Monday Rx: Vaccination Sites, Practice Solutions HUB, Race Against Time and More February 8, 2021 ACEs Aware, Biopharmaceutical Industry, COVID-19, FEMA, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Member Benefits, MyTurn, Patient Care Foundation, Race Against Time, Scholarships, small medical practices, solo medical practices, UCLA, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, vaccines, Virtual Grand Rounds 1069 COVID-19 Update It's no secret the state is moving to centralization of vaccines while mass vaccination sites (mega pods) continue to see higher numbers of residents in open tiers. We have been in close communications with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health as their new vaccination plan rolls out this week. MyTurn will be used to register, schedule, and record vaccinations and we will continue to update members as to clinical and operational workflows, addressing data mismatch issues, billing, and best practices in planning weekly dose counts. Mass Vaccinations Sites The state is launching several mass vaccination sites as part of its centralization of vaccine efforts—two run by FEMA and up to twelve run by Kaiser Permanente in partnership with Adventist Health, CMA, Dignity Health, and Futuro Health. All sites will follow the state guidelines on eligibility (65+ and health workers for now) and will use MyTurn for their appointments and notifications. Last week and through the weekend, we shared concerns with LAC DPH relative to equity, particularly impacts on clinics and practices serving Latinx and low-income communities where transportation, food, housing, and job insecurities are real. At the same time, we have shared reimbursement challenges for solo and small medical practices. FEMA Site: One FEMA site will be located at the California State University of Los Angeles, expected to open on February 16. The site will be jointly run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and will be able to administer up to 5,000 doses a day. Kaiser Permanente Site: Kaiser Permanente opened a mass vaccination site at Cal Poly Pomona last week. KP plans to scale up to provide 10,000 doses per day, 7 days a week, at the site. KP would like to engage with health centers near the site to offer vaccines to their patients over 65. LAC DPH is rolling out a new plan to coordinate efforts across many of the sites currently in operation. The plan may include several facets: a) the new statewide partnership of Blue Shield of California and Kaiser Permanente; b) an initiative to reach those without insurance or with limited access to services and mobility already; and c) focus on pharmacies and community clinics where people can go to receive a vaccine. Below is the state vaccination plan update with key news, storage and distribution information and key contacts. View Here Practice Solutions HUB In our quest to support solo and small medical practices, LACMA has engaged more than 25 companies including 10 new companies to solve a variety of challenges our members face each day. From automated billing to electronic health records, practice growth, telehealth, credentialing, identity theft restoration to compliance, private practice physicians now have access to one of the industry’s most robust platform. Visit our preferred partner page here to learn more. We will be adding Gentem (billing) and Medtrainer (compliance) next week! LACMA’s Race Against Time Zoom Equity and social determinants play critical roles in the success of vaccine distribution. LACMA’s Health Equity Council has invited UCLA’s David Hayes Bautista, PhD. to be a featured guest on the Race Against Time zoom, February 23rd, 6:30-7:30 PM hosted by Dr. Hector Flores. Dr. Bautista is partnering with LACMA to conduct a first-ever study on the impact COVID-19 has had on Latinx physicians. Thank you, Dr. Troy Elander, for sharing the recent article in JAMA on why more diversity is needed in medical schools. Read it here. Register for the Race Against Time zoom by clicking below. RSVP Multilingual COVID-19 Information UCLA Fielding School of Public Health is offering multilingual COVID-19 information materials from their social media project to LACMA members for use in their clinical and community practices. Specifically, UCLA has developed an infographic which is now available both in jpeg format (8.5'' x 11'') for printing and in formats appropriate for social media and websites. All infographics and videos are available in English, Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, and Vietnamese and are free of charge and copyright. UCLA asks that users use the UCLA logo on the infographic. View the link here. Vaccine hesitance in the black and Latino communities has generated various campaigns to communicate vaccine safety. UCLA is also designing multilingual consumer/patient education materials for social media and for community organizations related to the COVID-19 vaccination. The goal is to dispel fears about immunization and explain why it is important. Stay tuned for more details. Providing Scholarships for Low Income Medical Students Will Take All of Us As many of you recall, the Patient Care Foundation annual event was postponed in 2020 and rescheduled for April 16th (live-streamed). This year, the goal is to raise $100,000 for scholarships for low-income medical students. We recognize that the expense of medical school and the debt it creates can influence their chosen specialty and location for practice. Given the tremendous impact, COVID-19 has had in underserved areas, it is more important than ever that we do what we can to support these medical students who want to return and give back to their communities. If you would like to contribute to the campaign to raise $100,000 for these incredible medical students or connect us with colleagues, vendors or other contacts, please reach out to myself: gustavo@lacmanet.org, Lisa Le: lisa@lacmanet.org or PCF chair, Dr. Troy Elander: telander@g.ucla.edu. Member Deals for February 2021 LACMA members can now access this new monthly summary of upcoming deals and products for February 2021. View Deals Update on the Biopharmaceutical Industry’s Commitment to Beat COVID-19: Therapeutics Development America’s biopharmaceutical companies are working around the clock to advance safe and effective treatments for COVID-19 and improve outcomes for patients. Please join Dr. Andrew Adams of Eli Lilly, Dr. Julie Gerberding of Merck and Dr. Mike Ybarra of PhRMA for a discussion on the biopharmaceutical industry’s efforts to develop therapeutics for COVID-19. Please click here to RSVP to the event. Viewing information will be shared with those who RSVP on Monday, February 8. Virtual Grand Rounds: Strategies for Turning a Corner on COVID - Vaccine Rollout, Virus Variants, and Vaccine Hesitancy As the vaccine rollout continues, COVID-19 variants that may be more transmissible have become increasingly common across the globe and have already been found in California. The race is on; now, we move to stem the tide of this deadly virus before it becomes resistant to current vaccines. Join CMA to hear from Bechara Choucair, M.D. , White House Vaccinations Coordinator, regarding national updates for vaccine rollout and Erica Pan, M.D., MPH, who will update us on the status of vaccine rollout and the latest epidemiology of the virus and its variants at the state level. We will also hear from Kenneth Hempstead, M.D. and Hendry Ton, M.D. , who will present tips and practical strategies for addressing vaccine hesitancy in healthcare providers and vulnerable populations. Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2021 Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Register Here ACEs Aware LA Peer-to-Peer Learning Pediatricians and Family Medicine physicians, please join ACEs Aware on February 11 at 6 PM via Zoom for the ACEs Aware LA Peer-To-Peer Learning session 2, with Adam Schickedanz, MD. These lectures are accredited by the ABP and AAFP. ACCME CME credit and ABP MOC Part 2. AMA/AAFP CME credit. Childhood Adversity & Health Systems Change Adam Schickedanz, MD Date: February 11, 2021 Time: 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM Click here to register. Webinar: Federal Information Blocking Rules: What Physicians Need to Know The federal information blocking rule, issued by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, takes effect on April 5, 2021. This rule will, with some exceptions, prohibit any action defined as information blocking by physicians, hospitals, and health IT vendors. Join this webinar to learn about the components of this new rule and steps physicians should take to come into compliance. Date: Thursday, February 18, 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 “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” -Dr. Mae Jemison, first African-American female astronaut Gustavo Friederichsen Chief Executive Officer Los Angeles County Medical Association “If it matters to our LACMA members, it matters to me.”