OOA Hosting Virtual Spring Seminar, April 23-24

Join us—from your home or office—for a two-day online seminar and earn 16 hours of AOA Category 1-A CME credits. The agenda features a day-long Wellness Program on Friday, April 24 designed specifically for physicians.

In the best of times being a physician can be challenging with increasing regulatory demands and workload, loss of autonomy, decreased reimbursement, and constant pressure to achieve high marks for patient satisfaction. With the coronavirus pandemic, doctors across the nation are facing their greatest  challenge ever. Now more than ever, it is vitally important that physicians have all the necessary tools while also taking care of themselves.

Register today!

A Death in the Family

Gilbert S. Bucholz, DO, who served as OOA president in 1978 and AOA president in 1991, passed away April 5. He was 86 years old.

He was a champion and advocate for osteopathic medicine throughout his career and believed that his service and leadership were a way to ‘give back’ to a profession that gave him so much. In addition to OOA and AOA, he was also president of the American Osteopathic College of Radiology and Northwest Ohio Radiologists, and served on multiple boards including the Des Moines College of Osteopathic Medicine Board of Trustees. He was the recipient of many honors, including the OOA Distinguished Service Award in 1995.

Dr. Bucholz was passionate about medical education and was a clinical professor of radiology at DMU-COM and Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, which he helped to establish.

The retired radiologist, who resided in Sandusky, was elected coroner of Ottawa County in 2001. He was an adventure pilot and sailing enthusiast who enjoyed extensive travel.

His obituary can be found here. To make a memorial contribution to the Ohio Osteopathic Foundation, go online. A card is sent to the family informing them of the contribution in their loved one’s memory. No amounts are mentioned.

Ohio is Flattening the Curve

At the daily briefing on Wednesday, Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Amy Acton, MD, announced current modeling projects 1,600 new cases per day—substantially less than the original projection of nearly 10,000 new cases daily. She cited the dramatic change to Ohio’s early mitigation strategies including restrictions on in-person gatherings, social distancing, and health practices like hand washing.

The personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage in Ohio remains severe. Gov. Mike DeWine made a plea to health care workers to send their used N95 masks to Battelle for sterilization. Battelle can sterilize up to 160,000 masks each day, making them reusable up to 20 times.

ODH developed a new fact sheet this week on Guidance for Discontinuing Transmission-Based Precautions in COVID-19 Patients. Developed in consultation with CDC and Ohio infectious disease physicians, the CDC has endorsed both test-based and non-test-based strategies for release from transmission-based precautions (isolation) for individuals treated for COVID-19, including both those who have tested positive and those suspected of having COVID-19 who have not been tested. ODH also released a Checklist for Essential Versus Non-Essential Surgeries to reinforce what could be considered essential. The general focus is on clinical judgment and broad medical necessity. 

Acton said Ohio’s lack of testing will pose a problem as the state tries to get back to normal in the coming months. ODH plans to survey all Ohioans to gather data about how many people may have had the virus and not been tested.

A resource list is on the OOA website at www.OhioDO.org/coronavirus.

How is COVID-19 Affecting You?

OOA members are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Please tell us how COVID-19 is directly impacting you by completing a short survey. The survey will take two minutes. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

There’s also this form to let us know if you have COVID-19 questions so we can ask ODH for guidance.

Profession Advocates for Financial Assistance for Physicians

The OOA and 50+ osteopathic specialty and state organizations jointly sent a letter to federal officials asking for immediate financial assistance for physicians across the country who are treating patients with COVID-19, providing ongoing care for patients with chronic conditions and urgent needs, while incurring significant financial losses. The letter urges implementing a policy similar to the Paycheck Protection Program, and reads in part: “As you develop guidance for the distribution of resources appropriated through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), we urge you to consider mechanisms for distribution that ensure our country has a robust physician workforce that is ready to care for patients throughout the pandemic and when this public health emergency is over.”

Read the letter.

OOA Supports New Executive Order

The OOA has signed-on to a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine requesting an Executive Order that would require insurers to accept all forms of financial assistance to help patients pay for medications through their mandated co-payment or deductible requirements. During these unprecedented times Ohio’s vulnerable patient populations need all health care and financial resources at their disposal.

The proposal is currently drafted as HB 469. But by taking executive action, the Governor can immediately help patients pay for their crucial medications.

Read the letter.

AOA Announces One-Year Extension of Board Eligibility

The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists and division of Certifying Board Services announced a one-year extension of board eligibility status will be granted to graduating residents and other physicians seeking initial certification or recertification in 2020, among other policy changes, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To view the AOA Board Certification policy changes that take effect immediately for both initial certification and Osteopathic Continuous Certification, visit the AOA Board Certification website.

OU-HCOM Students to Graduate  Early

Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine is giving students in its graduating class of 2020 the opportunity to join the physician workforce early to aid in the fight against COVID-19.

OU-HCOM is moving up its conferral of DO degrees for the 227-menber class by three weeks, to allow graduates the option of beginning their residencies early if they choose to do so. Close to three-quarters of them have matched to residencies in-state, meaning the college’s decision could put scores of new physicians into the field to relieve the mounting pressure on Ohio’s coronavirus-besieged health care system.

Read more.

Applications Open for AOA Leadership Positions

Applications for leadership positions on the AOA’s 2020–21 Bureaus, Councils and Committees (B/C/Cs) are now being accepted. AOA President-elect Thomas L. Ely, DO, strongly encourages AOA members to submit an online application to serve in these important volunteer roles. All applications must be submitted by close of business on Friday, May 1.

If you have any questions, contact the AOA at 312-202-8129 or by email at nominations@osteopathic.org.