November is national COPD awareness month In recognition of national COPD awareness month, the California Medical Association (CMA) Foundation is encouraging physicians to talk to their patients about simple measures they can take to improve their lung function. COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a serious lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. Also known as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, it recently surpassed stroke as the third leading cause of death in the United States. More than 12 million people are diagnosed with COPD and an additional 12 million are likely to have the disease ... November 6, 2013 General Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, COPD, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Both houses of Congress working together in an unprecedented collaboration to repeal SGR http:///On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee released an unprecedented bipartisan and bicameral “discussion draft” proposal that would fully repeal the flawed Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. The draft legislation would not provide automatic payment increases for 10 years. However, starting in 2016 physicians can choose to participate in new payment models (such as medical homes) and qualify for 5 percent annual bonuses. In 2017 and beyond, physicians remaining in the fee-for-service program can participate in a new “value-based performance payment program,” which ... November 5, 2013 Medicare Insurance/Reimbursement, Medicare, SGR, Sustainable Growth Rate, Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
Loma Linda Street Medicine Needs More Volunteer Licensed Providers Street Medicine is Something Different Weekly medical outreaches at: Homeless and Women's Shelters Churches On the streets of San Bernardino Serves the medically underserved: Poor Homeless Marginalized Student-led and Physician-supported Student leaders responsible for organization Physicians/Licensed Providers teach and provide legitimacy to outreaches Official School of Medicine organization A branch of Healthy Neighborhoods Project What We Do Function like a basic mobile clinic Provide medical advice Referrals to low-cost clinics or ED Prescribe and dispense medications Except meds requiring regular labs Except narcotics ... November 5, 2013 General Medically Underserved 0 0 Comment Read More »
New Member Benefit: Prescriber's Letter The California Medical Association (CMA) is pleased to announce that members can now receive 43 percent off Prescriber’s Letter (PL) subscriptions. PL is an advisory service for physicians and other prescribers, to keep them up to date on new developments in drug therapy. PL provides unbiased recommendations that help you improve patient compliance, avoid costly medication errors and prescribe cost-effectively. PL helps you get drug-related facts quickly and digest them easily. PL's “to-the-point” approach means that you can learn about the most pressing drug therapy issues in about 15 minutes. ... October 31, 2013 General Member Benefits, Prescription Drugs, Drug Prescribing 0 0 Comment Read More »
POLST: Improving patient care in the emergency department By True McMahan, M.D. Emergency department (ED) physicians are a very diverse group of providers. Some of us are cavalier, shooting from the hip as called for by the situation at hand. Others are meticulous and obsessive planners, taking no chances and casting a wide net of differential diagnoses. But MOST, if not all of us, work in a daily melee of balancing a multitude of patients with emergency medical conditions, all the while putting out administrative fires and juggling family and visitors. Is it any wonder then that we ... October 31, 2013 General POLST, End of Life Issues 0 0 Comment Read More »
Now is the time for a new Dental Plan! Now is the time for a new Dental Plan! It’s Open Enrollment time for the San Bernardino County Medical Society sponsored Group Dental program. This plan is designed to help you, your family and your employees minimize the out-of-pocket expense of regular dental care. This program helps you maximize your out-of-pocket savings by using network dentists, but also allows you to use any dentist you like and receive lower benefits. Following are many valuable benefits that can save you money: • Annual Benefits of $2,000 per person for dental care, using network providers ... October 28, 2013 General Membership Benefits, Dental Plan 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA part of national effort to urge House leadership to act on Medicare SGR payment overhaul before the year ends The California Medical Association (CMA) is part of a national multi-state, multi-specialty effort headed by the American Medical Association to keep bipartisan momentum going to address Medicare fee-for-service sustainable growth rate (SGR) reform. CMA has asked the California congressional delegation to sign a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urging them to make it a priority to reform the Medicare physician payment system before the end of the year. The joint letter is being circulated in Congress by Rep. Bill Flores (R-TX) and ... October 28, 2013 Medicare Insurance/Reimbursement, Medicare, SGR, Sustainable Growth Rate, Advocacy 0 0 Comment Read More »
CDPH launches new public health reporting gateway The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently launched an online portal for public health reporting called the CDPH Health Information Exchange (HIE) Gateway. The gateway will serve as a single point of entry for data submission to many state public health programs, including the California Immunization Registries (CAIR) and the California Reportable Disease Information Exchange (CalREDIE). The goal of the gateway is to improve upon data exchange, analysis and reporting capabilities, while helping hospitals and health care professionals meet the public health reporting objectives under the Centers for Medicare ... October 28, 2013 General Public Health, Reporting Diseases, Health Information Technology 0 0 Comment Read More »
Participate in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day More than six million Americans abuse prescription drugs, this according to the 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The study also revealed more than 70 percent of people abusing prescription pain relievers got them through friends or relatives, a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet. Proper disposal of unused prescription drugs helps prevent abuse and helps keep pharmaceuticals out of landfills and waterways. More than 280 locations throughout California will be accepting unused prescription drugs, including controlled substances, as ... October 23, 2013 General Drug Abuse, Prescription Drugs, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Are your business associate agreements up-to-date? Physician practices must review and update business associate agreements to comply with new HIPAA regulations. HIPAA requires a physician practice to enter into a written business associate agreement with any third party contractors or vendors that may create, receive, maintain or transmit protected health information on behalf of the physician practice. These agreements describe how the business associate will use and protect the protected health information it receives from the physician practice. The new HIPAA regulations, known as the HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule, implement many of the key provisions of ... October 23, 2013 General HIPAA, Medical Records, Health Information Technology 0 0 Comment Read More »
