July 17-28:Future of MedicineJuly 28:UC Davis OrientationAugust 3:Physician Peer Group – Fair OaksAugust 9:Physician Peer Group – El Dorado HillsAugust 9:Physician Peer Group – NewcastleAugust 10:Editorial Committee MeetingAugust 16:Trauma Universal Precautions and Adverse Childhood Experiences
September 7:Physician Peer Group – Fair OaksSeptember 11:SSVMS Board of Directors MeetingSeptember 13:Physician Peer Group – El Dorado HillsSeptember 13:Physician Peer Group – NewcastleSeptember 30:Joy of Medicine Summit
The Managed Care Organization (MCO) Tax bill has been announced. This historic legislation will majorly impact physicians across the state and increase access to care for all Californians. For more information on the details of the deal, check out CMA’s fact sheet here or head to cmadocs.org/mco for more!
SSVMS and CMA members participated in grassroots efforts to contact their state senators and state assemblymembers to vote against AB 616 and SB 815.
AB 616, the Medical Group Financial Transparency Act, would allow confidential and proprietary financial information from physician groups to be released to the public, reversing an agreement made last year when establishing California’s Office of Health Care Affordability. This would harm practices’ abilities to effectively recruit physicians while providing no insight into the care delivery system. This bill passed the Senate Health Committee on July 5 with a 9-1 vote and has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SB 815, the Medical Board Sunset Bill, would change the composition of the Medical Board of California from a physician majority to a public member majority, while increasing the licensing fee by nearly 50%. This bill will be heard on July 11 in the Assembly Business and Professions Committee.
Public and Environmental Health CommitteeMay 16 and June 20. Lindsay Coate shared the Joy of Medicine white paper, based on survey results from Fall of 2022. More than 700 physicians responded and indicated a 44.6% burnout rate, up significantly from the 33.7% rate reported from the 2020 survey.
SSVMS recommends increasing the physician workforce and providing more flexibility in scheduling, adopting a region-wide policy against violence/mistreatment of physicians, prioritizing improvement of the electronic medical records, and promoting physician access to wellness resources.
Emily Halcon, the Director of the new Sacramento County Department of Homeless Services and Housing, shared data regarding homelessness in Sacramento County, as well as the goals of the Department’s first year. Ms. Halcon recommended SSVMS members participate in advisory committees that address the unhoused population. Committee Chair Glennah Trochet, MD authored a resolution requesting that the California Medical Association review a 2017 white paper on firearm violence; Richard Pan, MD will introduce the resolution to the CMA House of Delegates for consideration.
Editorial CommitteeJune 8. Editorial met to plan the July/August issue of SSV Medicine magazine. Additional topics discussed and planned for future issues were: Governor Newsom’s proposed constitutional amendment on firearms, the emotional journey of medical students working with experienced physicians, and how artificial intelligence could impact health care in the near future.
Emergency Care CommitteeApril 4. Emergency Care received an update on SMART Med Clearance. The program has recently launched at Mercy San Juan Medical Center and efforts are being taken to launch it at locations in El Paso, Texas and in Germany. The committee did not meet in June.
Opioid CoalitionThe Opioid Coalition continued focusing on outreach to community events, including distributing NARCAN at more than a dozen local events over the past two months. The Coalition also provided NARCAN training sessions at several local businesses and to the SSVMS Future of Medicine students. The Coalition is seeking a new AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer. Finally, SSVMS members have been encouraged to share their personal stories at various Hear 2 Heal events in the region.
