Posts by Brian Hunsicker

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…

Effective Oct. 27, Gov. Jay Inslee will rescind 12 proclamations related to COVID-19, affecting CME requirements and those holding a retired active MD license. Upon the rescission, CME requirements will resume. Allopathic physicians are required to attest to CME every four years, though one of Inslee’s proclamations put this requirement on hold. The Washington Medical…

The AAFP’s federal advocacy report for this month is now available. This month’s update focuses on AAFP’s work on potential cuts to Medicare physician payments, health care in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, prior authorization legislation, the REDI Act, and COVID-19 relief funding. As AAFP distributes the advocacy updates, they will be posted on…

The AAFP has launched a webpage with resources for family physicians on the prevention, recognition, and treatment of monkeypox. Additionally, there will be a live event on monkeypox at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 9, with AAFP president Sterling Ransone, MD, FAAFP; AAFP senior VP for research, science, and health of the public Julie Wood,…

The Washington State Department of Health has new resources on its Power of Providers (POP) webpage, which aims to connect patients to COVID-19 vaccinations. In addition to frequently updated links on research, there are numerous links for physicians and other members of the care team to overcome COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and in-depth clinical information on…