Wv Board of Medicine Fall 2020
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WV BOARD OF MEDICINE FALL 2020Fall - PAGE 2020 1 Upcoming Board Meeting: November 9, 2020 Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Medicine’s office remains closed to the public. Upcoming Board meetings primarily will be held via virtual platform. If any member of the public wishes to attend a virtual meeting, contact Executive Director Mark Spangler at [email protected] for instructions on how to join the meeting. Letter from the President their hard work zens of West Virginia are among and dedication. the most vulnerable in relation to If there is anything posi- Early on, the COVID-19 virus. Therefore, tive to be realized from West I worked with these temporary modifications Virginia’s ongoing State of Board Vice that allow for increased patient Emergency, it has been the President Ash- access, via telemedicine, to opportunity to work even ish Sheth, qualified providers during these more closely with my fellow Executive Di- unprecedented times have been Board members, the Board rector Mark vitally important. of Medicine staff, and lead- Spangler and Another opportunity for col- Dr. Challa ers at the community, state West Virginia laboration took place on May and national levels. Sen. Joe Man- (continued on page 2) This was true from the chin’s Office to effectively ad- time Gov. Jim Justice issued dress concerns regarding the the emergency declaration on need for telemedicine expansion Contents March 16. The Board of Medi- during the State of Emergency. Influenza Season ................... cine, in cooperation with the There is now payment parity for & COVID-19 Pandemic......... 2 Governor’s Office, the Board of audio-only telehealth services Telemedicine Regulations .... 2 Osteopathic Medicine, and oth- with video telehealth services. Social Media Statement ....... 3 ers, sought changes to the Med- We contributed to a subsequent COVID-19 Info ...................... 3 ical Practice Act and the Physi- news release issued by Manchin WVBOM Staff ....................... 4 cian Assistants Practice Act to and fellow West Virginia Sen. provide regulatory relief to prac- Shelley Moore Capito advocat- Staff Updates ........................ 4 titioners on the front lines. ing for the U.S. Department of Board News .......................... 5 The resulting regulatory flex- Health and Human Services and Board Actions ....................... 6 ibility has allowed the Board to Centers for Medicare & Medic- Drs. Challa and ...................... implement rule suspensions, aid Services to increase tele- Sheth Re-Elected ................. 8 emergency rules and other prac- health reimbursements to equal 2020 Renewal Concludes..... 9 tices. Our remarkable licensing other audio-visual and in-person FPMB Update ....................... 9 staff has processed 1,367 emer- visitation reimbursements. CMS New Licensees ................... 10 gency MD registrants and 102 increased the payment range emergency PA registrants as of for these services, retroactive to Upcoming CME Audit ......... 14 Nov. 1 to help deal with the CO- March 1. IMLCC Numbers Jump ....... 15 VID-19 crisis – a testament to We all recognized that the citi- Scam Alert .......................... 15 WV BOARD OF MEDICINE FALL 2020 - PAGE 2 Influenza Season & COVID-19 Telemedicine Pandemic By Quartel-Ayne Amjad, MD, MPH 2. Covering your nose and Regulations WV State Health Officer mouth with a face covering or Discussing routine vaccina- Relaxed mask; and, During the COVID-19 State tions with your patients is crucial 3. Staying at least six feet away of Emergency, and to ensure during the COVID-19 pandemic. from people or large crowds. maximum flexibility for licensees Please be sure to discuss the and to surge response to CO- Influenza Vaccine with your pa- Early testing and detec- VID-19, the West Virginia Board tients as early as possible. tion of COVID-19 is important. of Medicine encourages the use There are three crucial miti- Testing opportunities have in- of telemedicine technologies, gation efforts to help reduce the creased throughout the state consistent with the standard of spread of COVID-19 which also through community-based test- care, and where appropriate for helps reduce the spread of Influ- ing events, and at local health patients. enza: departments, pharmacies, and Gov. Jim Justice’s Executive 1. Washing your hands with physicians’ offices. Please Order 7-20, as amended by Ex- soap and water for at least 20 share this information with your ecutive Order 10-20, suspends seconds; patients. certain provisions of the Medical Practice Act to facilitate the use (continued from page 1) Letter From the President of telemedicine technologies. 30, when I presented an online comments and/or suggestions In addition, for the duration PowerPoint discussion of “CO- to [email protected]. of the COVID-19 emergency, VID-19: West Virginia’s Regu- On a personal note, I want the prohibition on establishing latory Response” to members to thank the Board’s Nominat- a provider-patient relationship of the American Association ing Committee, including former via audio-only communication is of Physicians of Indian Origin board member Dr. Harry Dun- suspended temporarily. If audio- (AAPIO). You may recall that I can, Tori Takubo, PA-C, and Dr. only communication satisfies the had presented to AAPIO last Jonathan Lilly for their diligence standard of care for a particular July during the organization’s in soliciting nominations for the patient presentation, it may be annual meeting in Atlanta on the election of officers. I think I can used to establish a provider-pa- topic of “Physician Licensure: speak for Dr. Sheth when I say tient relationship and to provide The Dos and Don’ts.” This time, that we are humbled by the on- patient care. Sen. Manchin joined the Satur- going support reflected in the Effective March 1, the U.S. day discussion remotely, while outcome of the election (see re- Department of Health and Hu- Sen. Capito offered a video lated story, Page 8 ) and grateful man Services and Centers for statement. for the continued confidence in Medicare & Medicaid Services We continue to explore ev- our leadership as expressed by increased telehealth reimburse- ery opportunity to address the our fellow Board members. ments to equal other audio- COVID-19 crisis through the We look forward to protect- visual and in-person visitation creative use of all available re- ing the public and serving WV reimbursements. sources. The Board, as always, health care consumers and our welcomes your comments and licensees as we navigate these suggestions. Please submit challenging times. WV BOARD OF MEDICINE FALL 2020 - PAGE 3 Board Revises Social Media Position Statement The West Virginia Board of compliance with all relevant pro- is posted in a closed or private Medicine has embarked on a fessional and legal responsibili- forum and regardless of privacy long-term project to review and ties, as well as policies and guide- settings and levels of encryption update its position statements on lines of your state medical board. used. various topics. 3. Maintain appropriate pro- 9. Consider any social media During its January 2020 meet- fessional boundaries with patients post as permanent, even after it ing, the Board approved a revised and their surrogates, as well as has been deleted. policy titled “The Appropriate Use physician and non-physician col- 10. Be mindful of how and of Social Media and Electronic leagues at all times, whether on- where you use devices, often Communications in Medical Prac- line or in- person. referred to as AI Assistants, that tice.” This action followed the re- 4. Politely turn down requests record conversations, such as lease of model policy guidelines from patients to connect on social Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, by the Federation of State Medi- networking sites. It may be ac- Google’s Google Assistant and cal Boards’ Ethics & Profession- ceptable to accept requests on (continued on page 8) alism Committee in April 2019. professional accounts, provided The revised position state- that the account is used for pro- ment includes discussion of: prin- fessional purposes only. ciples and ethical implications of 5. Communicate and engage COVID-19 Info social media and electronic com- in social media in personal and The West Virginia Board of munications; current and emerg- professional settings with civility Medicine continues to partner ing social media and electronic and respect for others. with the West Virginia Bureau for platforms; use cases for social 6. Comport yourself profes- Public Health, the West Virginia media and electronic communi- sionally, even when communi- Coronavirus Hotline (1-800-887- cation; professional disciplinary cating or posting in a personal 4304) and other state entities to action that may result from inap- capacity. If you discover unpro- ensure that practitioners have propriate use of social media; and fessional or inappropriate content access to updated information guidelines and recommendations online posted by a professional concerning Coronavirus Disease for both personal and profession- colleague, notify the individual so 2019 (COVID-19). al use. that they may remove the post or The information includes The following guidelines are change their methods of commu- available testing criteria, informa- based on the principles of eth- nicating. If the situation does not tion on setting up office personal ics and professionalism, and are improve, report the behavior to protective equipment (PPE) pro- recommended for physicians who the state medical board or other cedures and related questions. use social media or electronic relevant authority. The Board will continue to up- communication in their personal 7. Do not engage in disrup- date its website as new guidance and professional lives. tive behavior online such as cy- becomes available. berbullying, and report instances 1. Do not disclose individually of such behavior by professional Additional resources include: identifiable patient health infor- colleagues to the state medical WVDHHR COVID-19 mation or post images or videos board or other relevant authority. CDC Information for Providers online without the express written 8.