Weekly Roundup: In Case You Missed It
COVID-19 By the Numbers (as of 10/09/20)
Don't Forget to Vote in the 2020 Elections!
VoteHealth 2020 is a nonpartisan group encouraging physicians and other health care professionals to make sure they are registered to vote and do so in the 2020 elections.

Historically, physicians have voted at a lower rate than the rest of the population, so the American Medical Association is promoting the work of this group to increase physician voting. Visit the VoteHealth2020 website for more resources.
Latest $20 Billion Round of CARES Act Physician Relief Now Open
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is disbursing another $20 billion in financial relief for physician practices and other health care delivery organizations and clinicians that is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Physicians have until Nov. 6, 2020, to apply for this phase of funding.
Join ACCMA for their 152nd Annual Meeting of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association 

Join the East Bay medical community as we celebrate the152nd ACCMA Annual Meeting this year. We will honor the tremendous service of our outgoing ACCMA President, Katrina Peters, MD and install the 2021 ACCMA President Suparna Dutta, MD and other incoming officers. Although we cannot gather together in person, we are excited to come together virtually to celebrate accomplishments in the medical community.

You are invited to enjoy a virtual reception at 5:30 pm, followed by the celebration of ACCMA leaders at 6:00 pm. The ACCMA hopes you will join us for this fun event and to honor the contributions of our physician leaders.  Zoom information will be provided on our website.

Become a Sponsor and Support the Future of Medicine in Our Community
Donate to support support local medical student research projects aimed at reducing health disparities, expanding access to care, and improving community health outcomes.

PayPal link for donations to the UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint Medical Program (JMP) scholarship program fund: bit.ly/3d98ksk

If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Mullins, Education and Events Associate, at (510)654-5383 or jmullins@accma.org.
Women in Medicine: Introduction to Women Physician Peer Group Now Available On-Demand!
ACCMA and RechargedMD came together last week to discuss the many unique challenges Women Physicians face in the course of their careers: from frequent microaggressions to overt differences in salaries, promotions, and leadership roles. If you missed the program you can now access it through our learning center for FREE to all members (includes CME).

To be a part of this important discussion, click here.
County News
Contra Costa Health Services will be hosting a series of free one-day flu vaccination clinics this month, Oct. 5-30, open to county residents. No appointments are needed! Click here to see a schedule for the clinics.

The County of Alameda partnered with Glad Tidings Church in Hayward to provide free COVID-19 testing to area residents and workers. No insurance, physician referral, or immigration paper work is required. Drive-Through and Walk-Up will be at 1027 W. Tennyson Road, Hayward (South Campus).
In Other News
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidance to its How COVID-19 Spreads website, which includes information about the potential for airborne spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

The Medicare Access and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) reauthorization Act provides annual incentive payments equal to 5% of the physician's Medicare claims for physicians who participate in Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs). Physicians who participated in a Medicare Advanced APM during 2018 who believe they qualified for the 5% incentive payment but did not receive it must provide their missing billing information to CMS no later than Nov. 10, 2020.

The California Department of Public Health released a document to clarify the June 27, 2020 l 2020 Infection Mitigation in Behavioral Health Facilities – COVID-19 FAQs and provide updated recommendations for behavioral health programs to implement to make facilities safer for clients, staff, and visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ACCMA congratulates Jennifer Doudna, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UC Berkeley, for winning the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Prof. Doudna was the guest speaker at our 2016 Annual Meeting where she spoke about her discovery of the CRISPR gene-editing technology that won her the award.

Lastly, the California Department of Public Health released two flyers that can be distributed to patients: Self-isolation Instructions for Individuals Who Have or Likely Have COVID-19 – Flyer  and

What We're Reading - COVID-19 Resources and Guidance
WEBINARS & EVENTS
FREE |Tuesday, October 13, 2020 | 12:00 - 1:30 PM

Presented by California Medical Association

Best practices in COVID-19 treatment have rapidly evolved from the “wild west” of April, and this webinar focuses on the latest clinical practices and decision-making processes. Participants will also learn about  state initiatives around the management and allocation of scarce resources, including remdesivir as a case study, as well as California's convalescent plasma donation initiative.
This event will be moderated by Kimberly Newell Green, M.D.
FREE |Wednesday, October 14, 2020 | 12:15 - 1:15 PM

Presented by California Medical Association

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the federal government has loosened enforcement of regulations to allow physicians to utilize many different types of technology for telehealth visits. As many physicians begin to look to the future of their practices, they are looking to adopt a more robust telehealth platform. This webinar will walk practices through the process of selecting the right telehealth platform to fit their needs. It will discuss the different types of telehealth technology that are currently available, and what questions to ask when researching them. Physicians will come away from this presentation feeling confident about moving into the future of telehealth. 
CME Available |Thursday, October 15, 2020 | 4:00 -5:00 PM

Presented by California Medical Association

The California Medical Association (CMA) is a proud partner of Rockpointe, and this activity has been planned for clinicians who treat lung cancer patients, knowing how COVID-19 alters physiology is crucial to providing care that will ameliorate infection symptoms while not exacerbating lung cancer symptoms. Further, clinicians must be aware of factors that increase these patients' risk for COVID-19 infection, including decreased immunity due to pharmacotherapy and abnormal anatomy and cellular structure after surgery and/or radiation therapy. 
FREE CME for Members |Thursday, October 15, 2020 | 12:15 - 1:30 PM

Review some of the most critical privacy and security standards in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. In this one-hour webinar with expert practice management consultant David Ginsberg, you will receive important updates on current changes due to the COVID-19 emergency, risks associated with telehealth, who is covered, what information is protected, how you can stay secure in the Information Age, and how to avoid costly mistakes.

As the picture of COVID continues to develop, it is ever more essential to meet the needs of physicians, their families and their patients. The webinar, “When you’re going through hell, keep going,” builds on and extends the first ACCMA Wellness webinar presented by RENEW in April.

The current situation/s we face in our communities have impacted us all on a personal level. We are learning to manage toxic stress, thinking more about self-care, and reacting with inherent resilience. And many of us are working to manage these same issues in the workplace as leaders - whether that is in a small practice or a large health system. How we communicate with others and how we employ trauma informed practices within those work environments has impact - on us, on those we work with and on the people we serve. Now more than ever, we need a dialogue about trauma informed systems: how we can drive culture change in health care settings to ensure
that real healing can occur on all levels.
Thursday, November 5th | 5:30 - 6:30PM
Join the East Bay medical community as we celebrate the152nd ACCMA Annual Meeting this year. We will honor the tremendous service of our outgoing ACCMA President, Katrina Peters, MD and install the 2021 ACCMA President Suparna Dutta, MD and other incoming officers. Although we cannot gather together in person, we are excited to come together virtually to celebrate this past year’s accomplishments in the medical community.

You are invited to enjoy a virtual reception at 5:30 pm, followed by the celebration of ACCMA leaders at 6:00 pm. The ACCMA hopes you will join us for this fun event and to honor the contributions of our physician leaders. Zoom information will be provided on our website.

Become a Sponsor and Support the Future of Medicine in Our Community
Donate to support support local medical student research projects aimed at reducing health disparities, expanding access to care, and improving community health outcomes.

PayPal link for donations to the UCSF-UC Berkeley Joint Medical Program (JMP) scholarship program fund: bit.ly/3d98ksk

If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Mullins, Education and Events Associate, at (510) 654-5383 or jmullins@accma.org.
Saturday & Sunday, November 7 & 8 | 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Presented by UCDavis Health: Center for Advancing Pain Relief

This two-day event will feature expert presentations, 20-minute hot topic talks, and engaging panel discussions on the latest issues in pain management. Primary care clinicians and all other health sciences professionals with an interest in pain management are encouraged to attend. This event will be held exclusively online. Zoom information will be provided closer to the date.
ACCMA's On-Demand Library
FREE | Available On-Demand | CME Available
As women physicians, we face unique challenges over the course of our careers: from frequent microaggressions to overt differences in salaries, promotions, and leadership roles. 
Join the ACCMA and RechargedMD for an interactive introduction to the RechargedMD Women Physician Peer group! We’ll explore our experiences as women physicians, discuss how to overcome these barriers together, and make use of tools to make strides in our personal and professional development. The session is free for members (includes CME).

FREE | Available On-Demand | CME Available
Do coping strategies and self-care interventions seem to be failing you? Are you finding yourself with more work, but feeling less productive? Listen to the 3rd session of SCMS/NCMS’ Guide to Resilience series to learn about “Stress First Aid for Physicians During Unprecedented Times,” presented by Gabriela Bronson-Castain, PsyD, a clinical psychologist in the Bay Area and co-chair of the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland Medical Staff Wellbeing Committee. The session is free for members (includes CME), and knowledge of the previous sessions is not necessary to enjoy the webinar.

FREE | Available On-Demand | CME Available
This one-hour, on-demand webinar led by Angela Trapp  MSW, ACC, focuses on self-care and understanding self-preservation. Most of us were taught that being self-centered is an undesirable trait. What if the opposite was true? Could being a little more self-centered improve your well- being and restore resiliency? This presentation identifies the importance of putting SELF first and practicing the 3S Model: Self-Compassion, Self- Awareness and Self Care to continue on the pathway to well-being.

FREE | Available On-Demand
On June 13, the ACCMA hosted its first Virtual Telehealth Vendor Fair. Telehealth vendors from across California and the Nation showcased their products and services so members can evaluate what solutions will work best in their practice. Vendors include Decoded Health, Doctorgram, TigerConnect, Updox, and VSee.

FREE | Available On-Demand | CME Available
This one-hour, on-demand webinar led by Linda Hawes Clever, MD, MACP, offers practical, creative, and effective remedies to deal with the crush on personal and professional lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. It contains strategies, resources, and suggestions for handling physician wellness, as well as addressing questions and answers, as we listen and see the ingenuity, guts, and devotion with which we are addressing the harrowing challenges we all face as a profession, community, and nation. Discover how to reduce personal stress and learn healthy ways to contend with the impact of COVID-19. 

FREE | Available On-Demand | CME Available
Telehealth services are expanding rapidly during the COVID-19 crisis. In partnership with Bay Area medical associations, the ACCMA teamed up with experts to develop a comprehensive webinar series to help physicians swiftly ramp up their telemedicine capabilities, from technology to practice implementation to coding. Experts discuss choosing a telemedicine platform; compliance; privacy and security considerations; billing and payment; policies, procedures, and workflow; informing your patients; and malpractice. Physicians who have experience practicing telemedicine share their practical reflections.

FREE | Available On-Demand
Medical offices and practices are essential businesses and were not required to close, but many physicians have faced difficulties with staffing, incorporating Telemedicine into their practices, ensuring waiting rooms are safe, etc. Sessions include "Getting Back Up and Running Safely," "HR and Employment Issues," and "Telemedicine and Reimbursement."
CMA On-Demand Library
FREE | Available On-Demand
QUESTIONS/CONCERNS?
Please contact ACCMA at 510-654-5383 or accma@accma.org with any questions or concerns you have.