Volume 6, Issue 16 │April 22, 2022
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Vision Awareness Scout Program
Last week, Dr. Brigette Colley's office hosted girl scout troops in their office as they earned their Vision Awareness Badge. 12 Girl Scouts earned their vision awareness patch by participating in five stations: pre-testing, Optomap, exam room tools, optical dispensing and adjusting, and contact lenses.
Interested in hosting a Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop visit in your office?
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Click here for a packet to assist you in reaching out to troops in your local area.
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Click here to request Vision Awareness Patches from the IOA.
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Arctic Dx to Continue Offering Weekly COVID-19 Testing
Offices utilizing Arctic Dx's weekly in-office COVD testing program recently received a notice that the program would be discontinued. After several offices reached out, Arctic Dx has chosen to continue the program into at least early June, when they will re-evaluate the need for the program.
As a reminder, the Executive Order mandating that all health care workers must either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly (at minimum) testing for COVID-19 is still in effect. Employers must either maintain proof of vaccination status or proof of weekly negative COVID-19 tests in their personnel files.
Click here for a Q&A issued by the Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Click here for information about a COVID-19 saliva testing program through ArcticDX
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Report illegal and unsafe contact lens sales to the FDA & FTC
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2022 Medicare Fee Schedules
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Labor Law Poster - 2022 Updates |
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Share Your Stories
Have you found a systemic disease in a patient that had not yet been diagnosed? Have you noticed a tumor, diabetes, hypertension, or some other condition that may have otherwise gone unnoticed? We want to share your story! Every day, optometrists are able to see systemic disease through a routine comprehensive eye exam and can help patients find a diagnosis. Help us tell optometry's story by sharing yours at the link below.
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Future Optometric Doctors Program
ICO 4th Year student Connor Robbs hosted his first "Future Optometric Doctors Program" on March 31 which welcomed high school students interested in medicine to the ICO campus where they learned about optometry. 12 students from Providence St. Mel attended and 10 of them have reached out for summer jobs or shadowing experiences.
If you have any individual high school students or high schools in general that want to provide an exposure opportunity in medicine/optometry, you are encouraged to contact Connor Robbs at crobbs89@gmail.com to set up a program in the future. In addition, if you practice in the Chicagoland area and need summer help, you are encouraged to contact Connor for him to connect you with intelligent, driven high school students.
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Welcome New IOA Members!
The IOA would like to extend a warm welcome to the following new members of the Illinois Optometric Association:
Elizabeth Casper, O.D.
South Suburban Optometric Society
Javeria Azhar, O.D.
West Suburban Optometric Society
Jenny Geevarghese, O.D.
West Suburban Optometric Society
Dana Hobi, O.D.
Chicago North Side Optometric Society
Molly Guithues, O.D.
Mid-State Optometric Society
Welcome to the IOA!
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License Renewal Portal Open through May 31, 2022
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) has extended the license renewal deadline until May 31, 2022. IOA has published FAQs on how to renew under the updated license renewal process.
Doctors who did not receive an email from IDFPR with their username and password should follow the MATCH instructions posted here.
To begin the renewal process:
After logging in to your profile, click on "My Account". Then click "Create/Continue a Renewal".
Click here to read the FAQs before renewing your license.
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ANNUAL MEETING SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT
Ansel Johnson, O.D.
"Life-Changing Optometric Management of Those at Risk and Living with Diabetes"
Raise your level of optometric care for your patients at risk or living with diabetes with the latest clinical tools and standards of care. Expanded knowledge of current technology and systemic manifestations of diabetes. Optometric management of some conditions of co-morbidity that also more greatly impact those at risk and living with diabetes and being a part of the patient healthcare team managing their wellness
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Check out the newest IOA classifieds here!
All About Eyes currently seeking a motivated, dynamic optometrist to join our established practice. ( Read more)
Greenspan Optometric is looking to add a full or part time Doctor of Optometry to our busy private practice on Mondays and Tuesdays ( Read more)
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Illinois Receives Credit Rating Boost
The State Journal-Register reports that Illinois received a credit rating upgrade from Moody's Investors Service on Thursday. It marks the second credit rating boost since this time last year and can affect how easily the state can borrow money. Moody's gave Illinois a rating of Baa1, the eighth-highest on a scale of 21. "There's more work to be done, but step by step, rung by rung, we are steadily climbing the ladder out of a hole that was dug over decades," said Gov. Pritzker during a press conference on Thursday. Despite the boost, "Illinois continues to have the lowest rated general obligation bonds of any state." |
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Masks Continue to be Required in Healthcare
In a February 28 Executive Order, the Pritzker administration outlined settings where masks would continue to be required, which includes healthcare settings.
The governor's press release outlines the following situations where masking will continue to be required:
- Healthcare Settings
- Long Term Care Facilities
- Congregate Settings (prisons, shelters, etc.)
- On planes, trains, buses, and other forms of public transportation and in transportation hubs such as airports, and train and bus stations
Masking requirements are also outlined in an FAQ here.
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Public Health Officials Announce 19,551 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease Over the Past Week
IDPH has Begun Sending Vaccination & Booster Reminder Text Messages to 2.5 Million Illinoisans With Records in I-CARE
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 19,551 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including 58 deaths since April 15, 2022.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,114,036 cases, including 33,568 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois since the beginning of the pandemic.
As of last night, 613 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 82 patients were in the ICU and 26 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. The preliminary seven-day statewide case rate is 153 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 Illinoisans.
IDPH officials noted that the case rate has been slowly rising in the state and that although hospitalizations and deaths are relatively stable, four Illinois counties are now rated by the CDC as having a Medium Community Level. These counties are DuPage, Champaign, McLean and Piatt. At the Medium Community Level, persons who are elderly or immunocompromised (at risk of severe outcomes) are advised to wear a mask in indoor public places.
The State of Illinois remains strongly positioned to respond in the event of a new COVID-19 surge. The State stockpile of tests has been replenished, with more than 1.5 million rapid tests on hand, and a half a million more on the way. In addition, hospitals, schools, and long-term care facilities have been urged to take steps to increase their current testing capacity.
The State is also supporting pharmacies and healthcare providers in efforts to increase their inventories of the various FDA-authorized treatments.
IDPH advises members of the public to talk to their provider immediately if they test positive for COVID-19 so that COVID-19 treatment can be prescribed if necessary within five days of starting to feel sick.
A total of 21,760,073 vaccines have been administered in Illinois. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 17,703 doses. Since April 15, 2022, 123,921 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, more than 76% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, more than 68% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and almost 51% of the vaccinated population is boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data indicates that the risk of hospitalization and severe outcomes from COVID-19 is much higher for unvaccinated people than for those who are up to date on their vaccinations.
IDPH also announced today it has started sending text messages to some 2.5 million Illinois residents in the coming weeks to remind them they are due for a COVID-19 vaccination or a booster shot. The messages are being sent to people who have their vaccination records in the Illinois Comprehensive Automated Immunization Registry Exchange (I-CARE), a web-based immunization record-sharing application developed by IDPH that allows healthcare providers to share the immunization records of Illinois residents with other physicians statewide.
The link takes the recipient to a web page that provides information about how to locate a vaccination provider. If recipients would like to opt out of future COVID-19 vaccine reminder texts, they can reply “stop.”
“The most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and our loved ones from severe health outcomes from COVID-19 is to remain up-to-date with our vaccinations,” said IDPH Acting Director Amaal Tokars. “These text alerts will provide those whose records are included in I-CARE an important reminder that they are due for a vaccination shot or a booster. This is especially important for those who are at higher risk for serious outcomes.”
Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to www.vaccines.gov.
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What Do ODs Need to Know About the Cures Act & Information Blocking?
Drs. Joe DeLoach and Peter Cass of Practice Compliance Solutions recently wrote an article on what ODs need to know about the federal Cures Act and information blocking. Information blocking is defined as anything that interferes with, prevents, or materially discourages access, exchange, or use of electronic health information (EHI). While compliance with the Cures Act mostly falls on EHR developers, healthcare providers are still bound by requirements to release all health care information to patients upon their request.
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Blast from the Past Contest for Students
The Optometric Historical Society invites all optometry students to submit an entry about an influential person, event, or development in Optometry History in any form of media. The top three finalists will present at Optometry’s Meeting and compete for cash prizes!
Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, May 11, at 11:59pm CDT.
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PRF RP1 Late-Reporting Window Available for Extenuating Circumstances
During this process, a provider will choose which extenuating circumstance(s) prevented them from meeting the reporting deadline. Allowable reasons include:
- Severe illness or death.
- Impacted by natural disaster.
- Lack of receipt of reporting communications.
- Failure to click “submit.”
- Internal miscommunication or error.
- Incomplete Targeted Distribution payments.
Providers who wish to submit a Request to Report Late Due to Extenuating Circumstances Form for RP1 should do the following:
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Complete registration in the PRF Reporting Portal prior to submitting request.
- Submit a Request to Report Late Due to Extenuating Circumstances Form by the deadline.
- If HRSA approves the request, you have 10 days to proceed with completing the RP1 report.
Note: HRSA says providers will also have an opportunity to submit a Request to Report Late Due to Extenuating Circumstances for RP2, if applicable, in the coming weeks. The RP2 deadline was March 31.
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THANK YOU TO OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS! |
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