Esther Alcorn 1926-2017
Esther Alcorn, MD, who practiced medicine in southern Arizona for 40 years, died in Tucson on November 27, 2017. She was 91. Born in Minot, North Dakota, Alcorn was the daughter of a nurse who took an interest in medicine as…
State Supreme Court upholds Medicaid expansion
The Arizona Supreme Court in a unanimous decision rejected a bid from a group of 36 current and former Republican lawmakers to overturn the state's Medicaid expansion. The lawmakers argued that a hospital assessment used to pay the state's portion…
PCHD November Surveillance Report
Providers are our eyes and ears in the community. Please report immediately unusual numbers of patients presenting with similar symptoms, unusual symptoms, or unexplained infectious diseases in healthy individuals. Do not wait until laboratory results become available. You are welcome to…
House sends Senate CHIP extension bill while Gov. Ducey scrambles to find KidsCare funding
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has been reauthorized by the U.S. House for five years while at the same time extending for two-years funding for community health centers. The bill now moves to the Senate, which has yet to…
What you need to know about MACRA in 2018
On November 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule governing its Medicare Quality Payment Program in 2018. The program, enacted under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), will affect participating physicians’ payment in…
Study finds physicians will cut clinical hours or leave the professional altogether in two years
According to new research by the American Medical Association (AMA), Mayo Clinic, and Stanford University, the burden and bureaucracy of modern medicine, including technological frustrations, inflict a toll on U.S. physicians and appear to be major factors influencing their intentions…
Wendell B. Whitacre 1927-2017
Wendell B. Whitacre, MD, plastic surgeon and 50-year member of the Pima County Medical Society, died of a sudden illness on October 20, 2017. He was 90. Whitacre was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1927 and graduated from medical…
McDannell Named ArMA Executive Vice President
Libby McDannell, CAE, was named Executive Vice President of the Arizona Medical Association (ArMA) effective November 27, 2017. McDannell will replace Chic Older, who will retire in December. Older has been the Executive Vice President of ArMA for 30 years and…
Sternberg appointed Chair of National Library of Medicine Board
Esther Sternberg, MD, director of research at the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, has been appointed chair of the National Library of Medicine’s Board of Regents. Dr. Sternberg also is founding director of the UA Institute on Place and Wellbeing,…
Are physician incomes falling?
Physician incomes have been a topic of controversy for years, with physician compensation being criticized as one of the leading causes of high health care costs. Recently, there have been more reports suggesting that physician income has taken a hit,…