Newsletter: Family Doc Testifies at Legislative Hearing

MISSISSIPPI ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS

Newsletter - October 1, 2021

Family Physician Lampton Testifies on Telemedicine at Joint Insurance Hearing

Legislators asked family physicians to tell their telemedicine story at a Sept. 21 joint meeting of the Mississippi Senate and House Insurance Committees. Luke Lampton, MD, FAAFP, of Magnolia, a MAFP past president, testified on behalf of the Academy.

Legislative leaders sought input from physicians as they update the laws regarding telemedicine and regulate reimbursement rates. Other physician groups spoke at the hearing, and a handful of family physicians were present to support the Academy, including President Dr. Carlos Latorre of Vicksburg, Secretary Dr. John Vanderloo of Jackson, and Board Member Dr. Emily Landrum of Starkville.

"You, our legislative leadership, have an opportunity to get telehealth right," Dr. Lampton testified before the committee. "Craft the rules to improve and support the medical home of patients, but don’t let it fragment a patient’s care by allowing corporate medicine to cherry-pick visits and disrupt a family physician’s attempt to provide full-spectrum, high-quality care within an established relationship."

Lampton's testimony suggested several solutions regarding telemedicine law:

reimbursement for audio-only telemedicine visits should be limited to established patients
reimbursement should not be limited to one telehealth network, but could reasonably be grouped by geography or established patient population
telemedicine should not be used to conduct well-child visits
telemedicine visits that require the same level of work and incur the same level of liability as in-person visits should be reimbursed at parity with an in-person visit

"I advise caution in allowing unrestricted access to telemedicine and telemedicine parity," Lampton said in testimony. "Strengthening telemedicine as an important and flexible tool to be used in an established patient relationship will dramatically improve health outcomes."

CME on the Coast Conference Next Weekend

MAFP is getting ready for next weekend's CME on the Coast conference, scheduled for October 8-10, at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL. Registration is still open, but the hotel room block is sold out and there is a waiting list for rooms.

Schedule of Events

Attendees List as of 10.1.21

Exhibitors List as of 10.1.21

Scope of Practice to be Discussed at AAFP State Legislative Conference; Patterson to Speak

Registration is open for the AAFP's State Legislative Conference, to be held virtually this year Thursday and Friday, Oct. 21-22, from 11 am to 5 pm each day. Registration fee is $75. There is a particular focus this year on these five issues:

Primary Care Spend
Scope of Practice
Administrative Burden
Medicaid
COVID-19

At the conference, Dr. Katie Patterson of Indianola (pictured), MAFP Advocacy Committee Chair and a MAFP past president, will lead a 45-minute session to inform other states about Mississippi's Scope of Practice issue.

Be a Leader: Apply for an AAFP Commission

Nomination forms for AAFP Commissions are available now until October 15. From applicants, the AAFP Board of Directors appoints family physicians to serve on the seven AAFP commissions, including:

Commission on Continuing Professional Development
Commission on Education
Commission on Finance and Insurance
Commission on Federal and State Policy
Commission on Health of the Public and Science
Commission on Membership & Member Services
Commission on Quality and Practice

Board-appointed commission members inform policy recommendations, develop new programs and projects, and streamline action. Read more here.

ABFM Making Alternative to

Certification Test Permanently Available

The American Board of Family Medicine has decided to make its Family Medicine Certification Longitudinal Assessment (FMCLA) permanent beginning in 2022.

The decision follows a pilot project that received overwhelmingly positive feedback. ABFM will still offer its one-day certification exam, and the cut score for the FMCLA assessment will continue to have the same rigorous standard as the exam.

In order for FMCLA to count for a physician's examination requirement, he or she must answer 300 questions over a 4-year time period. The platform delivers 25 questions each quarter to diplomates, providing the flexibility of completing the process in 3 years. Other highlights include:

Questions can be completed at the place and time of your choice
You may use clinical references during the assessment, much like you do in practice
You will not need to travel to a test center, nor spend additional time and money on preparatory courses

The ABFM has more information and a short tutorial online.

Miss Mississippi Holly Brand Educates Schoolchildren About Dangers of Tobacco

Holly Brand of Meridian, Miss Mississippi 2021-22, travels the state as a Tar Wars ambassador, educating 4th and 5th graders about the dangers of tobacco and vaping.

Brand's Tar Wars programs - 20 during a school year - are made possible by a grant from the MAFP Foundation. Her visual presentation materials include a powerpoint presentation, a model of a healthy lung versus a smoker' lung, and cleaning products that represent chemicals in cigarettes. Brand also uses a MAFP logo banner as she sets up her presentations, and tags MAFP whenever she posts about her school visits.

This past month, Brand has already visited Puckett Elementary, McLaurin Elementary, Northeast Lauderdale Elementary, and more are scheduled. Use this link to request a visit from Miss Mississippi to your local school.

'Physician Health First' Site Seeks to Help Docs With Their Own Mental Health

The AAFP Physician Health First website seeks to help physicians in crisis by providing helpful articles and advice, a mental health self-check quiz, a planning tool for improving your well-being, and more.

The site is devoted to improving the well-being and professional satisfaction of family physicians by addressing the causes of physician burnout, including the broken U.S. health care system, the organizations employing physicians, the practice environment, individual well-being, and a physician culture of self-sacrifice over self-care.

AAFP Releases Vaccine Confidence Courses

Worth Up to 20 Hours of CME Credit

Today, Oct. 1, AAFP has released: Improving Vaccine Confidence: An Educational Series aiming to help physicians overcome vaccine hesitancy among their patients. Physicians can earn up to 20 hours of credit for participation. In addition to a half-day virtual conference on Nov. 30 from 1-5:45 pm, AAFP will host 3 other livestream courses including: