You can register online now by going to http://mi-osteopathic.org/members/2012ScientificConvention.php and following the registration links. You can access the tentative schedule here: http://mi-osteopathic.org/members/2012ScientificConventionProgram.php

New this year:
There will be a Detroit Tigers vs. the Minnesota Twins game on Wednesday, May 16 at 7:05 p.m. $50 includes your ticket, transportation and a boxed meal. There will be limited space available for this game, so make sure you sign up early!

For the office managers:
There will be a shopping excursion to the Somerset Collection on Thursday, May 17 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. $10 includes transportation. Enjoy some fun with your fellow office managers!

Questions? Call the MOA at (800)-657-1556 for more information!

Combine shortages with another common ailment—namely, the patient’s financial condition—and importing drugs from foreign countries can seem like a reasonable solution to patients searching for unavailable or expensive medications. Whether from the Internet, trips across the border, or, at least in Florida, from a pharmacy called The Canadian Drugstore, foreign-sourced drugs are seemingly everywhere.

Because drugs imported from foreign countries are not subject to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight and monitoring, they may lack the quality controls that ensure drug safety. In October 2011, President Obama directed the FDA to take action against the supply shortages, and the agency is reviewing its policy on reimportation.

Consider the following legal issues regarding importation and reimportation:

• It’s not legal for you or your patients. Under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, it is against federal law to import unapproved, misbranded, adulterated, or foreign versions of U.S.-approved medications into the United States.
• Medical professional liability coverage issues may arise, given the exclusionary language of many professional liability policies.

Foreign-sourced drugs may increase safety concerns about drug interactions, may lack tamper-resistant packaging, and may vary in dosage.

Consider the following medical management practices to help manage your patients:

• Ensure you have an updated medication history on each of your patients. Find out if the patient is taking medications that are imported.
• Encourage patients to use one pharmacist as a means to help prevent drug interactions when combining medications. One pharmacist will maintain a current medication profile that lists all medications prescribed from any and all prescribers, thus increasing detection and prevention of potential problems.
• Educate your patients about the risks of obtaining drugs from foreign sources.
• Consult with your local pharmacist on appropriate generic substitutions that are available with the patient’s insurance coverage.
• Consider financial concerns and alternatives when prescribing medications. Many pharmaceutical companies offer drug assistance programs. Some pharmacy chain programs offer generic prescriptions at a low cost.
• If you are considering using an off-label drug, have a well-documented informed consent process.

Contributed by The Doctors Company. March 4 through 10 is National Patient Safety Awareness Week. For online resources, such as interactive guides, National Patient Safety Foundation tools, and more tips, visit www.thedoctors.com/psw.

It is my hope that our members come to our scientific convention with intentions to work in partnership with other osteopathic physicians. The relationships that are formed through convention have the potential to grow. These relationships aid in the advancement of osteopathic medicine throughout Michigan. The camaraderie that I see from our member physicians is unique and inspiring. The osteopathic profession is one of closeness and weighs heavily on the importance of the “whole person.” I witness the friendships between our member physicians and hear them discuss the importance of having tight-knit relationships both within the profession and outside of it. Our scientific convention supports our members and helps foster these close relationships. It’s a great place for our member physicians to share ideas and stories.

Please visit http://mi-osteopathic.org/members/2012ScientificConvention.php for more information on our annual convention and to register. If you have questions, feel free to call us at the MOA at (800) 657-1556.

Nothing is more important than the health of your patients. Because the AOA cares about your health, they’ve provided you with information on a variety of health topics. Use this resource to give the knowledge to your patients to help them make informed health care decisions.

From asthma to winter blues, the osteopathic approach to medical care can serve all your health needs.

You can review the weekly influenza report from MDCH here: https://michiganhan.org/DocumentCenter/Alert%20Details/MI%20FluFocus-Jan26,%202012.pdf

Local health departments and medical providers are reminded to please report any congregate setting outbreaks, potential pediatric influenza deaths, and unusually severe influenza cases to the MDCH Division of Communicable Diseases at 517-335-8165. Vaccination throughout the influenza season is strongly encouraged. Definitions of the influenza reporting levels can be found in the Alert Details section of the HAN homepage.

Given the current vote count, I do not anticipate a vote on HB 4936 in the very near future.  Please note however, many advocates that have continued to come to Lansing and meet with any and all legislators that they can, are having an adverse affect on our vote count.  We have received numerous complaints from key legislators of the aggressive and rather rude behavior of some groups and individuals in seeking a position or final commitment from the policymaker.  This type of advocacy does not always work so I would strongly caution you as to your approach, tone and messaging in meeting with your own legislators on this issue.  Again, at this time, CPAN is only targeting the indentified no votes to keep them there.

CPAN had a very good week with the filing of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on Monday in Ingham County Circuit Court.  Below, you will find a link to a short video from the MCCA FOIA Lawsuit press conference held Monday of this week.  Please take five minutes to hear the interview with Wayne State Law School Associate Professor Noah Hall and CPAN General Counsel George Sinas explaining the reasoning and background of the lawsuit against the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association. CPAN is suing the MCCA to gain vital information under the FOIA that will help both policymakers and stakeholders make educated decisions about proposed changes to Michigan’s auto insurance system.

On Tuesday, Jan. 24, CPAN delivered to each legislator’s office a letter regarding this lawsuit along with copies of the press release, complaint and frequently asked questions. This morning a short email with links to the video below and the Tony Trupiano interview conducted today as well were also sent to each legislator.

http://www.cpan.us/announcements/cpan-legal-counsel-discuss-no-fault-foia-lawsuit

Media:

• Below is a link to an interview conducted this morning on the Tony Trupiano First Shift  show with George Sinas, CPAN General Counsel on the FOIA lawsuit.

http://www.cpan.us/announcements/george-sinas-talks-cpans-foia-lawsuit-with-tony-trupiano

• Group wants no-fault auto insurance data made public. The Detroit News, by Jim Lynch, 1.23.12 Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120123/BIZ/201230399/1361/Group-wants-no-fault-auto-insurance-data-made-public
• WJR Radio The Frank Beckmann show 1.24.12 – Interview with John Cornack and Prof Noah Hall regarding FOIA Lawsuit
  http://wjrpodcasts.com/podcasts/frankbeckmann/Insurance-012412.mp3

Upcoming Town Hall Meetings:

• February 2, Traverse City 6:30 – 8:00pm – History Center of Traverse City, 322 Sixth Street, Traverse City
• February 9^, Gaylord – 6:00pm – 8:00pm – The University Center of Gaylord, 80 Livingston Blvd., Gaylord, MI
• Late February – Date to be determined – Kalamazoo
• February 27, – Date to be confirmed – Novi

Please feel free to contact me if you would like any additional information or visit the CPAN website www.cpan.us  for additional analysis, news coverage, and articles.

Thank you to all that have sent letters, contacted their legislators, submitted article to newspapers and the like.  If you would like to submit and article to your local paper but need a little hand holding, please call and I will happy to work with you. It is because of these combined efforts that we have delayed a vote on HB 4936 thus far.

Contact:

EAST LANSING, Mich. — A group of osteopathic physicians and medical personnel from Michigan State University treated patients and delivered more than $10,000 in donated supplies during a four-day trip to Haiti earlier this month.

Sponsored and organized by MSU’s Institute of International Health, the mission was made possible via funds donated by MSU’s Caribbean Student Association.

Much of Haiti was devastated in January 2010 after a massive earthquake struck the nation. In the immediate aftermath, the Caribbean Student Association sponsored the Help Haiti Initiative to raise funds and provide financial, emotional and academic support to students.

“We are pleased to have accomplished this mission that so generously was funded by students here at MSU,” said Reza Nassiri, associate dean of global health programs for the College of Osteopathic Medicine and director of the Institute of International Health. “Our team got valuable insights into the pressing public health and medical issues confronting post-earthquake Haiti.”

Led by MSU deans Gary Willyerd and William Cunningham, the group of emergency medicine physicians, residents and a nurse treated more than 700 patients at the Soaring de Pister Clinic in northern Haiti in early October.

The group also visited Hospital Justinien, the regional hospital for northern Haiti where pharmacy shelves stood bare and no staff was present.

“Sanitary conditions in the hospital and the city itself are among the worst I’ve seen,” said Willyerd, associate dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Detroit campus and a global health veteran who has participated in 17 missions to underdeveloped countries.

“Our team learned valuable information about the Haitian population – the poorest and the most in need of health care services that I have personally encountered – which will help us to be even better prepared for the next time we return.”

Willyerd estimates 45 percent of the patients the group saw suffered from infectious diseases such as cholera, malaria and parasitic infections, including lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis).

“Upon my return to Haiti, I was again overwhelmed by the basic health care needs of the population,” said Cunningham, the college’s assistant dean for West Michigan. “MSU needs to assist in the further development of the delivery of primary care through community involvement, education and empowerment.”

Contact:

EAST LANSING, Mich. — An initiative by Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine will dramatically increase the number of osteopathic physicians from Canada and help build the osteopathic profession north of the U.S. border.

Fourteen of the 316 entering students in the college’s class of 2014 are from Canada, thanks to a new partnership with the Canadian Osteopathic Association and Lambton College to increase the number of osteopathic physicians in the nation.

Canada does not have an osteopathic medical school, and there are only about 20 osteopathic physicians practicing in all of the country.

“This is a culmination of four years of work to help Canada get its own osteopathic medical school,” Dean William Strampel said. “However, it would take a long time to establish a new school, and there were concerns about clinical education in a country with almost no osteopathic physicians. We decided on this pilot program here at MSU, with graduates returning to Canada to build the osteopathic profession there.”

MSU plans to recruit up to 25 qualified Canadian students each year for the next several years. Incoming first-year student Chris Jacob, who grew up outside of Toronto, said what drew him to the program was that the principles of osteopathic medicine resonated with his personal beliefs.

“The partnership with MSU really makes it easier to come here to study, and then we can return to Canada to promote osteopathic medicine,” he said. “We essentially will be some of the pioneers to make doctors of osteopathic medicine as popular in Canada as they are here in America.”

Ted Findlay, an osteopathic physician for 25 years and president of the Canadian Osteopathic Association, said MSU’s reputation and its strong osteopathic presence made the partnership very appealing.

“We are in the process of growing our profession to meet the medical care needs of our population,” Findlay said. “This partnership will help us produce a significant cohort of osteopathic doctors that we hope will locate back to Canada generally and Ontario specifically.

“From that base, we can provide more training opportunities and train more family physicians.”

MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine is in the midst of an overall expansion and enrollment boost. In summer 2009, its entering class size was increased from 200 to 300 students, with 50 students each at two new educational sites: the Detroit Medical Center in downtown Detroit and the Macomb University Center in Clinton Township.