by: Joan M. Grzybowski, DO

This year Governor Tom Wolf did something drastic and usually reserved for times of extreme emergency. He declared an opioid and heroin overdose crisis to address a medical issue affecting our state in a historically unprecedented manner. At least 10-15 Pennsylvania citizens die every day from a drug overdose.

In 2016, we had the fourth highest rate of overdoses in the United States. The CDC statistics show a 43 percent rise of overdoses in Pennsylvania over the last fiscal year. That notorious title makes us the lead state in the increase with New Jersey, Ohio, and Delaware a close runner-up and killing more people than motor vehicle accidents. Pennsylvania, through the Pa. Department of Health, has developed a multi-tiered plan to address this problem. I encourage you to log onto their website at www.health.pa.gov, to view the 2018 guidelines regarding opioids. They have been published by the Pa Dept. of Health to assist you in your practice of medicine and are available in a PDF version at that site.

Through our physician general Rachel Levine, via a state-wide standing order, Naloxone has become available to any citizen in Pennsylvania in need of it. They also have a 24-hour hotline available for those in need of treatment resources and it is listed below.

1-800-662-HELP

We at POMA have recently started a task force addressing this crisis. We hope to provide information and direction to our physicians, students and citizens of Pennsylvania to help guide you in dealing with this health crisis. We will be posting updates and information throughout the year.

Thank you all for the good work you do as you serve your patients through these trying times.

by: Diana M. Ewert, MPA, CAE 

July signals the start of summer and the start of vacations. Vacations should not be considered a luxury. Time away from the pressures of work are needed to maintain a well-balanced and mentally healthy life style. This is especially true for physicians.

Physician stress is real. It was reported in May of this year that physicians experience the highest suicide rate of any profession. That is chilling. That is why mental health is a high priority area for POMA. We started with the Mental Health Task Force working with the resident programs. We seek to provide more resources for you through our vendors, our districts, our educational programs and our osteopathic state societies. Students and residents have stepped up their efforts and actively contribute to the “How are you DO-ing” blog. Sharing stories helps all of us recognize that we are not alone.

We know the osteopathic profession is a family… and family helps. Family supports. Family tells you, take the vacation – we have your back.

Hey, DO’s, it’s summer – take the vacation.

POMA Membership Status

Active – marked by present movement or use. Grace – an act of kindness, courtesy or clemency. Do you know which you are?

Your current POMA status is . If your status is active, we have received your dues for the 2018-19 membership year and thank you!

If it is anything else, your membership ends on September 30. This also means you lose access to all member benefits like your CME records.

Active members can access their CME records on-line at their convenience. Active members can print out the CME certificate to the Annual Clinical Assembly with a simple button click. Active members can upload programs they’ve attended accredited by other organizations very soon and have a complete picture of their professional development over the two-year cycle. But if you are ”Graced” it means your access ends on September 30.

We’ve made it easy for you to renew online through the POMA website. Log into www.poma.org, update your profile, and renew. For your convenience, your username is  . It’s as simple as that! It’s easier than ever to remain a part of our osteopathic community.

Questions? Contact [email protected].

Only 1 Month Until #POFPS43! Register Today!! 

*You may register for POFPS 43rd Annual CME Symposium by clicking on the image above or by filling out the registration form attached to this email. 

POFPS 3rd Annual Student/Resident Program

Attention Osteopathic Students, Interns,
Residents & Fellows

Interested in learning about finding a job, contracts and malpractice, making a life as a physician, networking, writing a CV, interviewing and more? Then make sure you register for the POFPS 3rd Annual Student/Resident Program. This program is held concurrent with the 43rd POFPS Clinical Assembly and will be on Saturday, August 4^th in Hershey, PA. The seminar is free to all osteopathic medical students, interns, residents and fellows.

Register today!  Attendees are responsible for cost of their own transportation and lodging.

 Mental Health Task Force Grant Program Updates

As we near the conclusion of the academic year, we are starting to receive updates from the 2017-2018 Mental Health Task Force Grant recipients on how their programs went. Participants are sharing what they learned from the experience and how it impacted the participant individually and the residency collectively. This week's update is from the Washington Health System Family Practice. 

The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education: Lackawanna FM Wellness Day 2018

On Wednesday, June 27th, 2018, the Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education participated in Lackawanna FM Wellness Day 2018 at the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort in Shawnee on Delaware, PA. The purpose of the program was to allow us some time outside of work to de-stress and practice wellness. Since we're always getting on our patients to practice self-care, it seemed like a little bit of "practice what you preach" in giving us dedicated time to do some mental, physical, and social activities and take care of ourselves a little bit.

Read more>>

Closing Year Recap

The closing weeks of June brought both productivity and activity, the most significant being the enactment of the state budget before deadline.

As part of the overall scope of budget related matters, the General Assembly ultimately inserted provisions in House Bill 1851 (Act 41 of 2018 as signed by Governor Wolf) that will essentially serve as an alternative attempt at taking $200 million from the PA Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association.  The bill moves the independent JUA under the jurisdiction of the State Insurance Department. The bill passed through both chambers despite reservations during the five party negotiations.  

Read more>> 

CDC 2018-2019 Immunization Recommendations

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met last week in Atlanta to develop and update immunization recommendations.

They approved the influenza 2018-2019 recommendation, which maintains that influenza vaccines (IIV, RIV or LAIV) should be administered to those who are six months and older who have no contraindications, with additional details in the trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines.

The ACIP also outlined and approved the recommended use of the anthrax vaccine, and discussed the qHPV vaccine, an outbreak of A strep in Colorado, and the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine. 

You can view the full immunization recommendations on the ACIP page of the CDC website and in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

 DHS: Medical Assistance Program Fee Schedule Revisions

2018 Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System Updates; Prior Authorization Requirements

The Department of Human Services announced changes to the Medical Assistance (MA) Program Fee Schedule, effective for dates of services on and after July 2, 2018. DHS indicated the department is adding and end-dating procedure codes as a result of implementing the 2018 updates made by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS). The Department stated other codes currently on the MA would also be added and end-dated. A full list of procedure codes being added or end-dated are available on The Pennsylvania Bulletin.

View the
newsletter online!

 In This Issue...

1. President's Perspective
2. Executive Opinion
3. POMA Membership Status
4. POFPS Registration
5. POFPS Student/Resident Program
6. Mental Health Task Force Program Updates
7. Government Affairs
8. CDC Immunization Recommendations
9. MA Program Fee Schedule Revisions
10. CME Certificates
11. Save the Date for Upcoming PGYP Meetings
12. Applications for Membership
13. Classified Advertisements
14. POMA on YouTube
15. Licensure Renewals
16. POMPAC

CME Certificates

CME certificates are now available for those who recently attended the POMA 110^th Annual Clinical Assembly. You should have received an email with instructions on how to access your records. If you did not receive the email, you can view our POMA CME Module video here. 

Just as a reminder, if you have not submitted your attestation form, please do so by July 15, 2018. Now that CME certificates have been processed, POMA staff will be starting to submit your credits to the AOA. Please be patient as we work through this next step. 

Save the Date for Upcoming PGYP Meetings

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS

Please address all correspondence for POMA Box Letters to:  Box __, c/o POMA, 1330 Eisenhower Boulevard, Harrisburg, PA  17111-2395.

PHYSICIANS WANTED:

CORRECT CARE SOLUTIONS: HIRING MEDICAL DIRECTORS in these cities: Cambridge Springs, Mercer, Huntingdon, Somerset, Waymart. For details call Robert Cross at 717-216-2055 or 570-954-0479.

OPPORTUNITY — PHYSICIAN POSITIONS AVAILABLE: Media and Lancaster. Flexible hours, private practice, 3-4 hour shifts, no on-call, malpractice insurance needed. For more information, please contact us at [email protected] or call 610-566-8885

Seeking family physician or internist, board certified MD or DO, for independent multi-specialty Johnstown, PA group established in 1984. Currently comprised of twelve physicians and physician assistants practicing family practice, podiatry, gynecology, medical psychology and non-narcotic pain management. Imaging, clinical trials, lab and numerous other on-site ancillary services available. Offering a four ten-hour day work week with no hospital work. Submit CV to [email protected] or call 814-288-1418 extension 7.

Looking for a part time Physician in Family Medicine or Internal Medicine in Philadelphia. Please contact me @ 215-669-4001.

CLASSIFIED AD
RATES
— Per insertion —

Member Ads*: $10 for the first 20 words, $.25 for each additional word. $2 each for special services: box letter, all caps or all bold type, boxing an ad in.

Non-member Ads: (Payment must be received in advance.) $50 for the first 20 words, .50 each additional word. $5 for each special service (listed above).

*Please Note: Member ad rate to be used only by POMA members and only for their medicine- or practice-related ads. Charges for other types of members’ ads will be calculated using the non-member ad rate.

POMA does not take a position of endorsing any organizations, individuals or services whose classified advertisements appear in this publication. The POMA Newsletter reserves the right to select and edit all advertisements submitted.

Follow POMA on social media for all the latest news!

  

POMA on YouTube!

POMA now has a YouTube channel! We will be posting informational videos as well as other videos important to the osteopathic community. Please make sure you click on the link below and subscribe to our channel so that you can be notified each time we post a new video. 

Subscribe here>>

Physician Licensure Renewal Reminder

Osteopathic physicians are reminded that the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine requires 100 CME credits for the 2016-2018 licensure cycle, which ends October 31, 2018. 

As part of the 100 credits, physicians must earn at least 20 Category 1A AOA CME credits, at least 2 hours of child abuse recognition and reporting (Category1 or Category 2), at least 2 hours of opioid education (Category1 or Category 2), and at least 12 patient safety credits (Category 1 or Category 2). The credits for child abuse recognition/reporting and opioid education are counted into the sum of 100 credits and/or sum of 20 Category 1A credits but do not overlap into patient safety.

Additionally, the child abuse recognition/reporting course must be documented and reported to the Pa. Department of State by an approved course provider. Topics that qualify for opioid education include pain management, identification of addiction or the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids. The credits for opioid education and patient safety credits must also be documented by an AOA, ACCME, AMA or AAFP accredited sponsor (institution, health system, professional association, etc.)

Please note: If you are a POMA member, we can affirm how many credits you have earned for all POMA-sponsored programs. However, if you have not completed your CME reporting forms and returned them to the Central Office, you will not receive credit. Any credits earned outside of the POMA must be sent to the Central Office in order for us to record them. POMA's new and improved CME module is now available!  Active members can access the system by clicking here.

IS 
The Collective Voice of the Osteopathic Profession

 Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Political Action Committee

Send your personal check today to POMPAC in care of the Central Office, 1330 Eisenhower Boulevard, Harrisburg, PA 17111-2395, or charge your contribution to your VISA or MasterCard! 
PAC contributions are not tax-deductible.

Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association | 1330 Eisenhower Boulevard, Harrisburg, PA 17111  (717) 939-9318 | www.poma.org