Pertussis on the rise in California The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is reporting an uptick in cases of pertussis since the beginning of the year. According to the state, a total of 2,649 cases have been reported, with more than 800 new cases reported in April alone—the highest monthly count since the 2010 epidemic. Pertussis can cause serious and sometimes life-threatening complications in infants, especially within the first 6 months of life.Two infant mortalities have been reported this year—the first infant pertussis fatalities reported since 2010. In 2010, 9,159 total cases were reported, including ... June 18, 2014 General Public Health, Immunization, Pertussis, Whooping Cough 0 0 Comment Read More »
Four California physicians elected to AMA offices Four representatives from the California Medical Association (CMA) were elected to offices in the American Medical Association (AMA) at its annual House of Delegates meeting this week in Chicago. Jack Resneck Jr., M.D., a San Francisco-based dermatologist, was elected to the AMA Board of Trustees. Dr. Resneck had previously chaired AMA’s Council on Legislation and also serves on the Board of Directors for the America Academy of Dermatology. Patricia Austin, M.D., an Oakland-based ophthalmologist with more than 30 years of small group practice experience, was elected to the AMA’s Council on ... June 18, 2014 General American Medical Association, Physician Leadership, AMA 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA concerned about possible widespread contract terminations by Tenet Healthcare Corp. Physicians and medical staffs in many different counties have notified the California Medical Association (CMA) about recent action by Tenet Healthcare Corp. that could negatively affect all 11 of Tenet’s hospitals in California. CMA attorneys are looking into the issues and already have some serious concerns. There are reports that Tenet intends to terminate all existing contracts for anesthesiology, ER and hospitalist services at its hospitals. The Dallas-based hospital system would then award one contract to an out-of-state medical group to provide such services to all of its hospitals in ... June 18, 2014 General Legal Advocacy, Hospital Medical Staff 0 0 Comment Read More »
Physicians renewing licenses experiencing delays The Medical Board of California is asking physicians who need to renew their medical licenses to do so early due to delays associated with the implementation of a new online licensing and enforcement system. This transition is resulting in disruptions in cashiering and other services and is affecting both online and mail renewals. Currently, the medical board is experiencing delays of 6-8 weeks to update its website and provide physicians with a current wallet license. Physicians whose licenses are expiring are encouraged to submit renewals as soon as possible to ... June 18, 2014 General Medical Board of California, Licensure 0 0 Comment Read More »
Sunshine Act dispute proposal threatens physicians' due process A newly proposed dispute resolution process for inaccurate Physician Payments Sunshine Act data would deny physicians their due process rights, the American Medical Association (AMA) and California Medical Association (CMA) told the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in comment letters this week. Under the Sunshine Act, 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. Any payments, ownership interests and other “transfers of value” will be reported to CMS for publication ... June 18, 2014 General CMS, Physician Payment Sunshine Act, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 0 0 Comment Read More »
Job Announcement for the Medical Board of California The Medical Board of California is currently recruiting for Medical Consultants for the San Bernardino and San DiegoDistrict Offices. Please see job announcement for the details on this position. Feel free to contact: Steve Richter, Supervising Investigator; San Bernardino (909) 383-6815 or Steven.Richter@mbc.ca.gov or Eric Ryan, Supervising Investigator, San Diego (858) 467-6837 or Eric.Ryan@mbc.ca.gov. June 9, 2014 General MBC, Medical Consultants, Medical Board of California 0 0 Comment Read More »
Want More Than $1,000,000? Travel assistance** and Funeral Planning and Concierge services*** included at no additional charge to you When San Bernardino County Medical Society/CMA members apply for up to $1,000,000 of 10 or 20-year Level Term Life insurance coverage underwritten by ReliaStar Life Insurance Company, a member of the Voya family of companies, they get a few things non-members don’t. Access to special member only rates Premium savings since rates are designed to remain level for the first 10 or 20 years of coverage* Each plan also includes a travel assistance service for ... June 5, 2014 General Mercer, term life insurance 0 0 Comment Read More »
Stepping Up to Leadership Courses Available Online Couldn’t make it to the IMQ-PACE Stepping Up to Leadership conference this spring? Why not make the conference content come to you? Selected courses from Stepping Up to Leadership are now available online at IMQ Online Education! All content is available for AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM—take this opportunity to earn CME credit at a time and place that’s convenient for you. Stepping Up to Leadership courses cover a variety of important skills for successfully running a medical staff, particularly issues of communication, problem-solving, and improving outcomes for patients ... May 27, 2014 General Stepping Up to Leadership , IMQ-PACE , Institute of Medical Quality (IMQ) 0 0 Comment Read More »
Hemet Office Space Available 6,000 sq. ft. prime space available in the heart of the Hemet Center for Medical Excellence located at 3889 West Stetson Ave., Hemet, CA 92545. For more information please contact Nabil Razzouk at nabil.razzouk@arrowheadortho.com or call 909-557-1601. April 23, 2014 General office space available 0 0 Comment Read More »
Physicians descend on Sacramento to lobby a package of bills to increase access to health care As part of the California Medical Association’s (CMA) 40th Annual Legislative Leadership Conference, more than 400 physicians, medical students and CMA Alliance members have come to Sacramento today to lobby their legislative leaders as champions for medicine and their patients. They will be lobbying a package of CMA-sponsored bills that will increase access to health care throughout the state. The bills include: AB 1805 (Skinner) restores a 10 percent cut made to California’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) in 2011. Medi-Cal reimbursement rates are among the lowest in the nation, often reimbursing ... April 23, 2014 General State Legislative Advocacy, Advocacy, Legislative Leadership Day 0 0 Comment Read More »
