Florida has purchased the shipment of a new monoclonal antibody medication to help treat people with COVID-19 symptoms.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced the shipment of 3,000 doses sotrovimab to help the state overcome what he says will be a shortage in the Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment due to federal rationing.

Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park Pavilion/Playground

Pointing to a need to “minimize the amount of time students are removed from in-person learning,” the Florida Department of Health on Wednesday issued a revised rule that gives parents more authority to decide whether children go to school after being exposed to people who have COVID-19.

The emergency rule also continues to require that parents be able to opt students out of school-mask requirements but includes a change that takes aim at some school districts that only allow opt-outs for documented medical reasons. That change says opting out of mask requirements is “at the parent or legal guardian’s sole discretion.”

Florida's largest public school union is decrying the state's new ruling that students who are exposed to COVID-19 can stay in school unless they develop symptoms.

But some schools might be tempted to bend the rule.

The Florida Education Association says the new rule could put teachers and school employees at risk by exposing them to students who should be quarantining at home.

Union vice president Carole Gauronskas said she foresees a situation where some schools might defy the governor's order and require quarantining, much like when they required all students to wear masks in class.

Dr. Joseph Ladapo — a UCLA medical professor who has published controversial articles about “COVID mania” and is an outspoken critic of lockdowns, mask mandates and other mitigation measures — has been tapped to be Florida's new surgeon general, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday.

Ladapo, who was hired Monday at the University of Florida College of Medicine, said he wants to usher in a new era of battling the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, one that sets a model for other states to follow.

“Florida will completely reject fear. Fear is done,” Ladapo said during a press briefing after the regularly scheduled Florida Cabinet meeting in the Capitol.

Joseph Ladapo—the doctor appointed on Tuesday as Florida's new surgeon general by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis—once appeared in a COVID-19 conspiracy video featuring Dr. Stella Immanuel. Immanuel, a pediatrician and religious minister, gained notoriety in 2020 for her bizarre theories, including that "demonic seed" causes endometriosis and ovarian cysts.

COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000.

The U.S. population a century ago was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the COVID-19 crisis is by any measure a colossal tragedy in its own right, especially given the incredible advances in scientific knowledge since then and the failure to take maximum advantage of the vaccines available this time.

Hospital administrators on Monday gave state House committees a glimpse into the challenges facing health care professionals, describing efforts to reimagine how care is delivered amid a nursing shortage and sizable financial hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the forefront of the concerns is a shortage of nurses, which the executives told lawmakers has created an emergency for hospital administrators.

A physician from Oregon had his medical license revoked and was fined $10,000 for spreading COVID-19 misinformation and refusing to wear a mask in his medical practice.

It should come as no surprise that the federal government has decided to delay enforcement of the No Surprises Act. So although the Act will still take effect on January 1, 2022, the government will not enforce certain provisions of the law until applicable rules are in place. This will hopefully allow the providers, and the government, time to figure out the best way to comply with the law. READ MORE

Genetic tests are valuable because they can provide important information to patients and their medical providers regarding diagnoses, treatment, and disease prevention. However, the rapid growth in the number of tests ordered, especially in light of the telemedicine expansion during the pandemic, has invited well-earned scrutiny to the industry. READ MORE

Attorney Jacqueline Bain will present this live lunch n' learn webinar focused on the compliance risks all healthcare businesses face in today's world. She will be joined by guest presenter Phil Liberty, who will lend additional insights specifically related to the increased HIPAA risks during this time. REGISTER

The Capital Medical Society Nominating Committee will be convening in the coming months to consider nominations for the CMS Board of Governors and for the CMS FMA Delegation. If you are interested in being considered for nomination to the CMS Board of Governors or to serve as a CMS FMA Delegate, please complete the form (https://capmed.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-Succession-Planning-Questionnaire.pdf) and mail to Pam Irwin at:

Electronic Prescribing Requirements (Florida Board of Medicine)

Florida ePrescribing Clearinghouse (Agency for Healthcare Administration)

The purpose of the Florida ePrescribing Clearinghouse is to provide information that contributes to the promotion and implementation of electronic prescribing by health care practitioners, health care facilities, and pharmacies in order to prevent prescription drug abuse, improve patient safety, and reduce unnecessary prescriptions. This Clearinghouse contains information on the advantages, processes, products, rules, and laws of ePrescribing as well as Florida ePrescribing reports.

2. Call 850-645-0747 to purchase over the phone and mention the promo code "CMS"

To view Physician Wellness resources, click here.

The Elephant in the Doctors' Lounge - With roughly 156 million Americans fully vaccinated for COVID-19, physicians are seeing signs of relief on the horizon. That relief can't come soon enough. The initial energy and adrenaline that drove physicians to treat their acutely ill patients in the early months of the pandemic have been replaced by fatigue, burnout, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It's time to talk -- and to act -- so these feelings of struggle don't drive more of our colleagues into a mental health emergency.

Join Dr. David Schaeffer as he discusses what you need to know to successfully manage your asthmatic patients, including a review of the updated 2020 stepwise approach for asthma management in children.

Wolfson Children’s Hospital is proud to provide Continuing Medical Education opportunities to our partners and referring providers by offering monthly virtual CME sessions at no cost. If you have missed any of our previously offered live webinars and still wish to obtain CME credit for them, we have provided 4 recorded webinars for a total of 5.5 CME credits possible. Please follow the instructions below in order to take advantage of this opportunity!

1.      Open the flyer and choose which education session you would like to watch.

2.      Click the link in the attachment for the desired education session.

4.      Follow the instructions included in the video description to complete the required survey and input the associated activity code.

*Please note, if you are licensed outside of the state of Florida, you must contact the CME office at [email protected] to request an official transcript of your participation.

FreeCME.com 

Diagnostic error continues to be a top patient safety concern, a global burden, and cause patient harm from treatment delay, testing, or misdiagnosis. “Prevention of Diagnostic Error in Primary Care” is an on-demand CME activity that features patient safety expert Jeffrey A. Gold, MD, professor of medicine, vice chair for quality and safety, for the department of medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University. This program highlights major contributing factors of diagnostic error along with the diagnostic process of care framework with additional focus on strategies to mitigate risk of patient harm in the primary care setting.

TMH has a library of past CME courses for viewing on their MDnews page: https://www.tmh.org/mdnews/education. The recent CMEs cohosted by CMS and TMH may be found there or by opening: https://youtu.be/HJ50ZsIe2fc and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjgnCn77HSc&t=5s.

The Capital Medical Society will publish its 2022 Membership Directory early next year. It will be distributed to all members. We have once again contracted with a company called E&M Consulting to produce the directory. E&M will be contacting our members over the next few months about advertising opportunities in the directory. E&M will manage all the ad sales, creative design, and formatting of the publication for us. This is a very professional group with experience in publishing association directories. If you have any questions or would like to advertise, please contact Rob Schmidt with E&M at 850-347-8182, 800-572-0011, or [email protected]. Information on the available advertising opportunities can be viewed here or can also be viewed online at https://www.emconsultinginc.com/adreservation/cms/. Please be responsive and help support this directory. Remember, it will include our entire medical community.  

Board-certified physicians are getting another extension on the deadline to maintain their internal medicine credentials.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) once again extended the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements through December 2022.

Maguire Medical Library - Florida State University College of Medicine: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Basic & Current Information

The State-Level COVID-19 profile for Florida. This data is collected from medical facilities in one of two system HHS protect or National Healthcare Safety Network  

The New England Journal of Medicine - A collection of articles and other resources on the Coronavirus outbreak, including clinical reports, management guidelines, and commentary

From the American Medical Association: COVID-19 (2019 Novel Coronavirus) Resource Center for Physicians

From the Florida Medical Association: Coronavirus Educational Resource Center

Selected Adverse Events Reported after COVID-19 Vaccination (CDC)

FMA's Step-by-Step Guide to COVID-19 vaccine enrollment for Florida physicians (FMA) 

See the latest state Department of Health data summarizing the number of people in Florida who have either received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or completed the vaccine series (FMA) 

Florida Department of Health's COVID Vaccines in Florida 

COVID-19 Pandemic Planning FAQ (dated 11/19/2020) includes important information regarding procurement and handling of costs for vaccine administration. (FEMA) 

What Happens Once There is a COVID-19 Vaccine? Key Challenges to Vaccinating America (12/3/2020) - VIDEO or SLIDES (Kaiser Family Foundation) 

Mandatory Reporting of COVID-19 Laboratory Test Results: Reporting of Cycle Threshold Values (December 3, 2020)

Notable recent additions to CDC guidance include more detailed infection prevention and control recommendations for health care settings: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/hcp/infection-control.html.

Please continue to closely monitor the CDC novel coronavirus website for situation and guidance updates. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

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Brochure & To Register 

Machine donations can be dropped off at Capital Medical Society Foundation's office at 1204 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308. Donations to Capital Medical Society Foundation are tax-deductible within IRS guidelines Federal Tax I.D. #: 59-2104510. For additional information, please call 942-5215 or email [email protected].

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