NYCU June 9, 2026 June 9, 2026 Advocacy, CAHAN Alerts, Cancer, Champions for Health, CMA, CMA Benefits, Infectious Disease, MAHA, Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Mental Health, Practice Management, Public Health, Regulations, SDCMS, Trump Administration, Vaccines 0 TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2026 PHYSICIANS: This is the final week to participate in the selection process for SDCMS’ Physicians of Exceptional Excellence — Top Doctors 2026. All ballots must be received by 11:59 pm on Monday, June 15th to be counted. SDCMS Leadership wishes this process, while not perfect, to be fair, open and honest for physician peers selecting the top five percent (5%) of active San Diego and Imperial County physicians. Several years ago we significantly improved the selection process to ensure a more proportionate representation between modes of practice, balancing the selectees between large groups and the solo, small and medium practices. But if you don’t vote, the process improvements won’t help. Much thanks to Brandon Ethridge, SDCMS Director of Finance and Membership, for all his hard work on this time–consuming and labor intensive project. For more information and to participate in ‘Top Docs’, please CLICK HERE. DEMOCRAT XAVIER BECERRA | CMA’S ENDORSED CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR | EASILY ADVANCES TO NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION AS HEAVY FAVORITE Last week’s primary election was a significant political victory for San Diego County Medical Society and California Medical Association as our endorsed candidate for Governor — former California Attorney General and Biden Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra — captured the top spot to advance to the general election in November. Becerra is now the heavy favorite to be California’s next Governor. CMA, on behalf of 50,000 physicians and medical students — and their patients — played a critical role in helping Becerra emerge as the top candidate in the race for the open Governorship. FINAL REMINDER | 3RD ANNUAL ‘ADVANCES IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY CONFERENCE’ ON JUNE 22ND – 23RD IN SAN DIEGO | FREE FOR SDCMS MEMBERS Join your colleagues for a two–day education event to advance clinical knowledge across multiple specialties. Connect with physicians and healthcare professionals, share insights, and explore new developments. Learn from leading physicians across multiple specialties. Explore emerging topics including AI for doctors and functional medicine. Participate in live Q&A sessions with expert speakers. CME credit is available. Sponsored by California Medical Association and MedWay. The conference is FREE for SDCMS members [use code 2510], for students and for SAAPI or PMA members. The conference is at the Hilton Garden Inn at 17240 Bernardo Center Drive in San Diego. The session on Friday the 22nd begins at 1:45pm and ends at 5:15pm. On Saturday, the conference goes from 8am until final remarks at 2:45pm. Space is limited. For more information and registration, please CLICK HERE. JOIN US FOR A ‘BEST PRACTICE: OFFICE MANAGER FORUM’ WEBINAR ON THURSDAY JUNE 25TH FROM 12PM TO 1PM Sponsored by The Doctors Company (TDC) and Orange County Medical Society (OCMA), this important session will highlight essential updates regarding California compliance with the latest 2026 HIPAA rules and tools. The program will feature what you must have documented in the event of a HIPAA violation and how to utilize the new 2026 Health and Human Services (HHS) online Annual Risk Assessment Tool. If you have a HIPAA violation reported, all practices will be requested to provide a copy of your latest Annual Risk Assessment. Do not be caught without this process completed annually! We will also review new HHS rules for medical practice effective July 8, 2026. The guest speaker, an accomplished medical office manager, will share how she successfully completed the HHS mandated annual risk assessment. The program will provide valuable insights and strategies for managing compliance to strengthen and optimize your medical practice business operations. These quarterly Best Practice: Office Manager Forums are designed to support physicians, office managers, and administrators to identify and manage risks in your medical practice operations. The goal is to prepare you to meet the increasing demands of compliance, patient experience, social media, medical board, business operations, and complexity in systems for documentation. This session will support your learning and understanding as well as provide strategies and solutions to help you manage risks facing your practice in 2026 and beyond. Please encourage your office manager to attend this important session. No need to be a medical society member or insured by TDC to attend. Everyone is welcome! This is a non–CME program. To register, please CLICK HERE. As always, let me know if you have any questions. Paul Hegyi, CEO WHAT TO KNOW … CAHAN ALERT Health Advisory: World Cup 2026 and Summer Mass Gatherings CLICK HERE CAHAN ALERT Health Advisory: Increase in E–Bike–Related Injuries in SD County: Prevention and Counseling Recommendations CLICK HERE Over Half of Medicaid Enrollees Say They’re Unaware of Upcoming Work Requirements CLICK HERE More Americans Survive Cancer. But the Psychological Impacts Can Persist for Years CLICK HERE Court Blocks Trump’s $100K Visa Fee CLICK HERE These Teens Have the Weight of the World on Their Shoulders. Mental Health is Taking a Nosedive CLICK HERE Trump Administration Warns More Than 500 Hospitals to Share More Price Information or Face Fines CLICK HERE Medical School Organizations Sign On to RFK, Jr.’s Nutrition Requirements CLICK HERE Poll: Trust in Federal Health Agencies Dropped Sharply During Trump’s First Year CLICK HERE WHAT TO DO … JUN 16, 2026: Kimpton Sawyer Hotel in Sacramento, sponsored by CMA, ‘Annual CME Provider Conference’. Register before May 15 and save $50! Standard registration is $300. This educational opportunity provides valuable strategies and insights to improving your CME program, and an opportunity to connect with Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education leadership and California Medical Association staff along with other accredited CME providers CLICK HERE JUN 19, 2026: 8a-12:30p, sponsored by Riverside County Medical Association, ‘38th Annual Virtual Conference on Physician Wellness’. $199 Registration, $50 for residents/medical students. Medical staff leaders are increasingly faced with difficult questions: When does behavior require action? How do you intervene without overreaching? How do you balance compassion with compliance? This event will help leaders navigate these moments with clarity, structure, and confidence. Through expert–led sessions and integrated case discussion, learn practical guidance for managing complex physician issues before they escalate CLICK HERE JUN 27, 2026: 5-10pm, SD Air & Space Museum, 2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego. 156th installation of SDCMS President and annual United in Wellness Gala, ‘Soaring Toward a Healthier San Diego’. Please join us in supporting Champions’ life–saving work to provide medical services for San Diego County’s underserved communities CLICK HERE AUG 13, 2026: 12:15-1:15pm, FREE Webinar for Members and Non–Members, sponsored by CMA and The Doctors Company, ‘Managing Challenging Patient Interactions’. Providers often face challenging patients in their practice. Patient, physician and office staff can complicate their care management. Discover strategies to support positive communication among providers and patients, and reduce the emergence of challenging behaviors altogether. Learn communication and self–awareness skills to convert an unproductive encounter into a successful one CLICK HERE AUG 18, 2026: 12:15–1:30pm, FREE Webinar for Members and their Staff, $99 for Non–Members, sponsored by CMA, ‘Using AI to Spot Trouble Before the Payor Does’. This webinar will show physicians, their practice administrators and leadership team how to use widely available AI tools, working with the standard summary reports any practice management system can produce, to perform their own internal coding–risk monitoring without needing specialized analytics expertise, expensive software or patient–level data. See a live demonstration showing how practices can use AI assistants to analyze billing summaries and ask better questions about their own coding patterns and risk exposure. For free CMA member staff registration, email events@cmadocs.org with your physician’s CA Medical License number to receive a promo code CLICK HERE SEP 10, 2026: 12:15–1:30pm, FREE Webinar for Members and their Staff, $99 for Non–Members, sponsored by CMA, ‘Tactical Responses to Payor Issues’. This webinar will show physicians, their practice administrators and leadership team how to respond appropriately when coding concerns arise. Learn how to interpret payor audit letters, assess the validity of findings before accepting them, and determine when issues can be handled internally or when expert assistance is needed. For free CMA member staff registration, email events@cmadocs.org with your physician’s CA Medical License number to receive a promo code CLICK HERE OCT 8, 2026: 12:15-1:15pm, FREE Webinar for Members and Non–Members, sponsored by CMA and The Doctors Company, ‘Best Practices — Documenting Disruptive Patient Behavior’. Disruptive patient encounters create undue stress on physicians and their staff, threaten an environment of patient safety and divert valuable resources. Patients who push the limits of appropriate behavior cause health care workers anxiety, stress, personal and professional isolation plus diminished coping strategies. Learn to address the behavior through a lens inclusive of cultural issues, intrinsic bias, language and health literacy. Medical records should also reflect the patient experience and behavior in the office. Documentation of patient inappropriate or disruptive behavior is required to defend health plan grievances and successfully respond to patient complaints to the licensing boards. It should support any patient dismissal. Prepare to work successfully with disruptive patients, appropriately document their behavior, and be mindful of cultural and other issues for patients, staff and visitors CLICK HERE WHAT TO READ, LISTEN & WATCH … Podcast ‘What the Health?’ Medicaid Work Rules Surprise States ? LISTEN HERE Alzheimer’s Project Clinical Roundtable Free On–Demand CME Webinar Series on Dementia WATCH HERE Champions for Health & TDC’s Free On–Demand CME Webinar Series ‘Innovations and Smart Approaches in Safe Prescibing’ to Help Fulfill DEA Training Requirements (Modules 1–5) WATCH HERE SDCMS Video Archive: View our FREE digital catalog of videos & webinars WATCH HERE SDCMS Webinar: The Impact of a Medical Board Investigation on Your Practice WATCH HERE SDCMS Webinar: Strategies to Enhance the Patient Experience and Reduce Your Risk WATCH HERE SDCMS Webinar: Top Five Risks for Your Practice WATCH HERE SDCMS Webinar: Understanding the Anatomy of a Lawsuit WATCH HERE Please Consider Supporting Our Advertisers … Thank You! Comments are closed.