Physicians: What YOU can do to help prevent gun violence The United States continues to struggle with an epidemic of firearm violence. Physicians are in a unique position to assess risk, provide education and change behaviors related to firearm violence, and they may also address this issue more broadly as a consumer safety and public health issue. The California Medical Association (CMA) recently convened the Firearm Violence Prevention Technical Advisory Committee, composed of physician experts. The committee performed a comprehensive review and analysis of existing CMA policy, epidemiological data and current scientific research and developed a CMA position statement on ... December 28, 2017 General Guns, Firearms, Public Health, Reporting Abuse/Violence 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA opposes proposed Medicare physician payment cuts The U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee is working to extend the “rural” work Geographic Practice Cost Index (GPCI) payment adjustment, which is set to expire December 31, 2017. In order to pay for the extension, the committee has proposed an overall cut to Medicare physician payments by identifying and lowering payments for “misvalued” services. In 2014, Congress included a physician-opposed provision in the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA), designed to hold down Medicare spending by requiring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify ... December 28, 2017 Medicare Federal Legislative Advocacy, Geographic Practice Cost Index, GPCI, Medicare 0 0 Comment Read More »
Are your prescription pads compliant with the law? The California Medical Association (CMA) has received numerous calls from physicians whose prescriptions are being turned away by pharmacies for being non-compliant with state law. Specifically, the forms in question do not have checkboxes to indicate refills. California law requires 14 elements that must appear on California security prescription forms, including "check boxes that shall be printed on the form so that the prescriber may indicate the number of refills ordered." Security forms that lack the check boxes, even if they indicate refills in a different way, are deemed non-compliant. ... December 28, 2017 General Drug Prescribing, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
Feb. 22-23 Registration Open for IMQ/PACE Stepping Up to Leadership Training Program If you’re a Department Chair, Chief of Staff, Committee Chair, or in any active position on a medical staff, you don’t want to miss the upcoming Stepping Up to Leadership conference! This is a great chance to network with colleagues and enhance the practical skills you need to succeed! Stepping Up to Leadership Conference February 22 – 23, 2018 Paradise Point Resort and Spa, San Diego, CA www.physician-leadership.org The Stepping Up to Leadership program is widely recognized as the “go to” course for acquiring knowledge and skills to successfully lead a medical staff. Previously ... December 19, 2017 General Stepping Up to Leadership Training Program, Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ) 0 0 Comment Read More »
Nominating Committee to Meet January 22, 2018 The San Bernardino County Medical Society (SBCMS) Nominating Committee will meet January 22, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. at the SBCMS office to nominate candidates for each elective office on the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and for delegates and alternate delegates to the California Medical Association. These positions begin July 1, 2018. One, two and three year terms are available, to be determined. SBCMS members are invited to submit nominations to the Nominating Committee as soon as possible and prior to January 17, 2018. Please submit by email, fax or ... December 6, 2017 General 0 0 Comment Read More »
Theodore M. Mazer, M.D., inaugurated as California Medical Association's 150th president The California Medical Association (CMA) installed San Diego otolaryngologist Theodore M. Mazer, M.D., as its 150th president during the organization's annual House of Delegates meeting this weekend in Anaheim. Dr. Mazer has been a CMA and San Diego County Medical Society (SDCMS) member for 29 years. He has served on the CMA Board of Trustees since 2002, as Speaker of the House of Delegates from 2013 to 2016, and chaired various committees, including those focused on medical services and access to specialty care. Dr. Mazer is a past president of ... November 14, 2017 CMA House of Delegates, Physician Leadership 0 0 Comment Read More »
Gov. Brown signs CMA-sponsored responsible beverage service training bill On Sunday, October 15, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill sponsored by the California Medical Association (CMA) and introduced by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, requiring individuals who sell or serve alcoholic beverages to undergo responsible beverage service training. “The purpose of this law is simple: to help educate bartenders about how to serve alcohol responsibly and how to recognize when a customer’s had enough to drink,” Assemblywoman Gonzalez Fletcher said. “This law will mean fewer drunk drivers on the road, which will reduce the risk of future tragedies. It will ... November 14, 2017 CMA, General Medical Students, State Legislation, State Legislative Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
State sees marked increase in applications for primary care residency program funding The California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development received a record number of applications for family medicine and primary care residency funding through the Song Brown Healthcare Workforce Training Program. For the 2017 application cycle, 77 applications were received, representing 103 residency slots. The increase is due in part to additional physician workforce funding secured by the California Medical Association (CMA) through the state budget. In 2016, the California legislature passed a budget that committed $100 million over three years ($33 million each year) in health care workforce funding. Although ... November 14, 2017 CMA, General Graduate Medical Education, Physician Workforce, Residents and Fellows 0 0 Comment Read More »
Hospital at center of "existential threat" to medical staff self-governance files for bankruptcy The Tulare hospital embroiled in a bitter legal battle over the self-governance rights of its medical staff has filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The filing came just two days before closing arguments were scheduled in the case, Tulare Regional Medical Center Medical Staff v. Tulare Regional Medical Center, et al. Although the hospital is in bankruptcy, the California Medical Association (CMA) will continue to seek a legal remedy in this matter. If the medical staff is unable to resolve the case out of court, the trial court could resume the ... October 19, 2017 CMA, General Amicus Briefs, Hospital Medical Staff, Legal Advocacy, Medical Staff, Medical Staff Self-Governance 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA publishes AB 72 payment monitoring workbook The California Medical Association has published a workbook to help practices identify if payments they receive comply with AB 72's interim payment rules. AB 72—California’s new out-of-network billing and payment law—requires fully insured commercial plans and insurers to make “interim payments” to non-contracted physicians for covered, non-emergent services performed at in-network health facilities, and places limitations on the ability of physicians in such circumstances to collect their full billed charges. The interim rate defined in AB 72 is the greater of the average contracted rate (including only commercial contracts) or 125 ... October 19, 2017 CMA AB 72, Billing/Coding/Out of Network Care 0 0 Comment Read More »
