The Show-Me-State Update is your source for the latest news and information impacting the medical community. Time-sensitive information and requests related to healthcare, advocacy issues, and professional development opportunities from MAFP are included.
August 2022 – Important MAFP News & Events
MAFP Encourages AAFP to Act on FDA Paxlovid Prescribing Standards
John Burroughs, MD, MAFP President, sent a letter to the AAFP strongly encouraging their action to address the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relaxing the prescribing standards for Paxlovid for treating COVID-19. Pharmacists are allowed to prescribe and administer Paxlovid.
The FDA emergency use authorization completely bypasses physicians and gives authority to pharmacists to prescribe without the appropriate training and license to do so. This rule further fragments patient care and risks patient safety. The letter supports pharmacists as part of our healthcare teams; however, they do not have a patient’s history and current treatments to reference when prescribing Paxlovid. We support AAFP encouraging the FDA to consider other methods to increase access to Paxlovid for our patients to ensure they receive the care and treatment needed.
FHFM Silent Auction Fundraiser
The Family Health Foundation of Missouri (FHFM) will hold a silent auction and cocktail reception at the 30th Annual Fall Conference. The event will be held on Friday night (November 11) from 5:30-7:00 pm in Grandview Foyer. Auction items will be available both at the conference and on a virtual platform for those unable to attend our annual gathering.
With the goal of raising $5,000, the FHFM is counting on your generosity to help fund its scholarship program, tobacco/nicotine cessation program for 4th and 5th graders, and leadership development of residents and medical students.
Missouri Academy’s Annual Meeting
The Missouri Academy of Family Physicians will hold its annual meeting on Saturday, November 12, at 11:45 a.m. at Big Cedar Lodge. The meeting agenda and materials will be available later. The annual meeting is held in conjunction with the 30th Annual Fall Conference.
Share Your Story
The MAFP is preparing to celebrate 75 years of representing family physicians in the state. As part of our anniversary, we want to celebrate YOU! Take a few minutes to share a story about why you became a family physician, a patient that impacted you, or how you impacted a patient’s life. These stories will be compiled into the January-March 2023 issue of the Missouri Family Physician magazine.
Call for Gastroenterology Articles
The next issue of MAFP’s quarterly magazine, Missouri Family Physician, will focus on gastroenterology. We are currently accepting abstracts and articles to consider for publication. Students and residents are welcome to submit scholarly articles with physician collaboration. Subspecialist physician colleagues are also welcome to submit articles that support family medicine. For more information, please contact MAFP Assistant Executive Director, Bill Plank, at bplank@mo-afp.org.
Virtual KSAs
Missouri has teamed up with other state chapters to deliver high-quality virtual KSAs this fall. The two sessions are as follows:
• October 16, 2022, 4:30 pm – Care of Hospitalized Patients
• November 20, 2022, 4:30 pm – Care of Women
The registration fee is $150 for MAFP members and $250 for non-members. We only have 20 spots reserved for each session so don’t delay!
Other News from the Show-Me-State
Nominations for AAFP Commission, AAFP AMA Delegation, and ABFM Board of Directors Positions are Being Accepted
The nomination forms for AAFP Commission, AAFP AMA Delegation, and ABFM Board of Directors positions are available online. Accessing the forms is through the AAFP website and is available until October 15, 2022. The AAFP Board of Directors invites members to self-nominate for these important leadership positions. At the December 2022 meeting, the Board of Directors will fill 33 commission vacancies, including three-chapter staff positions on eight AAFP commissions, two AMA Delegation positions created by expiring terms of members, and five nominees to be submitted for consideration to the ABFM for their Board of Directors. Questions can be sent by email to leadershipnominations@aafp.org. The MAFP submits a letter of support for the nominee through this platform.
PDMP: Are We There Yet?
At the July Missouri Board of Healing Arts meeting, Dan Linneman with the Joint Oversight Task Force for Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) provided an update on the status of Missouri’s PDMP. SB63 was passed in 2021 to establish a Missouri program. As the last state to adopt this program, we have the advantage to learn from other states’ issues and address them up front, living up to the state’s motto, “Show Me”. The department has applied for a $400,000 Harold Reyes Grant through the U.S. Department of Justice to help cover the expected $2.1 million needed to run the program. They are looking at integration with EHRs, EMRs, and other technology. The Request for Proposals (RFP) is expected to be distributed in August with the award by the end of the year. The rule making process will take 6-9 months, so the PDMP is expected to be accessible by the end of the first quarter in 2023. Once ready, they will provide training at various locations around the state. Look to MAFP to provide you updates as this arduous process moves to fruition and Missouri can join the PDMP team!
MoHealthNet Updates
Telemedicine
MO HealthNet covers services provided via telemedicine when the service can be performed with the same standard of care as a face-to-face service. Telemedicine services may be provided to a MO HealthNet participant while the participant is at an originating site and the provider is at another location (the distant site.) The originating site facility fee cannot be billed to MO HealthNet when the originating site is the participant’s home. There is no separate telemedicine fee schedule. Reimbursement to health care providers delivering the medical service at the distant site is equal to the current fee schedule amount for the service provided.
Please view Telemedicine Originating and Distant Site Reimbursement Scenarios for more information.
Preferred Drug Database Now Live
The new Preferred Drug Searchable Database for MoHealthNet Pharmacy Program is now live. Please see https://dss.mo.gov/mhd/cs/pharmacy/pages/clinedit.htm, then click on the Preferred Drug Searchable Database.
Other MoHealthNet updates can be found on the Provider Bulletin page:
Tell Congress to Act Now and Stop Medicare Payment Cuts
Family physicians face unsustainable Medicare payment cuts in 2023 unless Congress acts to stop them before the end of the year! The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is calling on Congress to act immediately to avert these cuts, but we need your help! Please join us by Speaking Out! Not only is the AAFP urging Congress to act immediately, but its also calling on Congress to implement long-term Medicare physician payment reform by:
Enacting annual positive Medicare physician payment updates to account for growing practice costs Addressing Medicare budget neutrality limitations prevents the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and our nation from investing in primary care.
Comprehensive Medicare physician payment reform is critical to support your practice and protect seniors’ access to high-quality primary care. Please write or call your members of Congress and urge them to take action on this issue TODAY.
Upcoming Events
- Virtual KSA: Care of Hospitalized Patients | October 16, 2022 | Learn more
- 30th Annual Fall Conference | November 11-12, 2022 | Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale | Learn more
- MAFP Commission and Board of Directors Meetings | November 13, 2022 | Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale
- Virtual KSA: Care of Women | November 20, 2022 | Learn more
- MAFP Advocacy Day | February 13-14, 2023 | Courtyard Marriott, Jefferson City | Learn more
- MAFP Board of Directors Meeting | February 14, 2023 | Courtyard Marriott, Jefferson City
