New Campaign Urges Ohioans to Mask and Distance

A new social media campaign, Doctor’s Orders: Mask + 6 Feet, underway this week uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other online platforms to urge Ohioans to wear a face covering and practice physical distancing when in public. As part of the campaign, OOA is asking physicians and medical students across the state to share photos and selfies of themselves wearing masks while not only at their medical office or hospital, but also while doing day-to-day activities. Use the hashtags #DoctorsOrders and #MaskPlus6 or email your photo to cmarkino@OhioDO.org.

There’s another way to promote the campaign. In addition to wearing a mask, wear a shirt that promotes it!  Buy a #DoctorsOrders shirt to let others know of the importance of mask-wearing and social distancing. A small contribution will be made to our foundation—the Ohio Osteopathic Foundation—for every purchase. Shirts will begin shipping on August 7.

The campaign is a joint effort by the OOA, Ohio State Medical Association, Ohio Academy of Family Physicians, Ohio Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association, and Ohio Association of Community Health Centers.

Cases Spike to Record High Today

Cases spiked today to a record daily high of 1,525. The previous daily high was 1,380 new cases on April 19. Friday numbers also saw 111 hospitalizations and 24 fatalities.

Twelve Ohio counties (Butler, Clermont, Cuyahoga, Fairfield, Franklin, Hamilton, Lorain, Montgomery, Pickaway, Summit, Trumbull, Wood) are at Red Alert Level 3, which requires facial coverings when out in public per a new state order. Under the state’s Public Health Advisory System, introduced last week, masks are mandated for counties designated as Red Alert Level 3 or Purple Alert Level 4.

Three counties (Butler, Cuyahoga, Hamilton) are on the watch list, meaning they are close to Level 4. Franklin County dropped off the watch list due to a decrease in hospital admissions.

The Ohio Department of Health will update the alerts every Thursday. Any county that increases to Red Alert Level 3 will automatically be included in the face-covering mandate.

Ohioans who have fully recovered from COVID-19 for at least two weeks are encouraged to consider donating plasma. For more information, visit redcrossblood.org/plasma4covid or contact a local blood donor or plasma collection center.

Prevalence testing that was announced in April is now underway in Ohio. An initial postcard was sent recently to households across the state. Health department teams will collect a blood sample from one randomly chosen adult in the home. Participation is voluntary and households can opt out by phone after receiving the postcard. Results are expected by the end of August.

SMBO Considers CME Changes, Approves Cachexia for Medical Marijuana

The State Medical Board of Ohio weighed in on a host of issues at its monthly meeting Wednesday. The Board approved considerations passed by the Policy Committee earlier in the day. Most notably, the SMBO:

• Approved the recommendation from the Strauss Working Group to add a “duty to report misconduct” requirement as a CME requirement in OAC 4731-10-02. The OOA was one of five organizations expressing opposition to this additional CME requirement.
• Approved the DO on the Board, Sherry Johnson, DO, to meet with the OOA and SMBO staff to further discuss proposed changes to OAC 4731-10-02 before submission to CSI.
• Added cachexia, or wasting syndrome, to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana and rejected autism and anxiety. The condition is the first to be added by the Board under its authority granted in state law. Board members noted medical marijuana is already approved for cachexia-related conditions such as cancer and AIDS.

The current list of approved conditions is: AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy or another seizure disorder, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, hepatitis C, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable, Parkinson’s disease, positive status for HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia, spinal cord disease or injury, Tourette syndrome, traumatic brain injury, and ulcerative colitis.

During this round of petitions, the board received 28 requests, including a much-publicized petition to add Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns fans to the list. The next round of petitions will be accepted in November and December.

Transition to Single Accreditation Now Complete

June 30 marked the end of the five-year process to consolidate GME education into a single accreditation system. The first steps in the process started more than eight years ago when AOA leaders debated and negotiated before bringing the proposal to the House of Delegates in 2014. It was a historic vote by delegates to support the osteopathic medical profession’s landmark entry into a single GME accreditation system with ACGME serving as the nation’s sole accreditor for both DO and MD residencies and fellowships.

A total of 98.6% of AOA-accredited programs that applied for ACGME accreditation have received it, with additional programs expected to transition in the next few months.

Ohio still has 15 residents in four programs who will be accredited by the AOA over the next four years. They are:

• Aultman Hospital, 8 residents, orthopedic surgery
• Doctors Hospital, 4 residents, neurological surgery
• Doctors Hospital, 2 residents, ophthalmology
• South Pointe Hospital, 1 resident, plastic reconstructive surgery fellowship.

State Plan Calls for Health Equity

A long-term state public health plan looks to boost equity while targeting specific outcomes, including improvement of mental health, addiction, chronic disease and maternal and infant health. Those issues and others are shaped by community conditions including housing, poverty, education and trauma; health behaviors; and access to care.

The State Health Improvement Plan, released last month, is a tool to strengthen state and local efforts to improve health, well-being and economic vitality in Ohio. The main components are:

• Six priorities including three factors and three health outcomes.
• Thirty-seven measurable objectives.
• A menu of evidence-informed strategies.
• An evaluation plan to track and report progress.

The plan details a variety of specific strategies and partners. It was developed before the pandemic and does not mention COVID-19.

Member Discount for On-Demand CME!

Earn CME credit from your home or office—or wherever (and whenever!) it’s convenient for you. The OOA has added 13 on-demand programs to the catalog at www.DOcme.org, a collaborative effort by state osteopathic societies to provide the highest quality online CME for the needs of the osteopathic physician community.

Topics added by the OOA include:

• ACGME Osteopathic Recognition in a Subspecialty Program
• Emerging Topics in Risk Management
• Coronavirus and its Impact on Travel Medicine
• Mental Wellness for the Attending Physician
• Why Sleep is Important and Natural Ways to Improve Sleep

DO-CME provides hundreds of courses from which to choose. OOA members receive a discount on lectures produced by the OOA. Use the discount code OOAFamily for 35% off the list price! 

Please remember the CME required for licensure is not waived. The SMBO is delaying enforcement, so you’ll want to stay current on your CME requirements.