APRIL 15, 2021
Long-delayed Medicaid report outlines state’s ambitious strategies
Georgia Health News
Georgia’s new report on Medicaid quality, which came out more than a year late, says state officials will focus more on addressing health disparities in the public insurance program. READ MORE
Following FDA & CDC guidance, DPH pausing J&J vaccinations in Georgia
Georgia Department of Public Health
Following the guidance and recommendations of the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Georgia Department of Public Health is pausing J&J vaccinations in Georgia until further notice. READ MORE
Moderna says protection from its COVID-19 vaccine still strong six months on
Reuters
Moderna Inc said on Tuesday that its COVID-19 vaccine still showed strong protection against the illness six months after people received their second shot, with efficacy of more than 90 percent against all cases of COVID-19 and more than 95 percent against severe COVID-19. | READ MORE
With Johnson & Johnson out, Savannah providers fill in with other COVID vaccines
Savannah Now
With the FDA recommending a pause in the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine because of a rare side effect, Savannah area providers are falling back on the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. | READ MORE
Study: Physician practice leaders’ perceptions of Medicare’s MIPS
Springer Link
Practice leaders reported several challenges related to MIPS, including irrelevant measures, administrative burden, frequent programmatic changes, and small incentives. They held mixed views on whether the program improves patient care. | READ MORE
Bootleg fentanyl linked to spike in overdoses [in Georgia]
Georgia Health News
Georgia’s Department of Public Health has issued a warning about a cluster of overdoses from counterfeit pills that contain fentanyl, a potent opioid drug. | READ MORE
White bagging: Insurer shift on drugs raises alarm (quotes MAG)
Georgia Health News
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Georgia’s largest health insurer, is requiring that oncology infusion drugs for its patients be purchased through CVS Specialty, or through the insurer’s own specialty drug network that has similar pricing. There will be similar restrictions on other infusion/injection drugs. | READ MORE
New information-blocking rules: What doctors should know
AMA Wire
The AMA has developed resources to help physicians navigate a complex federal regulation aimed at ending information-blocking practices that impede the secure exchange and use of electronic health information by patients, doctors and health care organizations. | READ MORE
MAG Treasurer Thomas Emerson, M.D., to run for MAG president-elect
MAG News
Medical Association of Georgia Treasurer Thomas Emerson, M.D., has announced his plans to run for the position of MAG president-elect during the organization’s House of Delegates meeting on Jekyll Island in October. | READ MORE
Georgians taking advantage of special enrollment on exchange
Georgia Health News
More than 40,000 Georgians have signed up for health coverage on the state exchange since a special enrollment period began in February. | READ MORE
As COVID-19 peaked, prior authorization’s harmful burdens continued
AMA Wire
Nearly 70 percent of physicians report that health plans either never relaxed their prior authorization requirements to help ease burdens during the pandemic, or the payers did so temporarily before reverting to business as usual. | READ MORE
More Black Americans open to vaccines after outreach efforts
Associated Press
Campaigns aimed at Black communities across the U.S. are making headway in the effort to persuade people that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. | READ MORE
In the COVID-19 vaccine push, no one is speaking Gen Z’s language
STAT News
Useful COVID-19 information isn’t reaching the Instagram generation. There’s almost no messaging specifically tailored to them from federal or state public health officials. There’s hardly anything official on Tik Tok. And even the limited efforts to reach them where they are – like Instagram’s links to its ‘COVID-19 Information Center’ – aren’t working. | READ MORE
5 steps to address burnout on the front lines of COVID-19 care
AMA Wire
Surveys showed that physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston were burned out. That burnout was also heightened by the added stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. But as well-being efforts were launched across the system to confront physician burnout, solutions fell short, forcing leaders at MGH to shift focus to meet physicians and other health professionals where they were. | READ MORE
Many older Americans use online ratings when choosing physicians
Healio
More than 40 percent of older adults in the U.S. said they utilized online ratings or reviews when choosing their doctor, according to survey data published in Annals of Internal Medicine. | READ MORE
Advertise with MAG: Please contact Tom Kornegay at 678.303.9260 or tkornegay@mag.org if you are interested in running an ad in the Georgia Pulse, which is a weekly compilation of media reports that are related to health care and the medical profession. It is sent to more than 6,000 physicians in Georgia.
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