Bills to expand nurse practitioners', optometrists' scope of practice stall in Assembly committee A bill that would have allowed nurse practitioners (NP) to practice independently and prescribe drugs without physician oversight is finished, at least for the year. Senate Bill 323 was voted down 8-4 on June 30 in the Assembly Business and Professions (B&P) Committee. The committee agreed to take it up again on July 14, but the bill was pulled from the hearing by its author, Senator Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa). The California Medical Association (CMA) and the California Academy of Family Physicians led the fight against SB 323. Senator Hernandez also pulled ... July 20, 2015 General Scope of Practice, Advocacy, Nurse Practitioners, Optometrists, Quality of Care 0 0 Comment Read More »
Changing locations? Remember: a change of address of record must be reported to the Medical Board of California within 30 days at http://www.mbc.ca.gov/Licensees/Address_of_Record.aspx. (Business and Professions Code Section 2021(d)) July 14, 2015 General Licensure, Medical Board of California 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA releases 2015 annotated Model Medical Staff Bylaws The California Medical Association (CMA) has released its 2015 Model Medical Staff Bylaws. These bylaws are the definitive guide for medical staffs, providing details on professional and legal structures to support effective medical staff operations and self-governance. The model bylaws are fully annotated to provide background information on critical provisions, including explanations of relevant state and federal laws, hospital accreditation standards, and other explanatory information. CMA's lawyers performed a complete evaluation of the bylaws to ensure they comport with current law and reflect CMA’s positions and policies. A number of revisions ... July 14, 2015 General Hospital Medical Staff, Medical Staff, Medical Staff Bylaws, Medical Staff Self-Governance, Bylaws 0 0 Comment Read More »
Song-Brown residency program grant cycle begins July 31 The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) will soon be accepting the next round of applications from California residency programs seeking grant funding for new or existing resident positions. The 2014-2015 California State Budget allocated $7 million to expand OSHPD's Song-Brown Program to create more residency slots in the state and to open the program to all primary care specialties (family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics-gynecology and pediatrics). Thanks in large part to the advocacy of the California Medical Association, the budget also included $4 million in one-time funding ... July 14, 2015 General Residents and Fellows 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS to begin provider reimbursement for end-of-life care On July 8, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the first proposed update to the Medicare physician payment schedule since the repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula through the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2015. One of the biggest changes in the CMS proposal is the assignment of codes to pay providers for end-of-life consultations. In addition the department would make advance care planning “an optional element” of a beneficiary's annual wellness visit. The American Medical Association (AMA) lauded ... July 14, 2015 Medicare CMS, End of Life Issures, Medicare, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
Simplification of accreditation requirements adds value for providers of CME In 2014, the Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) streamlined some of the CME accreditation requirements for hospitals and other organizations. Having encouraged these changes, the California Medical Association (CMA) and its Institute of Medical Quality (IMQ) quickly moved to adopt the ACCME revisions. IMQ also simplified the California-specific requirements for cultural and linguistic competency. In addition to the streamlined accreditation requirements, IMQ significantly expanded its outreach efforts to help CME providers understand and comply with the new accreditation criteria and policies. IMQ has also created a CME Provider ... July 14, 2015 General Hospital Accreditation, Institute for Medical Quality, CME Accreditation, IMQ 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS publishes 2014 open payment data On June 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the 2014 Open Payments data of financial transactions between drug and medical device makers and health care providers. The data includes information about 11.4 million financial transactions attributed to over 600,000 physicians and more than 1,100 teaching hospitals nationwide, totaling $6.49 billion. The Sunshine Act requires drug and medical device manufacturers and group purchasing organizations to report their financial interactions with licensed physicians – including consulting fees, travel reimbursements, research grants and other gifts. Last year’s inaugural launch of ... July 14, 2015 Medi-Cal, Medicare CMS, Physician Payments Sunshine Act, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Foundation awards 8 new Medical Student Community Leadership Grants The California Medical Association (CMA) Foundation's Medical Student Community Leadership Grant Program supports health-related educational, advocacy, community service and other outreach programs that enhance the well-being of California communities. Grant applications are reviewed on a semi-annual basis; the next application deadline is October 30, 2015. The CMA Foundation is proud to announce eight exciting newly-funded programs! MedDiction.com – Medical Student Resource and Dictionary: Students at the UCSF School of Medicine will be creating a simple medical dictionary and medical education resource site that caters specifically to medical ... July 13, 2015 Awards, General Medical Students, CMA Foundation 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Foundation's 2015 Leadership Awards: Call for nominations The California Medical Association (CMA) Foundation and its Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations (NEPO) are seeking nominations for the 2015 Leadership Awards, which celebrate the efforts of extraordinary individuals and organizations who make a difference in the health of Californians. The four awards include: The Ethnic Physician Leadership Award This award recognizes an individual physician for his or her contributions toward the health of various ethnic communities, who has shown great success in eliminating health disparities, addressing access to care, and improving cultural competency and patient advocacy. The purpose of the award ... July 13, 2015 Awards, General CMA Foundation, NEPO, Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations, Awards 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Capitol Insight: July 6, 2015 CMA Capitol Insight is a biweekly column by veteran journalist Anthony York, reporting on the inner workings of the state Legislature. Signatures and special sessions A controversial measure was signed into law last week by Gov. Jerry Brown – Senate Bill 277 (Pan), which eliminates the personal belief exemption from mandatory vaccinations for all public school children. The real question now is what comes next. Brown’s signature sets off a 90-day clock for opponents of the bill to qualify a referendum. If the requisite signatures are gathered, the measure would not ... July 13, 2015 General Anthony York, CMA Capitol Insight 0 0 Comment Read More »
