Hepatitis A Outbreaks in California Hepatitis A Outbreaks in California - Immunization recommended for Californians who are homeless or using drugs On July 13, 2017, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a health advisory regarding outbreaks of hepatitis A among persons who are homeless or using illicit drugs and individuals working with these persons. This advisory is directed at healthcare providers and settings that provide services for homeless people or persons using drugs. Increasing the level of hepatitis A immunity in these risk groups will help prevent and control hepatitis A outbreaks. Californians hospitalized or ... July 27, 2017 General Hepatitis A, Immunizations, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Conference on physician health comes to San Francisco in October Physicians’ professional wellness is increasingly recognized as being critically important to the delivery of high-quality health care. Physicians strive to achieve an optimal patient experience and provide the highest quality care, while simultaneously facing increasing productivity and documentation demands that often lead to anxiety, fatigue, burnout and depression. To address this issue, Stanford Medicine, the Mayo Clinic and the American Medical Association (AMA) are collaborating to host the American Conference on Physician Health: Creating an Organizational Foundation to Achieve Joy in Medicine. The conference will take place at the Palace ... July 26, 2017 General Physician Burnout, Physician Well-Being, Conferences, Continuing Medical Education, Physician Wellness 0 0 Comment Read More »
CSAM Webinar: How to Build a Controlled-Substances Review Committee in Your Primary Care Clinic The California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) is hosting a webinar, "How to Build a Controlled-Substances Review Committee in Your Primary Care Clinic," to help physicians navigate chronic pain and opioid management. The webinar will take place on Friday, July 28, from 12-1 p.m. Using a case-based format, the webinar will review the basic structure, operations and benefits of creating an internal peer-review committee for complex pain cases. From this event, physicians will understand how to implement, how to interact with and when to use such a committee in their ... July 26, 2017 General Continuing Medical Education, Drug Prescribing, Prescription Drugs, Webinars 0 0 Comment Read More »
U.S. Senate health reform update While there has been considerable activity in the Senate over the past week, plans for bringing a health system reform bill to the floor for a vote remain very fluid. Under pressure from both President Trump and a long legislative to-do list, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he would attempt to bring repeal legislation to the floor again tomorrow. At this point, it appears that two substitute amendments for the House-passed American Heath Care Act (AHCA) are likely candidates to serve as the basis for Senate debate: ... July 24, 2017 General Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), Federal Legislative Advocacy, Health Care Reform, Obamacare Repeal and Reconciliation Act (ORRA) 0 0 Comment Read More »
NASEM issues major report on pain management and opioid use The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) issued a report last week, "Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic: Balancing Societal and Individual Benefits and Risks of Prescription Opioid Use," detailing the dual public health challenges of undertreated pain and opioid use disorder. The report, requested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), highlights actions health care professionals and government agencies could take to stem the prevalence of opioid misuse without denying access to opioids for patients suffering from pain. The 18-member committee that worked over a year ... July 24, 2017 General Drug Prescribing Opioids, Opioids, Pain Medicine, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMS releases proposed Medicare physician fee schedule for 2018 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the proposed 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The California Medical Association (CMA) is pleased to note that there are a number of positive proposed changes that would help physicians improve patient care. CMS is also soliciting ideas from physicians to reduce Medicare and Medicaid regulatory hassles. Highlights of the proposed rule include: Request for information on regulatory relief: CMA applauds CMS’ invitation for physicians to submit ideas for regulatory, policy, practice and procedural changes to improve the health care system to ... July 24, 2017 Medicare CMS, Fee Schedule, Medicare, Regulatory Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Medi-Cal postponing deactivation of inactive providers Earlier this month, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) notified approximately 30,000 Medi-Cal providers that they were being "deactivated" because they had not submitted a claim or rendered services reported on a Medi-Cal claim in the last 12 months. The notices indicated that the deactivation date would be July 22, 2017. DHCS has, however, decided not to proceed with the planned deactivation. DHCS will instead be reconsidering what is defined as "inactivity" after the department was made aware that such deactivation would be problematic for some providers—particularly those who see ... July 24, 2017 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal, Medi-Cal Provider Enrollment 0 0 Comment Read More »
Making the Connection between Patients and Providers: A Modern Approach to the Treatment of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Taking Control of Your Diabetes—an organization that provides innovative and integrative continuing education to medical professionals caring for people with diabetes—is hosting a one-day conference on November 18, 2017, in San Diego to help health care providers connect more effectively with their patients to help them succeed in reaching their treatment goals—while avoiding acute and chronic complications. The event, "Making the Connection between Patients and Providers: A Modern Approach to the Treatment of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes," is a unique, cutting-edge, educational and entertaining learning experience for savvy ... July 24, 2017 General CME, Conferences, Continuing Medical Education, Diabetes, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Open Payments data shows that only 5.6% of physicians looked at their records The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced last week that in 2016, only 5.6 percent of physicians nationwide reviewed their data under the Medicare Open Payments program. Under the Open Payments program, drug and medical device manufacturers are required to report their financial interactions with licensed physicians – including consulting fees, travel reimbursements, research grants and other gifts. Medicare publicly released calendar-year 2016 Open Payments data on June 30 following a 45-day period during which physicians were able to review their data and dispute errors. According to CMS, only 34,871 ... July 24, 2017 Medicare CMS, Medicare, Medicare Open Payments Program 0 0 Comment Read More »
3rd Annual Clinical Management and Behavioral Interventions for Diabetes Care, Oct. 20-21 in La Jolla Scripps Memorial Hospital is hosting the 3rd Annual Clinical Management and Behavior Interventions for Diabetes Care symposium in La Jolla, October 20-21,2017. An estimated 29.1 million people in the United States have diabetes, a majority of them having type 2 diabetes. Despite improvement in the overall national quality indicators for diabetes care, there remain a large number of individuals not meeting the recommended "ABC" targets (A1s, blood pressure and cholesterol). This symposium will discuss how emerging therapeutic approaches and new nutritional and behavioral programs can assist in reaching national targets. ... July 24, 2017 General Diabetes, Conferences, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
