San Diego County Influenza Watch: March 5, 2014 Click Below to Access the County of San Diego's Influenza Watch Updates: March 5, 2014 February 26, 2014 February 19, 2014 February 12, 2014 February 5, 2014 January 29, 2014 January 23, 2014, Update From CAHAN January 23, 2014 January 15, 2014 January 8, 2014 January 3, 2014, Severe Influenza Update From the CDPH ... October 16, 2013 Influenza, Public Health Influenza 0 0 Comment Read More »
Richard Thorp, MD, Installed as 146th President of CMA October 14. 2013 Richard Thorp, MD, FACP, was installed as the 146th president of the California Medical Association (CMA) at the close of the association’s 2013 House of Delegates, held in Anaheim last weekend. Dr. Thorp, an internist from Paradise, California, developed an interest in health policy and advocacy while serving as president of Butte Glenn Medical Society in 1994, the year of the Clinton health reform. Dr. Thorp continued a leadership role in organized medicine in 1995, serving on CMA’s Committee on Managed Care and subsequently on the Committee on Medical ... October 15, 2013 CMA CMA 0 0 Comment Read More »
San Diego Cases Identified in Multistate, Multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg Outbreak October 11, 2013 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), California Department of Public Health (CDPH), and other state and local health departments are investigating an outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg infections. Epidemiologic, laboratory, and traceback investigations have identified consumption of Foster Farms brand chicken as the likely outbreak source. USDA issued a public health alert warning consumers of these illnesses and their association with three Foster Farm facilities in California. As of October 7, 2013, a total of 278 cases with 7 outbreak ... October 11, 2013 Public Health Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Prescription Drug Take Back Day Help Prevent Prescription Drug Abuse: Drop off Your Unused Prescription Drugs Saturday, October 26, 2013 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Click Here to Find the Collection Site Nearest You! Rx Abuse Hotline: (877) 662--6384 NO QUESTIONS ASKED! Download and Distribute These Flyers to Your Patients: Flyer in English — All San Diego County Locations Flyer in English — Central San Diego County Locations Flyer in English — Southern San Diego County Locations Flyer in English — Eastern San Diego County Locations Flyer ... October 9, 2013 Prescription Drug Abuse Prescription Drug Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
Federal Legislative and Regulatory Update From CMA October 1, 2013 CMA leaders have been in Washington, DC, and in district offices meeting with members of Congress on the important issues facing medicine. Below are the highlights of the priority bills and regulations. 1. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN Medicare and Medi-Cal will continue to operate but CDC, FDA, public health, and NIH are impacted. On October 1, as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went live and tens of thousands of Californians called the Covered California Health Insurance Exchange to purchase insurance, Congress’s failure to agree on a 2014 budget and the future of ... October 7, 2013 GPCI, Medicare, SGR GPCI, SGR 0 0 Comment Read More »
Avoid the Medicare Quality Reporting Penalty in 2015 By the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association As part of the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), Medicare will impose a 1.5% penalty in 2015 on physicians and other providers who do not successfully report at least one individual quality measure for at least one patient in 2013. The purpose of this article is to help physicians avoid the penalty in 2015 by providing guidance on how to report at least one measure for at least one patient using Medicare claims. Since most physicians already submit Medicare claims for reimbursement, adding the ... October 2, 2013 Medicare, PQRS, Quality Reporting Medicare, PQRS, Quality Reporting 0 0 Comment Read More »
MICRA Update: Trial Attorneys Launch Personal Attack on CMA President When trial attorneys announced earlier this year that they were working to scrap California’s Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA), we warned that their campaign would be riddled with lies, misdirection, and below-the-belt shots designed to fool the public into thinking their efforts were anything more than an outright money grab. Unfortunately, we didn’t know how right we would be. Last week, Consumer Watchdog published a piece featuring the names of hundreds of California physicians who they claim are afraid to “pee in a cup,” while also personally targeting CMA president, ... October 2, 2013 MICRA MICRA 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Optimistic as Covered California Opens California’s Health Benefits Exchange offers access to health insurance as implementation of the Affordable Care Act moves forward. Sacramento — As Covered California, the state’s Health Benefit Exchange, opened today, California Medical Association (CMA) physicians remain optimistic. Throughout the healthcare reform debate, CMA strongly advocated for affordable access to care for California’s uninsured and for an expansion of health insurance coverage. “CMA has long supported access to health care for all patients,” said Paul R. Phinney, MD, CMA president. “Today marks a positive inflection point in our nation's commitment to access ... October 1, 2013 ACA, Covered California ACA, Covered California 0 0 Comment Read More »
CDC Releases Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza With Vaccines, 2013-2014 September 30, 2013 The CDC recently released its annual publication of Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza With Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — United States, 2013–2014. This CAHAN publication communicates important information that will be useful to manage this year’s influenza season. Routine annual influenza vaccination is recommended for all persons aged ≥6 months who do not have contraindications. Healthcare providers should begin offering vaccination soon after vaccine becomes available and, if possible, by early October. Vaccination efforts should continue throughout the season, as the duration ... September 30, 2013 Public Health Influenza 0 0 Comment Read More »
Don't Miss out on Increased Medi-Cal Payments! September 27, 2013 The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will soon be implementing rate increases for primary care physicians who treat Medicaid patients, as authorized under the Affordable Care Act. In order to see the bump in pay, providers must first attest to their eligibility. According to DHCS, less than half of eligible providers have completed the brief self-attestation process as of September 24. Although the regulations implementing the pay raise were released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in November 2012, DHCS is still awaiting ... September 27, 2013 Medi-Cal Medi-Cal 0 0 Comment Read More »