U.S. Supreme Court will not hear challenge to New York vaccine law The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear a challenge to a New York state law that mandates all children be vaccinated before they can attend public school. This decision leaves in place a federal appeals court ruling that said the New York Law does not violate the constitution. That decision also upheld a trial court ruling that found that children with religious exemptions could still be prohibited from attending school if there is a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak. While this ruling only affects the states within the second circuit appellate court, ... November 9, 2015 General Public Health, Vaccination, Immunization 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA tells California Supreme Court it must protect patient data in CURES The California Medical Association (CMA) has filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court asking that it give meaningful privacy protection to patient data contained in the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) database. CMA was joined on the brief by the American Medical Association, California Psychiatric Association, California Dental Association and the American Dental Association. This case, Lewis v. Superior Court (Medical Board), examines the constitutionality of the Medical Board of California's practice of routinely data mining the confidential prescription records of California patients. In response ... November 9, 2015 General CMA Legal Case List, CURES, Amicus Briefs, California Supreme Court 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS issues final 2016 Medicare payment rule; includes reimbursement for end-of-life discussions On Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final 2016 Medicare physician fee schedule. One of the biggest changes in the CMS proposal is the assignment of codes to pay physicians for end-of-life consultations. Key policies finalized in the 2016 payment rule include: Advanced care planning: The final fee schedule includes two CPT codes to reimburse for advance care planning. Compensating health care professionals for time spent with patients discussing treatment wishes and goals of care is a critical step forward in honoring patient treatment preferences, particularly ... November 9, 2015 Medicare Medicare 0 0 Comment Read More »
Next CME Essentials Workshop is December 4 in Orange County Join the California Medical Association's Institute for Medical Quality (IMQ) on Friday, December 4, 2015, for the next CME Essentials Workshop, held at Children's Hospital of Orange County in Orange. This one-day course covers the fundamentals of planning a continuing medical education (CME) activity in compliance with accreditation criteria and policies. The CME Essentials Workshop is designed for individuals who are new to CME or who are seeking a refresher, including CME chairs, coordinators, educators and managers of CME programs. The workshop covers the fundamentals of designing an educational activity ... November 9, 2015 General CME Accreditation, Continuing Medical Education, IMQ, CME 0 0 Comment Read More »
S.B. County Breastfeeding Support Program Kick-Off San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, in conjunction with 211, is hosting a Kick-Off event to introduce the new San Bernardino Countywide breastfeeding support program: Baby’s Optimal Nutrition with Ultimate Support (BONUS). The Kick-Off will be on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, and we would like to invite you to this special event and luncheon! The event will be targeted towards professionals such as: doctors, nurses, hospital/clinic staff, IBCLCs, lactation consultants, breastfeeding organizations, and health educators. Also, free CE unit will be provided for nurses. The new BONUS Program, ... November 9, 2015 General breastfeeding support program 0 0 Comment Read More »
SBCDPH FREE Flu Shot Schedule The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health will be offering FREE flu vaccinations to the community at the locations, dates and time listed below during November and December 2015. It's important to get your flu shot soon, as flu season can begin as early as October and last as late as May. The flu spreads in respiratory droplets caused by coughing and sneezing. It usually spreads from person to person, though occasionally a person may become infected by touching something with the virus on it and then touching their ... November 6, 2015 General free flu shot, San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, SBCDPH 0 0 Comment Read More »
ORP for Medi-Cal Beneficiaries Must Enroll with DHCS Under the Affordable Care Act, all providers who order, refer or prescribe (including but not limited to physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants) for Medi-Cal beneficiaries must be enrolled in the Medi-Cal program. Previously, providers needed to enroll only if they wished to furnish (and bill for) covered services for Medi-Cal beneficiaries. If an ordering and/or referring provider (ORP) is not enrolled in Medi-Cal, the "filling providers" (for example, the pharmacy that is filling the patient’s prescription or the specialist you are referring a patient to for treatment) will not ... November 6, 2015 General, Medi-Cal Medi-Cal, ordering and/or referring provider (ORP) 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA installs infectious disease specialist Steven E. Larson, M.D., as 2015-16 president At the California Medical Association’s (CMA) 2015 House of Delegates meeting in Anaheim, Steven E. Larson, M.D., was installed as the association’s 2015-16 president. “It is an enormous honor to serve the 40,000 plus members of CMA as their president,” said Dr. Larson. “As we face some of the most rapidly changing times in health care that this country has ever seen, I look forward to working with the county medical societies and my colleagues across the state in unifying together as one voice to tackle whatever obstacles lie ahead.” Dr. ... October 31, 2015 CMA Executive Committee, House of Delegates, CMA Elections 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA delegates urge the state to restore public health funding On Friday, October 16th, the California Medical Association (CMA) House of Delegates meeting in Anaheim voted unanimously to urge the State of California to restore public health funding. The resolution (Resolution 112-15) calls on CMA to work with state health and legislative officials, through the state budget process, to develop a plan to repair California’s public health infrastructure and funding for vital prevention services that have been eliminated or drastically reduced since 2007-08. It is estimated that over $226.7 million per year has been lost in California Department of Public ... October 31, 2015 CMA, General House of Delegates, Public Health, California State Budget 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA passes resolution urging U.S. Chamber of Commerce to cease tobacco advocacy efforts The California Medical Association (CMA) reinforced its long-established stance against tobacco use today, with the CMA House of Delegates voting in favor of a resolution (Res. 107-15) that strongly objects to pro-tobacco efforts by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in other parts of the world. With the resolution’s passage, CMA calls on the Chamber to immediately halt all advocacy efforts on behalf of tobacco companies and urges all conscientious companies that are members of the Chamber to either take similar action or quit their membership to protest such anti-health efforts. “As ... October 31, 2015 CMA, General Public Health, Tobacco, House of Delegates 0 0 Comment Read More »
