Volume 6, Issue 11 │March 18, 2022
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Controlled Substance License Holders: Ensure Your Registration with Prescription Monitoring Program
In compliance with state law, the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program (ILPMP) will be working with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to ensure all Ilinois controlled substance licensees are registered with the ILPMP. ODs who have been identified as not registered with ILPMP will be sent a letter notifying them that they must register. The list of non-registered controlled substance license holders will be shared with IDFPR for further disciplinary action, if needed.
Not sure if you're registered? ILPMP has a list of FAQs to assist doctors in finding if they have a profile and how to use the system. For more information on ILPMP, please email Jackie DeNardo and Jen Erickson with the ILPMP program .
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License Renewal Portal Now Open
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) has now opened the renewal portal for optometrists. Additionally, DFPR will pass a variance extending the license renewal deadline until May 31, 2022. IOA has published FAQs on how to renew under the updated license renewal process.
Please note: IDFPR's system is currently bogged down with several professions trying to renew their licenses causing errors in the renewal process. Consider trying to renew your license during off-hours (early morning or late at night) when there is less traffic on the website.
Click here to read the FAQs before renewing your license.
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IOA Webinar: Licensing & Credentialing for the New Graduate
On Thursday, March 24, the IOA will host a pop-up webinar for new graduates to assist them in applying for their Illinois license. The webinar will also cover how a new doctor can begin the credentialing process.
What: New Grad Licensing & Credentialing Webinar
When: Thursday, March 24, 7:30pm
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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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Third-Party Committee Update: Updated Medicaid Fee Schedule
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Welcome New IOA/AOA Members
The IOA would like to welcome the following new members who recently joined the IOA/AOA:
Liad Ganz Pearlman, O.D.
North Suburban Optometric Society
Karina Fulton, O.D.
Chicago North Side Optometric Society
Edward Montwill, O.D.
West Central Optometric Society
Sarah Dohrman, O.D.
Southwestern IL Optometric Society
Welcome to the IOA!
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Welcome, Kian Dzubur!
Congratulations to North Suburban Optometric Society President Dr. Haris Dzubur and his wife Elvira on the birth of their second child, Kian Dzubur. Mother and baby are both doing well. Congratulations to the Dzubur family!
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Do you have an update you would like to include in InSight? Let us know! Email your news to katie@ioaweb.org.
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Political Fundraiser - Congressman Rodney Davis
Dr. Vince Brandys will be hosting a political fundraiser for Congressman Rodney Davis on Wednesday, April 13 at the IOA office in Springfield, IL. The fundraiser will run from 6-7pm and attendees are suggested to contribute $250 to Congressman Davis' campaign. To RSVP for the event, email Dr. Brandys at vbrandys23@gmail.com or call 312-259-2323. |
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POLL: Do you close your office for lunch?
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Check out the newest IOA classifieds here!
Fill-in Optometrist needed in Palatine, Il. I am looking for an OD to fill-in June 17-18. ( Read more)
Full-Time Position for Medical Optometrist Rockford, IL. Full time optometry position. ( Read more)
Perfect Opportunity! Heartland Vision is looking for an Optometrist interested in full time and/or part time employment in Kokomo, Indiana. ( Read more) |
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HFS: IMPACT Single Sign-On Migration to New ILogin System
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services issued a notice informing providers of a new Single Sign-On tool for the IMPACT system. The new ILogin system requires every user logging into the system to have a unique email address and will require a Multi0Factor Authentication upon login. Current IMPACT users will sign in with their existing credentials to complete a one-time account conversion to the ILogin system. The Department notes that the IMPACT system will be unavailable between 6:00pm, Tuesday, March 22 through 11am, Saturday, March 26.
HFS is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, March 23 at 1:00pmto help users in setting up their new ILogin account. Follow the link below to register.
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Eight Republicans and Two Democrats Will Run for Governor
WBEZ reports that after Monday's deadline to run for office, eight candidates have officially filed to run for Illinois Governor. GOP candidates include state Sen. Darren Bailey, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, Emily Johnson, Gary Rabine, former state Sen. Paul Schimpf, Keisha Smith, Max Solomon, and Jesse Sullivan. On the Democratic ticket, Gov. J.B. Pritzker will face a primary challenge from Beverly Miles. Candidates for statewide office had to secure 3,250 signatures from registered voters in order to file for candidacy. It's unclear now whether all candidates will remain on the ballot - the deadline to challenge a petition is next Monday. Primary candidates will be certified by the State Board of Elections on April 21.
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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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Reminder: Executive Order on Vaccine/Testing Mandate
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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Public Health Officials Announce 7,467 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease Over the Past Week
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 7,467 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 123 deaths since March 11, 2022.
Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 3,053,185 cases, including 33,198 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since March 11, 2022, laboratories have reported 596,385 specimens for a total of 56,328,379. As of last night, 528 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 88 patients were in the ICU and 35 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from March 11-17, 2022 is 1.3%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from March 11-17, 2022 is 1.2%.
A total of 21,273,924 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 8,104 doses. Since March 11, 2022, 56,726 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois’ total population, more than 76% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 68% of Illinois’ total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 49% boosted according to data from the
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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AOA and South Carolina Doctors Expose and Defeat Retail Lobby Group’s Influence Scheme
For state associations and the AOA, advocating for optometry practices and patients and serving as the most trusted health care policy resource for lawmakers is a round-the-clock undertaking. The importance of these efforts is being reinforced as South Carolina’s doctors of optometry and the AOA are facing off against a lobby group that deceptively implies it represents doctors of optometry when in fact it works on behalf of large optical retailers.
In February, the National Association of Optometrists and Opticians (NAOO), the misleadingly named group known for its claims to represent doctors of optometry, sent a letter to the House Regulations and Administrative Procedures Committee in the South Carolina legislature unilaterally calling for specific changes it wanted to rules affecting optometric practices and doctors of optometry across the state. For instance, it called a portion of practice sanitary standards “impractical” while also seeking elimination of references to monitoring and testing when referring to cleaning and disinfecting office equipment. The NAOO also urged elimination of language regarding recordkeeping of sanitation efforts and deemed “unnecessary” a requirement that optometrists provide parents of minor children “an information sheet” that summarizes services provided during visits.
Although the NAOO cited itself as representing “thousands of employed and affiliated optometrists and opticians,” the letter was not signed by a doctor, nor did it include a reference to any related finding of or view expressed by a doctor.
One legislator at first thought the letter detailed the view of a national organization representing doctors of optometry. Others were facing similar confusion until the South Carolina Optometric Physicians Association (SCOPA) doctors and staff, who actively monitor the state capital and make certain that only doctors represent the profession, learned of the letter and weighed in with accurate information. After rounds of fact-checking meetings in the state capital led by SCOPA, the AOA also took action by renewing its insistence on a government inquiry into the operations of the NAOO through a March 7 letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
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Sixty Percent Of Malpractice Claims Against Optometrists Result From Poor Documentation, Presenters Say
Healio (3/16, Hemphill) reports, “Sixty percent of malpractice claims result from poor documentation, according to” research presented at an optometry meeting. Katie Gilbert Spear, OD, JD, MPH, said, “It’s not that we did anything wrong; we just didn’t document what we did,” while co-presenter April Jasper, OD, FAAO, stated, “Most commonly, a ‘failure to timely diagnose’ was not the result of lack of clinical judgment or expertise,” but rather, it “was the result of the failure to follow up on a test result, missed appointment or telephone message.” The presenters advised optometrists to “implement a process in their practice to protect themselves.”
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THANK YOU TO OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS! |
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