Monday Rx: Health Equity Council, COVID-19, Docs4LA Mentorship and LACMA Preferred Partners February 22, 2021 American Medical Association, Black physicians, California, COVID-19, Docs4LA, Gentem Health, Health Equity Council, Medicare 2021, Optimize Health, Patient Care Foundation, Paycheck Protection Plan, Race Against Time, Santa Monica College, Telemedicine 1003 COVID-19 Update Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders announced an agreement on a package intended to speed needed relief to individuals, families and businesses suffering significant economic hardship from the COVID-19 recession. A part of this package is bringing California tax law to partial conformity with federal tax policy regarding loans provided by the Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) – a proposal that will benefit many small and solo medical practices across California. California is planning to start setting aside 10% of the COVID-19 vaccine the state receives each week to vaccinate teachers, day care workers and other school employees in the hopes of getting more students back in the classroom. The plan will begin March 1 by setting aside about 75,000 vaccine doses from the state's current weekly allotment, Newsom said. Health Equity Council Tackles Inequities, Racism in Medicine Gov. Gavin Newsom acknowledged Sunday that state and local health officials have stumbled in distributing the COVID-19 vaccine equitably among Latino and Black communities in California. Speaking at a mobile vaccination clinic in Inglewood, Newsom said the state needs to “do more and do better” to provide outreach and set up vaccine sites directly in the communities that have been hit hardest by the virus. Inequity in healthcare is a topic the LACMA Health Equity Council is tackling and tomorrow night's “Race Against Time” Zoom hosted by Dr. Hector Flores with guest Dr. David Hayes-Bautista will focus on COVID-19’s impact on the Latinx community. You can register here. Click here for the Los Angeles Times Opinion Editorial on vaccine hesitancy in Black communities. Last year we shared how LACMA was reckoning with its own past when it comes to racism, implicit bias and the segregationist views shared by one of LACMA’s founders, Dr. Joseph P. Widney. As LACMA relocated headquarters back to 801 Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, the Widney bust was removed and will be placed in storage. Below are the images: The American Medical Association’s founder, Dr. Nathan Davis once blocked the acceptance of a group of Black physicians, largely doing so through parliamentary maneuvers. According to the AMA's president Dr. James Madara, “This historical fact defines Dr. Davis’ role in blocking integration and promoting and embedding racism in the AMA. Dr. Davis’ role was highly active, not passive, and his choice for a racist direction was pursued with energy and force.” The bust and display of Dr. Davis were removed from public view at the AMA's headquarters and placed in their archives where they will rightly serve as educational materials. To read Dr. Madara’s statement, click here. Docs4LA Mentorship Initiative Brings Mentors to Santa Monica College Docs4LA, the LACMA community initiative launched by LACMA immediate past president Dr. Sion Roy before the pandemic, brings together the Santa Monica College Foundation, Santa Monica College's Black Collegians Program, Santa Monica College's Adelante Program and Latino Center, and the AltaMed Institute for Health Equity, to develop an ongoing mentorship program for Santa Monica College's Black and Brown students who are interested in a career in healthcare. LACMA leaders including Dr. Marco Angulo (Altamed), Dr. Valencia Walker, Dr. C Freeman, and Dr. William King will be among the first mentors to speak to groups of students in interactive Zoom sessions this Spring. This will be an ongoing program where LACMA physicians will have an opportunity to mentor young, minority, community college students to help advise them as they explore careers in health care. Gentem and Optimize Health Join LACMA Preferred Partners Gentem Health, Inc., a Silicon Valley-based company founded by a physician, has a simple mission - get healthcare providers reimbursed more and faster with minimal administrative cost. Gentem has joined LACMA’s growing list of preferred partners that deliver real solutions to physician practices. Gentem accomplishes this by leveraging technology such as artificial intelligence, automation, and data to streamline and accelerate the reimbursement process. LACMA members can get a Free Billing & Claims Analysis by signing up here. New customers will receive 1 full month for free. (valid to March 15). Visit: www.gentem.com to learn more. LACMA is constantly looking for ways to help physicians and improve the patient experience while generating revenue for medical practices to groups. Optimize Health is a provider of a digital healthcare platform that enables the deployment of Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) programs. Based in Seattle, Washington, Optimize Health also integrates data sharing so that providers can prevent problems in addition to solving them. Visit: www.optimizehealth.com/lacma to learn more. Enhancing Your Practice’s Telemedicine Program: View the Webcast Telemedicine has quickly become an essential and expected service of the medical practice. The rapid pace that practices have had to adopt telemedicine over the past year has left many questions unanswered and gaps unfilled. In the on-demand webcast, Virtual Care: The Next Medical Frontier, presented by the Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. (CAP), Dr. S. John Korangy, MD, MPH addresses the fundamental challenges many physicians experience when implementing telemedicine programs and provides a framework for a successful operation. View the Webcast Now This webcast will help physicians understand: • What to do and what not to do when implementing telemedicine • Factors for selecting the right technology • How to use telemedicine to maximize revenue • Best practices for meaningful virtual patient visits • Future considerations for providing remote care Dr. Korangy is a Board Certified Neuroradiologist who has spent his entire career developing and implementing telehealth systems. As a founder of CareClix, he developed one of the most robust virtual health platforms in the world with the goal of improving access to quality, cost effective health care services for patients. CAP, a leading provider of superior medical malpractice coverage in California for more than 40 years, remains committed to providing secure and affordable protection supplemented by an extensive array of risk and practice management benefits and resources like these free webinars. 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. Member Deals for February 2021 LACMA members can now access this new monthly summary of upcoming deals and products for February 2021. View Deals Join Us for a Conversation With Dr. Hayes-Bautista Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2021 Time: 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Register Here Webinar: Medicare 2021 in Review Just in case you missed it, the California Medical Association will cover the Medicare updates for this year and answer questions regarding the new evaluation and management (E/M) coding guidelines. Covered topics include: Telehealth and other communications technology New CMS E/M 2021 guidelines Noridian documentation changes Medicare Part B issues Date: Wednesday, February 24, 2021 Time: 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm Register Here Save the Date The Patient Care Foundation’s annual LA Healthcare Awards will be taking place virtually on April 16, 2021. For more information, click here. #MondayMotivation "I learned early on the magic of life is having a vision, having faith, and then going for it." —Elaine Welteroth Gustavo Friederichsen Chief Executive Officer Los Angeles County Medical Association “If it matters to our LACMA members, it matters to me.”