January 10, 2023

NEED TO KNOW

RSVP for VMS Advocacy Day on January 18th!

You are invited to the Statehouse for the 2023 VMS Advocacy Day in Montpelier on January 18th to meet the 2023 class of legislators and to use your voice to advocate for health care policies that will improve your practice environment. This is a unique opportunity early in the new legislative session to let lawmakers know how they can help address the pressing issues you and your patients are facing. We will start the afternoon off with a brief legislative update on VMS' 2023 Policy Priorities. Attendees will then get an opportunity to observe legislative committees or possibly testify. We will then invite lawmakers to join us for a Legislative Reception in the cafeteria entitled, "Health Care Crisis: Steps to Ensure the Survival of Medicine in Vermont."

Please RVSP here.

Invite Your Lawmaker

Please email your lawmakers and introduce yourself as a constituent and invite your lawmaker to the VMS Advocacy Day legislative reception. Start by:

  1. Finding your legislators. Click here and enter your town and find their email by clicking on their name. 
  2. Introduce yourself as a physician/ PA and a constituent in their district
  3. Invite them to the VMS Legislative Reception on Weds. January 18th from 4-6pm in the cafeteria entitled, "Health Care Crisis: Steps to Ensure the Survival of Medicine in Vermont.
  4. Example: "Dear Representative Houghton, Congratulations on your re-election to the Vermont State House. My name is Dr. Jones and I am a primary care physician at UVMMC and just moved to Essex. I look forward to getting to know you and would like to invite you to the VMS Legislative Reception on January 18th from 4-6pm in the Statehouse cafeteria entitled, "Health Care Crisis: Steps to Ensure the Survival of Medicine in Vermont." Please let me know if you can attend. Sincerely, Dr. Jones"

Reach out to Jill with any questions at jsudhoffguerin@vtmd.org

Review and Comment Needed: New Vermont Requirements for X-Ray and Radiation-Producing Machines

The Department of Health has recently released for public comment an updated Radiological Health Rule.  This updated rule provides requirements for the safe handling, use, monitoring, notifications, record keeping, and reporting associated with radiation-producing (x-ray) machines in Vermont. These regulations primarily address diagnostic machines, but also establish requirements for radiation-producing machines used for therapeutics, as well as non-medical applications such as for security (e.g. body scanners) and industrial purposes.  Almost the entirety of Part A of the rule is new and was developed to be similar to the regulations of other states, including Colorado and New Hampshire. It also includes references to regulations and guidance from other agencies and organizations, including the Food & Drug Administration, American Academy of Physicists in Medicine, and the National Institute for Standards & Technology.  Sections 8 and 9 include the bulk of the new requirements, and physician practices that use radiation-producing machines in Vermont should review these sections to ensure they are consistent with current and/or best practices. Please click here for a summary of key sections of the rule.  If your practice uses x-ray or other radiation-producing machines, please review the draft rule and contact Jessa Barnard at VMS at jbarnard@vtmd.org with questions or concerns by Friday, February 3rd.  The rule is open for public comment through February 14th.

Request for Assistance – Broadband Coverage

The Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) is calling on all Vermonters to check their addresses on the FCC National Broadband Map and file a challenge if the information listed is incorrect. Correcting addresses that are incorrectly listed could mean tens of millions of additional federal dollars to build out 100/100 Mbps fiber broadband across the state, meaning reliable, affordable service for all Vermonters.

As someone interested in telehealth, we know reliable internet service is of utmost importance to you. We’re asking you to join our effort to spread the word and ask your employees, patients, and networks to check their addresses on the FCC Map and file challenges if the information is wrong.

To file a challenge, go to Home | FCC National Broadband Map and type in your address. Your home should appear on the map and list services providers claim to have available for purchase at your location. If your location is missing or inaccurately reflected on the map, you can submit a location challenge to correct it. The link to correct information on an existing location is to the right of the address on the map

MISC.

Commissioner of Health Public Health Update Notes and Next Meeting on February 2nd

    You can find notes from the call VMS held call with the Commissioner on Health on January 5th here.

    The next call will be Thursday, February 2nd at 12:30 pm. 

    You can join the zoom meetings here.

    Application Open: In-Person Comprehensive Training Provided by The Clinical and Translational Scholarship Program

    The Clinical and Translational Scholarship Program provides two days of in-person comprehensive training and consultation with the University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction (UVM CORA) clinicians, faculty, and staff experts. The Program is intended for teams of up to four individuals from practices with a primary care focus in rural counties in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and northern New York who are hoping to:

    • Learn how to better support patients in rural areas with complex needs related to substance use disorders (SUD) including opioid use disorder (OUD)
    • Receive extensive training on topics related to OUD/SUD with a specific focus on evidence-based best practices and how to enhance prevention and treatment in rural communities, and
    • Explore issues or challenges occurring within their own practice with other experts in the field and gain the skills and resources necessary to make improvements

    Application and Program Timeline


    The application deadline is January 19, 2023.

    Applicants will be notified in February, and the program will take place in Burlington, Vermont, on April 20-21, 2023.

    For more information and to apply, click here.
     

    EVENTS

    Emergency Medicine Update

    January 22 - 25, 2023

    In-Person - Lodge at Spruce Peak, Stowe, VT

     

    This course will discuss a variety of timely, practical issues that are encountered in the emergency department on a daily basis. Lectures will be engaging, sometimes controversial, and present the audience with examples of both successes and failures in emergency medicine. At the end of this program, participants should be able to distinguish between advancement and change in the emergency department in a relaxed, family-oriented environment where learning does equal fun!


    All emergency medicine professionals are welcome.


    For more information about the speakers, sessions, accreditation and to register please visit: https://go.uvm.edu/stoweem23

    AMA Steps Forward: Private Practice Simple Solutions

    January 24, 2023, 10:15am CST to 11am CD+ST

    Virtual 


    AMA Private Practice Simple Solutions are free, open access rapid learning cycles designed to provide opportunities to implement actionable changes that can immediately increase efficiency in private practices.


    This upcoming Private Practice Simple Solutions session, hosted in collaboration with the AMA Telehealth Immersion Program, is a four-week learning session using the AMA Telehealth Implementation Playbook as a guide and is aimed to support private practices in continuing to leverage telehealth and virtual care to provide patient care.

    Physicians will be able to access a pre-recorded didactic presentation and a discussion board. The discussion board runs for 4 weeks, offering opportunities to interact with fellow cohort members and ask questions of the subject matter experts who oversee the session. 

    Topics addressed will include:

    • • platform evaluation
    • • platform selection
    • • workflow optimization
    • • team-based care optimization

    Register here.

    Hospital Medicine 2023

    January 29 - 31, 2023

    In-Person - Lodge at Spruce Peak, Stowe, VT


    This course will provide practical approaches to common problems in hospital medicine informed by experts and the latest evidence. Target audience: physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses practicing Hospital Medicine. Also open to program administrators, resident physicians, and medical students with an interest in careers in Hospital Medicine. Topics will include: Curbing the Opioid Crisis, Pharmacy Pearls, Long COVID, Biliary Disease, End of Life Care in the Hospital. Optional workshop: POCUS

    For more information about the speakers, sessions, accreditation and to register please visit: https://go.uvm.edu/hm2023

    Grand Rounds with Dr. Libby Stuyt

    January 31, 2023, 9am to 10:30am ET

    Virtual


    Dr. Libby Stuyt is a board-certified Addiction Psychiatrist and has worked in the addiction/behavioral health field since 1990.


    Her current mission is to educate as many people as possible on the un-intended consequences of the

    commercialization of marijuana in Colorado, focusing primarily on the deleterious effects of high potency

    THC on the developing brain.


    This webinar will discuss the negative impacts of high potency THC on community and patient safety.

    Learn more here.

    Register here.

    Eastern Winter Dermatology Conference

    February 2 - 5, 2023

    In-person - Stoweflake Mountain Resort & Spa, Stowe, VT


    The 34th Annual Eastern Winter Dermatology conference is designed to provide high-level continuing education for dermatologists and medical professionals specializing in dermatology, keeping them abreast of new and exciting findings in basic science, clinical dermatology and dermatologic therapy. Primary care physicians and medical professionals with a special interest in dermatology are also welcome to attend. Topics will include: Acne & rosacea update, innovations in connective tissue disease management, diagnosis of early CTCL, hidradenitis suppurativa, pediatric psoriasis issues, professional development - “how to say no,” erythema migrans pearls, management of high risk skin cancer, medical pearls from the literature and more!

    For more information about the speakers, sessions, accreditation and to register please visit: go.uvm.edu/winterderm23

    2023 Epilepsy & EEG in Clinical Practice

    February 10, 2023

    In-person - Main Street Landing, Burlington, VT

    Held in Burlington for the first time, the 2023 Epilepsy & EEG course will focus on providing a review of current medical and surgical clinical practices related to seizures and conjunction with adjunctive EEG testing and will address errors that may lead to incorrect diagnosis and treatment. An interactive and didactic format that includes multimedia presentations and allows for audience participation. Target audience: internists, family practice and general practice physicians, pediatricians, neurologists, physician assistants, nurses, allied health professionals and residents involved in the care of patients with seizures and epilepsy are encouraged to attend.

    Note: This is being held in conjunction with the EAEEG Annual Meeting. There is a discount for attending both events.

    For more information about the speakers, sessions, accreditation and to register please visit: https://go.uvm.edu/epilepsy23

    Future Health Best: Practices for Advancing Care

    March 31, 2023

    Virtual and In-person at Waltham, MA

    Join physician leaders and health care experts from the Northeast for a signature event to share knowledge and research that advances equitable, sustainable, patient-centered, and best-in-class health care.

    For more information about the speakers, program, CME accreditation and to register please visit here.

    Note: You can use the discount code of FHB23NE when registering for this event 

    Save the Dates - Preparing for and Delivering Value-Based Care in Rural Communities

    April 4th, May 2nd, June 6th, and June 27th, 2023


    The Northern Border Region Technical Assistance Center (NBR-TAC) is pleased to present a four-part webinar series on the journey to Value-Based Care (VBC) for rural hospitals and primary care providers/facilities (FQHC’s/RHC’s) interested in learning more about operating in a value-based care environment. This webinar is open to organizations or individuals interested in this topic who are welcome to attend.

    View the topics of the webinar series here.

    Look for more information and registration details in February 2023 

    More conferences from UVM CMIE are expected this Spring to include these topics: Anesthesia, Cardiovascular/Vascular Disease, Geriatrics and Family Medicine. Sign-up to get updates via email for topics that are of interest here

    VTMD.ORG

    Vermont Medical Society

    134 Main Street

    Montpelier, VT 05602

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