NYCU May 26, 2026 May 27, 2026 Advocacy, CAHAN Alerts, Champions for Health, CMA, COVID-19 Vaccinations, Infectious Disease, Leadership, MAHA, Medical Board, Practice Management, Public Health, Regulations, SDCMS, Trump Administration, Vaccines 0 TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2026 PHYSICIANS: California’s physician community has lost one of its pioneer medical leaders. San Diego County Medical Society has only now learned that Ralph R. Ocampo, MD, FACS, passed away at the age of 93 last year. Dr. Ocampo was a very private man who kept his illness secret and sought no attention for his passing. Rene Bravo, MD, President of California Medical Association, declared “Dr. Ocampo helped pave the way for generations of Latino physicians in organized medicine. His leadership, humility and lifelong commitment to patients and colleagues left a lasting mark on California’s physician community, and his legacy will continue to inspire those who follow in his footsteps.” Dr. Ocampo was one of the most prominent and earliest Latino physician leaders in San Diego and California. Dr. Ocampo served as the first Latino President of San Diego County Medical Society in 1982. A distinguished and highly respected surgeon, he also served as the first Latino President of California Medical Association (CMA) in 1994 and was a long–term American Medical Association (AMA) delegate member from 1996–2002. Dr. Ocampo was also a distinguished veteran, educator, community leader, civic historian and beloved mentor to many San Diego physicians. San Diego Physician magazine, the official publication of San Diego County Medical Society, has a lengthy profile of Dr. Ocampo in our June issue and includes warm remembrances from Dr. Ira D. Levine, Dr. Sergio Flores, Dr. Ted Mazer and SDCMS’ own Jennipher Ohmstede. GET OUT AND VOTE BY JUNE 2ND | CRITICAL RACE FOR GOVERNOR AS CALIFORNIA MEDICAL ASSOCIATION ENDORSES XAVIER BECERRA Next week’s primary election is of critical importance for California physicians and their patients. California Medical Association, representing more than 50,000 physicians and medical students across the state, is supporting former Congressman, former California Attorney General and former Biden Administration Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra for Governor. The top performing Democrat in the primary is California’s likely next Governor in this heavily–blue state. The next two Democrats who are closest to Becerra in polling — Tom Steyer and Katie Porter — are making support for single–payer a cornerstone of each of their campaigns. That’s why it’s so important for you to get out and vote for Becerra and urge your colleagues, staff, patients, family, friends and neighbors to do the same. REMINDER | 3RD ANNUAL ‘ADVANCES IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY CONFERENCE’ ON JUNE 22ND & JUNE 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. DON’T MISS OUT | SPECIAL SELF–DEFENSE CLASS GEARED TO HEALTH CARE WORKERS ON SATURDAY JUNE 6TH FROM 2PM TO 4PM Legion American Jiu Jiutsu is offering a self–defense class for $25 [reimbursable for SDCMS members post–attendance] to health care workers on Saturday, June 6th from 2pm to 4pm. Their workshop has practical de–escalation and physical defense techniques that can be used in a hospital or clinic setting. No experience or fitness level needed. It is limited to a 50 person maximum. The Class is taught by three professional instructors, including Pablo Perez, a World Champion who spent multiple years working as a security guard inside hospitals and understands firsthand violence in healthcare settings. He’s joined by co–founder Miha Perhavec (black belt in jiu–jiutsu and judo) and Paige Clymer, World Champion and head of their women’s program. They are located at 7550 Miramar Road, Suite 330 in San Diego. For the agenda and registration CLICK HERE. Finally, on a personal note, congratulations to SDCMS’ Membership Coordinator, Hanna Basler, on the birth of her healthy and beautiful baby boy! As always, let me know if you have any questions. Paul Hegyi, CEO WHAT TO KNOW … CAHAN ALERT Health Advisory: Ebola Disease Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda CLICK HERE CAHAN ALERT Health Advisory Update: Amatoxin Poisoning from Foraged Wild Mushrooms CLICK HERE CAHAN ALERT Health Advisory Update: Testing for Potential Hantavirus Infection CLICK HERE CAHAN ALERT Health Advisory: Hantavirus Among Cruise Ship Passengers CLICK HERE No Child Deaths Definitively Linked to COVID Shots CLICK HERE California Steps Closer to Ban on Engineered Stone After Silicosis Surge CLICK HERE California’s ‘Plan B for STIs’ is Working — with One Exception CLICK HERE Kennedy’s Push to Curb Antidepressants Has Shaken Psychiatry CLICK HERE Cheaper, Alternative Health Plans are Having a Moment, But Critics Urge Caution 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?’ Sen. Cassidy Unleashed 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.