In Parts of California, a Prescription Will Pay for Fresh Fruits and Veggies BY RYA JETHA | CalMatters Article Link Every other Friday, the Stockton Emergency Food Bank hosts two live cooking classes — one in English and one in Spanish. Last week, Brenda Munoz made a classic tuna melt with an orange, romaine and dandelion salad. “Dandelion is completely edible,” said Munoz, holding the small leaves from the flower. “They’re really high in vitamin A and folate.” But this isn’t your typical cooking lesson on Zoom and Facebook. It’s part of a “food prescription” experiment — prescriptions for healthy food instead of pills. Diabetics get a free ... August 16, 2023 General, Patient Care 0 0 Comment Read More »
DEADLINE: HIPAA Compliant Video Communications Tools for Telehealth by August 10, 2023 When the COVID-19 public health emergency expired on May 11, 2023, the U.S. Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the end of flexibilities that allowed physicians to utilize remote communication technologies for telehealth services that did not fully comply with HIPAA rules. OCR provided a 90-calendar day transition period for covered health care providers to come into compliance with the HIPAA rules for telehealth. The transition period will expire at 11:59 p.m. on August 9, 2023, at which time physicians will be expected to utilize only HIPAA-compliant communication ... July 27, 2023 CMA, COVID19, General, Healthcare, Insurance, legislation, Patient Care, Public Health HIPAA, telehealth, virtual appointments 0 0 Comment Read More »
2024 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule is Out The CY 2023 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule Final Rule updates payment policies and rates as well as other provisions for services offered on or after Jan. 1, 2023, under the Medicare Physician Payment Schedule. The AMA provides final rule summary (PDF) of the 2023 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule and Quality Payment Program (QPP). In addition, CMS has released the CY 2024 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule Proposed Rule, including key proposals that impact Medicare physician payment and the Quality Payment Program (QPP). Key proposals include a predicted 3.36% reduction in the ... July 27, 2023 AMA, General, Healthcare, Insurance, legislation, Medicare, Patient Care, Public Health payment schedule 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA Hosting Webinar on Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan Transition At the end of 2022, the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) reached an agreement with five commercial managed care plans (MCP) to deliver Medi-Cal services in 21 counties across the state starting in January 2024. As a result, approximately 1.2 million Medi-Cal patients will be required to transition to a new a new health plan, and in some counties Medi-Cal patients will have the ability to select from more than one plan. DHCS recently updated its 2024 MCP Transition Policy Guide to include a table that lists Medi-Cal managed care plan changes ... July 24, 2023 Advocacy, CMA, General, Healthcare, Insurance, legislation, Medi-Cal, Patient Care DHCS, managed care, medi-cal, webinar 0 0 Comment Read More »
Medical Board of CA: Guidelines for Controlled Substances for Pain (July 2023) Shared Friday, July 21 | Medical Board of California The Board's Guidelines for Controlled Substances for Pain (July 2023) is now online. The Board recognizes the need to ensure patients have access to safe and effective pain management treatment and, at the same time, also recognizes the need to support physicians providing treatment to this patient population. Consequently, the guidelines were updated to provide a framework for clinician use while also encouraging the development of treatment plans customized for their patients. Link July 24, 2023 Drug Prescribing/Dispensing, General, Healthcare, Patient Care, Public Health Medical Board 0 0 Comment Read More »
