It was an exciting week at NJAOPS yet again! On Tuesday, we had the pleasure of joining AOA’s President, Ira Monka, DO, at Rowan Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine to present to the Medical Students as well as some faculty members. We thank Rowan Virtua SOM as well as the AOA in providing us with this incredible opportunity. 

On Wednesday, we also participated in Rowan University’s Health Care Summit, which was held in Trenton, New Jersey. The summit was organized by NJAOPS’ Immediate Past President, Stephen Scheinthal, DO. The Healthcare Summit featured few panelists including Assemblyman, and Chair of the Healthcare Committee, Dr. Herb Conway. The Summit focused on the history of mental health and where we are now versus where we need to be. Please enjoy few pictures below:

NJAOPS joined the AOA in supporting advocacy efforts for the “Reserving Seniors Access to Physicians” by being one of the forty professional medical associations to sign onto AOA’s letter urging the House and Senate leadership in reversing the Medicare physicians payment cuts which went into effect on January 1^st. Thank you to the AOA in allowing us to be part of this very important advocacy. 

Please don’t forget that AROC 2024’s early bird discount ends on Wednesday, January 31^st! 

We wish you a wonderful weekend ahead!

George Scott, DO, DPM

President, 2023-2024, NJAOPS

Tajma Kotoric 

Chief Executive Officer, NJAOPS 

Early Bird Pricing Ending Soon!

Make sure you get the BEST pricing option by registering BEFORE January 31st! See links below...

DEA Requirement

For 2024, AROC is offering 2.0 Category 1-A AOA CME Credits and 2.0 Category 1 PRA CME Credits ™ for the new DEA requirement.

Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credits

In 2024, AROC will be offering MOC credits for the following certifying boards: 

• American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA)
• American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)
• American Board of Orthopedic Surgery (ABOS)

The main page on our website for Attendees is: https://www.njaops.org/aroc-attendee-information and here is where you will find credit information and registration forms, among other details...

Discount Code for Hard Rock Hotel: GARC24z

Phone: Call 609-449-6860

Online: https://book.passkey.com/go/garc24z

Call for Poster Absracts

Residents & Medical Students

We are accepting poster abstracts for the AROC 2024 Conference. This is your opportunity to present a clinical or research project to over 500 physicians.

Posters will be judged by an expert panel and awarded monetary prizes for first place in each of the categories below:

• Research – Summarize the results of a well-defined basic or clinical research project, including a hypothesis, dependent and independent variables, tests for measures of association, succinct discussion of data, etc. All work should be original. Projects may involve observational or interventional studies.

Research also includes Quality Improvement Studies that report on efforts to improve patient safety or outcomes measurement. Such efforts may be projects developed and initiated to promote patient safety and/or processes that have improved or created a safer environment for patients.

• Case Presentation – Present a clinical scenario with discussion of an actual patient presentation. A clinical case presentation must include an introduction, case description, and discussion of current practice guidelines for management of the patient’s condition.

Have you renewed your membership? Have you contributed to JOPAC?

Thank you in advance.

We need your help…

JOPAC Contributions Helping to Make Connections

NJAOPS’ President, George Scott, DO, DPM with Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-6). Your support is needed and appreciated!

Click here to help make a difference for DOs in

New Jersey!

Healthcare Headlines

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• New Jersey signs prior authorization reform bill into law
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• HPV vaccine study finds zero cases of cervical cancer among women vaccinated before age 14
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• Recent trends in cervical cancer incidence, stage at diagnosis, and mortality according to county-level income in the United States, 2000–2019
• Heavy Metals and Trajectories of Anti-Müllerian Hormone During the Menopausal Transition
• Unusual Visual Symptoms and Alzheimer's; Infections and Dementia; Head Trauma and MS
• How Can Cancer Risk Be Cut in Communities Exposed to Toxins?
• In Billboard Campaign, Physician Residents Say They're Exploited
• Bankruptcies Soared Among Health Care Companies Last Year
• Senate Probes the Cost of Assisted Living and Its Burden on American Families
• Congress wants to ban China's largest genomics firm from doing business in the U.S. Here's why.
• CDC Warns Health Providers To Watch For Measles Cases
• A call to add sexual orientation and gender identity data to electronic health records
• The U.S. just sold its helium stockpile. Here’s why the medical world is worried.
• Desk-bound workers need additional exercise to counter health impacts of sitting, new study says
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• Unhealthy plant-based diet associated with higher risk of death in patients with CKD
• Hearing Loss Hits Many Americans, With Rural Areas and Men Most Affected
• Iron Deficiency May Elevate Risk of Celiac Disease Development
• Key Senate panel considers Medicare bonuses for hospitals that prevent drug shortages
• Healthcare bankruptcies hit 5-year high
• Diets promoting inflammation may slowly lead to depression, anxiety
• More Cardiologists Failing the Boards, Why and How to Fix?
• 25 physician specialties with the most burnout
• Walgreens seeks to offload $4B business
• UnitedHealthcare launches new vendor hub for employers
• Haleon Issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Robitussin Honey CF Max Day Adult and Robitussin Honey CF Max Nighttime Adult Products Due to Microbial Contamination
• FDA OKs — but doesn’t require — a non-cancer-causing chemical for sterilizing devices
• Most US Adults Fail to Recognize Heart Disease as Leading Killer of Americans, Study Finds
• New York City mayor declares social media an 'environmental toxin'
• Maternal Vaccination Lowers Odds of Respiratory Distress in COVID-Exposed Infants

Meet Our General Counsel

Dear NJAOPS members,

We are thrilled to represent the New Jersey Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons as General Counsel. Our firm, Buttaci Leardi & Werner, is a full-service health law boutique serving the legal needs of licensed healthcare providers and their practices. For more than two decades, we have provided insight, options, and solutions to our healthcare clients in the ever-shifting legal and regulatory landscape.

We look forward to developing strong relationships with you and are grateful for this opportunity to introduce ourselves and address how we will work together to support the association’s mission of promoting the interests of osteopathic healthcare professionals and practices in New Jersey.  

As General Counsel for NJAOPS, our goal is to advance the interests of NJAOPS, its member providers, and the osteopathic medical profession in New Jersey through advocacy related to the current legislative and regulatory environment and counsel on organizational compliance and operational issues.

Operating a healthcare practice in New Jersey is incredibly complex, and we are here to help you navigate legal and regulatory intricacies. To that end, we look forward to publishing a Q&A column in your newsletter and to providing educational opportunities through webinars and meetings.

We welcome you to learn more about us and our law firm at www.buttacilaw.com. Here is some background about us and the type of work we do in our practice of health law.

I founded Buttaci Leardi & Werner in 2004, and I represent healthcare providers, group practices, medical centers and behavioral health facilities in transactional matters including corporate and regulatory issues, practice and entity formation, purchases and sales, licensure and accreditation, employment and professional services negotiations and agreements, and defense in state healthcare licensing board actions. On the litigation side, I focus on post-payment actions and fraud investigations, defending clients in overpayment and recoupment actions and fraud prosecutions. I have experience as general and special counsel to healthcare associations and advocacy groups in New Jersey, and as co-lead counsel in class action litigation challenging the post-payment audit and recoupment practices of certain state and national private health insurance carriers.

I joined Vincent in 2005 and focus principally on provider reimbursement, where I defend overpayment recovery disputes and pursue claims for unpaid or underpaid benefits. My clients include physicians and physician groups, medical equipment suppliers, clinical laboratories, independent pharmacies, outpatient surgical facilities, group purchasing organizations, health IT companies, management companies, and third-party billing services. I am also a multiple-exit entrepreneur; so, I routinely advise healthcare businesses of all shapes and sizes about corporate and transactional matters. These include corporate formation, restructuring, and dissolution; mergers, acquisitions, and spin-offs; commercial contracts and leases; employer/employee relations; restrictive covenants; insurance coverage and reimbursement; business torts; administrative and regulatory compliance; information security; and protection of confidential and proprietary information.

I bring decades of experience as a litigator representing physicians, healthcare providers, and organizations in civil litigation, investigations, and licensing actions. With significant background handling post-payment audits brought by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and its contractors, I regularly counsel clients on matters related to post-payment audits, overpayment disputes, insurance fraud investigations, benefit disputes, matters involving allegations of improper coding and claim submissions, kickbacks, self-referrals, improper practice structure, and medically unnecessary services, as well as allegations of professional misconduct.

As a team, we are counselors, litigators, and negotiators with substantial courtroom and boardroom experience, and we are committed to serving as reliable and trusted advisors and staunch advocates of the rights of providers and their practice groups.

Again, we appreciate this opportunity to introduce ourselves, and really look forward to joining you in April at AROC, where we will speak about current healthcare legal topics relevant to your needs. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to us at 609.799.5150, to read our Health Law Blog and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook,

Dr. Lenny Powell, DO

Where are you from (including where did you go medical school), your specialty and where do you practice?

Dr. Lenny Powell was born in Livingston, NJ. He attended Penn State University Park, majoring in chemistry with a concentration in organic chemistry, and also attended Rutgers University for graduate school, earning a Master’s degree in organic chemistry before attending medical school. A 2012 graduate of UMDNJ-SOM (now Rowan-Virtua SOM), he completed his Family Medicine/OMM residency and Geriatric Medicine fellowship at UMDNJ-SOM, Dr. Powell became board certified in Family Medicine/OMM and has a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine and is an Associate Professor at Rowan-Virtua SOM. An active member of the American Geriatrics Society, the American Medical Directors Association, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians as well as the respective New Jersey state societies; his contributions to the profession have been recognized by his designation as a Fellow of the American College of Family Physicians (FACOFP), a Fellow of the National Association of Osteopathic Medical Educators (FNAOME), a Certified Medical Director (CMD), and American Geriatrics Society Fellow (AGSF). He has written review guides for both Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and Geriatric Medicine as resources for medical students and anyone interested in these topics available free of charge at http://www.linktr.ee/drlennyzyu.

Why do you belong to NJAOPS?

It is a privilege to belong to NJAOPS! NJAOPS provides high quality education and resources to physicians across the state of New Jersey as well as leading the charge in terms of osteopathic physician advocacy. The society also provides a connection for physicians across various parts of the state and in different specialties to communicate, collaborate, and learn from each other. I have personally had the opportunity to deliver lectures and content on behalf for NJAOPS on topics of geriatric medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine.

An interesting fact about you.

I have invited on stage with several stand-up comedians including Joan Rivers, Don Rickles, and Margaret Cho.