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Important Information

from the State Medical Board of Ohio

SMBO is accepting applications for the Massage Therapy Advisory Council

House Bill 110 was signed into law on June 30, 2021. Effective September 30, this legislation authorizes the State Medical Board of Ohio to appoint a Massage Therapy Advisory Council.

The Massage Therapy Advisory Council will advise the board on issues related to the practice of massage therapy.

The Medical Board is now seeking applicants for the seven seats that will be available on the council. Per Ohio Revised Code 4731.152, the board is looking for three types of members: four licensed, practicing massage therapists; one massage therapy educator; one non-health care professional to represent the interest of consumers.

The time commitment is four meetings per year in Columbus. Council members are reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses such as mileage and parking.

The applications can be found below. If you or someone you know meets the criteria and is interested in this opportunity for community service, please download the appropriate application. Once completed, email it and your resume or CV to Jill.Reardon@med.ohio.gov. Applications are due by October 4, 2021.

Massage Therapy Advisory Council - Practicing LMT Application

Massage Therapy Advisory Council - Educator Application

Massage Therapy Advisory Council - Consumer Application

Governor DeWine Observes the First Ohio Overdose Awareness Day

 

Governor Mike DeWine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 31, 2021

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Dan Tierney: 614-644-0957
Jill Del Greco: 614-644-0957

Governor DeWine Observes the First Ohio Overdose Awareness Day

(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 30 in June designating today, Aug. 31, as Ohio Overdose Awareness Day to raise public awareness and to remember the lives lost to the epidemic.

Unintentional drug overdose is one of the leading causes of injury death in Ohio, surpassing motor vehicle crashes. According to RecoveryOhio, in January through November of 2020, there were 4,579 unintentional drug overdose deaths reported. This is a 24% increase over 2019. Ohio’s medical and first responder communities attribute the increase primarily to fentanyl, a highly addictive and dangerous opioid.

Earlier this year, state officials approved $2.5 million to rapidly deploy 60,000 doses of naloxone to 23 counties struggling with a high burden of overdoses. Governor DeWine, RecoveryOhio, ODH, and OhioMHAS are encouraging all Ohioans to consider carrying naloxone to help save a life. 

“Naloxone has proven to save lives. By getting it into the hands of communities and groups across the state in areas that are experiencing the most overdoses and deaths, we are putting this life-saving opportunity where it is needed most,” said Governor DeWine.

To learn more about Ohio’s work to address opioid addiction, visit recoveryohio.gov. If you or a loved one need help for a substance use disorder, please call the Ohio CareLine at 1-800-720-9616 for free, confidential assistance from a trained counselor.

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August 2021 eNews

The August issue of the Medical Board's eNews is available

  • FY21 annual report

  • telemedicine update

  • additional dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in immunocompromised people

  • duty to report obligation

  • new public record exemptions for mental health providers

  • health alert from CDC

  • ICD-10 code reminder

  • licensee obligation to complete death certificates

  • board seeks subject matter experts

  • upcoming office closure

Telemedicine Updates in Ohio

The Medical Board approved new telemedicine FAQs. These FAQs provide guidance on telemedicine in Ohio and the Medical Board’s resumption of enforcement on December 31, 2021 of its laws and rules requiring in-person visits in certain situations. They can be found here

Agendas posted for August 2021 commitee and board meetings

The State Medical Board of Ohio will livestream its commitee and board meeting on Wednesday, August 11. These open meetings will be shared on the board's YouTube channel. The agenda can be found here.

9:00 a.m. Compliance Committee

10:00 a.m. Board Meeting 

Med Board seeking registered nurse

The Medical Board is seeking a part-time, contract registered nurse. 

Duties include: review and evaluate patient records, billing records, and/or other documents or records provided by the board and provide written analysis as to whether the patient records and/or other documents reflect conduct in accordance with acceptable medical practice, state and federal laws, rules, regulations and administrative memoranda. If interested, please provide resume and contact information to Don Davis at Donald.Davis@med.ohio.gov.

Agendas posted for July 2021 committee and board meetings

The State Medical Board of Ohio will livestream its commitee and board meeting. These open meetings will be shared publicly on the board's YouTube channel. The agenda can be found here.

July 14, 9:00 a.m. Compliance Committee

July 14, 10:00 a.m. Board Meeting 

Survey: Ohio's Health Care Professionals Well-being Survey

The Ohio Physicians Health Program (OPHP) is conducting a statewide COVID-19 well-being survey. The purpose of this study is to gather the perspectives of health care professionals on the types of services needed to support well-being and the infrastructure needed to provide easy accessibility. Your insight will not only benefit the current system of support for health care professionals, but also better equip Ohio for future crises.

OPHP provides an environment for health care professionals to receive confidential services to improve their health and well-being. Understanding the current status of stress, burnout, compassion fatigue, and physical exhaustion for health care professionals is critical. It is necessary to gain a better understanding of what types of supportive services are most desired and how to help those services be more accessible and less stigmatized. OPHP has partnered with the evaluation team at Mighty Crow to design this survey and analyze the results. This survey is being funded through a grant from the Federation of State Medical Boards.

Your input is greatly appreciated. Your answers will help better inform OPHP and its partners as they work to improve services for health care professional health and well-being. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Click here to start the survey. Please complete the survey by August 5. 

Ohio to enter into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact

Senate Bill 6, signed into law by Governor DeWine on June 29, 2021, authorizes the State Medical Board of Ohio (SMBO) to enter into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact. Ohio becomes the 35th state to become a member of the Compact. Physicians from any state with Compact membership, including Ohio, who meet the qualifications will be eligible for licensure in any other participating state. Senate Bill 6 gives the SMBO until September 29, 2022 to implement the system to begin processing and issuing licenses through this path.  

Please note, the Compact only includes the licensing of physicians with an MD or DO. Additionally, physicians who choose to obtain licensure through the Compact, whether as an Ohio physician who wants to practice outside of Ohio or as an out-of-state physician who wants to practice in Ohio, will have a licensure process different than the path currently followed by physicians seeking licensure in Ohio today. Out-of-state physicians can continue to seek licensure directly through the state of Ohio today and after implementation of the Compact.

The SMBO looks forward to working as part of the Compact to create an additional avenue for the licensing of physicians. We will keep you and your associations aware of our implementation plans as they develop over the next year. Those plans will include a ‘go live’ date for Ohio, as well as instructions on how to participate.

Additional information on the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact can be found here.

If you have additional questions, please email contact@med.ohio.gov.

Fraudulent prescription notice from Board of Pharmacy

Recently, Maximus, an IT vendor contracted with the Ohio Department of Medicaid became aware of a Maximus cybersecurity incident that potentially exposed Medicaid provider names, social security numbers, addresses, DEA registration numbers, and other information.

Please be advised that the Board of Pharmacy has already been notified by at least one hospital system of several fraudulent prescriptions issued in recent days. While these reports may be coincidental to the Maximus cybersecurity incident, providers are strongly encouraged to utilize the OARRS MyRx Report feature to identify any potential fraudulent prescriptions issued under their DEA registration. If a provider identifies a prescription that appears fraudulent, they should report this information to the DEA and local law enforcement.

For more information on running a MyRx Report, a short video tutorial can be accessed here.  

Reports to the DEA can be made using its online reporting tool: https://apps2.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/rxaor/spring/main?execution=e1s1

If you believe you were impacted by the Maximus cybersecurity incident, Maximus is offering providers, at no cost, 24 months of credit monitoring and other services from Experian. Contact Experian’s dedicated assistance line at (800) 357-0823, Monday to Friday between 9:00 AM-11:00 PM EDT and Saturday/Sunday 11:00 AM-8:00 PM EDT.

If you have additional questions, please contact Maximus at questions@maximus.com or visit the Maximus web page at https://maximus.com/questions.