by: Joan M. Grzybowski, DO

With the 2018 elections behind us, I am struck by the fact that so many pundits and political columnists like to remind us that this election is by far the most important one in decades. As voters, we’re told time and time again that the stakes have never been higher than they are right now. I am not a political expert or a pundit for that matter, but, as your president, I can assure you that, this year, the statewide elections here in Pennsylvania have delivered significant changes to Harrisburg.

Gov. Tom Wolf won re-election by a wide margin, which was widely anticipated. However, seven new senators and 43 new House members will be sworn into office in January. At least one House seat and one Senate seat have yet to be decided at this point, so these totals could change! There are also two-House seats in which the date for special elections has yet to be determined. We must engage and educate every lawmaker about the value of osteopathic medicine and the important role that all our members play in their communities.

In Washington, U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr was reelected, and our state is sending seven new Representatives to Congress.

As I noted in my last column, our board and staff, as well as Bruce Hironimus, our Government Relations consultant are gearing up for this challenge. Our goals include providing some hands-on training for members willing to visit with key lawmakers to help them understand our legislative priorities. I will be reaching out to some of our district leaders to discuss opportunities for hosting meet-and-greet sessions with lawmakers and we will be preparing updated packets of information about POMA, our state’s osteopathic colleges of medicine and the tremendous growth in osteopathic medicine here in the Commonwealth and across the nation.

The 2019 legislative session will bring both challenges and opportunities for all of us and our profession. I am confident that, working together, we will continue to effectively advance our profession in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C.

by: Diana M. Ewert, MPA, CAE 

Your POMA Board of Trustees recently spent a significant amount of time preparing a full strategic plan for the next three years. There are a number of issues that the board agreed are a high priority for the association and need to be accomplished in the next 12 months.

The Influence Pillar, not surprisingly, has several high priority, short-term objectives. There isn’t a more opportune time to look at our influence within the Commonwealth and now is the best time to do so. January marks the start of a new legislative session with several new members in the House and Senate.  POMA is proactively reaching out to these freshman legislators, sharing information about the osteopathic profession along with our interest in health care issues. The goal is to connect POMA and our physician leadership to the legislature in a broad-based way. There will be challenges in the upcoming session and non-physician clinicians focused on expanding their practice remains one of our highest priorities.

But our Influence Pillar is just one of four we are working on. There are high priority, short-term objectives in Community, Communications, and Education. The 2019-20 POMA Strategic Plan will be shared in its entirety in the next issue of The Journal. Make sure to look for opportunities for you to engage! There will be workgroups formed to help develop a POMA App, a multigenerational communications plan, focused education in the practice management field and more. Our members are more important than ever before. Without you, there is no POMA.

POMA District 8 Winter Seminar Registration Open!

Make plans now to attend the POMA District VIII 32nd Annual Educational Winter Seminar. The 2019 conference will be held January 31-February 3 at Nemacolin Woodlands. This year’s program will offer up to 24 Category 1-A AOA CME credits.

Registration is now open!  Click here to register online or to download the registration form.

If you have any questions, please contact Deb Cargill-Roan at (717) 939-9318 ext 170 or email [email protected].  We look forward to seeing you there!

by: Bruce Hironimus, Legislative Consultant 

What will the election results bring?

The turnover on Election Night was much greater than this week’s leadership elections.  The Pennsylvania Senate Democrats and Republicans selected their leadership teams for the upcoming 2019-2020 legislative session, with very little change occurring on either side.

The Republicans are only losing one member from the previous leadership team with the retirement of Sen. Chuck McIlhenny (R-Bucks) who serves as the Majority Caucus Administrator until the completion of this session. That position will be appointed by Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati on the first day of session.

The District Dish 

A recap of recent District events 

Districts 2 

POMA District 2 gathered on November 14, 2018, at the Dilworthtown Inn, West Chester, Pa. The meeting kicked off with a presentation on Educational Prevention Tools in Patients with PAD/CAD by Garo Garibian, MD. After the presentation, Chris Davis, DO, District 2 Chairman reviewed the POMA November Board of Trustees meeting for the rest of the group. The importance of supporting our PAC in bringing an osteopathic voice to state government and monitoring legislative developments was discussed.

Read more>>

District 3

NSAID caused ulcers can be silent and silence is very dangerous. Long-term use of NSAIDs such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn) is the second most common cause of ulcers. NSAIDs also increase the risk for gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. The risk of bleeding continues for as long as a patient takes these drugs and may last for about one year after stopping.

Read more>>

District 12

Understanding the impact of suicide and increasing awareness of mental wellness is vital to our roles as physicians. The Clarion County Suicide Prevention Task Force recently presented the documentary SUICIDE: THE RIPPLE EFFECT at the Clarion University Theater CU on Main. Members of POMA District 12, including district leadership, family medicine residents and osteopathic medical students training in the area, attended this presentation as a group. A discussion on wellness and awareness was held following the presentation.

Read more>>

Call for Poster Abstracts!

POMA’s annual scientific poster presentation day will be held on May 2, 2019, in conjunction with POMA’s Annual Clinical Assembly.  The poster session is coordinated by PCOM MEDNet and is open to all osteopathic residents training in Pennsylvania.

Abstract Submission Deadline: January 8, 2019

Guidelines are available online.

Review and Selection:

Abstracts will be reviewed by the PCOM MEDNet Research Committee and will inform all authors of the decision no later than February 15, 2019.

Conference Details:

Presentation day is May 2, 2019 in King of Prussia, PA.  Presentations will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions.

For more information, visit www.poma.org or email Melanie LaPenta at [email protected].

The Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association Foundation (POMAF) is pleased to announce several new scholarships are now open for application. Pennsylvania students who are enrolled as an OMS II, OMS III or OMS IV and residents are eligible to apply as long as they meet the criteria. The scholarships and applications are accessible online.  Applications can also be downloaded and mailed to the POMA Foundation. Scholarship amounts will be determined by the Foundation board. The deadline for applications is January 14, 2019. The Foundation board will review all applications and awards will be made late February/early March.

We would greatly appreciate your help in circulating this among your student and resident contacts. Feel free to share the information and link in social media, newsletters, etc. Make sure to use the hashtag #POMAF19 and tag us on Twitter, @POMA_DOs and Facebook, @POMADOs.

Regroup

Have you ever found yourself so overwhelmed you literally didn’t know where to start sorting through your “to-do” list? Been there, done that.

This past week I found myself over my head in tasks that I felt only I could do. As the medical director of a rural health clinic, I have a superb staff that does everything they can possibly do to ease my workload, however, there are things that only I can do. I had recently returned from my first week-long vacation in over three years and found myself digging out of a mountain of paperwork. Couple that with seeing patients and reviewing the records of the APPs I collaborate with, my usual 12-hour days quickly turned into 15-hour days at the office.

Small Business Grants Available

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Small Business Grant is open and accepting applications from Pennsylvania’s small businesses. 

Grants can be used for upgrading lighting, replacing inefficient HVAC systems, upgrading to digital X-Ray equipment.  The grant program has over $300,000 remaining, with projects funded on a first-come, first served basis.  More information is available on the Small Business Advantage Grant website. 

If you have questions on the eligibility of a project or questions in general, please contact Ed Boito, Pa. DEP small business ombudsman, at (717) 783-0909 or email [email protected].

View the
newsletter online!

Table of Contents...

1. President's Perspective
2. Executive Opinion
3. POMA District 8 Winter Seminar Registration Open
4. POMA ISMIE Affinity Program
5. Government Affairs
6. The District Dish
7. Call for Poster Abstracts
8. POMAF Scholarships
9. How Are You DOing?
10. Small Business Grants Available
11. Your Input is Needed
12. Upcoming District Events
13. Upcoming PGYP Meetings
14. Work at the Top of Your License Webinar Series
15. Classified Advertisements
16. POMPAC
17. Educate Your Staff and Patients on the New Medicare Card
18. CMS Releases 2019 Physician Fee Schedule

Your Input is Needed!

The Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (BOS) has proposed changes to the CME requirements. There is an open public comment period through December 19, 2018, for 2019-2021 CME Guide. 

Upcoming District Events 

Please address all correspondence for POMA Box Letters to: 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

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!

   

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.

Educate Your Staff and Patients on the New Medicare Card

CMS is providing resources that you can either order or print off with the latest information on the new Medicare Cards. Products available include:

• Still Waiting for Your New Card? tear-off sheets (Product #12023)
• Poster,11”x17” (Product  #12009-P)
• Pad of 50 You're Getting a New Medicare Card! tear-off sheets, 4”x 5.25” ( Product #12006)
• Flyer, 8.5”x11” (Product # 12002)

There is also an informational video you can use. Play the one-minute New Medicare Cards Are Coming! video in your waiting room, so your Medicare patients know when and how they will receive the new card.

Remember: To ensure people with Medicare continue to get health care services, continue to use the Health Insurance Claim Number through December 31, 2019, or until your patient brings in their new card with the new number.

 CMS Releases 2019 Physician Fee Schedule

CMS recently released the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule for calendar year 2019 that includes updates to payment policies, payment rates and quality provisions for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.  The AOA worked with CMS to avert a 50 percent pay cut for OMT codes billed with an E/M visit appended with Modifier 25 and delayed implementation of E/M policy changes.  The final rule will be published next week in the Federal Register.  CMS will accept comments until December 31, 2018.

Patrick Hamilton from CMS’ Philadelphia Regional Office will be presenting a lecture on the final rule for the 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule at the POMA District 8 Winter Seminar.  Click here for additional details. 

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