Articles

It has been an honor to serve as president of PAMED. The experience allowed me to personally engage in our legislative process, interact with the media and, most importantly, listen to and appreciate our members.

After a 135-day budget stalemate, Pennsylvania lawmakers and Governor Josh Shapiro struck a bipartisan deal on a $50.09 billion spending plan for FY 2025-26.

The Department of Health published the guidelines and fees that a health care provider or facility may charge in response to a request for production of medical charts or records.

The Trump administration recently issued an Executive Order (EO) addressing state-level artificial intelligence (AI) laws.

Contributed by Marilyn Heine, MD, Member, AMA Board of Trustees, December 2025

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today adopted individual-based decision-making for hepatitis B immunization for parents deciding whether to give the hepatitis B vaccine, including the birth dose, to infants born to women who test negative for the virus.

Ada-Nkem Emuwa, MD, MPH, a leader in community health and advocacy, has been named the 2025 recipient of PAMED’s Community Voluntary Service Award.

PAMED recently received reports that people pretending to be from one of the health-related boards are contacting licensees by phone about their license.

On May 12, 2023, the Department issued Bulletin OMHSAS-23-5, titled ''Confidentiality of Records Changes Due to Act 32 of 2022 and Aligning with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996'' to inform stakeholders of changes to the list of permissible disclosures and new definitions under the Act. The Department is issuing notice of proposed regulations to amend Chapter 5100 to align with Act 32 of 2022 and HIPAA requirements.

On December 5, 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend individual-based decision-making for parents deciding whether to give the hepatitis B vaccine, including the birth dose, to infants born to women who test negative for the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating a multistate cluster of health care-associated, extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Enterobacter cloacae complex identified through whole genome sequencing (WGS).

The transfer of $200 million from the Pennsylvania Joint Underwriting Association (JUA) to the general fund of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was completed on August 13, 2025. The $200 million consisted entirely of unspent premiums collected from Pennsylvania physicians and appreciation from investment of those funds.

The State Board of Pharmacy (board) amends its regulations to include child abuse reporting and training requirements.

The Department of Human Services (Department) announces the addition of psychiatric rehabilitation services (PRS) to the Medical Assistance (MA) Program outpatient fee schedule, beginning on January 1, 2026 ...

The Patient Safety Authority (Authority) and Department of Health (Department) provide updated draft guidance to acute healthcare facilities with reporting duties under the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Act to assist with determining whether specific occurrences meet the statutory definitions of serious events, incidents or infrastructure failures as set forth in section 302 of the MCARE Act.

Shoulder dystocia is a rare but serious condition that occurs when one or both shoulders become stuck during a vaginal delivery and can result in serious injury to the neonate.

The State Board of Medicine (Board) proposes to amend continuing education and volunteer services regulations. In 2016, the Achieving Better Care by Monitoring All Prescriptions Program Act (Act) was amended to require mandatory education for physician and nurse training on organ and tissue donation and recovery.

The State Board of Osteopathic Medicine (Board) proposes to amend continuing education and volunteer services regulations.

Richard Wender, MD, a trailblazer in public health and family medicine, has been named the 2025 recipient of PAMED’s Distinguished Service Award and highest honor.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) recently hosted its hybrid House of Delegates (HOD) meeting, welcoming participants both virtually and in person.