Don't Forget to Register for These Upcoming UAFP Events
Hike with a Doc -
Southern Utah
We hope that you and your family will join us for a social event for family physicians in Southwest Utah next Saturday, November 13 at 11:00am. Enjoy lunch and snacks with other family physicians in the area and bring your family to enjoy Ivins City Park and Snow Canyon State Park on us! Lunch, snacks, and drinks will be provided as well as entrance to the park if you do not have an annual pass.
UAFP Fall CME: Updates in Managing DM and Obesity
Up to 2 Hours of FREE Prescribed CME Credit Available Program 1: Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in T2DM: Personalizing Antihyperglycemic Therapy
Program 2: Obesity: The Disease and Its Management Full program and accreditation information available here When: Thursday, November 18, 2021, 6:30pm – 8:45pm
Where: Online
Cost: Free!
CDC clears way for COVID-19 vaccines for 5-11 year olds
UDOH - The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) last week ordered an initial shipment of 109,000 pediatric doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, and began placing weekly orders this week. The doses are shipped directly to healthcare providers and have already started arriving in their offices. Appointments are already being scheduled at some local health departments and are expected to be widely available at other providers by November 8. A complete list of vaccine providers is available on
the state’s coronavirus web page. “We strongly encourage healthcare providers to familiarize themselves with the CDC recommendations around pediatric COVID-19 vaccine administration and begin immunizing these children immediately,” said Dr. Michelle Hofmann, a pediatrician and UDOH deputy director. “Doctors, and especially pediatricians, will play a critical role in vaccinating this population. We expect doctors will proactively reach out to their patients with the information they need to make the decision to vaccinate their children.” Read more....
Amid COVID-19, childhood vaccinations have drastically declined in Utah
Salt Lake Tribune - Childhood immunizations dropped drastically last year, as COVID-19 prevented many kids from making routine doctors’ visits, according to data from the Utah Department of Health. Now health experts are worried that a swell of anti-vaccine sentiments could make it hard for Utah to get back to its pre-pandemic levels of immunity against preventable diseases. The number of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) and chicken pox vaccinations plummeted in 2020, with about 19,000 fewer kids receiving shots than in 2019 — a drop of about 17%. Read more...
COVID-19 vaccination guidelines: boosters, codes, indications, and timing
AAFP - To keep up with the changing requirements related to COVID-19 vaccines — including boosters, coding, and vaccines for kids — practice staff can use tables created by AAFP as a quick reference guide. The COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. have different age ranges, doses, and dosage schedules, as well as different product CPT codes and different administration codes depending on the dose given. Table 1 provides a summary of the coding for each vaccine. When coding, indicate the product code and the administration code on the claim form. To learn more and to download a larger table image, read here.
Preparing to Care for Afghan Refugees in Utah
By Wagma Mohmand, Anna Gallegos, and Abdulkhaliq Barbaar As Utah begins to welcome hundreds of Afghan refugees, health care providers and social service workers need to understand how to care for these new immigrants in a culturally competent and compassionate way. Afghanistan is a large country with complex, diverse cultures. Though it is important to have general knowledge of this community's background and cultures, we need to remember to work with the individual, assessing individual beliefs and practices. One of
the greatest ways we can welcome people of refugee background is by avoiding common stereotypes. Without an intimate knowledge of Afghanistan’s different cultures, languages, religions, and customs, we run the risk of making assumptions about our new patients. Instead of relying only on the media for information that could be inaccurate or one-sided, we can encourage patients to share their experiences and beliefs with us. Read more...
Time to End Predatory Payment Practices, AAFP Tells CMS
Would you be surprised to learn that a regulatory standard CMS implemented in 2012 to streamline payer-to-physician claims payments has effectively been hijacked by payers and third-party vendors, resulting in lost revenue for physician practices? According to a recent AAFP letter to CMS, that’s exactly what has happened over the past several years. “Specifically, family practices report that they are increasingly forced to pay mandatory, percentage-based fees for the receipt of electronic payments made from health plans
via the electronic funds transfer transaction standard.” Adding insult to injury, the AAFP strongly supported the standard when it was proposed, saying it stood to “eliminate administrative and cost burdens associated with processing paper checks for both payers and physician practices.” Read more...
Pfizer says COVID-19 pill cut hospital, death risk by 90%
AP - Pfizer Inc. said Friday that its experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 cut rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90% in high-risk adults, as the drugmaker joined the race for an easy-to-use medication to treat the coronavirus. Having pills to treat early COVID-19 “would be a very important advance,” said Dr. John Mellors, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh, who was not involved in the Pfizer study. “If someone developed symptoms and tested positive we could call in a prescription to the local pharmacy as we do for many, many infectious diseases,” he said. Read more...
Breaking through Implicit Bias in Maternal Healthcare Free Training Opportunity
The Utah Department of Health has supplemental funding from the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health for the Patient Safety Bundle on Obstetric Care for Women with Opioid Use Disorder. This funding provides free access to the online class “Breaking through Implicit Bias in Maternal Healthcare” for you if you are interested. There are a limited number of licenses available for the online class. Please let Heather Sarin hsarin@utah.gov know by November 15 if you and your team are interested in this training
opportunity. Learn more about the course and participant expectations here.
CME & Ski Schedule Now AvailableWHEN: Friday, February 25 – Sunday, February 27, 2022
WHERE: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Park City, UT
COST: Click here for a full list of registration prices.
Increasing HPV Vaccinations Throughout the Mountain West ECHO SeriesNov 9, Nov 16, Nov 30, and Dec 14 @ 12pm - 1pm
Hosted by the American Cancer Society and Center for HOPE Learn more and register here
Palliative Care Education Series12pm - 1pm, last Tuesday of each month (except Dec.) Oct. through Feb.
Hosted by University of Utah
Learn more and register here
We Love it When You Share!
Recently interviewed by local media? Penned a journal, magazine, or blog article? Win an award in your community? Let us know about it! We love to share what family doctors are up to around the state! Submit your idea here: https://utahafp.regfox.com/share-in-the-uafp-newsletter
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