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1. High school mentoring program helps turn
medical career dreams into reality
Observing a live orthopedic surgery or joining physician residents during hospital rounds might intimidate most high school students, but 24 teenagers representing 13 San Joaquin County high schools spent the past two weeks learning firsthand what it would be like to pursue a career in medicine. These students just completed the San Joaquin Medical Society’s two-week Decision Medicine program, which is dedicated to bringing unreachable opportunities to local high school students by giving them behind-the-scenes access to many renowned hospitals.
Launched in 2001, Decision Medicine strives to motivate young students to become physicians. Several alumni are nearing that goal, such as Vanessa Armendariz, who participated in the program in 2005. Vanessa now attends the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
“In 2005, I was unsure as to whether or not I wanted to pursue a career in medicine because I was convinced that since I was a low-income Latina female I would not have the resources or intellectual abilities to be successful,” says Vanessa. “After going through the program, my outlook on pursuing a career in medicine completely changed and I knew that the program would support me in my endeavors. I am now a senior at Johns Hopkins University and the Decision Medicine program has helped make my dream a reality.”
During the two-week program, which wrapped up this weekend, the students had the opportunity to not only shadow doctors but also see live surgeries, perform experiments on state-of-the-art simulation bodies, and visit most local hospitals. They also took extended trips to UC Davis Medical School, Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento, and California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco for several unique presentations, including a visit with well-known heart transplant surgeon James Avery, M.D., and his cardiac team.
Decision Medicine has been graciously funded by Kaiser Permanente and Health Plan of San Joaquin since its inception in 2001. Additionally, more than 20 other health care organizations and local businesses provide in-kind services and partner with the San Joaquin Medical Society to make this program happen.
The program has been so successful that the San Joaquin Medical Society recently received a grant from the California Endowment to bring this program to other counties. For more information about bringing Decision Medicine to your area, contact Mike Steenburgh, executive director of the San Joaquin Medical Society, at 209/952-5299 or mike@sjcms.org. Visit the Decision Medicine website to learn more about the program.
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2. New aerosol transmissible disease standards
take effect September 1
On September 1, 2010, new California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) standards take effect requiring employers to protect employees from aerosol transmissible diseases (ATDs). ATDs are those that require “droplet precautions” or “airborne infection isolation.” The new standards cover health care facilities, including hospitals, nursing facilities, clinics, medical offices, long-term care facilities, emergency services and transport providers, and other defined high-risk workplaces.
Under the new standards, covered employers are required to offer influenza, measles, mumps, rubella, Tdap, and varicella vaccines to their employees. (Currently, covered employers are only required to provide the seasonal flu vaccine.) Employees who decline these vaccines must complete declination statements. The new standards also require employers to provide powered air-purifying respirators to employees who perform high-hazard procedures.
These new standards are in addition to the standards that took effect last August that require employers to have written infection control procedures in place. The written infection control plan must include, among other things, a list of all high-hazard procedures performed in the facility, a respiratory protection plan, procedures for identifying, isolating, and transferring potentially exposed individuals, and detailed procedures to follow in the event of an exposure incident.
CMA is currently developing resources to help physicians comply with the new requirements. In the interim, visit the Department of Industrial Relations for more information.
Contact: Veronica Ramirez, 916/551-2887 or vramirez@cmanet.org.
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3. Public health officials broaden recommendations
for pertussis vaccination
With California in the midst of a whooping cough epidemic, state public health officials have broadened recommendations for those who should be immunized against the disease to include seniors and women in their childbearing years.
“We are facing what could be the worst year for pertussis that this state has seen in more than 50 years,” said Chief of the California Department of Public Health’s Center for Infectious Diseases Gilberto Chávez, M.D. “We are urging health providers to broaden their use of the pertussis vaccine and we are urging Californians to take the simple step of getting vaccinated to prevent pertussis.”
The California Medical Association has joined the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the California Academy of Family Physicians, and Kaiser Permanente in support of the CDPH’s recommendations:
In addition to the typical series of childhood pertussis immunizations, CDPH is now recommending an adolescent-adult pertussis booster vaccine (Tdap) for:
- anyone 7 years and older who is not fully immunized
- elderly patients aged 65 and older
- women of childbearing age, before, during, or immediately after pregnancy
- other people who have contact with pregnant women or infants
Pertussis has reached an epidemic level in California. For the first six months of this year, 1,496 cases of pertussis were reported, a five-fold increase from the same period last year, when only 258 cases were reported. An additional 700 possible cases of pertussis are under investigation.
Health care providers are also urged to receive the Tdap vaccine, to protect themselves and their patients.
For more information on pertussis vaccination, visit the CDPH website.
Contact: Veronica Ramirez, 916/551-2887 or vramirez@cmanet.org.
4. Bills implementing federal health reform
move through state Legislature
The first round of bills to implement state programs related to federal health care reform are moving through the Legislature. Two bills establishing the Federal Temporary High Risk Pool Program to draw down federal funding for state high-risk pools (SB 227 and AB 1887) moved swiftly through the process and were signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in late June. The California Medical Association (CMA) strongly supported both bills.
Two bills that will establish California’s health insurance exchange (AB 1602 and SB 900) are also moving along and are waiting to be heard in fiscal committees. CMA is closely monitoring these bills and will be working with legislative leaders on amendments to ensure that the health insurance exchange functions well for patients and physicians.
For more information on these and other bills of interest to physicians, see CMA’s Legislative Hot List.
Contact: Michelle Chapanian, 916/551-2054 or mchapanian@cmanet.org.
5. CMA’s POLST kit now available in Spanish
Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) last year became a legally recognized document, similar to the widely used “do not resuscitate” (DNR) orders. The POLST form, used for patients with a serious illness or whose life expectancy is a year or less, outlines a plan of care reflecting the patient’s wishes concerning medical treatment and interventions at life’s end. The POLST form complements an advance directive by turning a patient’s treatment preferences into actionable medical orders.
For more information, see the California Medical Association’s POLST kit. The kit includes legal forms and wallet identification cards, and answers frequently asked questions about end-of-life issues. CMA encourages physicians to keep a supply of forms in their offices for patient use.
POLST kits are available in both English and Spanish and can be purchased from CMA’s online bookstore. Single copies are $5 for members, $6 for nonmembers. Significant discounts are available on bulk purchases. Order 10 kits and members pay $2.13 each. Order 100 and pay just $1.53 per kit. (To receive your member discount, be sure to log in before you place the items in your shopping cart.)
Contact: Samantha Pellon, 916/551-2872 or spellon@cmanet.org.
6. CMS releases final “meaningful use” requirements for EHRs
On July 14, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule defining “meaningful use” of an electronic health record (EHR) system.
Overall, the California Medical Association (CMA) is pleased with the direction that CMS has taken in this final rule. Many of the changes that have been made to the final rule were directly responsive to CMA’s comments. The reporting requirements in the final rule are greatly simplified and physicians have more flexibility to choose measures that apply to their specialty. There are also protections for physicians practicing in areas lacking health information technology (HIT) infrastructure, such as health information exchanges and immunization registries.
For more information, join us tomorrow for a live one-hour webinar to hear an overview of the new regulation and find out what physicians and their office staff need to know to qualify for federal incentive payments. This webinar will be presented from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27. Registration is free to members and their staff. Nonmembers can register for $99. To register, visit the CMA calendar.
A summary of the final meaningful use rule is also available in the HIT resource center.
Contact: David Ford, 916/551-2554 or dford@cmanet.org.
7. Webinar: Meaningful use of EHRs
Please join us tomorrow for an important webinar, “Electronic Health Records:
Meaningful Use.” This webinar is free for California Medical Association (CMA) members and their staff and $99 for nonmembers.
Participants will hear an overview of the new meaningful use regulation and find out what physicians and their office staff need to know to qualify for federal incentive payments. This webinar will be presented from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m on Tuesday July 27. To register, visit the CMA calendar.
Contact: CMA’s member service center, 800/786-4CMA or memberservice@cmanet.org.
8. CMA Foundation annual dinner tickets now on sale
The California Medical Association Foundation’s 14th Annual President’s Reception and Awards Dinner is Sunday, October 3, at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento. Proceeds will support the CMA Foundation’s work linking physicians and their communities to raise awareness about important public health issues.
Honored at the dinner will be incoming CMA President James G. Hinsdale, M.D., and the recipients of the CMA Foundation Leadership Awards.
Tickets are on sale now for $125 per person, or $1,000 for a table of 10. Even if you will not be able to attend, please consider placing an ad in the dinner program. The foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization, and all ads are tax deductible.
For more information or to RSVP, visit the CMA Foundation's webiste.
Contact: Maria Moran, 916/779-6640 or mmoran@thecmafoundation.org.
9. Don’t miss your chance to influence CMA policy
The California Medical Association (CMA) is the largest, most influential medical organization in California, and an aggressive advocate for doctors and patients. CMA is the voice of physicians in state and federal government, in the courts, in the media, and in battles with regulators and health insurers. CMA members set the policies that guide the association’s advocacy agenda. Don’t miss the chance to influence the future of medicine in California and across the nation.
Submitting resolutions to our policy-making legislative body, the House of Delegates, is the most direct way for members to influence CMA policies on key issues. Any CMA member may author a resolution, but a delegate, alternate delegate, component medical society, or specialty delegation must submit the resolution. The deadline to submit resolutions is August 3, 2010. Detailed instructions (including required format, allowed subject matter, and submission rules), are available at CMA’s members-only website. Just click on the "HOD Home Page" link under the "House of Delegates" section. For more information on submitting a resolution, contact your county medical society.
This year’s House of Delegates is October 2-4 in Sacramento.
Contact: Roger Purdy, 916/444-5532 or rpurdy@cmanet.org.
10. Subscribe to CMA’s Press Clips
Need more news? Get daily reports on health care policy and medicine from newspapers and magazines throughout California and around the nation delivered to you by e-mail every morning. It’s free to subscribe. And you can rest assured that the California Medical Association never sells its mailing lists. Subscribe online today.
11. Featured Member Benefits
Rental car Discounts: CMA members receive discounts on car rentals from Avis and Hertz. Visit http://www.cmanet.org/benefits to find out how you can save up to 25 percent on your next car rental.
Members-only codes are needed to take advantage of these discounts. Visit the CMA website or call the member service center at 800/786-4262 (4CMA) to get your code.
For more information on these and other member benefits, visit http://www.cmanet.org/benefits or contact CMA at memberservice@cmanet.org or 800/786-4CMA.
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