News
LabCorp and PSS accounts
For a while now midwives across the state have been reporting difficulty obtaining or an inability to access labwork and certain pharmaceuticals and supplies at reasonable prices. At least one company has decided not to sell injectibles to LMs or CNMs. In response, CAM has set up group accounts with LabCorp and Physician Sales and Services. Not only will this allow us to order the labs and supplies we need, but we will be able to take advantage of group discounting and reduced prices on many of our most commonly used items. Contact Claudia Breglia to get pricelists for either of these accounts.
The CAM LabCorp and PSS Accounts are open to everyone. The Board requests that midwives signing onto a group account support the work that CAM does on behalf of midwives by being current CAM members. You can join and pay online or print out a membership form to mail at http://www.californiamidwives.org.
Instructions for setting up a LabCorp account:
The contact for the account is Melissa Reid reidm@labcorp.com and she will be your account rep. In order to link to the CAM account and get our special pricing, all accounts must be opened through her. Let her know that you want to set up an account with the CAM group. The email will need to include your practice name (the second line will say California Association of Midwives), the name license number and NPI number of any midwife included in your practice, and your billing address. She will need to know if you send your patients to the patient service centers or if you draw the specimens yourself and need to arrange courier service. Finally, she will needs to know how you would like to receive your results: Finals only, or Prelims and Finals? Do you want to receive your results by fax, mail or online? In order to receive results by fax, you must have a dedicated fax line. If you do not have a dedicated fax, you can sign up for efax at http://home.efax.com/s/r/efaxprint. It generally takes about a week to get your account set up and then about another week to receive supplies and requisition forms. Once you have received everything she will set up a time to go over the pricing, supplies, forms, etc.
Instructions for getting an account with Physician Supply & Service:
Contact Elliot Paget at epaget@pssd.com and tell him that you would like to set up an account and are with the California Association of Midwives. He will email you an application and a price list. To fill out the application, cross out the words doctor or medical wherever they appear and write in midwife. Do not put anything for DEA number or HIN #. You can list Cascade and Birth with Love as trade references (their info can be found online) or if you have McKesson or other accounts you can list them. Put yourself as the owner and principal, or if it is a legal parnership both/all of you. Fax the application along with a copy of your midwifery license back to Elliot at 510–217-2283. Write on the fax cover sheet that you are with the California Association of Midwives. If you have any questions you can email him at epaget@pssd.com or call 510-502-4040. He is happy to talk with everyone. Please look at the quantities in which items are sold as some items are sold by the box, such as sutures, needles, syringes and some are sold individually. If you order from PSS you must buy it this way. Also, if they don’t see an item you need on the list please contact Elliot and if they sell it he will add it!
CEU Timing Clarification
It was brought to CAM’s attention that licensed midwives were having their compliance with the Continuing Education requirement audited on a calendar year rather than renewal period basis. This made midwives who had met CEU requirements for their renewal period be out of compliance when audited. We also discovered that the Medical Board was fining midwives $500 in addition to requiring that they make up the missing CEUs in the next renewal cycle.
CAM’s Medical Board Liaison and Chair of the Legislative Committee addressed this issue immediately, eventually taking it all the way to the top! This is her report:
The action of CAM on behalf of LMs regarding the CEU audit process was a success. The citations issued to two LMs for non-compliance were rescinded and I just got word today from the Executive Director of the MBC, Dave Thornton, that the audit process for LMs will hence forth be conducted on a renewal cycle basis rather than on a calendar year basis.
Relevant Law
CALIFORNIA CODES BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE SECTION 2505-2521
2518. (a) Licenses issued pursuant to this article shall be renewable every two years upon payment of the fee prescribed by Section 2520 and submission of documentation that the licenseholder has completed 36 hours of continuing education in areas that fall within the scope of the practice of midwifery, as specified by the board.
And Regulation
BARCLAYS OFFICIAL CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS
TITLE 16. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL REGULATIONS
DIVISION 13. MEDICAL BOARD OF CALIFORNIA [FNA1]
CHAPTER 4. LICENSED MIDWIVES
ARTICLE 4. CONTINUING EDUCATION
This database is current through 10/13/06, Register 2006, No. 41
s 1379.28. Audit and Sanctions for Noncompliance.
(a) The division shall audit once every two years a random sample of midwives who have reported compliance with the continuing education requirement. No midwife shall be subject to random audit more than once every four (4) years. Those midwives selected for audit shall be required to document their compliance with the continuing education requirements of Section 2518 of the code and this article.
(b) Any midwife who is found not to have completed the required number of hours of approved continuing education will be required to make up any deficiency during the next biennial renewal period. Such midwife shall document to the division the completion of any deficient hours identified by audit. Any midwife who fails to make up the deficient hours during the following renewal period shall be ineligible for renewal of his/her license to practice midwifery until such time as the deficient hours of continuing education are documented to the division.
(c) It shall constitute unprofessional conduct for any midwife to misrepresent his/her compliance with the provisions of this article.
(d) The division requires that each midwife retain for a minimum of four years records of all continuing education programs attended, including the title of the course or program attended, the length of the course or program, the number of continuing education hours, the sponsoring organization and the accrediting organization, if any, which may be needed in the event of an audit by the division.