- GAO Seeks New Members for Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
Review: An Anthology of Appalachian Literature Walks on New Ground
By James Branscome
A collection of essays, excerpts, songs, and poems covers centuries of reflection on the Southern mountains. A native son traces the history of Appalachian literature through 745 pages of a recently published anthology. Read more here.
No Fair! Covid-19 Disrupts Tradition and County Revenue
By April Simpson
Pandemic put a temporary stop to a long tradition of county fairs, putting the survival of many on the line. Read more here.
Final Recommendation Statement: Behavioral Counseling Interventions to Prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has released a final recommendation statement on behavioral counseling interventions to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The task force recommends behavioral counseling for all sexually active teens and for adults who are at increased risk for STIs. To view the recommendation, the evidence on which it is based and a summary for clinicians, please click here.
HHS Releases Healthy People 2030 Plan
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) set more than 350 measurable goals, including social determinants for the first time, in its new 10-year plan called Healthy People 2030 unveiled this week. Read the plan.
Dentistry in the Era of COVID-19: What Dental Practitioners Need to Know
Plan to attend Dentistry in the Era of COVID-19: What Dental Practitioners Need to Know on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2:00 pm. This webinar, offered by the Mid-Atlantic AIDS Education & Training Center, will describe the anxiety and vulnerability medical and dental staff experience due to COVID-19 and identify how workflow practices have changed during the pandemic. It will also discuss how social and professional connectedness has changed due to the pandemic as well as discuss what practices organizations can utilize to protect and empower their staff during COVID-19 and in the future. Click here for more details and to register. One continuing education credit will be offered.
HHS Offers Telemedicine Learning Community
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Project ECHO, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the New Mexico School of Medicine, the Public Health Foundation and Train.org have partnered to offer the HHS Telemedicine Hack Learning Community. HHS Telemedicine Hack is a 10-week learning community to accelerate telemedicine implementation for ambulatory providers. There are five sessions remaining in the series. Learn more or register.
Pennsylvania Board of Osteopathic Medicine Increases Renewal Fees
On Aug. 15, the Pennsylvania Board of Osteopathic Medicine published its amended schedule of fees for biennial license renewals. The fee changes for osteopathic physicians, physician assistants and acupuncturists were effective on publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The updated schedule increases all the Board’s biennial renewal fees to ensure revenue will meet the Board’s current and projected expenses. Please make note of these new fees as submission of incorrect licensure renewal fees will delay processing of submitted applications.
Mail Delivery Slowdowns a Challenge to Mail Order Prescriptions
The U.S. Postal Service has become a critical backbone of the country’s medication infrastructure, meaning slowdowns in mail delivery could have serious consequences for the millions of Americans who get prescription drugs through the mail. Treatments for cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other complex diseases increasingly are sent in the mail. And the coronavirus pandemic has spurred more people to get their routine prescriptions mailed to their homes as a safer alternative to visiting a pharmacy. Americans received 313 million adjusted prescriptions through the mail in 2019, often for common, generic medications that treat things like high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Black Americans Most Skeptical of Potential COVID-19 Vaccines
Black Americans are dying from COVID-19 at nearly 2½ times the rate of white people nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project, and despite representing roughly 13 percent of the population, they’ve accounted for 22 percent of coronavirus deaths in cases in which race and ethnicity are known. And yet, in a sign of deep-seated and well-earned distrust in the U.S. medical establishment, surveys have shown consistently that Black Americans are less willing than other racial and ethnic groups to accept a coronavirus vaccine. Read more.
West Virginia Sues CVS, Walmart for Role in Opioid Epidemic
West Virginia’s attorney general filed lawsuits Tuesday against Walmart and CVS, alleging the companies helped create the state’s devastating opioid epidemic. The lawsuits claim that the companies should remediate what has become a public health and financial crisis. Read more.