OSTEOFACTS | Registration is Open; Flu Vaccination Resources

December 10, 2021

	Registration is Open! You provide tireless care for others, but here is an opportunity to prioritize your personal wellness. Registration is open for the Physician Wellness Seminar on Saturday, January 15, 8:00am – 1:45pm. The half-day virtual event offers 5 AOA Category 1-A CME credits as well as a discounted registration rate for OOA members! The agenda includes: Work Life Balance Paige Gutheil Henderson, DO Burnout Recovery/Prevention & Career Transition/Optimization Heath A. Jolliff, DO The Role of Physical Health for the Attending Physician Barbara A. Moss, DO Optimizing Physician Mental Health Sallie Wilson Luther, DO Mindfulness in Medicine Kate Dean-Haidet, PhD These are unprecedented times for physicians and medical students. As we approach two full years of dealing with COVID-19, limited gatherings, long hours, and stress we have dedicated a course to your own wellness. This seminar will provide you with insight and tools that last far beyond this event. Register today!
	Legislative Update An Ohio Senate committee continues to hear testimony on HB 218, which broadens vaccine exemptions and prohibits employers—including hospitals and medical facilities— from requiring proof of vaccination. Separately, proponents of the bill filed an initiated statute petition titled “Vaccine and/or Gene Therapy Choice and Anti-Discrimination” as a first step to put the issue on the ballot. But Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost rejected language in the petition, saying it failed to accurately describe to possible petition signers what the law would do. If you haven’t yet, go to the OOA website to quickly and easily send an email to tell your state senator to oppose the bill and that it dangerously undermines Ohio’s ongoing pandemic recovery efforts. HB 122 has been approved by state lawmakers and is now at Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk. The bill establishes and modifies requirements regarding telehealth services, establishes a provider credentialing program within the Medicaid program, and expands the State Medical Board One-Bite program to include other licensees in addition to physicians. It also specifies requirements for new SMBO applicants to participate in the program. Lawmakers also approved abortion legislation, SB 157, and sent it to DeWine’s desk for final action. Provisions in the bill prohibits physicians who are affiliated with and funded by public medical schools and institutions from having transfer agreement variances with abortion clinics and allows for criminal charges against physicians for not following documentation procedure created in the bill. DeWine is expected to sign SB 58, which allows families of long-term care residents to install cameras in their rooms to ensure their safety and well-being.
	COVID Hospitalizations Surge Ohio is one of six states, along with Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York, that is driving the current COVID-19 surge that is straining hospitals. Together, the six states account for 60% of the hospitalizations nationwide. At the Ohio Department of Health press briefing this week, ODH Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, said current hospitalizations of Ohio patients with COVID-19 equal the number during last winter’s surge in January—when vaccines were still in limited supply. In northeast Ohio, more patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 this week than at any point in the pandemic. On average, about 62% of all new hospitalizations have occurred in northern Ohio. Additionally, data shows hospitalizations are 35-40% higher in counties below the statewide vaccination average. The omicron variant has not been detected in Ohio, but Vanderhoff said “it’s a matter of when, not if” a case will be reported. On Thursday, the FDA amended the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine to extend booster dose eligibility to fully vaccinated people ages 16-17. Also Thursday, the CDC issued a recommendation for booster dose use for this age group. This is an important step toward strengthening protection against COVID-19 for teens ages 16 and 17. COVID-19 vaccine providers in Ohio can immediately begin offering booster doses to 16- and 17-year-olds at least six months following completion of their primary vaccination series. As of this afternoon, 62.29% of eligible Ohioans (age 5 and up) have started the vaccine process.
	OOA Supports AOA Work on Federal Issues The OOA signed-on to letters this week regarding two separate issues, the No Surprises Act (NSA) and upcoming Medicare payment cuts. A series of regulations are currently being promulgated for the NSA, legislation passed by Congress last year that prohibits balance billing and protects patients from payment disputes between insurers and healthcare providers. There is concern that the current interim final rule would be burdensome to physicians and disincentivize insurers to negotiate in good faith. With the number of legislative days winding down, Congress needs to move quickly to reach an agreement on legislation to prevent a 9.75% cut to Medicare payment rates from taking effect on January 1. That letter outlines reasons to support the passage of legislation to eliminate the combined Medicare payments cuts: To better understand the financial effect of the pandemic on physicians, the AOA conducted a nationwide survey of practicing DOs last year. Of those who participated in the survey, 95% of physicians experienced a decline in practice revenue due to COVID-19, and more than 40% experienced a revenue reduction greater than 50%. The essential takeaway is that physicians across all specialties are struggling to keep their practices open due to increased expenses and reductions in revenue as a direct result of the pandemic. If these Medicare cuts are allowed to take effect, it would dramatically impact osteopathic physicians and the patients whom they serve. DOs make up 11% of all physicians in the United States, however, they comprise 40% of the physicians practicing in medically underserved areas.
	SMBO New Rules to Take Effect Two new rules adopted by the State Medical Board of Ohio are effective on December 31. PA Consult Agreements Maintenance of List of Disqualifying Criminal Offenses HB 263, signed into law on January 9, requires all licensing authorities to establish a list of “specific criminal offenses for which a conviction, judicial finding of guilt, or plea of guilty may disqualify an individual from obtaining an initial license.” When reviewing an initial license application, the licensing authority may only consider criminal offenses which are on this list. The ability of the licensing authority to consider criminal offenses on the list is time limited for most convictions, except for offenses of violence and sexually oriented offenses. The list for physician licensees is here.
	Flu Vaccination Resources Nationwide, public health officials are warning that the US may see a bad flu season while COVID is also spreading at the same time. Ohio’s flu activity, including county-level data is available online. Various flu communications toolkits are available for physicians and health care providers to use in promoting flu vaccination for their patients 6 months and older during the 2021–2022 flu season. The CDC offers a digital toolkit featuring social media language and graphics, sample newsletter language, and printable resources. ODH offers a Flu Communications Toolkit that offers social media language and graphics and sample newsletter language around the importance of flu shots, in addition to flu and COVID-19 shots as the best defense.
	Upcoming Deadlines for Certifying Boards Below are deadlines in January for osteopathic certifying boards. American Osteopathic Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Initial certification oral exam January 13 first deadline American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians Early Entry Initial Certification (EEIC) and Initial OMT performance exams – January 15 final deadline American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine Initial certification written exam January 15 first deadline American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine Cognitive Assessment exam expired certifications only – January 15 first deadline American Osteopathic Board of Pediatrics Subspecialty initial certification and OCC exams January 17 first deadline American Osteopathic Board of Orthopedic Surgery Initial certification written exam January 31 first deadline For questions, contact Chaunessie Baggett, Associate Vice President, Certifying Board Services, at CBaggett@osteopathic.org.