PAMED celebrates our CEO and Executive Vice President Martin P. Raniowski, MA, FCPP, CAE, and our many members who were recently named to City & State PA’s Healthcare Power 100 list!

On July 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) declaration for COVID 19 will be renewed for another 90 days. This means that those waivers and flexibilities issued on a federal level will continue to be in effect.

On July 13, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposed rule for the 2022 Medicare physician fee schedule. PAMED staff is currently reviewing the full 1,700+ page proposal and will provide you with important updates and summaries as they become available.

PAMED wrote a letter to the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) opposing the time element to the longitudinal assessment requirement of the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process.

Effective July 1, 2021, the AMA considers “Guides 6th edition 2021” as the most recent edition of the AMA Guides to be used for conducting impairment rating evaluations (IREs) in Pennsylvania. However, despite this latest edition, the “6th edition (second printing April 2009)” remains the statutorily required edition to be used in Pennsylvania. PAMED is working to address the inconsistency between the legislative mandate and the most recent clinical guidelines.

PAMED is thrilled to invite its members who have ideas of innovative projects that can be replicated and applied across the state to submit Letters of Intent for one-time health care innovation grants.

On July 1, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in conjunction with a number of other federal agencies, issued an interim final rule to implement many of the No Surprises Act's provisions.

Learn more about notable changes to the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program as a result of Act 44 of 2021, which was signed into law by the Governor on June 30, 2021.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society awarded grants to physicians and organizations in a new program that encourages innovation in health care. The eight winners were announced at the House of Delegates in Hershey.

There’s no question that expanding physicians’ capacity to respond to social determinants of health can benefit patients. But how can physicians have a greater impact when they’re already so strapped for time?

As a result of PAMED's strong advocacy on behalf of the state’s physicians and patients, we were successful in getting informed consent legislation across the finish line today as it was signed into law by the Governor and immediately takes effect.

Physician assistant (PA) legislation that would among other things abolish the countersignature requirement, discontinue medical board approval of PA agreements, and remove limitations on the number of PAs a physician could supervise passed the Senate on June 25, 2021.

We’ve gotten questions from members asking what it means for health care facilities now that the state’s masking order has been lifted. Learn more in this article.

"To break down these health care barriers, it is important for us as physicians to regularly engage in LGBTQ+ cultural competency and health care trainings, openly identify ourselves as LGBTQ+ competent and affirming so that patients can find us to access needed medical care, and be cognizant of the health care disparities and needs of LGBTQ+ populations to be able to provide high quality care," says PAMED member Tamar Carmel, MD.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society’s delegation to the American Medical Association (AMA) dedicated their time and expertise at the recent Special Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates to discuss important health care issues such as scope of practice, health plan practices, COVID-19, telemedicine, and diversity in medicine.

It’s been in the news a lot lately that opioid abuse has increased during the pandemic, especially in rural Pennsylvania. John Gallagher, MD, former PAMED Board Chair, shares his insights.

Due to PAMED's strong advocacy in Harrisburg, informed consent legislation crossed the finish line before summer recess as Gov. Wolf signed it into law as Act 61 on June 30, 2021.

The Pa. Superior Court found that the Fair Share Act is only implicated when the plaintiff’s comparative negligence is at issue. Prior to the Fair Share Act, when two or more parties were jointly and severally liable for a tortious act, each party was independently liable for the full extent of the injuries stemming from the tortious act no matter their proportion of liability.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) recently teamed up with its Care Centered Collaborative and Highmark to award nearly $4 million in Community Care Grants.

Find out what to do with medical records when a physician retires or passes away.