Monday Rx: Monkeypox Outbreak, COVID-19, $25 Minimum Wage, LACMA Solutions Portal and Upcoming Events July 26, 2022 CDC, Centers for Disease Control, Congress, Cooperative of American Physicians, coronavirus, COVID-19, Finances, international travel, JYNNEOS, L.A. County, LA Dodgers Healthcare Appreciation Night, LACMA Solutions Portal, Los Angeles, Los Angeles City Council, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Medicare Payment, Monkeypox, Physician, Public Health, Webinar 2625 Monkeypox Outbreak In early May, an outbreak of monkeypox spread across several countries that do not normally report monkeypox, including the United States. Prior to the current outbreak, recorded cases in the U.S. were linked to international travel to countries where the disease commonly occurs or through imported animals. Between early May and June 25th, the U.S. recorded 201 cases of monkeypox. As of July 21st, the number has increased more than tenfold to 2,324 cases and has been doubling each week. More than 12,550 monkeypox cases and 3 deaths have been reported in 68 countries since early May. On July 23, the World Health Organization Director-General determined that the multi-country outbreak of monkeypox constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. As of this week, there have been 162 cases of monkeypox in Los Angeles County, all male and 138 being LGBQT+3 communities. The Los Angeles Department of Public Health has developed a hub for information for the community here and specifically medical providers here. With the arrival of an additional 9,000 JYNNEOS doses and an additional 7,000 doses arriving late last week, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is expanding eligibility for the monkeypox vaccine to include additional residents at higher risk of exposure. Last week, the monkeypox vaccine was made available for gay men, bisexual men, men having sex with men, and transgender persons falling under specific categories (outlined on county hub). This past Saturday, LACMA President-elect Dr. Jerry Abraham, an infectious disease specialist and director of Kedren Vaccines with Kedren Health partnered with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Wesley John Wesley Health Centers (JWCH) and Midtowne Spa LA to distribute much-needed vaccines to those most at risk. COVID-19 Continues to Linger Public Health Reports 15,319 New Positive Cases and 33 New Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Los Angeles County Since Saturday Weekly coronavirus cases are showing early signs of flattening in Los Angeles County, but they remain at significantly elevated levels as a decision on whether to impose a new indoor mask mandate looms on Thursday. Since cases began increasing in late March, there have been three times where they began to drop, only to be followed by steeper increases later, with transmission worsened by increasingly ultra-contagious variants capable of reinfecting people within several weeks. But the recent flattening in cases was something that L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer also noted publicly recently. Should a flattening in cases be followed by a steep decrease in the coming days — something that cannot be predicted with certainty — it is possible that Ferrer could postpone a universal mask mandate that was set to be enacted on Friday if conditions do not improve by then. “You can see here this sign of plateauing cases of the past week, and we do hope this continues,” Ferrer said at a press briefing Thursday. “I do want to note, however, that over the past two months, we have seen some small dips that were then followed by additional increases, so it does make sense for us to continue to be cautious, given the relatively high number of cases we see.” The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) today released the latest data on COVID-19. 15,319 New COVID-19 cases (3,268,588 cases to date) Monday 7/25 – 3,072 Sunday 7/24 – 5,333 Saturday 7/23 – 6,914 33 New deaths due to COVID-19 (32,637 deaths to date) Monday 7/25 - 5 Sunday 7/24 - 8 Saturday 7/23 - 20 Hospitalization numbers are unavailable due to the delay in reporting from the California Department of Public Health More than 12,312,000 individuals tested; 24% of people tested positive to date $25 Minimum Wage, An Unfunded Mandate The Los Angeles City Council minimum wage hike ordinance of $25 per hour for certain workers at private hospitals, medical practices hospital-based facilities and dialysis clinics, completely excludes workers who do the exact same job at other facilities such as nursing homes, medical centers, and more. These measures mandate higher wages for workers at private health care facilities but provide zero increases for workers at public hospitals and smaller clinics that primarily serve uninsured and disadvantaged communities. This will lead to workforce shortages at smaller clinics and public health care facilities, jeopardizing access, and quality of care for Southern California’s most disadvantaged and already underserved communities. The LACMA board of directors will hear from Adena Tessler, Regional Vice President, Hospital Association of Southern California, this week about joining the coalition to oppose such ordinances which do not consider the economic, workforce and health impacts. New LACMA Solutions Portal to Go Live Next Week & One Physician’s Take on Finances As I have been sharing the past weeks, the staff and consultants have been working hard to build and unveil a new platform for members that features over 100 partners. A key category that is important to physicians, both young and not so young, is financial stability. While the new platform will have a number of resources including Physicians Financial Network, Lincoln Financial Group and Transact Capital to name a few, I wanted to share the five financial mistakes doctors make according to Jordan Frey, MD, a plastic surgeon at Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, New York, and founder of The Prudent Plastic Surgeon. Read the article here. Free Webinar: Medication Errors and Your Liability Approximately 1.3 million emergency department visits each year are due to adverse drug events, which in many cases are unknowingly the result of medication errors made by physicians and other healthcare professionals. The Cooperative of American Physicians (CAP) is pleased to invite you and your staff to attend a free one-hour webinar, Medication Errors and Your Liability: Tips for Reducing Risk, to help strengthen your practice’s medication management procedures and reduce your risk of a medical malpractice lawsuit. This webinar will help attendees: Describe the prevalence of medication prescribing and adverse drug events in the United States. Understand the complexities of the medication process in the ambulatory setting. Utilize Drug Information Resources for safe medication prescribing. Identify high risk medications and apply safer prescribing strategies to vulnerable patient populations. Implement steps to establish a culture of safety to reduce medication harm. The webinar will be followed by audience Q&A. All registrants will receive the recording and slides once they are available. CAP is pleased to present this program in association with our county medical society partners statewide. As a leading provider of superior medical malpractice coverage in California for more than 40 years, CAP remains committed to providing physicians with secure and affordable protection and relevant practice and risk management resources, such as these webinars, to help them run safe and successful practices. To learn more about becoming a CAP member, please call 800-356-5672 or email MD@CAPphysicians.com. Request an Instant Quote today to see how much you can save on medical malpractice coverage through CAP. Accreditation Statement: The Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. is accredited by the California Medical Association (CMA) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. *Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Professional liability coverage for CAP Members is provided by Mutual Protection Trust pursuant to Ins. Code section 1280.7 Medication Errors and Your Liability: Tips for Reducing Risk Date: Wednesday, July 27 Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. PDT Register Now Register for Medicare Payment Principles Webinar July 27 The Medicare physician payment system needs an overhaul to remedy financial instabilities impacting physician practices due to the pandemic, statutory payment cuts, lack of inflationary updates and significant administrative burdens. To define the goals of reform, the AMA and 120 state medical and national specialty societies created the “Characteristics of a Rational Medicare Physician Payment System.” Hear what these principles call on Congress to do to improve the Medicare physician payment system in a new AMA Advocacy Insights webinar on Wednesday, July 27 at 10:00 a.m. Central. Hosted by Sandra Fryhofer, MD, chair, AMA Board of Trustees, the webinar will dig deeper into some of the causes of the current systemic issues and chart a path forward. Additional speakers include: Cynthia Brown, vice president, AMA Government Affairs Jason Marino, director, AMA Congressional Affairs Learn more about the Medicare Physician Payment Principles. Date: July 27, 2022 Register Here Join Us for LACMA Family & Friends at LA Dodgers Healthcare Appreciation Night! The Los Angeles County Medical Association is excited to spend an evening together with all members at the Dodger Stadium for Dodger Healthcare Appreciation Night! Tickets: $20 for LACMA members & first guest $34 for each additional guest up to 3 guests per member. Limited tickets available, RSVP by August 24, 2022. This special event ticket package includes your ticket to the game and an exclusive Healthcare Appreciation Night lightweight hoodie.* Be sure to stick around after the game for Friday Night Fireworks! ***Tickets will be distributed by LACMA prior to the game through MLB Ballpark App once payment has been completed. Attendees will need to download MLB Ballpark App*** Date: September 30, 2022 Time: 7:10 pm PST RSVP Here #MondayMotivation "Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there." Gustavo Friederichsen Chief Executive Officer Los Angeles County Medical Association “If it matters to our LACMA members, it matters to me.”