Medical Society of Virginia Foundation receives $225,000 grant from The Physicians Foundation
21 September 2010
The Medical Society of Virginia Foundation (MSVF) has received two grants totaling $225,000 from The Physicians Foundation, a national health care and grant-making organization representing physician interest. The grants will support MSVF’s ongoing initiative to develop physician leaders and the Medical Society of Virginia’s (MSV) effort to provide resources to help physicians and practices successfully implement health information technology (HIT) systems.
A two-year grant for $75,000 will fund development of an alumni program for MSVF’s Claude Moore Physician Leadership Institute (CMPLI). The institute is one of only a handful in the nation devoted to providing physicians with formal, ongoing state-specific leadership training. The alumni program will focus on national health care reform. It will provide physicians with the tools, skills and learning opportunities to engage effectively in dialogue around the future of health care and will be implemented through a web-based virtual networking moderated discussion forum and a conference in March 2012.
“The Physicians Foundation has made physician leadership a major focus,” said Lou Goodman, Ph.D., president. “Our goal as an organization is to help identify and train future medical leaders. We believe that doing so will be vital to improving the quality of health care in the years ahead.”
“I believe this new program on national health care reform and its state-specific impact on Virginia will serve to engage my physician leader colleagues in the challenging but necessary work of health system improvement enabling us to better serve our patients,” said E. Mark Watts, M.D., MSVF board president and CMPLI 2007-2008 fellow.
A second two-year grant for $150,000 will enhance MSV’s efforts to help physicians successfully become meaningful users of HIT. Grant funding will support MSV’s 2010 HIT Summit, development of a preferred vendor program, regional health information technology roundtables and a resource-rich tool kit designed to help with selection, purchase and implementation of an electronic health record system, with identifying best practices, and with understanding state and federal standards.
“We have also focused on HIT, believing that it will be critical in improving the quality of health care in the years ahead. We’re interested in identifying practical and replicable solutions to adoption barriers, ensuring compliance with meaningful use standards and demonstrating the practical use of health information technology for improving quality of care,” said Goodman.
“With these two grants, The Physicians Foundation has amplified our efforts to give physicians the tools and support they need to effectively lead through the ever-changing health care environment, ensuring that their voice is heard and that the needs of the patients they care for are represented. We are grateful for this support and excited about the programs that will result,” said Daniel Carey, M.D., MSV president and former MSVF president.