HJNO May/Jun 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS I  MAY / JUN 2022 53 George S. Ellis, Jr., MD President MASELA es are heard and that their professional opinions matter, especially when they are advocating for the best care for their pa- tients and may be less concerned about protecting the organization’s bottom line. MASELA is committed to giving phy- sicians a voice to seek change and to support their efforts regardless of the practice mode or location they have cho- sen. For an academic physician, issues of employment and funding for education are critical. For the private practice phy- sician, insurance payment reform, dimin- ished prior authorization burdens, and decreasing the red tape they encounter when advocating for the appropriate care for their patients are important advoca- cy needs. When physicians understand that their voices matter, and that MASE- LA can and will find ways to improve the environment of medicine in which they are practicing, we will all benefit. MASELAsupports physician recovery — from burnout and from the psychological, emotional, and physical drain of COVID. MASELA is taking steps to develop a low or no-cost physician counseling program that is independent and confidential. Ac- cording to the AMA, less than 2% of phy- sicians will seek out care from their em- ployer’s Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), which is why MASELA is commit- ted to developing a counseling program, which is totally separate from their em- ployment situation, and one that only the self-referred physician can access. More details to come about this initiative soon. What is even more concerning is the rate of physician suicide. Accord- ing to the American College of Emer- gency Physicians, “Each year in the U.S., roughly 300-400 physicians die by suicide.” The loss of even one phy- sician to suicide is one too many. Many will recall the loss of Lorna Breen, MD, in the early weeks of the pan- demic. Breen was an emergency room di- rector at New York – Presbyterian Hospi- tal. She died by suicide on April 26, 2020. The stress of seeing so many patients die of the coronavirus contributed to her death; however, it was also the cul- ture of medicine in which Breen and all physicians practice and the stigma that exists related to seeking behavioral healthcare. Breen feared that her medi- cal license would be taken away and that her medical career would end simply be- cause she sought behavioral healthcare. We, as a healthcare community, are in dire need of education about clini- cian behavioral health issues as are the stakeholders with whom we work — hos- pitals, licensing boards, health plans, etc. To this end, we are pleased to support the work of the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation. On March 18, 2022, Presi- dent Biden signed into law the Dr. Lorna Breen Healthcare Provider Protection Act (HR 1667), which “aims to reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, and mental and behavioral health conditions among health care professionals.” This legis- lation was supported by more than 70 physician and other healthcare organi- zations, including the Joint Commission. According to the Dr. Lorna Breen He- roes’ Foundation website, “While helping their patients fight for their lives, many health care professionals are coping with their own trauma of losing patients and colleagues and fear for their own health and safety. This bill helps promote mental and behavioral health among those work- ing on the front lines of the pandemic. It also supports suicide and burnout pre- vention training in health professional training programs and increases aware- ness and education about suicide and mental health concerns among health- care professionals.” Details of this law can be found at drlornabreen.org . MASELA will be active in providing ed- ucational opportunities for our physician community and will support initiatives to bring greater awareness to the impor- tance of seeking behavioral healthcare when needed and to creating a culture that supports a physician’s right to seek care. MASELA will also observe Nation- al Physician Suicide Awareness Day, which is set for Sept 17, 2022. Accord- ing to the website established for this initiative (www.npsaday.org ), in 2021 alone, more than 1.2 million people were reached to bring awareness to the warning signs and the actions that can be taken to reduce physician suicide. MASELA is committed to physician re- covery and well-being by addressing the systemic and individual causes of phy- sician burnout and suicide. We are com- mitted to helping physicians access the confidential counseling they need and to workingwithotherorganizationsthrough- out Southeast Louisiana to bring aware- ness to this important public health issue. Together, we can make a difference. n MASELA was formed in 2020 as a union between Orleans (OPMS) and Jefferson (JPMS) medical so- cieties as a physician-centered organization for the benefit of our patients. Consider joiningMASELAandJPMS or OPMS.Scan this QR code to learn more or call (504) 302-1900.