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OCGI’s last dinner meeting of 2017 was a tremendous success.  Guests enjoyed the Mediterranean menu offered by D’Vine in Fullerton while Kenneth Chang, MD spoke on Endoscopic Foregut Surgery.  

The meeting rounded out a successful 2017 under the leadership of Jason Yip, MD as President.  

Dr. Yip’s recap of each evening’s presentation delighted all and highlighted his enthusiasm.  

In addition to increasing membership, Dr. Yip’s goal of giving OCGI a bigger online presence was recognized by the implementation of its website, Facebook page and PayPal capabilities.  

Stay tuned to hear about incoming President William Karnes, MD’s mission for OCGI for 2018.

Happy New Year!

This is the first year physicians need to report on quality measures under the new Quality Payment Program (QPP) from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Eligible professionals who fail to report in 2017 face a 4 percent payment penalty in 2019. But did you know that physicians only need to report on one quality measure for one patient during 2017 in order to avoid a payment penalty in 2019?

During the 2017 transition year, CMS will allow physicians to select one of three “pick your pace” participation options. Participating at any level in 2017 will ensure that you will not be hit with the 4 percent pay cut in 2019.

The most lenient participation option—reporting on one measure for one patient—allows physicians to avoid a penalty by “testing” the program to ensure that their systems are working and that they are prepared for broader implementation in 2018 and beyond.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has published a video, “One patient, one measure, no penalty: How to avoid a Medicare payment penalty with basic reporting,” with step-by-step instructions on how to report so physicians can avoid a negative 4 percent payment adjustment in 2019.

The California Medical Association (CMA) has also published a MACRA resource page at www.cmanet.org/macra to help physicians understand the new payment reforms and what they can do now to start preparing for the transition. Also available in the CMA MACRA resource center is an overview of MACRA, and a comprehensive list of tools, resources and information from CMA, AMA and CMS. 

The March 22, 2017 OCGI Dinner Meeting was hosted by Gilead Sciences at Morton’s Steak House near South Coast Plaza.  OCGI member, Truong Sinh Leduc, MD addressed the treatment of chronic hepatitis b for the 30 other OCGI members in attendance.  

 Taking a couple of steps back and reviewing hep b and hep c basics, differences and long-term effects, Leduc stressed the importance of taking all factors in to consideration when determining the treatment for each (i.e. nationality, gender, patient age, etc.).  Building on these basics, he was able to provide numerous clinical examples of what to look for and how to treat those in the various stages of hep b.  Further drawing off of his vast experience treating hep b patients, Leduc adeptly fielded the numerous questions and scenarios presented.   Witnessing Dr. Leduc’s passion for his field and love of speaking, it is clearly evident that when young, he wanted to be a teacher.  He satisfies his love of teaching by mentoring medical students and speaking to groups like OCGI.

Harold Sussewell, MD was this month’s lucky recipient of the Medelita $100 gift certificate as the sixth OCGI member to sign in for the evening.

In addition to the monthly gift certificate, Medelita has generously offered all OCGI members a one-time use discount code of 20% to be used on any Medelita products when they spend $100 or more. Simply visit http://www.medelita.com and enter OCGIDINNERPARTY at check out.

Please visit our Calendar for information on the April 19, 2017 OCGI Monthly Educational Dinner at The Ranch in Anaheim.

OCGI kicked off the 2017 calendar at its first dinner meeting of the year on Wednesday, January 18, 2017!  As OCGI’s 2017 President, Jason Yip, MD, addressed the 34 in attendance.  Thanking Jason Samarasena, MD for serving on the board for the last four years, Dr. Yip also put the call out for the next position to be voted on to the board, OCGI Secretary for 2017.  Anyone interested in running for the position should email a brief bio and statement on why they would like to do so to Stephani Meyers at smeyers@ocgisociety.com.  In order to be eligible, the member must be in good standing for their 2017 OCGI membership dues.

Addressing the topic of Harvoni and Epclusa:Transforming Treatment, Vinay Sundaram, MD of Cedars-Sinai was the speaker of the evening sponsored by Gilead at The Capital Grille in South Coast Plaza.  Following the presentation, Dr. Sundaram adeptly fielded a Q&A session.

Meanwhile, Medelita has graciously donated twelve $100 gift cards to OCGI to be given to one lucky individual at each of the meetings during 2017!  At this month’s meeting, the 7th member to sign in was awarded the first gift card.  Congratulations, Kalpesh Mehta, MD!  Thank you, Medelita, for your generosity sure to be appreciated by each monthly recipient!

Medelita has graciously created a 20% discount code for OCGI members when they spend $100 or more on Medelita products at http://www.medelita.com.  Enter the one-time code of OCGIDINNERPARTY at checkout to take advantage of this offer by one of our valued 2017 sponsors.

Please check out our calendar of events at www.ocgisociety.com for upcoming dinner meetings.  We hope you’ll join us!

OCGI’s monthly educational dinner program was held at the Orange County Medical Association Conference Center in Irvine, California on Tuesday, December 20, 2016.

Speaking at this event co-sponsored by UC Irvine Health were Kenneth Chang, MD (Professor and Chief, Division of Gastroenterology at UC Irvine Health and Executive Director of the H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center) and Ninh T. Nguyen, MD, Chief (Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery and Professor, Department of Surgery at UC Irvine Health).

The topic of Endoscopic and Surgical Advances in Bariatric Medicine drew in gastroenterology specialists from Orange County and surrounding areas.

Outgoing OCGI President, Jason Samarasena, MD, addressed those in attendance and announced the soon-to-be launch of www.ocgisociety.com!  The site will be formally introduced to the OCGI members with 2017 membership details.  Members will now have the ability to view the upcoming calendar, pays annual dues online and stay up to date on OCGI news.

Meanwhile, all in attendance enjoyed the beautifully adorned Orange County Medical Association Conference Center facilities and catering by Suzanne’s Catering.