LAHAN/CDC Coronavirus Update, CMA Legislative Advocacy Day, CalHealthCares Webinar and Save the Dates. February 3, 2020 CalHealthCares, CDC, Coronavirus, LAHAN, Monday Rx 1794 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an update today about 2019-nCoV. The definition of Patients Under Investigation (PUI) has been expanded with a new category: those with a history of travel from mainland China (with symptom onset within 14 days) who have fever AND lower respiratory symptoms AND require hospitalization are considered to be PUIs. In addition, those with a history of travel from Hubei Province, China (not just Wuhan) within 14 days of symptom onset who have fever AND signs/symptoms of a lower respiratory illness are also PUIs. The CDC message includes a flow chart to identify and assess 2019-nCoV, information on evaluation and testing, guidance for clinicians caring for patients with 2019-nCoV, and updated infection prevention and control guidance. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LAC DPH) reminds providers that PUIs should be asked to wear a surgical mask as soon as they are identified. Patients should be placed in a private room with the door closed for evaluation, ideally an airborne infection isolation room, if available. Healthcare personnel entering the room should use standard precautions, contact precautions, airborne precautions, and use eye protection (e.g., goggles or a face shield). Providers who see a suspect case should call LAC DPH immediately [see reporting information below]. Resources, including a step by step guide for identifying and managing suspect patients, instructions for suspect and confirmed cases and their families or caregivers, FAQs for physicians, travel alert posters, and PUI reporting and laboratory test forms are available on the LAC DPH 2019-nCOV provider webpage.http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/acd/nCorona2019.htm. DPH resources for the general public, schools, media, and other audiences are available at publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus. The full CDC Health Advisory can be found below and online. Reporting Los Angeles County DPH Acute Communicable Disease Control: Weekdays 8:30am–5pm: call 213-240-7941. After-hours: call 213-974-1234 and ask for the physician on call. Long Beach Health and Human Services: Weekdays 8am-5pm: call 562-570-4302. After hours: call the Duty Officer at 562-500-5537. Pasadena Public Health Department: Weekdays 8am-5pm (closed every other Friday): call 626-744-6089. After hours: call 626-744-6043. The full CDC Health Update can be found below and online. This is an official CDC HEALTH UPDATE Read Full Update Registration Now Open for CMA Legislative Advocacy Day, April 14 The California Medical Association (CMA) will host its 46th annual Legislative Advocacy Day on April 14, 2020, on the State Capitol South Lawn. Attendees will have the opportunity to go to the Capitol throughout the day to meet with legislators on health care issues. The meetings will be scheduled and coordinated by local county medical societies. This is a unique event for California physicians and is free of charge to all CMA members. Plan to join more than 400 physicians, medical students and resident members who will be coming to Sacramento to lobby their legislative leaders as champions for medicine and their patients. Registered attendees will receive webinar training on legislation and policy affecting the practice of medicine on March 25. Set April 14 aside to become an advocate for your patients and colleagues! Click below to register! Register Now CalHealthCares Leads the Way Apply for CalHealthCares loan repayment program starting January 13, 2020! The 2020 application cycle for the CalHealthCares loan repayment program is approaching! CalHealthCares will award $340 million in loan repayments to recently graduated physicians and dentists over the next five years to encourage and incentivize providers to provide care to Medi-Cal beneficiaries. The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has contracted with Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC) to administer this program. CalHealthCares has approximately $58.6 million for physicians and $10.7 million for dentists for this application cycle for loan repayments of up to $300,000 in exchange for a five-year service obligation. Qualifying dentists can also apply for a practice support grant in exchange for a 10-year service obligation. Please visit their website to view the updated versions of the following documents: Application Checklist Employment Verification How To Calculate Your Patient Caseload Business Plan Guidelines Physician Frequently Asked Questions Scoring Matrix Instructions on How to Obtain Total Payoff Balance Applications will be accepted from January 13 to February 7, 2020. They are conducting several webinars so applicants may receive detailed information and receive a response to their individual questions on the spot. February 4, 2020; 3:30-4:30 pm Interested physicians and dentists can visit the link below for more information. CalHealthCares CMA is hosting two upcoming webinars on January 30, 2020! CMA's first webinar speaks on AB 5, “The ABCs of AB 5: Classifying Health Care Workers in California’s Gig Economy.” The webinar will discuss recent changes to CA law (AB 5) governing the independent contractor vs. employee distinction, provide physicians who are employers, employees and independent contractors, with a basic understanding of how California classifies various health care workers, what business and workers can do to protect their rights, risks of misclassification and what’s next for AB 5. Additionally, CMA is hosting, “CMS Medicare Updates for 2020” on February 12. This webinar, presented by Dr. Ashby Wolfe, CMS Chief Medical Officer Region IX, will provide an update on the 2020 Medicare physician fee schedule, discuss the Quality Payment Program and E/M documentation changes, among a few other topics. Click the corresponding links above to register for reach webinar. Register Here Visit LACMA Alliance Facebook Page #MondayMotivation “The time is always right to do what is right.” —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Gustavo Friederichsen Chief Executive Officer Los Angeles County Medical Association “If it matters to our LACMA members, it matters to me.”