They Said It...
"Nanotechnologies, biosensors, robotics and especially artificial intelligence (AI) will saturate our profession and take over health care in the not-too-distant future. We must be at the table and not on the menu to determine where these technologies fit into the profession and the proper care of patients." Dr. Michael DellaVecchia, past PCMS President and past PAMED President, discussing advanced technologies and the future of medicine. You can read more in our Winter 2022 edition of Philadelphia Medicine magazine.
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Things you should know... |
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Let’s make telehealth services permanent |
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Tell Congress to make expanded access to covered telehealth services permanent. Most Medicare beneficiaries will abruptly lose access to these services when the public health emergency ends. Many physician practices have now built successful telehealth systems that are making health care more accessible and convenient for their patients. The AMA supports legislation that would permanently fix the originating site and geographic restriction on telehealth coverage for Medicare patients, thereby ensuring patients can continue to access Medicare telehealth services regardless of where they are located. Please urge your members of Congress today to support cosponsor H.R. 1332/S. 368, the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2021, H.R. 2903/S. 1512. Find your elected officials by using this address-based lookup tool, available here: https://live.cicerodata.com/
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Online physician support group |
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LiveWell Physicians is a peer-led support group for mental health & living well. All support groups are anonymous (first names only), confidential (no reporting or records kept); and facilitated by trained volunteer peers with shared experience of managing mental health issues, recovery, and living well. The group session looks to develop positive coping skills for: stress, anxiety, burnout, depression, substance use, and more. Online Support Groups are every Thursday from 7:00 - 8:15 PM (EST). You can submit a confidential registration form here.
Please note that this program does not provide emergency mental health support. If you and/or a colleague are in crisis or afraid of hurting yourself (or others), call 1-800-273-8255 or text 'TALK' to 741741.
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Health alert on “Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Settings” |
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The PA Department of Health’s guidance has been updated based on currently available information about COVID-19 and the current situation in Pennsylvania. It applies to all persons regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, unless otherwise indicated. Major additions and edits in this version include:
- For instances where the term “fully vaccinated” was previously used to guide infection prevention and control measures, a person must instead be “up to date” with all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses.
- Clarified how quarantine and isolation periods apply to visitors. To enter healthcare facilities, visitors should follow timeframes as described for patients in this healthcare guidance (typically 10 days).
- Revised guidance for ending Transmission-Based Precautions for patients with suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. For symptomatic and asymptomatic patients who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, a test-based strategy and (if available) consultation with an infectious disease specialist is recommended to determine when these patients can be released from isolation.
Additions are written in red. For additional questions about this PA DOH guidance, please call (1-877-724-3258).
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AMA’s toolkit to help racial and health equity |
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As the commitment to advance health equity and racial equity grows across many sectors, physicians in medium and large health systems may wonder how best to pursue these goals through their day-to-day work. The new AMA STEPS Forward™ toolkit “Racial and Health Equity: Concrete STEPS for Health Systems,” developed in collaboration with HealthBegins, offers five steps to advancing health equity for clinicians, patients, and the communities served. “Racial and Health Equity: Concrete STEPS for Health Systems” helps motivated leaders develop a shared understanding and commitment, set data-driven goals, and embark on a journey of continuous learning and improvement for racial justice and health equity.
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There’s still time to nominate your colleagues for an award |
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Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized for their devotion to the practice of medicine? Consider nominating them for one of our annual awards:
Strittmatter Award: Since 1923, the award has honored a PCMS physician who has demonstrated to the Society the most valuable contributions to the healing art, surgical or medical. Requirements: A physician colleague should submit a nominating letter and include the candidate’s current curriculum vitae.
Practitioner of the Year Award: Presented to a PCMS member for excellence in patient care and community service. Requirements: Physician colleagues, medical students and staff may send letters of nomination. Please include examples of community service.
The Dr. Vanitha Appadorai Vaidya Award for Humaneness in Medicine: Presented to a PCMS resident/fellow physician for his/her exceptional ability to work with people, patients, and their families, and for his/her understanding of human as well as clinical needs. Requirements: Medical students, physicians and professional staff are urged to submit nominating letters and include written examples of their nominee’s humaneness.
Cristol Award: Presented to a PCMS physician member who has made a significant contribution to the Society by furthering and enhancing the educational, scientific and charitable goals, purposes and functions of organized medicine. Requirements: Physicians and medical students are encouraged to submit nominating letters.
Send your nomination letters to [email protected]. For more information, call Eileen Ryan at 215-563-5344.
You may also mail your letters to:
Award Chair, c/o PCMS, 2100 Spring Garden St., Philadelphia, PA 19130.
Nomination deadline is Friday, March 4, 2022.
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What’s up with the mask mandate in Philly? |
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The Philadelphia Department of Public Health officials say they are not ready to drop the indoor mask mandate yet. "While our case counts continue to rapidly drop, there are still hundreds of Philadelphians testing positive for COVID every day, and hundreds of people are still hospitalized. Given the outsized effect this virus has had on our Black and Brown communities, we are not comfortable stopping a mandate that has done so much to protect folks."
PDPH is working on metrics to determine when the indoor mask mandate can be dropped, please stay tuned. For the latest PDPH COVID-19 data, visit their Coronavirus information page.
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Infant COVID-19 vaccine on hold for now |
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday, Feb 11 announced it was pushing back a meeting scheduled for next week where a panel of experts would have decided whether to endorse the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine for infants since new data has emerged. The meeting would have evaluated whether two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine shot should be authorized for children aged six months through four years, even though clinical trials are still evaluating whether three shots are needed.
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New book on corporate medicine |
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Rheum for Improvement: The Evolution of a Health-Care Advocate is a physician's account of how corporate medicine has transformed health care from a human interaction between a patient and their physician into a business transaction between a consumer and a provider. Written by Dr. Mark Lopatin, member of the Pennsylvania Medical Society Board of Trustees, it addresses many of the advocacy issues that are compromising the ability of physicians to provide proper care such as documentation, scope of practice, maintenance of certification, and prior authorization.
To learn more or if you would like to purchase the book, click here.
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Child Abuse Prevention Training Program
Date: Thursday, March 3
Time: 7 to 9 p.m. ET
Our upcoming Child Abuse Prevention Training Program for the 2022 licensing cycle will be taking place on Mar. 3. All physicians renewing their license are required to submit documentation to verify the completion of at least two hours of approved continuing education in child abuse recognition. The program will be conducted as a Zoom video conference.
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An Action Plan for Reducing Opioid Overdose Deaths
Date: Friday, March 4
Time: 12 to 1 p.m. ET
A free virtual program hosted by Penn LDI, a panel of experts will discuss the impact of the pandemic on the opioid epidemic and outline innovative approaches for reducing the toll of the opioid epidemic.
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Colorectal Cancer: Screening, Early Detection and Risk Reduction
Date: Tuesday, March 8
Time: 7 to 8 p.m. ET
This program will outline the rationale for the new colorectal cancer screening guidelines and also discuss the risk factors that may contribute to colorectal cancer development
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Negotiating and Understanding your Employment Contract
Date: Tuesday, March 15
Time: 7 to 8 p.m. ET
This webinar will focus on understanding the basic terms of most employment agreements and will examine specific contract clauses, what the legal terms mean in a practical sense, and why they matter.
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Inflammatory Brain Disorders Conference
Date: Friday, May 20 to Saturday, May 21
Stanford University School of Medicine is offering a virtual Inflammatory Brain Disorders Conference on May 20-21, 2022 via webcast. The focus is both pediatric and adult patients. CME credit is available to all live attendees. To learn more, visit www.neuroimmune.org.
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