UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - August 6, 2024/CLINICAL

Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to FMCHtuesdaytalk@umassmed.edu. 

Table of Contents

Message From the Chair

Focus of the Week - Clinical

Announcements

Department Member Recognition

Presentations and Publications

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Department Resources

Wellness Resources

Yoga Class

Message From the Chair


Save the date! Tuesday evening, October 29th will be our department’s Annual Awards celebration in the UMass Chan Faculty Conference Room. More details to come!

Focus of the Week - Clinical

Josephine Fowler, MD, MBA, Vice Chair of Clinical Services


Update on State Prescribing Duration for Certain Medications.

State law has been updated to allow the prescribing and dispensing quantities of Schedules II and III controlled substances to a 90-day supply at a time for the following:

1. Treatment of opioid use disorder, including, but not limited to buprenorphine.

3. Non-opioid controlled substances, including but not limited to methylphenidate and testosterone.

4. Implantable infusion pumps.

COVID Vaccines

The new vaccines will target the XBB.1.5 variant. The anticipated date for vaccines is early fall.


COVID-19

The number of patients presenting with COVID-19 is increasing. People with COVID-19 have reported a wide range of symptoms that typically appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus, including:

  • Fever or chills
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • Loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea

Other symptoms have been noted throughout the pandemic — from cognitive complications to skin rashes.


COVID-19 Masking Changes

On August 1st, UMass implemented mandatory masking for caregivers. This is due to a sustained rolling average of COVID-19-positive caregivers above our masking threshold. Caregivers must mask in all patient encounters, licensed clinical areas, and common areas frequented by patients such as hallways and cafeterias. Masking is not required for patients and visitors; however, it is strongly encouraged. UMass will continue to monitor this situation closely but expects to reevaluate this mandate in two weeks.


MassHealth will now cover transportation with PT-1s for parents of a hospitalized child. For example, suppose an eligible child is receiving residential or facility-based care, such as in an inpatient hospital, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), intensive residential treatment program (IRTP), or nursing facility, and the presence of a parent, family member, or caregiver is required for the child to participate in treatment or intervention actively. MassHealth will cover transportation costs for the parent, family member, or caregiver. This ensures that the child receives medically necessary services. These services may include breastfeeding or providing breast milk, participating in family therapy, making medical decisions, consenting to surgery, and similar activities.

Announcements


Anindita Deb, Associate Professor of Neurology and Director of the Global Health arm of the UMass Chan Collaborative in Health Equity (CHE) is requesting your collaboration to build a comprehensive database of global health activities occurring across our UMass institutions. Please (faculty, staff, and trainees) complete this brief survey which will take you 2-3 minutes.

Thank you very much!


The next meeting of the FM POCUS Workgroup is August 15th from 7-8am. The workgroup has recently re-launched with an aim to improve collaboration around POCUS clinical and educational efforts. Please email erin.cathcart@umassmemorial.org if you interested in joining. The FMCH POCUS Workgroup has created a Sharepoint site for easier access to real time news and POCUS resources! Please contact Erin.Cathcart@umassmemorial.org or Rebecca.Gwaltney@umassmemorial.org with any questions or suggestions for updates. 

https://umassmemorial.sharepoint.com/sites/FMCHPOCUS 


The Center for Integrated Primary Care is pleased to announce a new online training program developed by Amber Cahill and Jordan Howard-Young. Our Advanced Mental Health Care in Primary Care course is designed for physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners who are passionate about whole-person health care. This hybrid course is comprised of self-paced online modules and live online learning sessions that focus on addressing the complex mental health needs of patients seen in primary care. It offers practical training in screening, diagnosing, treating, and monitoring mental health conditions, empowering clinicians to provide better care and increase job satisfaction.

Learn more about the course schedule, pricing, CME, and registration here: 

https://www.umassmed.edu/cipc/continuing-education/advanced-mental-health-care-in-primary-care/.


Gender Affirming Care Learning Collaborative (GAC-LC) 

The GAC-LC is open for registration at any time throughout the 6-session series! Even if you missed our first session on June 5th you can register and join any other sessions/topics. Please see flyer for dates and additional details. The third session will be on Wednesday, August 7th, 12:15-1:15pm. Our next presenter is Missy Gleckel, MD!   

Presentation Topic: Hormone Therapy Overview: Testosterone-based

Learning Objectives:

  1. Describe options for testosterone-based hormone therapy
  2. Identify approaches to initiating, stabilizing, and monitoring in primary care
  3. Discuss laboratory monitoring and managing side effects

Free CMEs available, thanks to the New England AIDS Education & Training Center; ​https://www.neaetc.org/. To Register and receive the Zoom link, you need create a profile and register here https://www.neaetc.org/events/view/26089.

Access code: FMCH

You will need to create a profile through NEAETC before you can register.

See GAC-LC Announcement for additional information.


Hepatitis C and General Hepatology Project ECHO

(Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes)

You are invited to join an exciting virtual collaborative learning opportunity which will allow you to build expertise in the evaluation and management of patients living with chronic

Hepatitis C. (see attached brochure and curriculum schedule)

A new cohort begins Friday, September 6th, 12:30-1:30pm ~ with 10 sessions held

bi-monthly.

Register Today!


Please join Lisa Gussak and Rabbi Valerie Cohen for

The Doctor’s Studio: A Creative Process Healing Self/Healing Others,

a 6-week session this fall, starting September 10th at 6:00pm

(5:45 with food). For more information and registration, see flyer.


Trauma-Informed Care of Children and Adolescents

Friday, September 13th, 8:30am-3:00pm. Provided by the Baystate Dept. of Family Medicine, Baystate Dept. of Psychiatry, and Baystate Continuing Interprofessional Education.

See flyer for additional information.


UMass ARC PBRN Pilot Project Awards 2024 Call for Applications

The UMass Ambulatory Research Consortium (ARC) practice-based research network (PBRN) welcomes submissions for Pilot Project Awards. Study teams should include a practicing clinician and a health services investigator. Awardees will have access to support from PBRN core staff, the DOM Research Core, and CCTS cores, as appropriate for the project. Letters of Intent are due September 16th.

Visit the website to learn more and apply.


Teaching of Tomorrow (TOT) is a nationally recognized and highly acclaimed faculty development program that focuses on building and refining foundational skills for effective clinical teaching in inpatient and ambulatory settings. Preceptors from any specialty and discipline will enhance their clinical teaching skills through discourse and practice. Workshop dates are November 22-23, 2024, and March 7-8, 2025, and will be held at the Wellsworth Hotel, Southbridge, MA. Attendance is required all four conference days. Please see the attached flyer for details and register at 

https://umassmed.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5byKNy7pGjtyWkS.

Department Member Recognition


Welcome to Eliane Peredina who joined Sports Medicine providing administrative support.


Phil Bolduc has been voted as the vice chair for the HIV Medicine Association Board of Directors. This starts his 4-year journey as vice chair, chair-elect, chair and then immediate past chair. 


Congratulations to Opeoluwa Olukorede, MD, PGY-2, at Hannemann Family Health Center, on being selected as Resident Representative to the STFM POCUS Collaborative Leadership Team for a 1-year term. 


Professor Emeritus Alexander (Sandy) Blount has been chosen as the Larry A. Green Visiting Scholar at the Robert Graham Center for April 2025. The experience is an in-residence fellowship in Washington in which the Fellow has the resources of the Graham Center to support their research and an opportunity to support the research of other Center faculty.


Please welcome two Preventive Medicine residents.

Pulkit Bose, MD

  • Medical School: Penn State College of Medicine
  • Residency: Huntington Health/Cedars-Sinai Health, Internal Medicine 
  • Preventive Medicine/Public Health interests: Lifestyle medicine and clinical nutrition, cardiometabolic disease prevention, refugee and immigrant health, addiction medicine, emerging models of primary care and mental health, infectious diseases and vaccination.


Parul Chhatpar, D.O.

  • Medical School: William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Residency: Family Medicine at Ascension Macomb Oakland
  • Preventive Medicine/Public Health Interests: Public policy, correctional health and re-entry health, homelessness/unhoused individuals


Presentations & Publications



Carolyn Langer, MD, JD, MPH, is a co-author on an article entitled “Advancing Health Policy and Outcomes for People With Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities: A Community-Led Agenda” in JAMA Health Forum. The article can be accessed at:  

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2821686

Frankly Speaking Podcast


A weekly Podcast series covering newsworthy topics in primary care medicine.

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367.


Please join us for an overview: Tune in as we explore a recent study that found no net all-cause benefit or harm from vitamin D and calcium supplementation. We review the study's findings in detail and reflect on whether these supplements should be recommended to our patients based on the latest evidence. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP, presents: "Vitamin D and Calcium: The Good, the Bad, the Valueless?" - Frankly Speaking Ep 392.

Department Resources


There are resources are available to promote Family Medicine Proud and celebrate our 50th Anniversary: a PowerPoint template, Zoom backgrounds, logo, and letterhead:  https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/faculty-resources/department-logos/

You can also get the presentations from the most recent department retreat here: https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/faculty-resources/retreats/.

Wellness Resources


The UMass Memorial Caring for Caregivers Program is available at 508-334-HELP,

EAP at 866-263-3525, and the UMass Chan EAP at 800-322-5327.

www.LiveandWorkWell.com 

Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban



New members always welcome. 

Please join us on Wednesday(s), 6:30-7:30am, for a gentle awakening yoga session led by the talented Liz Erban. New members are always welcome. 

https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/91343267992?pwd=ZHF3NHVrVlR1MVdMV09HSE5lTzdsQT09

Past editions of the Tuesday Talk Newsletter are available at 

https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/ under Resources.