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FDA restricts use of cough and cold medicines with codeine or hydrocodone for kids

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today that cough and cold medicines containing codeine and hydrocodone should not be prescribed to children and adolescents because of serious safety risks posed by the opioid ingredients. The FDA also announced that such products will now be required to carry "boxed warnings" – the FDA’s strongest warning – that highlight the risks misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose, death, and slowed or difficult breathing. According to the FDA, it is taking this action after an extensive review that determined the risks associated with ...

CMA Doc: Richard Pan, M.D.

Senator Pan presenting Senate Bill 277 in Senate Health Committee "Vaccines are so effective that parents, and even many younger physicians, have never seen many vaccine preventable diseases. This lack of personal experience with these diseases has created opportunities for anti-vax charlatans to spread misinformation and create anxiety and doubt about vaccines for their own personal gain." --Sen. Richard Pan, M.D. As a physician, I have witnessed first-hand how vaccines protect our children and communities from dangerous diseases. I attended medical school at the University of Pittsburgh, where I learned microbiology ...

Amador physician featured in Big Tobacco's latest misleading ad, CMA responds

The latest misleading ad from the tobacco industry-funded No on Prop. 56 campaign prominently features a retired ob-gyn from Amador county, Arnold Zeiderman, M.D. In the ad he claims, “I do everything in my power to stop people from smoking, but that's not what Prop. 56 is really about." The Executive Committee of the California Medical Association and physician leaders across the state today issued an open letter to Dr. Zeiderman, urging him to reconsider his role as spokesperson for the tobacco industry and join with the rest of the ...

AAP urges states to take firmer stand on nonmedical vaccine exemptions

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) this week called nonmedical vaccine exemption laws a failure and urged state governments to follow California's lead by eliminating nonmedical exemptions and enacting policies to improve immunization rates. “It’s clear that states with more lenient exemptions policies have lower immunization rates, and it’s these states where we have seen disease outbreaks occur as the rates slip below the threshold needed to maintain community immunity,” said Geoffrey R. Simon, M.D., lead author of AAP's new policy statement, “Medical Versus Nonmedical Immunization Exemptions for Child Care ...

DHCS reopens window for NICU/PICU claims submission under ACA PCP rate increase

On May 18, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released additional information about Medi-Cal payment increases for primary care physicians under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) who file claims for patients treated in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) or pediatric intensive care units (PICU). In the past, NICU/PICU claims were billed to Medi-Cal using a local code. In order to be eligible for the ACA enhanced payments, physicians were required to submit claims with ACA modifiers beginning April 11, 2014, that linked the local code to an eligible ...

DHCS identifies glitch in UCR web app for CHDP primary care rate increase payments

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has identified an error in its web application that was designed to allow physicians the ability to enter their usual and customary rates (UCR) for Child Health and Disability Prevention Program Services (CHDP) claims. Physicians who already entered their UCR data prior to November 26, 2014, will need to return to the portal and reenter their information. The web app was developed to address a problem with the Affordable Care Act primary care rate increase unique to CHDP providers. Before the rate increases ...

Soda warning label bill clears committee

A California Medical Association-sponsored bill that would place safety warning labels on sodas and other sugary beverages sold in California has cleared California’s Senate Health Committee on a 5-2 vote.   The first-in-the-nation legislation (SB 1000) was introduced by State Senator Bill Monning (D-Carmel) and would ensure that all Californians are aware of the critical scientific information linking sugary drink consumption to exploding rates of diabetes and obesity.   The bill would place a simple warning on the front of all beverage containers with added sweeteners that have 75 or more calories per ...