Posts by Brian Hunsicker

If you are a WAFP member who qualifies in one of the five AAFP-defined special constituencies, we invite you to apply today. This award pays for travel expenses and registration fees for the recipients. The deadline to apply is March 12. Read more about the conference here. NCCL special constituencies are as follows:

Among the bills appropriations bills signed by President Joe Biden on Dec. 29 was legislation to officially eliminate the X-waiver for physicians and other providers who treat patients with substance use disorder. That means any member of the care team with a Drug Enforcement Agency registration that includes Schedule III medications may now prescribe buprenorphine.…

In response to the voluntary recall of Abbott infant formula, the Washington State Department of Health temporarily added 93 formulas to its approved list. The additional formulas were added thanks in part to a waiver from the US Department of Agriculture. Those waivers, however, will begin to expire on Feb. 28. Because of this, WIC…

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is investigating a data breach at one of its subcontractors. The data breach may affect as many as 245,000 Medicare beneficiaries, and both personally identifiable information and protected health information may have been compromised. Although it is unclear where the affected patients may reside, CMS is asking physicians…

WAFP President Mark Johnson, MD, and more than 35 other health officers and health care leaders released a joint statement Friday urging the public to wear masks indoors to mitigate the surge in respiratory viruses. The full statement is below: Communities across our state and around the U.S. are experiencing an unprecedented surge in viral…

The Northwest Healthcare Response Network, a coalition of public and private partners to help the health care community respond to emergencies, has asked WAFP to alert its membership to a dire need at the inpatient pediatric unit at Yakima Memorial Hospital. More information from NWHRN and the hospital below: Washington is experiencing the same pediatric…

The Bree Collaborative, established by the state legislature in 2011 to bring together public and private stakeholders to identify improvements to health care quality, outcomes, and affordability, is spotlighting two of its recommendations this month. On Wednesday, Dec. 7, at noon, the Collaborative will highlight its recommendation on opioid prescribing in older adults. During the…

WAFP, along the with the Washington State Medical Association and the Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, released a joint statement urging the public to take precautions as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) spike throughout Washington. Hospital emergency departments are frequently at capacity, and the problem is even worse at pediatric hospitals. The statement…

The Washington Medical Commission, which establishes, monitors, and enforces qualifications for licensure, consistent standards of practice, and continuing competency, will have openings for several commissioners beginning July 1, 2023: WMC is also recruiting for two public members who are not physicians. Commission members are appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee. The commission usually meets eight times…

Katina Rue, DO, FAAFP, was installed as the president of the Washington State Medical Association at its annual meeting in Spokane this weekend. Rue, director of the Trios family medicine residency program in Kennewick, currently serves as one of the WAFP’s alternate delegates to the AAFP Congress of Delegates. In taking the helm of the…