August 13, 2024

NEED TO KNOW

Today is primary day in Vermont! To vote in person, find your polling place on the Secretary of State’s Office website. Polls open at various times from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.  To see the VTDigger primary election guide, including more information on how to vote today and candidates by county, click here.   The general election falls on November 5^th and VMS will be hosting a number of candidate meet and greet receptions in September and October.  See the dates, locations and registration information here.

VMS Announces Physician Wellness Retreat, Jan 25-28^th

Join the Vermont Medical Society from Sunday, January 25th at 3pm through Tuesday, January 28th at 12pm for deep rest and a reprieve from the busy-ness of medicine.  Experience the benefits of mindfulness, restorative yoga practices and culinary medicine. Cultivate relationships with other physicians while you re-connect with what matters most to you in a grounding, natural environment. Instructors include Dr. Anna Benvenuto, a practicing OBGYN hospitalist, and Doug Wysockey-Johnson, the Program Director of Lumunos. Included with registration are all meals, overnight accommodations at Setu Retreat Center in Brattleboro, 1 massage, and all yoga/meditation/ group sessions & activities. Registration is open until October 18th.  Learn more and register here.

News from the Board of Medical Practice

The Vermont Board of Medical Practice sent an email update to all licensees on August 1st. Be sure to check your email (or spam filter) to ensure you received this important communication. Updates covered:

• The release of a joint statement regarding IV Therapy Clinics from the Vermont Board of Medical Practice and Boards of Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, and Nursing that advises medical professionals and the public about the laws and regulations that apply to the administration of intravenous therapies.
• New concensus guidelines regarding determining pediatric and adult brain death/death by neurologic criteria.
• MD licensees are reminded that MD licenses will expire at midnight on November 30, 2024. Notices will be sent in late August to announce the opening of the window to submit renewals. Check that you will be ready – make sure the Board has your up to date contact information and that you are meeting the CME requirements (30 total hours of AMA PRA Category 1 CME with one hour of qualifying CME on hospice, palliative care, and/or pain management services. If you have a DEA registration, you must also have two hours on controlled substance prescribing).

The Board has also begun the process of updating their rules to achieve a streamlined licensing process. Major changes include moving to requiring FCVS participation but no longer requiring original birth certificates and most other original documents and well as no longer requiring written reference forms. See a summary of the proposed changes here and a redlined version of the rule here. Contact Jessa Barnard at jbarnard@vtmd.org with questions or concerns regarding the rule proposal. There will also be additional opportunities to provide input once the formal rulemaking process has started.

VMS Fall 2024 Legislative Candidate Meet & Greet Series 

Relax with colleagues while getting to know the candidates running for the Vermont legislature from your district. VMS is inviting all Vermont State House and Senate legislative candidates from Bennington, Chittenden, Essex-Orleans, Rutland and Washington counties to these member-led receptions. All physicians and PAs who work or practice in the county are invited.  The receptions run from 6-8 pm at the following dates/locations: Bennington (September 10^th), Burlington (September 17^th); Rutland (October 1^st); Essex/Orleans County (October 3^rd); and Montpelier (October 16^th). 

Register here for all events. For questions, please email Birdie at bpauley@vtmd.org. 

DVHA Proposes Prior Authorization Rule Updates – Open for Comment

DVHA (Vermont Medicaid) has released a draft rule update to the section of regulation that sets forth the criteria, processes and other requirements for prior authorization of Vermont Medicaid services. Revisions include:

• align the rule with 42 CFR § 438.210(d)(2) that requires that expedited prior authorizations be decided within 72 hours of request,
• provide that standard prior authorizations must be decided within seven days of request,
• add clarity regarding the prior authorization process for pharmacy requests, and
• add prior authorization requirements for the coverage of routine patient costs related to a clinical trial.

This amendments are intended to align the rule with federal and state guidance and law, improve clarity, and make technical corrections.  A clean version of the proposal is available here and a redlined version available here.  Comments are due by September 18, 2024 and questions or concerns can be shared with Jessa Barnard at jbarnard@vtmd.org to inform VMS comments on the rule. 

MISC.

Submit a Resolution to VMS – Help Direct the Work of YOUR Society

VMS welcomes members to submit resolution ideas.  Resolutions set the policy positions of VMS and often drive VMS advocacy work at the state and federal levels.

Resolutions can be submitted on a year-round basis, any time by any VMS member or group of members, including student members. Resolutions are intended to express composite positions of the VMS and are to suggest a significant course of action to be taken by the Society. To see adopted VMS resolutions, click here.

Once a resolution idea is submitted by a member, the resolution will be reviewed by VMS staff, who may assist with further drafting or clarification.  Resolutions are then distributed for comment and non-binding survey to all membership. At a Board meeting after gathering member feedback, the VMS Board will review the resolution and feedback of membership.  All resolutions presented to the Board then require a majority vote of the Board for action, including adoption, amendment or referral.

To submit a resolution idea, please fill out the form, available here or contact jbarnard@vtmd.org for further assistance.

The Drug Utilization Review Board is Seeking Board Members

The Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) manages the publicly funded benefit programs for the State of Vermont, including the pharmacy benefit programs, and oversees the activities of the Drug Utilization Review Board (DURB). The DURB is composed of prescribers, pharmacists, and other qualified medical professionals that meet approximately every six weeks with a total of seven meetings per year. The meetings are held via a hybrid model consisting of virtual or in-person attendance options.

The meetings typically review:

• Drug utilization review and analyses
• Review of new drugs, new indications, and dosage forms
• Therapeutic class review including recently published treatment guidelines and best practices that may influence clinical criteria
• Safety information
• Drug information pertinent to managing the drug benefit programs of DVHA for the State of Vermont

The DURB description, meeting schedule and location, meeting agendas, meeting minutes, current members, and contact information can be found at: https://dvha.vermont.gov/advisory-boards/drug-utilization-review-board

For additional information about the Drug Utilization Review Board and recruitment opportunities please email Taylor Robichaud at Taylor.A.Robichaud@Vermont.gov 

AMA Continues to Urge Action on Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

This summer the American Medical Association's top federal priority remains reforming Medicare's broken physician payment system, and we need your help!

According to an AMA analysis of Medicare Trustees data, Medicare physician payment has been reduced 29% adjusted for inflation from 2001–2024. The Medicare physician payment system lacks an adequate annual physician payment update, unlike those that apply to other Medicare provider payments.

Unfortunately, CMS' recent proposed rule has physicians slated for an additional 2.8 percent Medicare payment reduction on January 1.  This latest inexcusable cut looms despite the fact that CMS also projects the increase to the medical inflation to be 3.6 percent in 2025.

That's why it's so urgent that Congress work with the physician community to develop long-term solutions to the systematic problems with the Medicare physician payment system and preserve patient access to quality care. As Congress returns home for the annual August recess, physician advocates have unique opportunities to engage with their members of Congress "back home" in the district.

The AMA has developed an online August recess resources site that is your one-stop-shop for toolkits, legislative calls to action, issue briefs, infographics and detailed information on contacting members of Congress.

Nominate Healthcare Leaders for VMS Awards

Nominations are now open for VMS’ Leadership Awards!  We are asking members to nominate Vermont leaders who have provided outstanding contributions to the medical profession, to health organizations and to the welfare of the public. Please submit a nomination here.  Nominations are open through August 23, 2024.

Awards include:

The awards ceremony will be held on the evening on November 1st at the 211th VMS Annual and Collaborative Meeting. Stay up to date on event details here.

Next Commissioner Call Thursday, September 5, 2024

The Commissioner of Health, Mark Levine, MD, will hold his next Public Health Update with VMS Members this Thursday, September 5th at 12:30 pm. You can join the zoom meetings here.

He held his most recent VMS member call on August 1st. Notes from the call are here.

EVENTS

Vermont Opioid Response Network Xylazine Webinar Series

August 14, August 28, September 10 at 6:30 pm

Please join Vermont Department of Health in collaboration with the Opioid Response Network for a webinar series on xylazine and wound care.  The curriculum will include an overview of the risks associated with xylazine use, best practices for identifying and treating wounds, conversational strategies for enhancing engagement in wound care among PWUDs, as well as harm reduction focused resources and recommendations for improving the health of this population. 

Vermont: Xylazine & Overdose Prevention Webinar Series – Registration Link for all Sessions

1. August 14 - Wound Care Outreach: Brief Negotiated Interview Guided by Motivational Interviewing by Stephanie Rozen
2. August 28- Additional Resources and Strategies by Michael Chaple
3. September 10 Compassion Fatigue Conversation by Paul Warren 

Heat, Health, and Equity:

Please join the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) Region 1 (New England) and the OASH Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE) – for a webinar to learn about how severe heat is affecting our community, how our community and federal government are responding, and the federal tools available. 

This webinar is open and free to attend for all who want to learn more about the multi-sector approach to addressing severe heat.  

Register here.

Birth Certificate Quality Improvement Initiative Learning Series

September 9, October 7, 2024

Virtual

In collaboration with the Vermont Department of Health Division of Family and Child Health and the Division of Health Statistics and Informatics, the Perinatal Quality Collaborative - Vermont (PQC-VT) is embarking on a vital statistics birth certificate quality improvement initiative (BCQII).

The project aim is to improve the accuracy of key birth certificate variables to support public health and quality improvement efforts. The objective is to increase birth certificate data quality in Vermont by providing education opportunities, technical assistance, and shared learning to Vermont hospital teams involved in birth certificate data collection.

Register here for the learning series.

Save the date: 2024 Vermont Suicide Prevention Symposium

September 13, 2024

Join the Vermont Collaborative for Practice Improvement & Innovation in-person on September 13, 2024 at the Vermont State University Randolph campus for a day-long conference that will include presentations, workshops, and networking opportunities featuring leading voices in the field from Vermont, New England, and beyond. Our focus is on equitable, sustainable, and comprehensive suicide prevention with sessions designed for mental health clinicians, peer support workers, advocates & families, individuals with lived experience, healthcare providers, educators, and community members.  This event is presented by the nonprofit Vermont Collaborative for Practice Improvement & Innovation in partnership with the Vermont Department of Mental Health and United Way of Northwest Vermont.

Saving Time: Practice Innovation Boot Camp

September 23 - 24 AMA Plaza, Chicago

This two-day, interactive boot camp from the AMA STEPS Forward® Innovation Academy equips attendees with the time-saving tools and strategies needed to reform their organizations and enhance professional satisfaction. CME eligible.

Learn more here.

2024 Clinical Quality Symposium - Comprehensive Care Nourishing Minds, Bodies, and Communities

October 16th Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT

Registration coming soon!

Vermont ACP Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting

October 18, 2024

Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, VT

The Vermont ACP Chapter's Annual Scientific Meeting will occur on

Friday, October 18, 2024.

This will be an in person meeting. We will

again host a poster competition for resident and student members.

Update your medical knowledge, engage with colleagues.

Meeting details and agenda forthcoming.

Learning Collaboratives on In-Basket Reduction and Reducing Regulatory Burden

October 2024 – March 2025

AMA STEPS Forward^® Innovation Academy is launching two new, six-month learning collaboratives on optimizing the in-basket to reduce work burden and rethinking how organizations apply regulatory rules to clinical practice. Each collaborative will convene dyads or triads of leadership representatives from multiple organizations to engage in a longitudinal shared learning experience. Limited space available. Learn more.

For more information about offerings from UVM CMIE, visit here.

Vermont Medical Society

134 Main Street

Montpelier, VT 05602

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