The North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS), in its mission to provide Leadership in Medicine by helping physicians and patients navigate the transformation in health care, will partner with News Channel 14 to convene a televised forum on September 22 in Charlotte to engage leaders in the health care sector, elected officials and the public on the implementation of health system reform legislation.

The forum will be a panel discussion facilitated by a News Channel 14 anchor. Participants will include physician leaders in public health, rural and urban practice settings; a representative from the insurance industry; and representatives of both the hospital and physician perspectives.

The “Health Reform and You”  forum is scheduled for Wednesday, September 22, at 7 pm at the Harris Conference Center on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte.  The forum is open to the  medical community and the general public. Seating is limited and registrations are being accepted online.

August 9 – 13 is National Health Center Week, and the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) and the Durham-Orange County Medical Society  recognized community health center efforts to care for uninsured and underserved patients by helping Piedmont Health Services (PHS) celebrate its 40^th Anniversary on August 11 at their Carrboro clinic. 

In attendance were  Physicians and Staff of Piedmont Health; Brian Toomey, Piedmont Health CEO;   Robert W. Seligson, NC Medical Society CEO; Brad Walters, MD, President of the Durham-Orange County Medical Society; NC Speaker of the House Joe Hackney; Rep. Verla Insko; and Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird. Legislators praised PHS as a shining example of cost-effective delivery of primary care services to underserved populations.

To learn more about the NCMS visit at Piedmont Health Services, along with several other community outreach events that day, view the album on Facebook.

Events/meetings involving NCMS staff working on your behalf this week.

Fluzone® High-Dose Influenza vaccine for patients age 65 and older will be a payable benefit under Medicare Part B, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in its July 2010 AWP NDC – HCPCS Crosswalk File. The vaccine contains an increased amount of antigen compared to standard-dose influenza vaccines, and is designed to help generate a strong immune response in older patients. View the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations for the use of Fluzone High-Dose vaccine.

Click here for more information and links.

State Health Director Jeffrey Engel, MD, issued a memo on June 28, 2010 about a significant change in the state immunization program.  The change is the result of the planned phase out of state funding for vaccines beginning July 1, 2010. The announcement was posted on the NCMS Doctor to Doctor blog shortly after it was released on Monday. Click here for more details and a link to Dr. Engel’s memo.

The Office of the State Health Director has published a memo regarding upcoming changes to the NC Immunization Program (NCIP). These changes will result in a planned phase out of State funding for vaccines beginning July 1, 2010.  NCIP will continue to provide free vaccines to providers for children eligible for the federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program.  After June 30, 2010, all vaccines for children who are not eligible for the VFC Program must be purchased by providers.
 
The currently proposed budget for SFY 2010-2011 includes one-time transition funding to ease the financial burden that this significant change in policy may cause.  Specific questions regarding how this change may affect your practice or to identify vaccine providers contact the Office of the State Health Director Immunization Branch at 1-877-873-6247.

Click here to read the memo from State Health Director Jeffrey Engel, MD.

NCMS Past President Charles F. Willson, MD, was elected to a second four-year term on the ten-member AMA Council on Medical Service during the AMA 2010 Annual Meeting in Chicago this week. In campaigning for the seat, Dr. Willson stressed the important role the Council will play in addressing issues associated with the new health care reform law. Dr. Willson serves as Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Co-Director of the Center for Children with Complex and Chronic Conditions at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.

Other Annual Meeting Highlights

New Jersey-based pediatric neurosurgeon Peter Carmel, MD, was chosen President-Elect of the AMA following a runoff election on Tuesday. During a debate held June 12, Dr. Carmel pledged to push Washington to pass further healthcare reforms, including provisions left out of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that would have benefited physicians.

Winners in the race for four Trustee seats were incumbent Joseph A. Annis, MD, an anesthesiologist from Austin, TX; Barbara McAneny, MD, an oncologist-hematologist from Albuquerque, NC; Stephen Permut, MD, a Philadelphia-based family physician; and Carl A. Sirio, MD, a Pittsburgh-based internist.

Among the AMA House of Delegates actions were adoption of new public health policies, which included addressing public health lessons from the Gulf oil disaster; strengthening the nation’s physician workforce; supporting FDA regulation of electronic cigarettes as drug delivery devices; and several new policies.

Click here to access an overview of the AMA 2010 Annual Meeting, including video highlights, Reports and Resolutions and other activities.

High dose influenza vaccine for people 65 and older is still available, with more information in this weekly CDC Mortality and Morbidity Report.  Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of the vaccine sold under the name Fluzone High Dose™, recently sent a letter to health care professionals that offers more information about the vaccine ( letter is in pdf format and may take a moment to download (3.89mb ).

The NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF) this week announced that NCMS member Laura Gerald, MD, MPH, will become the organization’s new executive director, effective July 1, 2010. A native of Lumberton, NC, Dr. Gerald will oversee implementation of the HWTF’s efforts to promote preventive health in North Carolina. She received her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and her MPH from the Harvard University School of Public Health. Learn more about Dr. Gerald in an article published by The Wilmington Journal.

Doctors providing vaccines may be losing money. A recent study suggests that there is a reasonable fix. Practice administrators and physicians must be diligent in tracking vaccine cost and reimbursement transactions.

 See how the Wake County Medical Society proposes to help physicians overcome this significant loss in revenue.

Public health leaders in North Carolina are urging increased vigilance against mumps after a 21-year-old resident of New Hanover County developed symptoms of the disease earlier this week.

Mumps is an infectious disease best known for causing swelling of the cheeks and jaw. It is often spread by coughing and sneezing.  Mumps is usually a mild disease, but it can occasionally cause serious complications.  Most children in the United States are vaccinated against mumps before entering kindergarten. 

The 21-year-old New Hanover County resident may have been infected with mumps after interacting with members of an English rugby team who were traveling in Wilmington, the Triangle, and Virginia earlier this month.  One person from that rugby team has been diagnosed with mumps, and four other team members have developed symptoms consistent with the disease.  Each of those individuals is now in England.

“This outbreak of mumps clearly demonstrates how vaccine-preventable diseases are just a plane ride away,” state Epidemiologist Megan Davies, MD,  said.  “Vaccination is your best protection against this disease.”

The New Hanover County Health Department is tracking the suspect case with help from the N.C. Division of Public Health.

Janelle A. Rhyne, MD, of Wilmington is Chair-Elect of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB). She was elected at the FSMB’s Annual Meeting in Chicago last weekend. An internist and infectious disease specialist, Dr. Rhyne is Past President of the North Carolina Medical Board and practices at  the New Hanover County Health Department.

NCMS staff members Chip Baggett, Melanie Phelps, and Amy Whited participated in a number of meetings this week addressing a proposal by the NC  Association of Pharmacists (NCAP) to expand their scope of practice to include the administration of all vaccines (for adults and children age 7) as well as other injectibles (such as Depo-Provara).  To address concerns about access to H1N1 vaccine, pharmacists in North Carolina were granted temporary authority to administer the H1N1 vaccine to persons 14 and older beginning October 9, 2009. That authority is set to expire on July 31, 2010.  Under permanent rules, pharmacists, under a written protocol with a supervising physician, may administer, to persons age 18 and older, the seasonal influenza vaccine,  and the pneumococcal and zoster vaccines, provided they have a physician’s order. The NCMS is opposed to this expansion based on concerns about its detrimental impact on continuity of care.  These and other concerns were discussed at the recent meeting of the NCMS Legislative Cabinet.

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Many thanks to the 30 physicians who attended the April 21st Doctors on Call Event, sponsored by the NCMS, the Pitt County Medical Society, and WITN-TV in Greenville. These physicians, representing a wide variety of specialties, donated their time to answer viewers’ medical questions, responding to a record 650 calls in six hours. Questions ranged from issues regarding access to care for the uninsured, orthopaedic problems, headaches, skin conditions, allergies, and diabetes and cancer care.

Pamela Lepera, DO, volunteered at the event and was touched by the gratitude of the people to whom she spoke. ”One person called me and the rest of us ‘angels that God sent’ and said that what we are doing is good,” she shared. “In hard times, this is a valuable community service.”

The North Carolina Midwifery Joint Committee met on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 to continue its study regarding the potential licensure and regulation of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs).  Only Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) are currently licensed in North Carolina.  The Committee received comments from Ross Vaughan, MD, a neonatologist at Wake Med in Raleigh, opposing the licensure.  Margie Priest, CPM, and Russ Fawcett, Vice President of the NC Friends of Midwives. spoke to the committee in support of licensure and the practice of home birth.  The North Carolina Department of Insurance was also present and offered information regarding the limited malpractice insurance availability for CPMs. 

The Committee will meet again on Tuesday, May 18, at 2:00 pm at the new Board of Nursing office, located at 4516 Lake Boone Trail in Raleigh.  At this meeting, the Committee will vote to determine if it will recommend licensure of CPMs to the General Assembly.

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