
efforts. “In addition to our president, Robert Green,
MD, we are grateful to Lauren Zaretsky, MD and Lee
Eisenberg, MD, for their efforts in bringing all of our
ENTA physicians on board with MSSNY,” noted
Glazer.
NY Assembly Health Committee Holding Hearings on
Single Payer Legislation
Assembly Health Committee Chair, Richard
Gottfried, has announced that the Committee will hold
a series of hearings on the “New York Health” bill to
create state single payer health coverage. The dates and
location of each hearing are as follows:
SYRACUSE - Thursday, Dec 4, 10 AM, Medical Alumni
Auditorium, Weiskotten Hall, Upstate Medical University 766
Irving Avenue
ROCHESTER - Monday, Dec. 8, 10 AM, Rochester Regional
Joint Board,1st Floor Union Hall, 750 East Avenue
BUFFALO - Wednesday, Dec 10, 10 AM, Roswell Park
Cancer Inst., Hohn Auditorium, Research Studies Center,
Elm & Carlton Street NEW YORK CITY - Tuesday, Dec. 16, 10 AM, New York
University, Grand Hall, 5th Floor, Global Center for Academic
and Spiritual Life, 238 Thompson Street
MINEOLA - Wednesday, Dec 17, 10 AM, Nassau County
Legislative Chambers, Theodore Roosevelt Executive and
Legislative Building, 1550 Franklin Avenue
ALBANY - Tuesday, Jan. 13, 10 AM, Hearing Room B,
Legislative Office Building
“New York Health,” a universal “single payer” health
coverage bill, would replace insurance company coverage, premiums, deductibles, co-pays, limited provider
networks and out-of-network charges. Instead, it would
provide comprehensive, universal health coverage for
every New Yorker, with a benefit package more comprehensive than commercial or other health plans, with
full choices of doctors and other providers. The program
would be funded by broad-based taxes based on ability
to pay. It would eliminate the local share of Medicaid
(which would become part of New York Health). The
bill, A.5389-A/S.2078-A, was introduced by Assembly
Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried and
Senator Bill Perkins.
This series of public hearings around the state will
review the effects and costs of the current health
coverage system on patients, health care providers,
employers, labor, taxpayers and health and health care.
It will review how the single-payer system would work
in New York.
(Continued on page 10)
Inside News
Large turnout
of IMGs for
Symposium.....page 2
Why you
should join
MSSNYPAC
.......................page 4
AMSSNY and
Women’s Lacrosse
headgear.........page 8
Single payer
hearings
throughout NY
.....................page 10
New York Physicians Comment on Ebola Situation
Last month, MSSNY polled NYS physicians about the
Ebola situation. Almost 70 percent of respondents felt that
the U.S. is ill prepared for an Ebola outbreak. Additionally,
almost three-quarters of the respondents felt that health care
workers arriving from West Africa should be quarantined,
and about 42 percent thought the government should institute a ban on flights arriving in the U.S. from West Africa.
Below are selected comments from the survey. Some have
been edited for clarity.
Government lacks common sense, especially this
administration.
Jonathan A. Herbst MD, Internal Medicine, Port Chester
Appointing an Ebola czar is an insult to the surgeon general.
You can’t apply a political solution to a medical problem.
Alan Ditchek, MD, Infectious Disease
The governors were putting politics over leadership and
increasing panic and ignorance.
Nigel Bark, MD, Psychiatry
We are prepared to face an Ebola outbreak, just as we were
prepared to face Swine flu and Avian flu outbreaks.
Mala Sachdeva, MD Division of Kidney Disease and
Hypertension, NS-LIJ Health System, Great Neck
No data, guidelines or recommendations for pediatric
patients. It will be very difficult to establish IV lines with PPE
and double gloves especially in toddlers; what if IV cannot
be establish- IO or central line; restraint and sedation to
all in order to prevent accidental needle sticks; should the
parent be allowed to stay, feed and change diaper if not
enough staff prepared to take care of the young child etc.
Will health care workers get treatment other than symptomatic if they get infected?
Lin Lin Kin, MD, Pediatrics, BLHC
You need a reaction team to facilitate implementation of
protocols. Without training, it’s like giving a teen the car
manual and thinking he’s ready to drive.
Denis Branson, Plastic Surgery, Syracuse
We have to understand that Ebola is a disease with a high
mortality but low contagion. It really has contagion similar
to HIV, requiring direct bodily fluid contact but unlike HIV
it has a short time when it is contagious. We also have to
put the risk in perspective. 11 workers die daily in industrial
accidents in the US. Many more die each year from the flu
which is far more contagious. Our efforts should be to help
control it where it exists and stop making this political.
Dave Welch, MD
There’s no perfect solution here – after all, if we quarantine
health care workers returning from West Africa, why not the
health care workers at Bellevue treating the Ebola-infected
doctor recently admitted there? Still, quarantine at home for
health care workers returning from West Africa seems like a
reasonable compromise and a way to limit the expense and
anxiety involved in tracking down all contacts after the fact.
Carolyn J Douglas, MD, Psychiatry, Manhattan
I think that physicians more than any individual should
be quarantined after being exposed to Ebola so as not to
endanger future patients.
Dr. Regina DiGiovanna, Internist, Brooklyn
(Continued on page 10)
Resource Symposium for
International Medical Graduates
The International Medical Graduates (IMG)
Symposium was held on August 14 at the Mount Sinai
Health System’s Leon and Norma Hess Center for
Science and Medicine. The evening began with a welcome from Dr. Sumir Sahgal, Chief Medical Officer at
Essen Medical Associates, followed by speakers who
offered insight into the factors beyond a residency
applicant’s scores – like knowledge of health information technology, published research and clinical
experience.
“IMGs represent a candidate pool of highly educated
and trained individuals that, if able to obtain residency
positions, could significantly address the problem of
primary care provider shortages,” said Dr. Sahgal.
“This symposium serves as a step towards recognizing
the unique needs of IMGs desperately trying to navigate the complexities of preparing, funding, applying,
and interviewing for residency in the U.S.”
Please Review/Revise
Your Information
for MSSNY’s Online
Directory
Please take a moment to review
and revise your directory questionnaire information for MSSNY’s
Online Directory.
Your questionnaire /listing can be
located at the MSSNY website at
www.mssny.org; click “Medical
Questionnaire” on the top right of
the homepage.
Page 2 • MSSNY’s News of New York • December 2014
December 2014 • MSSNY’s News of New York • Page 3
PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
MEDICAL SOCIETY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
NEWS OF NEW YORK
Year Two of Open Enrollment: Check Plans to Assure You Are Listed Correctly
As Open Enrollment begins
for Year 2 of New York’s Health
Insurance Exchange, MSSNY is
fighting to assure patients can choose
plans that provide a fair choice of
physicians to provide their care. While we have praised New
York
State officials for creating an
Andrew Y.
Exchange
free of the mechanical defiKleinman, MD
ciencies that have plagued many other
states’ Exchanges as well as the federal government’s,
we have also persistently urged these officials to address
the numerous insurer abuses identified by physicians
with Exchange plans. These problems include inadequate
networks, inaccurate network listings, and lack of out of
network coverage. We have repeatedly stated that having an insurance card
does not necessarily equate to good health insurance coverage. We need to make sure that New York’s Exchange
truly fulfills its promise to assure our patients actually
have comprehensive coverage for their health care needs,
and an ability to see the physician of their choice. Medical Society
of the State of New York
Andrew Y. Kleinman, MD President
Michael Rosenberg, MD Chairman of the Board
Philip A. Schuh, CPA
Executive Vice President
COMMUNICATIONS AND
PUBLICATIONS
L. Carlos Zapata, MD, Commissioner
News of New York
Published by Medical Society of the State of New York
Vice President, Communications and Editor
Christina Cronin Southard, Editor
[email protected]
News of New York Staff
Julie Vecchione DeSimone, Assistant Editor
[email protected]
Janice Morano, Marketing Relations
[email protected]
Steven Sachs, Web Administrator
[email protected]
Susan Herbst, Page Designer
News of New York
Advertising Representatives
For general advertising information contact
Christina Cronin Southard
Phone 516-488-6100 ext 355
[email protected]
Incorrect Network Listings Certainly, one of the biggest problems remains the
accuracy of insurers’ on-line participating physician lists.
This point was highlighted in a recent Daily News article
describing one New Yorker who became so frustrated by
the pervasive inaccuracies in the network lists provided by
Empire that he actually sued them. Importantly, at the urging of Exchange officials, one
of the modest upgrades to the New York State of Health
website is an enhanced at http://on.ny.gov/1t2oCEn to
better enable patients to view the physicians participating
in each Exchange plan. I urge you to look at the listings of
the plans in your http://on.ny.gov/ZfWrKn and then view
these insurers’ “New York State of Health” network listings to find out if you are appropriately or inappropriately
listed as participating. In response to the confusion regarding the significant
inaccuracies of health insurer participating physician lists,
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman released a press
The News of New York is published monthly as the official publication of
the Medical Society of the State of New York. Information on the publication
is available from the Communications Division, Medical Society of the State
of New York, 865 Merrick Avenue, P.O. Box 9007, Westbury, NY 11590.
The acceptance of a product, service or company as an advertiser or as a
membership benefit of the Medical Society of the State of New York does not
imply endorsement and/or approval of this product, service or company by
the Medical Society of the State of New York. The Member Benefits Committee urges all our physician members to exercise good judgment when
purchasing any product or service.
Although MSSNY makes efforts to avoid clerical or printing mistakes,
errors may occur. In no event shall any liability of MSSNY for clerical or
printing mistakes exceed the charges paid by the advertiser for the advertisement, or for that portion of the advertisement in error if the primary or essential message of the advertisement has not been totally altered or substantially
rendered meaningless as a result of the error. Liability of MSSNY to the
advertiser for the failure to publish or omission of all or any portion of any
advertisement shall in no event exceed the charges paid by the advertiser for
the advertisement, or for that portion of the advertisement omitted if the primary or essential message of the advertisement has not been totally altered
or substantially rendered meaningless as a result of the omission. MSSNY
shall not be liable for any special, indirect or inconsequential damages, including lost profits, whether or not foreseeable, that may occur because of
an error in any advertisement, or any omission of a part or the whole of any
advertisement.
Out of Network Coverage We also remain concerned with insufficient out of network coverage. While OON coverage options have been
expanded to the Capital District, once again no health
insurer is offering OON coverage in the individual coverage markets for Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long
Island. And for those who live in downstate, the Exchange
is for many the only way to procure coverage. This is an outrage.
As reported in Crains, we issued a press statement calling for Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature come
together to enact legislation to require health insurers
to offer out of network options in the New York Health
Insurance Exchange individual market. Importantly, legislation was introduced by Senator
Hannon and Assemblywoman Rosenthal (S.6207/A.8494)
this year that would require health insurers to make such
coverage available in New York’s Exchange. MSSNY is
urging that this legislation be re-introduced in the upcoming legislative session and, on a parallel track, is urging
that it be advanced by the Governor as part of State
Budget negotiations. Your MSSNY is tirelessly fighting to protect your ability to continue to deliver the quality care your patients
expect. Please help us in these efforts so we can better
assist you.
mssnypaC
With the Elections Concluded, Much Work Ahead for MSSNYPAC
Now that the elections
are over, MSSNYPAC and
MSSNY must work to set
the stage for even more
legislative achievements in
2015. We have much to do.
MSSNY’s Committee on
Legislative and Physician
Advocacy has developed
a robust advocacy agenda for 2015. Chief on our plate is
the empowerment of the physician on behalf of his or her
patient against “the payer,” whether that payer is Medicare,
Medicaid, a Workers Comp carrier or a health insurer.
Physicians must assure that policies are not effectuated,
which will deny patient access to medically necessary care.
We must remain united in the perseverance of legislation
to protect against any encroachment by the “bean counters”
into the physician patient relationship.
MEDICAL SOCIETY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
AT YOUR SERVICE
MSSNY’S WESTBURY OFFICE
Main Phone Number......................................516-488-6100
Toll Free Number...........................................800-523-4405
Main Fax Number..........................................516-488-1267
MSSNY Website......................................... www.mssny.org
Extensions for specific services
Alliance.. ........................................................................396
Communications............................................................ 351
Computer Information Systems..................................... 361
Member Benefits/Marketing.......................................... 424
Membership Information............................................... 336
Medical, Educational & Scientific Foundation.............. 350
Office of the Executive Vice President.......................... 397
Ombudsman Claims Assistance..................................... 318
Physician Records/Credentials....................................... 367
Socio-Medical Economics............................................. 332
Changing Landscape
We are witnessing unprecedented times of change for this
profession, but also significant challenges in the ability of
the health care system to serve out its duty to the public.
The landscape of our vast and complex healthcare delivery
system is changing economically, structurally and technologically. Such changes should not interfere with the ability
of patients to access medical care. As physicians, we heal
the patients, but working together with our policymakers
albany office
Continuing Medical Education...........518-465-8085 ext.17
Public Health Committees.................518-465-8085 ext. 11
Governmental Affairs.....................................518-465-8085
Fax..................................................................518-465-0976
Other Numbers
Committee for Physicians’ Health.................800-338-1833
Dispute Resolution Agency............................516-437-8134
Kern, Augustine, Conroy & Schoppman.......516-294-5432
statement and brochure at http://on.ny.gov/1EuODTV urging consumers to not simply rely on health insurer website
lists of participating physicians but instead to actually call
the insurers to confirm participation of a particular physician in that plan. Moreover, apparently not trusting the
response patients will get from insurance companies, the
AG also urges patients to also contact the doctors’ offices
themselves to confirm they actually participate. Wow, not exactly a ringing endorsement of the accuracy
of these insurer network listings! And of course, please let us know if you are listed
incorrectly, so we can bring it to the attention of state
officials to be corrected, as well as to push state officials
to re-assess if these networks are truly sufficient to meet
patients’ needs. we must repair the ailing
healthcare system. Our legislative goals are designed
to assure patient access to
high quality and affordable
medical care within these
emerging models of care
delivery. Advocacy is a mixture of
knowledgeable and effective lobbyists and physician leadership, physician grassroots action and coordinated political
action. We need the latter to retain our seat at the table to
make the efforts of the former most effective.
Thanks to All PAC Donors
Thank you to the many of you who have recently joined
MSSNYPAC and MSSNYPAC’s Chairman’s Club. You have
shown true dedication to your profession and patients. But
we need so many more to also contribute. If you haven’t yet
joined, please do so immediately by going to MSSNYPAC
under the Governmental Affairs Tab on MSSNY’s new website (see direct link below). Together all of medicine can
achieve tangible objectives that protect physician practices
and the patients they serve.
Please contribute now at http://bit.ly/1zAHnTZ
Unless we play our fair part in political action, we risk losing further ground to those who seek to take away our ability
to control the care we provide to our patients.
The NEWS of NEW YORK ISSN 0028-9264, Periodical POSTAGE PAID at Westbury and other additional mailing offices. The NEWS of NEW YORK is published monthly by the
Communications Division, Medical Society of the State of New York, 865 Merrick Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590. Please address all correspondence to the Editor. POSTMASTER:
Please forward all change of address forms to the Editor, NEWS of NEW YORK, Medical Society of the State of New York, 865 Merrick Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590. Subscription,
$36.00 non-members, $18.00 members.
Page 4 • MSSNY’s News of New York • December 2014
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
Gary J. Kennedy, MD, Receives Lifetime
Achievement Award from NY
Foundation for Eldercare
Dr. Adi Loebl (left), event co-chair, presented the
Leo Julia Forchheimer Foundation Lifetime Achievement
Award to Dr. Gary J. Kennedy, MD (right) at the New York
Foundation for Eldercare’s Recognition Dinner.
MSSNY member Gary J. Kennedy, MD, was honored recently with the Leo Julia Forchheimer Foundation
Lifetime Achievement Award by the New York Foundation
for Eldercare (NYFE). The award – presented at NYFE’s
October 22 recognition dinner at The Yale Club in New York
City – recognizes Dr. Kennedy’s leadership in the field of
geriatric psychiatric education.
“The New York Foundation for Eldercare is thrilled to
recognize the leadership of Dr. Kennedy to the field of clinical geriatric psychiatric education,” said Michael F. Tietz,
President of the Foundation. “Inspired by this training,
many fellows have deepened their passion for geriatric psychiatry and continued in this practice, becoming leaders in
clinical settings, in academic medicine and in professional
development.”
A member of MSSNY since 2004, Dr. Kennedy is
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and
Director, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Fellowship
Training Program, Montefiore Medical Center at the Albert
Einstein College of Medicine.
Tom Donoghue Receives AMA Lifetime Achievement Award
DALLAS – The American
Medical Association (AMA)
presented Port Washington
resident Thomas M. Donoghue,
former senior vice president of
communications and marketing
for the Medical Society of the
State of New York (MSSNY),
with the Medical Executive
Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award recognizes mediThomas M. Donoghue cal executives that have made
significant innovative contributions to their state medical association, or national medical
specialty society. The New York native was chosen by the
AMA for his more than 23 years of dedication to improving
the lives of physicians.
“We are honored to present Mr. Donoghue with the
Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize his indelible
impact on the New York State medical community and orga-
Rochester Medical Executive Recognized for Her
Outstanding Work on Behalf of Physicians
The AMA presented Nancy
J. Adams, Executive Director
of the Monroe County Medical
Society and New York Chapter
1 of the American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP), with the
Medical Executive Lifetime
Achievement Award.
The award recognizes medical executives that have made
significant contributions to
Nancy J. Adams
their county medical society,
state medical association, or
national medical specialty society over the course of their
tenure. The Rochester native was chosen by the AMA for
her more than 15 years of dedication to improving the lives
of physicians.
Ms. Adams has held the position of executive director of
the Monroe County Medical Society, since 1999. Recently,
she created a $3.1 million grant-funded electronic medical record (EMR) service bureau to support local medical
practices with the purchase and implementation of health
information technology, and a New York State e-Collaborative Regional Extension Center grant to assist clinicians
with requirements for participating in the federal govern-
2014 MSSNYPAC Chairman’s Club Members
Mark James Adams, MD, MBA (Monroe)
Joseph H. Arguelles, MD (Clinton)
Susan Baldassari, MD (Erie)
Edward Kelly Bartels, MD (Erie)
Maria A. Basile, MD (Suffolk)
Matthew Joseph Bonanno, MD (New York)
Michael H. Brisman, MD (Nassau)
Mary Ruth Buchness, MD (New York)
Carolyn M. Castiglia, MD (Nassau)
Kenneth B. Chapman, MD (Richmond)
Inderpal S. Chhabra, MD (Queens)
Clarisse Clemons-Ferrara, MD (Kings)
Jerome Craig Cohen, MD (Broome)
Joshua M. Cohen, MD, MPH (New York)
Terese A. Copeland, MD (Saratoga)
Jose M. David, MD (Albany)
Elizabeth Dears Kent, Esq.
MSSNY Senior Vice President/
Chief Legislative Counsel
Anthonette R. Desire, MD (Suffolk)
Ernesto A. Diaz-Ordaz, MD (Erie)
Frank G. Dowling, MD (Suffolk)
Sherman Dunn, Jr. DO, (Kings)
Janine L. Fogarty, MD (Monroe)
Arthur C. Fougner, MD (Queens)
Mark L. Fox, MD (Westchester)
Kira A. Geraci-Ciardullo, MD MPH
(Westchester)
Phillip Charles Gioia, MD (Cayuga)
nized medicine as a whole” said AMA President Robert M.
Wah, M.D. “His selfless dedication embodies the best in
medical executive leadership.”
During his long career, Mr. Donoghue spearheaded
a number of innovative outreach initiatives at MSSNY
including a syndicated radio program, a monthly publication, a weekly e-bulletin and amplification of public health
stories in New York print and radio media outlets.
Mr. Donoghue continues to serve as the director of
MSSNY’s Medical Education and Scientific Foundation,
a nonprofit focused on physician education and practice
management.
Mr. Donoghue earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
journalism from Boston University. He has been a Port
Washington resident for more than 40 years and is a Trustee
of the Port Washington Public Library.
The award was presented to Mr. Donoghue during the
opening session of the 2014 AMA Interim Meeting in
Dallas, Texas.
Neil D. Herbsman, MD (Bronx)
Robert John Hughes, MD (Saratoga)
David M. Jakubowicz, MD (Bronx)
John J. Kennedy, Jr., MD (Schenectady)
Nabil K. Kiridly, MD (Suffolk)
Andrew Y. Kleinman, MD (Westchester)
George D. Kofinas, MD (Kings)
Daniel Joel Koretz, MD (Wayne)
Keith Andrew Krabill, MD (Erie)
William R. Latreille, Jr., MD (Franklin)
Thomas T. Lee, MD (Westchester)
Bonnie L. Litvack, MD (Westchester)
Thomas J. Madejski, MD, FACP (Orleans)
Joseph A. Mannino, MD (Tompkins)
Patricia Ann McLaughlin Haight, MD (New York)
Brian D. Meagher, MD (Chautauqua)
Adolph B. Meyer, MD (Kings)
Brian P. Murray, MD (Albany)
Stuart I. Orsher, MD, JD (New York)
Gregory L. Pinto, MD (Saratoga)
Paul Anthony Pipia, MD (Nassau)
Michael A Pisacano, MD (Bronx)
David Podwall, MD (Nassau)
Thakor C. Rana, MD (Bronx)
Malcolm D. Reid, MD, MPP (New York)
Charlotte Rhee, MD (Suffolk)
Jeffrey Allen Ribner, MD (Broome)
Michael H. Rosenberg, MD (Westchester)
Charles Rothberg, MD (Suffolk)
Veronica C. Santilli, MD, MHA (Kings)
Robert Mark Schneider, MD (Greene)
Michael J. Schoppmann, Esq.
MSSNY General Counsel
Philip Schuh, CPA,
Executive Vice President, MSSNY
Steven S. Schwalbe, MD (Queens)
Joseph R. Sellers, MD (Schoharie)
Richard Dale Semeran, MD (Onondaga)
Steven I. Sherman, MD (Kings)
Scott Alan Silverberg, MD (Nassau)
Penny Maureen Stern, MD MPH (Queens)
Zebulon Charles Taintor, MD (New York)
Edward C. Tanner, MD (Monroe)
Sam Louis Unterricht, MD (Kings)
Naheed A. Van de Walle, MD (New York)
Corliss Adam Varnum, MD (Oswego)
Salvatore Volpe, MD (Richmond)
Wayne Graham Whitmore, MD (New York)
Daniel M. Young, MD (Broome)
2014 Chairman’s Club
Corporate Supporters
Brookhaven Anesthesia Associates (Suffolk)
Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company
(MLMIC)
New York Facial Plastic Surgery Society
Orlin & Cohen Orthopedics (Nassau)
ment’s EMR incentive programs.
Since 1998, she has served as the executive director of
AAP’s local chapter, where she has been instrumental in
the establishment of several pediatric councils throughout
New York State; bringing together physician leaders and
insurance plan administrators to improve the quality of
care for children.
“We are pleased to honor Ms. Adams’ dedication to
organized medicine,” said AMA Board Chair Barbara L.
McAneny, M.D. “Her work in New York State personifies
the efforts of medical organizations across the country
to help physicians measurably improve the health of the
nation.”
Throughout her career, Ms. Adams has held leadership
roles for more than 50 medical associations and agencies
including chair of the AAP Executive Director Steering
Committee and past member of the Medical Association
of Medical Society Executives Board of Directors. She
has received numerous awards in recognition of her work
including the 2013 Rochester Business Journal’s Health
Care Achievement Award in Innovation.
Ms. Adams earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
management and a Master of Science degree in organizational management from Robert Wesleyan College. Archived Webinar on
E-Prescribing Requirements
Now Available; Free To
MSSNY Members
An archived webinar on “New York State
Requirement for E-Prescribing of ALL
Substances” is now available free of charge to all
MSSNY members. This program has been accredited for 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and the
educational objectives are 1) Describe the e-prescribing mandate, to whom it applies, when it becomes
effective , and how physicians can comply with its
requirements; 2) Describe the practitioner electronic
prescribing of controlled substances registration process, to whom it pertains, and the information required
to be provided by physicians in order to register eRX
software with the Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement;
3) Describe the exceptions to the e-prescribing mandate and any additional requirements associated with
those exceptions; 4) Describe the application process
and criteria for a waiver from the e-prescribing mandate; 5) Describe what rules pertain to physicians
who only prescribe non-controlled substances.
MSSNY physicians may register and access the
archived webinar at: http://bit.ly/1qImRLB
The course is available to non-MSSNY physicians for $125 which can be applied to a MSSNY
membership.
December 2014 • MSSNY’s News of New York • Page 5
The Physicians Foundation’s Survey of America’s Physicians: Pr
(Continued from page 1)
What is Your Medical Specialty?
Family Practice
General Internal Medicine
Pediatrics
Surgical Specialty
Medical Specialty
Ob/Gyn
General Surgery
Other
New York All
7.5%
14.6%
15.7%
12.0%
12.9%10.6%
13.7%
13.5%
36.6%
33.5%
4.7%6.2%
3.3%
3.8%
5.5%5.7%
New York All
Practice owner/partner/associate 33.2%
34.6%
Employed by a hospital
42.6%
30.4%
Employed by a medical group
15.7%
22.4%
Other
8.5%12.5%
Has your professional status changed in the last
12-18 months?
All
3.9%
3.9%
88.8%
All
71.3%
28.7%
Would you recommend medicine as a career to
your children or other young people?
Yes
No
New York All
49.9%49.8%
50.1%50.2%
Medicine and healthcare are changing in
such a way that:
New York All
I will accelerate my retirement plans 34.0% 38.6%
I will defer my retirement plans
21.4% 18.6%
I will not change my retirement plans 44.6% 42.7%
What is your age?
35 or under
36-45
46-55
56-65
66 or older
Patient relationships
Prestige of medicine
Intellectual stimulation
Interaction with colleagues
Financial rewards
Other
They are likely to enhance
quality/decrease cost
Quality/cost gains will not justify
organizational cost/effort
Unlikely to increase
quality/decrease cost
Unsure about structure or
purpose of ACOs
New York All
77.7%
78.6%
16.7%
12.2%
68.8%
65.3%
19.6%
22.0%
10.5%
15.2%
3.0%3.6%
New York All
Continue as I am
60.1% 56.4%
Cut back on hours
15.2% 18.2%
Retire
7.9%9.4%
Switch to a cash/concierge practice
7.2% 6.2%
Work locum tenens
6.2% 9.1%
Cut back on patients seen
7.1% 7.8%
Seek a non-clinical job
within healthcare
10.3% 10.4%
Seek employment with a hospital
8.4% 7.3%
Work part-time
7.1% 6.4%
Close my practice to new patients
2.0% 2.4%
Other
4.3%5.3%
3.4%
If you had your career to do over, would you
choose to be a physician?
New York Yes, medicine is still rewarding
71.7%
No, the negatives outweigh
the positives
28.3%
Which best describes your feelings about
ACOs?
In the next one to three years, do you plan to
(check all that apply):
What is Your Current Professional Status?
New York Yes, from owner/partner/associate
to hospital employed
3.7%
Yes, from owner/partner/associate
to group employed
3.2%
Yes, from group or hospital employed
to owner/partner/associate
2.7%
No, my status has not changed
90.4%
What two factors do you find MOST satisfying
about medical practice?
New York All
14.2%
12.4%
21.8%23.2%
25.0%26.4%
30.3%27.8%
8.7%
10.1%
Hospital employment of physicians is a
positive trend likely to enhance quality of care
and decrease costs.
Mostly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Mostly disagree
New York 12.5%
29.4%
27.3%
30.8%
All
9.3%
27.8%
28.8%
34.1%
In your opinion, which factors are most likely to
contribute to rising health costs?
New York All
State and federal
insurance mandates
37.5% 36.5%
Defensive medicine
64.5% 60.3%
Fraud
12.8%9.5%
Advances in technology/treatment
24.3% 24.3%
Limited patient financial obligations
11.4% 15.6%
Absence of free markets
10.9% 15.2%
Cost of pharmaceuticals
33.1% 30.7%
Lack of pricing transparency
15.8% 17.2%
Physician fees
2.6%
1.4%
Price controls on fees and products
4.8%
4.8%
Aging population
36.5% 37.4%
Fee-for-service reimbursement
6.7%
6.6%
Social conditions (poverty, drugs,
violence, illegal immigration, etc.)
17.8% 19.0%
End of life care
20.4% 19.9%
Other
5.8%6.2%
Do you participate in an Accountable Care
Organization (ACO)?
What is your gender?
Male
Female
New York All
64.4%66.7%
35.6%33.3%
Page 6 • MSSNY’s News of New York • December 2014
Yes
No
Unsure
New York All
26.0%26.4%
49.6%52.1%
24.4%21.4%
New York All
13.2%
12.7%
16.9%
19.2%
33.4%
36.3%
36.5%
31.8%
Is your practice:
Solo
Small (2-10 physicians)
Medium (11-50 physicians)
Large (51 or more physicians)
New York All
19.6%17.2%
30.2%
32.8%
20.2%
21.6%
30.0%
28.4%
On average, how many hours do you work
per week (include all clinical and non-clinical
duties)?
0-20
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81 or more
New York All
3.6%3.3%
5.2%4.5%
13.0%12.0%
23.3%23.7%
22.8%24.0%
16.6%16.4%
9.3%9.5%
6.3%
6.5%
Of these, how many hours do you work each
week on NON-CLINICAL (paperwork) duties
only?
0-5
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26 or more
New York All
30.3%30.5%
28.3%31.0%
15.0%14.4%
10.4%10.2%
6.6%5.8%
9.3%
8.2%
On average, how many patients do you see
per day?
0 to 10
11 to 20
21 to 30
31 to 40
41 to 50
51 to 60
New York 27.5%
35.3%
27.5%
3.9%
3.9%
2.0%
All
22.7%
35.7%
24.6%
11.4%
2.8%
1.4%
Which of the following best describes your
current practice?
New York I am overextended and overworked 34.6%
I am at full capacity
44.8%
I have time to see more patients
and assume more duties
20.6%
All
31.2%
49.8%
18.9%
What is your current position regarding
Medicare patients?
See all of these patients
Limit number of these patients
Do not see these patients
New York 77.8%
9.6%
12.6%
All
76.0%
11.2%
12.8%
New York Physicians Comment on
Ebola Situation
ractice Patterns And Perspectives
(Continued from page 2)
What is your current position regarding
Medicaid patients?
See all of these patients
Limit number of these patients
Do not see these patients
New York 68.6%
20.5%
20.9%
All
61.9%
20.0%
18.1%
Does the state/federal marketplace exchange
in your state feature a restricted network of
providers?
Yes
No
Unsure
New York All
28.3%27.0%
8.6%9.8%
63.1%63.3%
What percent of your patients fall into the
following categories?
If yes, have you been restricted or excluded
from participating in any insurance plan?
New York All
Medicare
27.8%28.9%
Medicaid
23.0%20.4%
Commercial insurance/Private pay
38.5%
38.1%
Self-pay/Cash
7.6%8.6%
Other
3.2%4.8%
Yes
No
Unsure
Lynne Miller, MD, Internist, Brewster
New York All
25.0%28.4%
47.4%47.9%
27.6%23.6%
What is your position on concierge/direct pay
medicine?
Has your practice implemented Electronic
Medical Records?
Yes
No
New York All
79.8%85.2%
20.2%14.8%
If yes, how has EMR affected your practice?
New York Improved quality of care
36.9%
Detracted from quality of care
20.6%
Improved efficiency
28.3%
Detracted from efficiency
35.5%
Improved patient interaction
4.2%
Detracted from patient interaction
45.3%
Has had little to no impact
on the above
7.9%
All
32.1%
24.1%
24.3%
45.8%
4.6%
47.1%
I now practice some form of
concierge/direct pay medicine
I am planning to transition fully
or in part to this model
I have no plans to transition
to this model
New York All
8.4%
7.2%
13.7%
13.3%
77.9%
79.5%
With thousands of new codes to consider, what
effect will ICD-10 have on your practice?
Create a severe
administration problem
Improve diagnosis/quality of care
Unnecessarily complicate coding
Expose physicians
to liability/penalties
New York All
51.2%50.5%
48.8%49.5%
New York County medical society
40.4%
State medical society
49.2%
National specialty society
79.0%
American Medical Association
26.1%
American Osteopathic Association
4.4%
All
40.8%
62.3%
79.7%
25.9%
7.3%
There is 40 years of experience with the Ebola virus. Fever
is the early warning symptom and until infectious diarrhea
and vomiting sets in the person is not contagious. Health
care workers who have helped out in the Ebola crisis know
full well what to look for and how to respond, and they are
doing just that. To place quarantine on workers who are
well is senseless.
Phyllis Weiner, MD, Pediatrician, New York, NY
48.4%
13.0%
72.5%
50.1%
11.3%
75.3%
34.2%
38.3%
There is no evidence that casual contact like public transportation, dining etc. cause a risk to the public. Restricting
flights to West Africa seems to be too cautious for a low
risk. Up until we find out exactly how the highly protected
Health Providers get infected by their patients, we should
isolate them at home with self-monitoring.
Louisa Ramone MD, FAAP,
General Pediatrics, Brooklyn
Yes, we need to train
more physicians
No, there is no need to train
more physicians
New York All
70.5%
72.2%
29.5%
27.8%
New York No limitations, I am free to make
decisions I think are best
34.7%
Some limitations, my decisions are
sometimes compromised
51.4%
Many limitations, my decisions
often are compromised
13.9%
We are getting better prepared for an Ebola outbreak. Ebola
is not as easily transmitted as the media likes to imply. If we
can look past the 2 week media cycles of fear, we should
see that this “outbreak” will likely involve identifying a case
roughly every 3-4 weeks as long as the true epidemic in
western Africa continues. These individuals identified in the
US will be managed in a well prepared hospital somewhere
in the country and will hopefully fully recover.
Sam Amirfar, MD, Internal Medicine, New York, NY
See Oct 10 NEJM on Ebola. Also, droplet transmission is
being totally ignored. If saliva is acknowledged to transmit the disease, then a sneeze may also transmit Ebola.
Silence from the CDC!
Which best describes your current level of
clinical autonomy/ability to make the best
decisions for your patients?
Are you a member of your:
Jerry Svoboda, MD, Rochester
All
In order to address the physician shortage,
should Congress lift the cap on federal funding
and increase residency slots?
Yes
No
Quarantine and limiting movement of people who could
possibly be in an early stage of incubation are the keys to
preventing an epidemic. It is a personal inconvenience that
should be borne to make an epidemic as least likely as
possible. If you want to travel from or into such areas, you
should be willing to bear the inconvenience for the good of
society – or don’t travel. People are not trustworthy enough
to ensure proper self-reporting and follow-through. Read
“The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston, non-fiction, 1994 – I
suspect our press and government does not want this book
widely known at this time because it makes the potential of
this organism quite real. We need a surgeon general who
is knowledgeable and articulate and selectively draconian
that can make and empower decisions in these areas – Dr.
Everett Koop, where are you?
New York 7.6%
Do you have significant concerns that EMR
poses a risk to patient privacy?
Well, if it is true that Doctors without Borders has been advising our health specialists such as the CDC that our measures
in place were inadequate, then we should wonder why our
people were being paid to prepare the health care system for
management of Ebola, as well as other highly communicable
diseases. I was embarrassed and disappointed by the misrepresentation of preparedness exhibited in the early days
and the blustering “this won’t happen here.” Come on, guys,
listen to those medical people on the front lines and LEARN
from their experiences. The action is in the exam room and
the clinic, not in the clean office.
John Williams, MD, Urology
All
Quarantine was effective at eliminating disease in Nigeria.
Jay Brenner, MD, Emergency Medicine, Syracuse
31.0%
53.9%
15.1%
Doctors without Borders has been doing the right thing
for a long time with Ebola. Fever PRECEDES being a risk.
Self-monitoring is adequate. The panic is RIDICULOUS.
The fact that my own hospital is asking patients if they
have traveled is absurd.
Cathleen London, MD, Family Medicine, Weill Cornell
Medical Center
Do you participate in any insurance products
offered through the state/federal marketplace
exchanges?
Yes
No, and I have no plans to
No, but I am likely to
Not sure
New York All
31.5%33.3%
28.1%
28.5%
9.6%
9.4%
30.8%
28.8%
What overall grade would you give the
Accountable Care Act as a vehicle for
healthcare reform?
A
B
C
D
F
New York All
3.8%3.7%
25.0%21.7%
31.4%28.8%
19.9%21.1%
19.9%24.7%
Preventing an Ebola outbreak in the USA is a more important priority than “discouraging” health care workers from
going to West Africa. Once the policy is in place, I think
workers who want to help will understand and accept
quarantine for the good of our society. The poor judgment
shown by the returning physician who traveled throughout
NYC on his return home shows that we can’t trust individual health care workers to self-quarantine .
William Barrick MD, President, Dutchess County
Medical Society
(Continued on page 8)
December 2014 • MSSNY’s News of New York • Page 7
(Continued from page 2)
I think healthcare workers assisting in the
region should be given chartered flights home.
(Even out here, I recently saw a sick, returning
traveler from South Africa, and discussed with
Suffolk County DOH before discharge.)
Debra E. Brooks, MD, Urgent Care,
Nesconset
Medical providers have an obligation to do
no harm. We need to recognize and honor
our colleagues who volunteer for such duty
throughout the world. I recommend that the
21-day quarantine begin, say 14 days before
they are coming to the end of their tour where
they have no direct patient contact and then
a 7-day quarantine when back home may be
reasonable. I feel they are homesick for their
loved ones and the thought of 3 weeks more
of isolation would be hard to accept. I do not
believe the quarantine would stop providers
from volunteering as it is a trait inside that
makes us want to help.
Dr. Leacock, MD, Family Medicine
ALLIANCE
AMSSNY Formulates Position Statement on
Mandated Head Gear in Women’s Lacrosse
The sport of lacrosse is the fastest
growing sport in the United States. Over
700,000 athletes played organized lacrosse
in 2013. The girls’ version of the sport has
grown significantly in the past five years,
with record numbers of young female athletes taking to the lacrosse fields without
the added protection of mandated head
gear. Data compiled from the US Lacrosse
participation survey revealed that in 2013,
over 120,000 female high school athletes,
and over 140,000 young girls under the age
of 15, participated in the sport of organized
girls’ lacrosse. With recent heightened
awareness of sport concussive injuries,
there is a responsibility to examine current
safety issues in organized sports, and which
measures can be implemented to decrease
injuries.
After extensive research on the safety of
girls’/women’s lacrosse, the Alliance with
the Medical Society of the State of NY
(AMSSNY) determined that a health and
safety issue currently exists within the sport
and formulated and approved a position
statement on the need to mandate protective head gear. The primary strategy of this
position statement and the resolution which
followed are to promote the mandating of
protective head gear in the sport in an effort
to maintain the well-being of the athletes.
With the support of the greater medical
community in the state of NY, AMSSNY
is optimistic that this initiative will convey
the medical importance of mandating head
gear to governing entities with the power to
elicit change.
As a military medical officer in Vietnam, during the war, I saw firsthand lots of tropical
diseases. Speaking pretty good Vietnamese, I
spent lots of time in remote villages. Bubonic
and pneumonic plague, falciparum malaria,
trachoma, hemorrhagic dengue, and smallpox
are really quite awful. So I offer two thoughts
about quarantine: First, despite their best
intentions, even medical professionals just
can’t be trusted. Dr. Nancy Snyderman’s traveling to the Peasant Grill for a takeout order
violated her quarantine. And however asymptomatic she may have been, that just proves
my point. Second, those who volunteer to live
and work in strife-torn areas, under conditions
that most Americans can never envision, are
truly a hardy breed. Diarrhea is a fact of life,
and most don’t pay attention to fevers and
aches and pains. So returnees from MSF may
not be as likely to pay attention to symptoms
– even in themselves – as the medical establishment would like them to be. However
unpleasant, mandatory quarantine is the best
way to ensure public safety.
Stuart Selkin, MD, JD Otolaryngologist,
Melville
Health care workers coming from West
Africa should be monitored for elevated
temperature but only quarantined if
symptoms develop.
Barry Pollack, MD Neurosurgery, Ithaca
How soon the blood test turns positive after
exposure to EVD is not explained to us or
the public. Why is the test NOT done on
travelers from EVD areas?
Dr. Haidery, Glen Head
As experience and research increases, we
become more prepared, as with any new
disease. I believe USA is better equipped to
handle this crisis. In my opinion this disease is
TOO dangerous, highly lethal, and too contagious to be ‘loose’ on restrictions in order to
control and avoid a pandemic. Unfortunately
we humans can be less willing to take ALL
precautions that this crisis demands… as we
have seen, occasionally even having firsthand knowledge of Ebola is not enough to
take the proper precautions… Public Health
and Safety DEMANDS it.
Aida Cruz-Soto, MD, Family Medicine,
Tarrytown
I think that New York is more prepared than
most states. We have one of the best Public
Health infrastructures in the nation. I hope that
the public now understands the importance of
fully funding our public health system and will
increase its support in the coming years.
Carolyn Jones-Assini MD, NY,
Occupational Medicine and Internal
Medicine, Schenectady,
Page 8 • MSSNY’s News of New York • December 2014
I am concerned with influenza around the
corner, presenting symptoms are very similar.
You can allow charter flights in and out for
personnel and equipment, but halt commercial flights from the area.
Ann Wands, MD, Family Medicine, Buffalo
Doctors should show more leadership in
reassuring patients and the politicians that it is
not the end of human existence. Historically,
pandemics result in a lower mortality in
developed nations than in underdeveloped
countries as shown during the Marburg virus
outbreak which was similar to Ebola when it
caused a 30% mortality in Europe compared
to a 80-90% mortality in Africa.
Vidya Valada, MD, FACP Internal
Medicine, New York, NY
There are two parts to the Ebola problem:
1) prevention of its spread to America and
2) control of the epidemic in Africa. These
should be addressed simultaneously.
Restricting entry to only American healthcare
workers and quarantine on arrival should be
priorities. Cuomo and Christie were right.
This is a State prerogative.
Jack Leary, MD, Pediatrics and ER
Medicine, Upstate NY
We are witnessing hysterical overreaction
and unwarranted politicization of the Ebola
outbreak in Africa. It is a matter for sound
epidemiology, not political theatrics.
Brian Chanatry, MD, Critical Care/
Anesthesiology, Syracuse
It’s hard for me to understand how an
American citizen is prohibited from flying
after exposure but the person from West
Africa can fly with impunity.
Michael Graver, MD, Cardiac Surgery
I applaud those healthcare workers who
give of themselves selflessly in their care of
the underprivileged. However, by the same
token they have to be responsible and not
expect anyone to give them a carte blanche
just because they did what they did. As
healthcare workers they should be the first
to show responsibility especially with regard
to a disease about which we know so little.
I would’ve agreed to quarantine at home,
but, as the doctor in NY has shown us, even
healthcare workers who were selfless can
be selfish at the same time. With freedom
comes responsibility, but he has shown that
they cannot be responsible so therefore they
cannot have their freedom.
Alex Nelken, MD, BC, Anesthesiologist
The hospitals are just beginning to prepare.
The equipment is marginal, the guidelines
are in a state of flux and the nurses are
scared. We need to limit the influx of cases
from the “hot zone” until better treatments
and vaccines can be devised and tested.
Kelly Bartels, MD
The incompetence of the government, CDC
and politicians is overwhelming and in sharp
contrast to what we in the ED deal with on a
routine basis, having to make real decisions
that affect life and death and yet comply with
regulators and health officials that could not
function in our arena.
Craig van Roekens, MD, MBA, MPH,
FACEP, Emergency Physician
The US has adequate structure, equipment
and personnel for the Ebola threat. But we
lack the will to implement effective measures, as was done successfully in the NYC
Diphtheria epidemic of the past: testing and
quarantine. And, why do we need to send
physicians to Africa? Certainly, nurses and
PAs can handle this. They are more highly
respected, and paid just what I am.
Miriam Levitt, MD, FAAP, Bronxville
New York Physicians Comment on Ebola Situation
It is not amazing anymore how in the media
physicians are being blamed for bringing
Ebola to the “homeland.” It is a sign of the
times how the Ebola response is driven by legislators, political opportunity, rather than sound
physician’s advice. Do the media ever imagine
what the world would look like if physiscians
had not identified the disease, its symptoms
and treatment? Many African countries are
handling the Ebola outbreak more effectively
than the USA (Reuters, Celine Gounder MD,
2014). No surprise that the vaccine was
developed in Europe, and mass produced
in the US. Why can’t we do both? Quality
healthcare requires empowered, independent,
primary care physicians. Unfortunately politics
and business interests have taken possession
of American healthcare delivery on all fronts.
Physicians have become a product to be
sold, rather than a resource for consultation.
Nurse practitioners are no substitute. Current
American healthcare is living off the advances
made by physicians decades ago. Shameful
little substantial progress has been made since
the takeover by lawyers, big pharma, insurance and, last but not least, government.
EMS response in communities staffed largely
by volunteers is probably the weakest link in
the system. The strength of an emergency
response system during a major emergency
lies within the capacity of the system to
respond effectively to emergencies on a daily
basis. In many communities, that is lacking.
Carl S Goodman, DO, Dual Board Certified
Emergency Medicine and EMS Suffolk County
Hospitals are grossly unprepared for this
epidemic. Even the designated hospitals (NY
has 8) are underprepared. Stony Brook can at
present time accommodate one Ebola patient.
The training is subpar. The CDC has been
overly political and inconsistent. I have lost
faith in the CDC as an institution. I also have
lost faith in the volunteer medical workers who
have proven to be unable to self-monitor and
self-isolate in a conscientious manner. The
continued isolation and quarantine of health
care workers should be in compliance with the
volunteer’s wishes to help contain this deadly
disease. I cannot fathom why anyone in the
healthcare industry would not do something
that poses no threat to themselves and would
potentially protect a vast majority of people. I
also take issue with the CDC using statistics
in a misleading manner. Saying that we should
be more concerned with the flu? Misleading.
They should be ashamed of themselves for
allowing political pressure to so transparently
effect their recommendations and being reluctant to give the truth about the disease.
Christine M. Ruggiero, MD,
Anesthesiologist, New York
I think the quarantine should be for a
short time as a trial and until we get better
organized. When HIV hit, I was at Bellevue
Hospital. We were not protected. Amazing
more of us didn’t get sick.
K. McCarthy, MD, Pediatric Hematology/
Oncology, Syracuse
Returning health care workers should be
monitored, not quarantined, and isolated for
treatment if and when they become ill.
A. L. Ossias, MD, FACP
While certain medical centers may have had
the preparation and skill sets to manage
Ebola, many have not. Urgent Care Centers
and private offices are not designed or prepared to handle active Ebola cases.
B. Dailey MD, Emergency Medicine
It is absolutely ridiculous to allow flights from
infected countries to our shores. All travelers from those areas should be quarantined
there for 21 days. But I only got my license
to practice in 1964.
Edmunde A.C. Stewart, MD, FACS,
FAAOS, Long Island
(Continued on page 10)
Marc J. Yland, MD, Arts Anesthesiology,
Stony Brook , SCMS President 2012
I don’t think we’ve seen the worst yet. What
we see is the tip of the iceberg.
Dr. Perumunda K. Sharma, MD,
FACEP, HMDC
30,000 Americans die every year from gun
violence. Another 30,000 die from motor
vehicle accidents. Between 18,000 and
40,000 people will die of complications
of influenza. Exactly 1 person has died of
Ebola. The situation is being exacerbated by
the press and clueless politicians.
Robert W. Baker, MD, Medicine/GI,
Great Neck
It is more dangerous to cross Broadway at
96th street, or to have diabetes in the South
Bronx.
Bob Morrow, MD, Family Practice, Bronx
Allowing for the opportunity of an outbreak of
a virus capable of starting a pandemic, by the
US government, merely to pander to political
correctness is a great travesty to the American
public. Of course, we MUST disallow flights
from the affected West African countries.
We know some will try circuitous means to
enter the US, but that is why flight itineraries should be scrutinized if African countries
are detected. I am sorry but I cannot see any
reason we should jeopardize the American
people with this immense biological threat.
Geemson Oo, MD, Family Medicine,
West Seneca
Let’s worry more about TB and influenza.
We have had training and planning at our
hospital.
R. Lenox, MD, SUNY Upstate, Syracuse
Highly contagious disease, long incubation,
no cure, high mortality rate - throw all this in
an overpopulated metropolitan area and you
get pandemic!
Dr. Valery Kuznetsov, Cardiology,
Brooklyn
I think this is a very serious issue that could
easily turn into an epidemic of small proportion in this country. I think travel should be
restricted and health care workers should be
quarantined as well as others who may be
carriers.
Elaine Karis, MD, Rheumatology,
Hampton Bays
Doctors, nurses, and others treating Ebola
patients in Africa should be treated as
returning heroes, not pariahs!
Scott Bookner, MD, FAAP, Pediatrics,
Scarsdale
December 2014 • MSSNY’s News of New York • Page 9
New York Physicians Comment on Ebola Situation
(Continued from page 9)
Ebola is a Biosafety level 4 virus being
handled by the CDC as a level 3. This is a
disgrace medically. Ebola is being handled
by incompetent political hacks that haven’t
treated patients personally in 20 plus years.
Dennis Fabian DO, Orthopedic Surgery,
New York, NY
Not happy to learn that people are being held
in tent-like cells at the airport against their will
for hours. At a minimum, a data-base of sorts
should be created with health department/
inspectors following up on these “at risk”
individuals. They should, of course, NOT be
permitted to use public transportation.
Unfortunately, current policy is dominated
by politics and predictions, not data. There
is no dissension among the ranks of public
health “experts;” yet individual physicians
I speak to are overwhelmingly concerned
about our under preparedness and excessive liberalism towards this issue.
Cary S Gunther, MD, PhD, Board-certified
in Neurology and Psychiatry, New York, NY
The whole issue is media hype. We need
to be vigilant and prepare but the reaction
has been way overboard. How many more
people die each year from the flu, from bacterial drug resistance, from drunk driving?
W. Portnoy, MD, ENT, New York, NY
Michael Schulder, MD, Neurosurgery,
North Shore LIJ.
We do not know enough about the virus.
We do not have appropriate testing to alert
us when the virus becomes active. I believe
that PCR is only good for about 48 hours
before the active infection. However the
patient may have been incubating the virus
for two weeks prior to that. Therefore, we
have to take maximum precaution. And
again, we have no treatment.
Robert Lesser MD FACP FACR
Rheumatology, Brooklyn
Dwight Eisenhower said that no battle plan
survives the first contact with the enemy.
Our experience with Ebola is shaping our
response already. We should not quarantine
unless the patient is showing symptoms.
Banning flights from West Africa would be
a good first step until West Africa gets their
problem under control.
Clifford Jacobson, MD,
Psychiatry, Rochester
Ebola presents a public health issue that
must be stopped and cured at the source.
The public health and well-being should be
of prime importance. With recent hospital
closings and medical personnel leaving and
or retiring from the health care system I find it
hard to believe that we are ready for any kind
of significant outbreak in the Tri-state region.
Harold S. Parnes M.D. FACR Diagnostic
Radiology /Neuroradiology, Past President,
Kings County Medical Society
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Page 10 • MSSNY’s News of New York • December 2014
Save the Date:
MSSNY STATE
LOBBY Day
is March 4, 2015
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING
MSSNY’S CLASSIFIED HAS GONE GLOBAL
Classified ads can be accessed on MSSNY’s website at
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JANUARY 2015 ISSUE CLOSES DECEMBER 9
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for help, information or to place your ad,
call 516-488-6100 x355 • Fax 516-488-2188
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OBITUARIES
ANTHONE, Roland; Buffalo NY. Died
October 29, 2014, age 89. Erie County
Medical Society.
ELSON, Norman; Rochester NY. Died
September 21, 2014, age 91. Monroe
County Medical Society.
KOBLENZ, Rose; New Rochelle NY. Died
October 23, 2014, age 108. Bronx County
Medical Society.
STEINHART, Jacob M.; Clarence NY.
Died October 18, 2014, age 93. Erie
County Medical Society.
VELJIC, Snezana; East Setauket NY. Died
October 30, 2014, age 49. Suffolk County
Medical Society.
WADSWORTH, John Murray; Buffalo
NY. Died October 14, 2014, age 77. Erie
County Medical Society.
WEISS, Jeffrey Neil; Syosset NY. Died
October 20, 2014, age 54. Nassau County
Medical Society
WEITZNER, Imre James; New York NY.
Died September 29, 2014, age 95. Nassau
County Medical Society.
ZILKA, Nadim; Woodbury NY. Died
April 13, 2014, age 96. Nassau County
Medical Society.
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December 2014 • MSSNY’s News of New York • Page 11