San Diego County Medical Society

Governor Newsom signed AB35, MICRA modernization bill into law. Read more here.

https://www.cmadocs.org/newsroom/news/view/ArticleId/49769/Gov-Newsom-signs-landmark-MICRA-modernization-bill-into-law

MICRA 2022: A Sustained Era of Stability

Historic agreement to modernize MICRA has been reached. Read more here.

MICRA 2022: A Sustained Era of Stability CMA

CMA is sponsoring SB 250 (Pan) to comprehensively reform the prior authorization process in California and is supporting federal legislation, HR 3173 authored by Rep. Ami Bera, M.D., and others to standardize and streamline prior authorization processes. San Diego Physicians can help CMA explain to lawmakers how prior authorization policies are harmful by sharing their unique experiences here: https://www.cmadocs.org/survey/testcd/CMA_PRIORAUTH/cd/-1

Have you ever waited days or months for an insurance company to approve a prescribed medicine or other service? Please share your stories of delays or denials now to support by Dr. Richard Pan, State Senator: https://www.cmadocs.org/survey/testcd/CMA_PRIORAUTH/cd/-1

Happy to San Diego County's physicians who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much during the past two years. Thank you for serving your community and always putting patients first!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending COVID-19 boosters for those 65 years or older, as well as anyone over 18 that lives in a long-term care setting, has underlying medical conditions or lives in a high-risk setting. And as we enter the holiday season, now is the time to remind your eligible patients to get their booster shot.

Please also consider becoming a community-based vaccination site through .

Funded by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and administered by Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC), the program reimburses qualified organizations up to $11,000 per vaccination site, up to five sites.

Learn more and apply today: CalVaxGrant.org.

Applicants can direct questions to PHC representatives at 916-551-2565.

SDCMS' 13th Annual “Outstanding Medical Office Manager” Contest is now accepting nominations. SDCMS wants to recognize San Diego County's most outstanding medical office manager / practice administrator, i.e., someone who goes above and beyond his or her job description, who anticipates problems before they arise, who works efficiently with the practice's time and resources, and who strikes the right balance between exercising control and boosting morale when supervising staff.

SDCMS Member physicians can nominate their office managers by explaining in writing (up to 600 words) why their office manager is the BEST in San Diego County.

Nominations will be accepted through Friday, December 31st, 2021. The winner will receive a $200 gift card and recognition as San Diego County’s Outstanding Medical Office Manager for 2021! Contest results will also be published in the February 2022 issue of San Diego Physician magazine.

Please email your nominations to [email protected]. Remember, only submissions from physician members will be considered.

The San Diego Blood Bank needs donations, specially they are in need of Blood Type A donors. Please share and considering donated this weekend to help save lives in our community.

Calling all Blood Type A donors! 💪🅰️ There are local patients who currently need A blood and plasma. We urge donors to make appointment to donate this weekend to save the lives of those in our community who need your help! Patients are grateful.

Physicians for a Healthy California > Programs > CalVaxGrant

3 more days to apply for the CalVaxGrant! Learn more about the requirements for the application here.

Physicians for a Healthy California > Programs > CalVaxGrant CalVaxGrant is committed to supporting physician practices to enroll and maintain their participation in the myCAvax program to increase California’s vaccination rate in the fight against the COVID pandemic.

Physicians for a Healthy California > Programs > CalVaxGrant

San Diego Physicians, there is still time to apply for the ! The deadline has been extended to September 10th. Learn more about the grant here:

http://www.phcdocs.org/programs/physician-vaccine-grant?fbclid=IwAR12Ev9nqSvt7QQ-7ny9fkg9f4srL_Hz3bQh7ijWl_VmL_Omk9rqxsbikzE

Physicians for a Healthy California > Programs > CalVaxGrant CalVaxGrant is committed to supporting physician practices to enroll and maintain their participation in the myCAvax program to increase California’s vaccination rate in the fight against the COVID pandemic.

Local doctors, hospitals call for an indoor masking mandate in San Diego County -

SDCMS Past President Dr. Will Tseng speaks to K**I on the call for an indoor mask mandate in San Diego County.

Local doctors, hospitals call for an indoor masking mandate in San Diego County - SAN DIEGO (K**I) – Doctors local to San Diego are calling on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to reinstate an indoor masking mandate in San Diego County regardless of vaccination status amid the delta variant surge. Dr. Will Tseng, past president of the San Diego County Medical Society, j...

Physicians for a Healthy California > Programs > CalVaxGrant

CDPH has appropriated $40 million to and anticipates awarding approximately 3,000-4,000 practices with the funds.

To be eligible, practices/physicians must:
> Be approved through the myCAvax application process​
> Be a physician medical practice ​with 200 physicians or fewer within the organization or be an independent pharmacy organization
> Have not received pandemic grant funds to support COVID vaccine administration, such as the State Innovation Fund.

Learn more about the here: http://www.phcdocs.org/programs/physician-vaccine-grant

Physicians for a Healthy California > Programs > CalVaxGrant CalVaxGrant is committed to supporting physician practices to enroll and maintain their participation in the myCAvax program to increase California’s vaccination rate in the fight against the COVID pandemic.

Local doctors, hospitals call for an indoor masking mandate

Local Doctors, hospitals call for a indoor masking mandate in San Diego County.

Local doctors, hospitals call for an indoor masking mandate No immediate rush to vaccinate in San Diego following FDA approval

The deadline has been extended to Friday, 9/10 and expanded to include independent pharmacies & student vaccine clinics!

💻 Apply today to receive up to $55,000 in grant funding towards vaccinating your communities against COVID-19: https://calvaxgrant.org/

It might be hard to say the word “Happy” in front of “National Doctors Day” after the most difficult year the physician community has faced in 100 years. Instead, we say “Thank you on National Doctors Day” for your work and sacrifices.

Champions for Health in partnership with the County of San Diego Health & Human Services Epidemiology and Immunization Services program and United Healthcare will be providing free flu shot clinics starting Sunday. Check out the article in the San Diego Union Tribune.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/story/2020-10-06/free-flu-shot-clinics-scheduled

American Academy of Pediatrics, CA Chapter 3 (AAP-CA3)

Did you know, through the Food RX program we are working with 2-1-1 San Diego, San Diego Food Bank, San Diego Hunger Coalition and San Diego County Medical Society to combat food insecurity in San Diego's kids?

Our pediatricians screen at physical exams in order to identify children who are considered food insecure, and help them gain access to nutritious food.

James H. Schultz: Stop harassing public health officers. They have dedicated their lives to protect all of us.

SDCMS Immediate Past President James H. Schultz pens an Op-Ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune calling for an end to harassment of public health officers and for San Diegans to wear masks.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/story/2020-07-01/stop-harassing-health-officials-coronavirus-pandemic-commentary

sandiegouniontribune.com These doctors face threats simply because they are providing us with the most current medical and public health recommendations based on the best science available at the time.

California Medical Association

SB 483 is sponsored by the California Medical Association. “We cannot continue to subject public health officers to the unfair, uninformed, personal attacks we have seen across the state in recent months. The nearly 50,000 members of the California Medical Association want to thank Dr. Pan for stepping up to protect the people who are working to protect public health. This bill is an important step to support our local health officials, who are providing the courage and leadership California needs to continue to navigate our current health crisis,” said California Medical Association President Peter N. Bretan, M.D.

www.sdcms.org

SDCMS Challenges San Diego Board of Supervisors to Defend Dr. Wooten: "We are ​extremely disappointed by the failure of the Members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to stand up against the personal abuse, attempted intimidation and doxing of our County Public Health Officer, Dr. Wilma Wooten." https://bit.ly/2BB2Gka

sdcms.org

NEW ISSUE BRIEF: Biosimilars Study Shows Massive State and Taxpayer Savings Possible by Expanding Biosimilars Market - Pacific Research Institute

COVID19 impacts have led to serious budget shortfalls across the nation. Research from shows that policy proposals to increase uptake of lower-cost could save the California health care system up to $511 million annually. https://bit.ly/2zIqAcS

pacificresearch.org Biosimilars have the opportunity to bring significant savings to state Medicaid programs and consumers with commercial insurance according to a new study released today by Pacific Research Institute. “Every state would experience significant savings in the state Medicaid programs from expanding th...

enewspaper.latimes.com

“I know this is a difficult time for everyone, but we should separate the science from the panic & the fear, & trust in science.” SDCMS'

enewspaper.latimes.com

Latest News From SDCMS | SDCMS Expresses Strong Support for Publi

The San Diego County Medical Society expressed strong support for public health officers today, calling the harassment and threats being made against several of them "untenable." Seven county health officials have resigned since mid-April.

sdcms.org The San Diego County Medical Society strongly supports our California public health officers. SDCMS joins the California Medical Association, Californ

San Diego Physicians and office staff, please take the CMA survey and let us know how COVID-19 is affecting your practice. This will help us advocate on your behalf.

, please take our new survey: Tell us how COVID-19 is affecting your practice! Your responses help us advocate on your behalf. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CMA_COVID19_SURVEY

California Medical Association

A special message from CA physician leaders: We are asking all physicians to answer the call to provide your time, energy and skill to help California help our patients! Please fill out our Google form now: https://www.cmadocs.org/covid-19

California Medical Association

Latest updates:
* Looking for physician volunteers!
Sign up: https://www.cmadocs.org/covid-19

* New FAQ for :
https://www.cmadocs.org/covid-19/faq

* CMS toolkits & info on what CMA is doing to facilitate telehealth (reg updates)
https://www.cmadocs.org/newsroom/news/view/ArticleId/48771/CMS-releases-telehealth-toolkits

Coronavirus (COVID-19) News

Find CMA's most recent news on COVID-19 here.

cmadocs.org CMA

California Medical Association

If the service is one that would otherwise have been provided in-person but is now being provided via , the plans should reimburse for that service as if it were provided in person. The letter also says that plans must reimburse a service provided telephonically at the same rate as services provided via video.

San Diego Doc Answers Coronavirus Questions

SDCMS past President, Dr. David Bazzo answers questions on COVID-19 with NBC 7 San Diego yesterday.

nbcsandiego.com NBC 7’s Joe Little sat down with Dr. David Bazzo to answer questions about the coronavirus.

2019 Novel Coronavirus

The County of San Diego has created a website for Coronavirus (COVID-19) updates and information. You can find information here as it become available.

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/coronavirus.html

sandiegocounty.gov San Diego County's general population is at low risk of coronavirus disease, or COVID-19. The County is working to protect the public's health and prevent the disease from spreading locally. You can take steps to protect and educate yourself and prepare in the event of a local outbreak.

CMA has a new resource page with the latest info on COVID-19, including new coding guidelines.

NEW: Resource page w/the latest info, including new coding guidelines. https://www.cmadocs.org/covid-19

California Medical Association

Listen to Dr. Dean Blumberg, UC Davis Health pediatric infectious disease specialist, discuss and what you should know about it.

mms.tveyes.com

Dr. Will Tseng was interviewed by ABC news to discuss the current flu season in San Diego. There are several steps people can take to prevent the flu including vaccination. Check out the interview here.

mms.tveyes.com

San Diego leaders address impact of coronavirus on Asian-owned businesses

SDCMS Member, Dr. Will Tseng, Chair of our Communications Committee and our lead on public health issues, joined San Diego leaders in addressing the impact of coronavirus on Asian-owned businesses. See the video featured on CBS8 News!

cbs8.com "Fear of the a virus that has not even manifested itself in our county is no reason to avoid any part of our community," said Supervisor Fletcher.

www.sdcms.org

The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency has released a statement regarding Novel Coronavirus in San Diego. You can find the official statement at the below link.

sdcms.org

California Medical Association

New trial lawyer attacks on CA's landmark MICRA law would substantially raise health care costs for all Californians, reduce access & exploit patients for profit. Learn more about this threat & join our coalition!

Congratulations to Ron Almirol of UC San Diego Health - La Jolla’s family medicine & sports medicine clinics for being San Diego County Medical Society's 2019 Office Manager of the Year. "Ron does wonders to improve staff morale, and all the doctors admire his work ethic and morals." We are thrilled to recognize Ron for all of this fantastic work, well deserved!