August 27, 2024

NEED TO KNOW

Book Your Room and Register Today for the 2024 Collaborative Meeting

Register today for the 2024 Collaborative Meeting of the Vermont Medical Society, American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter, Vermont Academy of Family Physicians, and Vermont Psychiatric Association being held Friday, November 1^st through Saturday, November 2^nd at Topnotch Resort and Spa in Stowe, VT.

You can book your accommodations today through the following methods:

1. Stay on site with a Discounted Room at Topnotch - You can register on this link or use the following discount code VMS24
2. Hotels in the Area - when booking confirm that your dates are correct and that you are comfortable traveling the distance in between your hotel of choice and Topnotch to join us for meeting start times.
3. Airbnbs in the Area - when booking confirm that your dates are correct and that you are comfortable traveling the distance in between your Airbnb of choice and Topnotch to join us for meeting start times.

While the agenda is still being finalized, some of the topics include: Eliminating Race Based Medicine, Primary and Specialty Care Collaboration, Vermont’s Health Reform Future, Artificial Intelligence in Health care and MORE! 

This event also features the awards banquet on Friday evening, which recognizes and honors individuals who have greatly contributed to the advancement of health in Vermont and beyond.  Nominations are still being accepted for leadership awards - nominate someone today!

You don’t want to miss this opportunity to come together to learn, collaborate and celebrate with colleagues around the state.

Governor Phil Scott Appoints DaShawn Groves Commissioner of the Department of Vermont Health Access

Governor Phil Scott and Human Services Secretary Jenney Samuelson announced last week the appointment of DaShawn Groves as the new commissioner of the Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA), effective September 3, 2024. Groves most recently worked as the Special Projects Officer to the Medicaid Director at the Department of Health Care Finance for the District of Columbia, where his work focused on embedding system improvements and health equity into departmental priorities. Prior to that, he was a Lead Project Manager at the Health Care Reform and Innovation Administration, where he designed and tested innovative models of care and payment among Medicaid providers.

Sept 4^th Noncompete Ban Barred by Federal Court

A federal judge has barred on a nationwide basis implementation of the FTC’s ban on noncompete agreements that was set to take effect September 4. In her ruling, Judge Ada Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas wrote that the federal agency had overstepped its power when it approved the ban.  Read more from NPR here.  Read more about the noncompete ban from the June 6th VMS Rounds coverage here.  The FTC has said they may appeal the ruling. 

Ending Medicaid Coverage for COVID-19 At-Home Over-the-Counter Tests – Open for Comment

Vermont Medicaid proposes to discontinue coverage of over-the-counter COVID-19 self-diagnostic antigen tests in the pharmacy benefit effective October 1, 2024. Coverage would remain in place for COVID-19 tests administered by Medicaid enrolled providers including in a medical provider’s office, or clinic, or as inpatient or outpatient hospital services.  See the full proposal here: Coverage Change for COVID-19 At-Home Over-the-Counter Tests. The change is open for public comment through September 24, 2024.  Comments can be submitted directly to AHS.MedicaidPolicy@vermont.gov or reach out to Jessa Barnard at VMS at jbarnard@vtmd.org

Reproductive Health Data Webinar Resources Now Available

A recording of VITL’s webinar on Reproductive Health Data delivered by John Wallace with Primmer is now available.  Find the recording and materials on VITL’s website: https://vitl.net/reproductive-and-gender-affirming-health-care-data-sharing-regulations/  The webinar addressed new federal and state reproductive health data regulations in preparation for implementation deadlines in late 2024 and early 2025. During his presentation, Mr. Wallace walked through resources he developed to help organizations understand and address the impacts of these regulations to their work, including a breakdown between Vermont Shield Laws and HIPAA Regulations and a checklist for managing a legal request for records that are potentially related to reproductive health care.

MISC.

Coming soon: Order Free COVID-19 Tests at the end of September

U.S. households will be eligible to order 4 free COVID-19 tests at COVIDTests.gov beginning in September.  Read more from CNN about how to access no cost vaccines and also no cost Paxlovid for those who are uninsured or who are on Medicare or Medicaid through Pfizer’s Paxcess program.  

ASTP/ONC Releases Health IT Proposed Regulation

The Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy and Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP/ONC) recently released a proposed rule that seeks to further advance health IT infrastructure nationwide and make information more available and accessible to physicians and patients. The rule addresses several concerns the AMA has been raising for years, including support for patients’ access to reproductive health care, and physicians’ ability to honor patients’ individual privacy protections. In addition, ASTP/ONC proposes health IT developers create new technology that reduces physicians’ prior authorization (PA) burdens as well as the harms PA delays cause patients and imposes new requirements on developers to make electronic medication PA tools available to physicians.

Please see the linked AMA brief for more information.  

Evaluation of Blueprint Community Health Team Expansion: Survey & Focus Group

The Blueprint is working with Market Decisions Research to gather input on the CHT Expansion Pilot initiative that began in August of 2023. Providers working in Blueprint affiliated Patient Centered Medical Homes are invited to complete the survey found here: https://us1se.voxco.com/S2/8/ProviderSurvey/

An online focus group for providers to share their experiences will be held this evening, August 27^th at 6pm. To register for the group, please follow this link: https://us1se.voxco.com/S2/8/FGScreener/

Any primary care providers at Blueprint PCMH practices that participate in the CHT Expansion Pilot are encouraged to participate, including MD, DO, ND, PA, NP, RN, & LPN.

UVM Survey to Gauge Comfort Levels Among Vermont Medical Providers with Assessing Risk Factors for MPOX and Assessing the Need for Vaccination

Francisco Cordero, MS2 at the Larner College of Medicine is reaching out with the goal of requesting your participation in a survey that aims to identify comfort levels in assessing risk factors for MPOX infection and also to assess the need for MPOX vaccination. This online survey is part of a research study and will take around 5-10 minutes to complete.  This information will not be identifiable to you in any way and your answers will remain anonymous. This survey is also completely voluntary. Thank you for your time and consideration. Please reach out with any questions at Francisco.cordero@med.uvm.edu. You can also reach out to the principal investigator, Dr. Kristen Pierce, at Kristen.pierce@uvmhealth.org.

The link for the survey is: https://redcap.med.uvm.edu/surveys/?s=XAD8989D9CFF9E48

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. 

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.

Next Commissioner Call Thursday, October 3rd - September Call Cancelled

The Commissioner of Health, Mark Levine, MD, will hold his next Public Health Update with VMS Members Thursday, October 3rd 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 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 28- Additional Resources and Strategies by Michael Chaple
2. September 10 Compassion Fatigue Conversation by Paul Warren 

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 be an in person meeting where a poster competition is hosted for resident and student members.

The ACP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The American College of Physicians designates this live activity for a maximum of 4.5 AMA PRAA Category 1 (credit(s).

Successful completion of this CME Activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 4.5 medical knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credit claimed for the activity. It is the CMA activity providers responsibility to submit participant information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Please visit the Meeting Hub for registration, agenda and details of the meeting here.

If you have any questions, contact Colleen Magne at cmagne@vtmd.org or call at 802-793-0493.

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

-- Unsubscribe --