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12 ways to be a Physician Advocate

Critical issues affecting physicians and the practice of medicine are being decided in the legislative arena now. Health care reform, workforce, Medi-Cal and scope of practice are just a few of the vital issues being debated and voted on by elected officials in Sacramento. The California Medical Association (CMA) has some of the best lobbyists and lawyers in the Capitol, but the most powerful advocate in advancing the cause of physicians and patients is YOU. Below are 12 ways that YOU can be a physician advocate. Use Your Voice Hearing from physicians ...

California Launches Initiative to Improve Quality of Life for People with Dementia

CALIFORNIA LAUNCHES INITIATIVE TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA New Cognitive Health Assessment and Warmline Help Practitioners Identify Dementia Primary care providers in California have a new dementia screening tool, the cognitive health assessment, available to help identify cognitive decline in their patients (age 65 and older) and determine next steps. Dementia Care Aware, a statewide initiative led by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), provides training on this new assessment and support through a warmline to help primary care providers successfully screen for dementia in ...

MBC Will Soon Stop Accepting, Processing Paper P&S Applications

    Beginning June 1, 2023, the Medical Board of California (Board) will no longer accept or process paper-based applications for a Physician’s and Surgeon’s (P&S) License. The Board will remove the paper application from the Board’s website on May 19, 2023.  The Board began transitioning to a paperless application process on February 1, 2023, when it stopped accepting and processing paper-based applications for Postgraduate Training Licenses (PTL) and the application to transition from a PTL to a P&S License.  The transition to a paperless application process helps both applicants and the Board ...

CHCF Shares Resources to Support Palliative Care in Public Hospitals

For people with serious illness, palliative care programs provide essential services to address the complex physical and emotional burdens that come with such illnesses. These programs are available in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Yet even with ample evidence about the positive impact of these services, leaders in palliative care programs often have to make the case about the value of these services. California Health Care Foundation's (CHCF)  collection Resources to Support Palliative Care in Public Hospitals includes information and tools to help leaders of palliative care programs at public health ...

DEA publishes guidance on new training requirements for prescribers of controlled substances

On March 28, 2023, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released recommendations and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued specific guidance on how practitioners can meet the new training requirements for DEA-registered prescribers of controlled substances.  The new law requires all prescribers of schedule II – V controlled substances to meet a one-time eight-hour training requirement on identifying, treating, and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders. Many California-licensed physicians may have already met the new DEA requirements because California requires similar education. While the California Medical Association (CMA) did not ...