PULSE is our electronic publication emailed weekly to keep physicians' practices up to date with time sensitive information.
September 10, 2020
KCMS is Looking for Members to Serve on Our Nominations Committee
It's that time of year when we elect new members to the KCMS Board of Directors. We are looking for volunteers from our membership to serve on the Nominations Committee. If you are willing to serve on the Nominations Committee or you are interested in being nominated for the Board of Directors, please email Chrisy at cmuchow@kms.org on or before September 18!
ASK THE GOVERNOR TO VETO NP SCOPE BILL! - It's still on his desk!
AB 890 (Wood) is a dangerous bill that would undermine physician-led care and could create a lower tier of care for low-income patients. This bill passed the Legislature on the final night of this year’s legislative session and will await action from Governor Newsom this month.
 
Physicians are urged to contact the Governor and ask him to protect patient safety and VETO AB 890.
 


The Stats are In! PPE Events Throughout the State Were a Success!
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) has compounded the hardships for medical practices and hindered their ability to provide care for Californians.
To alleviate the strain on practices and improve patient access to care, the California Medical Association (CMA) mobilized with the Kern County Medical Society (KCMS), county medical societies across the state, the state of California and Altais to bring more than 40 million pieces of PPE—including medical-grade masks, gloves and gowns—to physicians free of charge, so that they can safely provide care for California residents.
In Kern County alone, KCMS/CMA distributed 205 boxes of PPE. That means $1,025,000 worth of PPE was given to Kern County physicians, at no charge to them, to jumpstart and restart efforts to provide care to the residents of our communities.
Local Doctor Looking to Share Space
John B. Schlaerth, MD has office space available at 2011 19th Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301. The office is 1730 square feet. There are 2 exam rooms, 2 doctors offices, 2 file rooms, a laboratory, a break room, 2 bathrooms and a small waiting room. We are looking for someone who would like to share the costs, office times flexible (2 1/2 to 4 days per week and/or Saturdays & Sundays). If interested, please contact Louise Denning at 661-326-1401 or 661-932-7974, for more information.
REINVENTING YOUR PRACTICE IN THE MIDST OF COVID
The Central Valley Medical Societies have partnered to bring you:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
5PM-6PM
LIVE WEBINAR

Debra Phairas, President Practice & Liability Consultants

There will be many operational, HR and telemedicine/technology changes needing to be implemented to re-invent the "New Normal." New staffing and practice operations changes are necessary and "thinking outside the box" is imperative.

Advanced registration is required. Space is limited.
FREE for Physician and/or 1 Staff Member
Upcoming FREE CMA Webinars
Lung Cancer and COVID-19 in the Outpatient Setting: What Clinicians Need to Know *CME Available

September 15, 2020 | 1:00PM - 2:00PM


Telehealth Series for Small and Medium Sized Practices: (Pt. 3) The Patient Experience

September 16, 2020 | 12:00PM - 1:00PM


Obesity and COVID-19 in the Outpatient Setting: What Clinicians Need to Know *CME Available

September 17, 2020 | 4:00PM - 5:00PM

CMA seeks nominations for Workforce Advisory Council
The California Medical Association (CMA) is seeking physicians to volunteer their time and expertise towards creating new cultural and linguistic competency standards, supporting educational loan repayment and expanding graduate medical education. Each effort supports California’s physician workforce while further improving patient care. We currently have three opportunities:
  • Cultural and Linguistic Competency
  • Educational Loan Repayment
  • Graduate Medical Education
DCA again extends physician licensing waivers
The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has extended two waivers that give flexibility to physicians with expiring licenses.

Under the new waiver extension, physicians with licenses that expire between March 31, 2020, and October 31, 2020, will have six months after the public health emergency is lifted to complete their required CME. This waiver applies to physicians licensed by the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California. More...
DMHC tells payors they must continue telehealth payment parity
On September 4, 2020, the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) issued an all plan letter (APL) reminding health plans of the continued requirement to reimburse providers at the same rate for telehealth services, including telephonic visits, as they would for services provided in person and may not subject enrollees to cost-sharing greater than the same cost-sharing if the services were provided in person. More...
California program provides funding to expand health information exchange
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has launched a new effort to boost the use of health information technology by providers.

The California Health Information Exchange Onboarding Program (Cal-HOP) will provide $50 million in funding to Qualified Health Information Organizations (QHIOs) to pay for much of the onboarding costs for providers. Cal-HOP will enable QHIOs to provide direct assistance to individual practices and hospitals that seek to leverage a health information exchange to improve care coordination, engage with public health resources, and enhance patient outcomes through the use of comprehensive clinical data. More...