Dr. Peltier elected District V chair following special election

Christopher B. Peltier, M.D., FAAP, of South Lebanon, Ohio, was elected to serve as AAP District V chair during a special election held this month.

Dr. Peltier faced Jonathan Price, M.D., FAAP, of Dublin, Ohio, in the election.

"I am honored to have the opportunity to serve and represent District V on the AAP Board of Directors,” Dr. Peltier said. “I look forward to collaborating with other board members on work that will advocate for children and the members in our District, as well as advance the health of all children."

Dr. Peltier will fulfill the term of Lia Gaggino, M.D., FAAP, of Kalamazoo, Mich., who will step down as district chair on Dec. 31, 2025.

“I planned to finish out my term at the end of 2026, however, the universe had other plans,” Dr. Gaggino said in a letter posted to the District V website. “My family is my heart, and I need to be home at this juncture in my life. I will miss serving the AAP but have made so many incredible friendships and know that our paths will cross again.”

District V includes Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.

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JOIN THE MIAAP PEDIATRIC COUNCIL

The MIAAP Pediatric Council is designed to bring together pediatricians and medical directors of managed care organizations and commercial insurance companies to collaborate in finding practical ways to promote children’s health. Ideally, changes made by the Council will lead to more appropriate coverage for pediatric services, as well as smoothly and efficiently run pediatric practices and health plan claims adjudication.

Interested in facilitating better working relationships between pediatricians and health insurance plans and to improve quality of care for children? Consider being a part of the Pediatric Council. Excellent candidates will have an interest or background in medical billing and business issues within pediatrics.

Pediatric councils have the potential to facilitate better working relationships between pediatricians and health insurance plans and to improve quality of care for children. The pediatric council is not a forum for joint contract negotiation, individual contract discussion or other fee-related concerns.

A key aspect of the Pediatric Council will be identifying and prioritizing issues for MIAAP to pursue on behalf of our members. Some issues that have already been identified include:

Better adoption of G2211 CPT Code by payers (The G2211 is an add-on code for E/M codes to reflect the extra work associated with managing the child’s health over time)
Assuring insurer policy related to vaccines is still consistent with the goal of improving immunization rates in the wake of the changes occurring at the federal level
Monitoring Medicaid proposed policy changes
BCBSM Physician Group Incentive Program and Patient Centered Medical Home
Clinical workflow and EHR integration issue
Health plan Quality Improvement efforts
Improving health plan payment policies related to prevention, including counseling for safe storage of firearms.

The schedule for the Pediatric Council is still under development but will likely consist of quarterly meetings to discuss and identify priorities with additional task specific meetings with other stakeholders as required. If you are interested in helping to shape the priorities for the MIAAP in this area, please submit your interest via this link. Feel free to forward this to any of your colleagues that you think might be interested. Should you have any questions about the Pediatric Council, or if you would like to submit an item to be reviewed please contact administrator@miaap.org

APPLY NOW

Michigan News

5 Michigan health systems defy federal vaccine panel's advice

Some of Michigan's largest health systems say they will not follow the recommendations of a federal vaccine advisory panel handpicked by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which voted in early December to change longstanding immunization guidelines and delay a first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine for infants.

Instead, five health systems — Corewell Health, Henry Ford Health, McLaren Health Care, Munson Healthcare and the University of Michigan Health — told the Detroit Free Press they will continue to provide universal hepatitis B vaccines within the first 24 hours after a child's birth.

Oakland County child diagnosed with measles, ER possible exposure site

An Oakland County child has been diagnosed with measles, the county's second measles case this year, with other people possibly exposed Dec. 7 at a Commerce Township hospital emergency room, the county health division announced Dec. 16.

People may have been exposed at DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital's emergency department between 7:20 p.m. and 11:10 p.m. Dec. 7, according to a health division release.

It said the county's measles cases have been linked to domestic and international travel. The county reported Michigan's first measles case of 2025 in March in an adult who had returned from international travel. No additional details were provided about the case involving the child.

AAP News

Concussion associated with elevated risk of suicide among youths

A retrospective study found concussions were associated with an elevated risk of suicide among youths and young adults and that subsequent concussions further elevated the risk.

Researchers sought to fill a gap in data on the risk of suicide among youths following a concussion. To do so, they used Ohio Medicaid claims and death certificates from 2011-’20 to examine outcomes for more than 400,000 people ages 5-24 diagnosed with either a concussion or an orthopedic injury (OI). The latter group was selected for comparison “to account for the influence of being in an injured state,” the authors wrote. Those who had claims for both were classified with the concussion cohort.

Results showed there were 42 suicides among 41,341 youths in the concussion group and 229 suicides among 376,171 youths in the OI group. The mean suicide age was 16.6 years.

AAP: Proposed restrictions to gender-affirming care are a ‘baseless intrusion into the patient-physician relationship’

AAP leaders are urging federal officials to rescind proposed restrictions on care for transgender youths that are unprecedented and not grounded in science.

“These rules are a baseless intrusion into the patient-physician relationship,” AAP President Susan J. Kressly, M.D., FAAP, said in a statement. “Patients, their families, and their physicians — not politicians or government officials — should be the ones to make decisions together about what care is best for them. The government’s actions today make that task harder, if not impossible, for families of gender-diverse and transgender youth.”

AAP: CDC decision on universal birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine will have ‘heartbreaking’ consequences

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will no longer recommend the universal birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, a decision AAP President Susan J. Kressly, M.D., FAAP, said would lead to more hepatitis B infections in infants and children.

“Since the ACIP voted to downgrade the recommendation for a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine, pediatricians are already reporting more parents declining to give their child this critical dose,” Dr. Kressly said after the CDC announced Tuesday it would adopt guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). “As a pediatrician, this is heartbreaking when we have a vaccine that can prevent so many infections, and it is deeply disappointing to see the continued dismissal of expertise to inform recommendations that have broad implications on the health of America's children."

The AAP continues to recommend giving newborns a dose of hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth with additional doses at 1-2 months and 6-18 months.

Pediatricians in the News

Tiffney Widner, MD

Norovirus hits Michigan families hard, spreads early this season

Pediatrician Dr. Tiffney Widner at Children’s Hospital of Michigan explains that while norovirus is not typically tested for specifically, stomach flu cases are rising.

“We usually start seeing peaks of stomach flu between November and December,” Dr. Widner said. “But this year, respiratory viruses and stomach flu are appearing earlier than expected.”

Symptoms of norovirus include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and sometimes fever.

The virus spreads easily, primarily through fecal-oral transmission, making handwashing with soap and water essential. Hand sanitizer is ineffective against norovirus.

“The airborne aspect comes into play if someone is vomiting,” Dr. Widner said. “Viral particles can spread through the air in those cases.”

The illness typically lasts two to three days. Staying hydrated is critical to avoid hospitalization. Dr. Widner advises parents to seek emergency care only if children cannot keep fluids down or symptoms persist longer than expected.

Partner Programs

This partner program is not at all affiliated with MIAAP President, Joseph Fakhoury MD.

UP-AA Study 4 | Doctor to Doctor Email

To: Pediatricians in MI

From: Joseph W Fakhoury, MD (jfakhou1@hfhs.org)

Subject: Could your patient be a good fit for this clinical research study?

Hello,

I am an investigator for UP-AA, a clinical research study you might consider for your patients who have alopecia areata.

About the UP-AA Study

UP-AA is a Phase 3 research study investigating the safety and efficacy of upadacitinib in patients with severe alopecia areata, a use it currently is not approved for. The research study will consist of three independent, randomized, blinded, and placebo-controlled research studies.

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate how safe and effective the investigational drug is in achieving hair regrowth and improving the quality of life for patients living with alopecia areata. Upadacitinib is a selective and reversible JAK inhibitor that is being studied in several other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, in addition to alopecia areata.

Participation in the research study will last up to approximately 3 years.

Key Inclusion Criteria

Do you know any patients who meet the following criteria?

Are between 12 and <18 years old
Have severe alopecia areata with SALT score ≥50 scalp hair loss
Have a current alopecia areata episode of less than 8 years

Key Exclusion Criteria

Diagnosis of other types of alopecia that would interfere with evaluation of alopecia areata, including but not limited to female pattern hair loss, male pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia) Stage III or greater based on Hamilton-Norwood classification, traction alopecia, LPP, discoid lupus, FFA, CCCA, folliculitis decalvans, trichotillomania, and telogen effluvium
Diagnosis of primarily diffuse type of alopecia areata

Please visit [UPAAStudy.com] or call [313-695-0694] if you would like additional information about this research study, or if you wish to discuss the potential eligibility of one of your patients.

Sincerely,

Joseph W Fakhoury, MD

UP-AA Investigator

For more information, please visit:

[UPAAStudy.com]