Governor Cuomo has called for a series of “listening sessions” across New York State to receive public comment regarding a proposal to legalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana in New York State.
There are public health concerns with this proposal including but not limited to the following.  We encourage all physicians to participate in these listening sessions and provide your expertise and feedback.

• Intoxication
  
• Carcinogenic effects
  
• Respiratory illnesses
  
• Altered mental status
  
• Depression
  
• Anxiety
  
• Addiction
  

In the era of narcotic dependence and associated catastrophic outcome, the State of New York is seeking to legalize this substance. It is important to have a consistent and scientifically sound public health policy concerning this issue. 

• Newburgh – Monday, October 1, 2018 – Register
• Binghamton – Tuesday, October 2, 2018 – Register
• Buffalo – Wednesday, October 3, 2018 – Register
• Rochester – Thursday, October 4, 2018 – Register
• Syracuse – Tuesday, October 9, 2018 – Register
• Utica – Wednesday, October 10, 2018 – Register
• Watertown – Thursday, October 11, 2018 –Register
• Ronkonkoma – Tuesday, October 16, 2018 – Register
• New Rochelle – Wednesday, October 17, 2018 – Register

Only July 30, 2018 - ASPS and ASAPS released an advisory update on recent disease developments, government regulatory communications, and consensus recommendation regarding BIA-ALCL (Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma). 

• The FAQs can be found here.
  
• The Complete BIA-ALCL Physician Resources can be found here. 
  

The Physician's Role in Paid Family Leave 

As a physician,  you play a critical role in certifying medical documentation in a timely manner and raising awareness of Paid Family Leave among your patients and their families.

Physicians can determine if a patient with a serious health condition is in need of family care and help them receive the support they need.  Additionally you can provide the required certification or documentation to patients and family members who request Paid Family Leave for either bonding with a new child or caring for a family member with a serious health condition.

This presentation will: 

• Provide an overview of New York's Paid Family Leave
• Provide an overview of the health care providers' role in the process
• Point you to helpful resources.

There are two opportunities to attend.  There will be time at the end for questions and answers as well.

• Tuesday, July 31, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Register here
• Tuesday, August 7, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Register here

When you click 'Register here', you will be taken to a general information page. You must click 'Register' on the bottom of that page to sign up. 

More Information

Complete details regarding Paid Family Leave are available at ny.gov/PaidFamilyLeave, including Employee and Employer request forms 

Additionally, downloadable guides:

• Health Care Provider – Bonding Fact Sheet
• Health Care Provider – Family Care Fact Sheet
• Patients with a Serious Health Condition FAQs
• Patients with a Serious Health Condition Fact Sheet
• Health Care Provider – FAQs
• Health Care Provider Overview Slides

You can also call the Paid Family Leave Helpline at (844) 337-6303, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. for more information or assistance

Legal Technology Alert: ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuits are on the Rise

It is important for all health care providers to ensure that their websites are fully accessible to persons with visual impairments or other similar disabilities.

The best practice for health care providers to follow is to have IT professionals conduct a comprehensive website audit, guided by counsel to preserve confidentiality.   

In order to avoid litigation, practices should review their websites for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). 

Click here to learn more about reviewing your exposure. 

Our Relationship Partners 

Garfunkel Wild PC is general counsel to the Society. Our Garfunkel Wild's relationship partners are:

• Barry Cepelewicz, M.D., Esq. (bcepelewicz@garfunkelwild.com)
  
• Andrew E. Blustein, Esq. (ablustein@garfunkelwild.com)
  
• James E. Dering, Esq. (jdering@garfunkelwild.com)
  

You can reach them by phone at: (516) 393-2230

The NYSSPS Executive Council is pleased to announce that it has chosen The Doctors Company as the NYSSPS exclusively endorsed professional liability carrier. 

We chose to endorse The Doctors Company because as an organization founded and led by physicians and owned by members, they share our commitment to address challenges faced by our members and our focus on legislative advocacy. As the largest insurer of plastic surgeons in the nation, they also have an unparalleled understanding of liability claims against our specialty.

NYSSPS members are now eligible for a multitude of offerings from The Doctors Company, including aggressive defense; expert patient safety tools and programs; risk management courses to maintain Section 18 excess eligibility; premium credits; and a range of coverage options.

For more information on the membership privileges you will receive from The Doctors Company, call them at (631) 248-2710 or visit thedoctors.com.

Amend Bill & Provide Safeguards from Misleading Advertisements: S5870 /A560 

Among patients and the general public, the term “board certified” has come to signify the highest achievement in clinical training and expertise. When individuals seek medical care, the knowledge that their physician is board certified assures them that they are engaging a provider with significant direct training and demonstrated, validated skill in the specialty certification advertised. As a result, it is crucial that the quality associated with the term “board certified” is protected. 

As currently written S5870/A560 language would allow physicians who are certified by substandard boards to advertise their certification in a misleading way. It would allow physicians practicing outside the specialty or subspecialty they trained in to present themselves to the public in a manner suggesting otherwise. 

To avoid this unintended consequence, the bill should be amended to include language that ensures boards require adequate training of their diplomates.

Call to Action

Send a message to your legislator today! A sample has been provided for you. It should take you less than 3 minutes to complete. 

NYSSPS is committed to ensuring patients have the best care possible, and we believe that, across the practice of medicine, such a commitment requires physicians to: (1) stay abreast of the latest clinical research and standards of care; (2) demonstrate their mastery of the latest knowledge through objective and reliable assessment methods; and (3) integrate this knowledge into their practice.

We believe that American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) boards, and the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) specifically, are critical to our members meeting these commitments.

When patients seek medical care, the knowledge their physician is board certified, and maintains this certification, assures them they are engaging a physician with significant direct training and validated skill in the specialty certification advertised. Board Certification, and the maintenance of this certification, is a valuable tool in the ongoing effort to maximize patient safety.

As a result, it is crucial the quality associated with the term “board certified” is protected and the rights of hospitals and insurance carriers to include these standards for credentialing and privileging practices be retained.

Call to Action

Oppose S7357A (DeFrancisco) / A4914B (Schimminger) - If enacted, this bill takes decisions that should be in the hands of doctors and experts on credentialing and privileging committees and places them in the hands of policymakers. Board certification is unquestionably an appropriate criterion to consider in licensure and for credentialing a physician to a hospital staff or an insurance network, and legislative efforts to undermine its relevance are unwise.

Contact your representatives today and urge them to vote NO!

New York is seeing many efforts from non-physician health care providers to provide increasingly popular elective surgical services, but these shortcuts expose patients to unnecessary risk and potentially hazardous outcomes. 

This is not an issue of necessity or convenience and patient care for the citizens of New York should not be compromised. 

Policy should explore and implement measures that help ensure an adequate distribution of physicians in all communities and focus on attracting and retaining new physicians throughout the state. 

Call to Action

Contact your legislators and urge them to oppose S3551 A4543 which permits all dental practitioners to perform a wide range of medical and surgical procedures within the oral maxillofacial area including:

• rhinoplasty (nose jobs)
  
• blepharoplasty (eyelid surgery)
  
• rhytidectomy (face lift)
  
• submental liposuction
  
• otoplasty (ear surgery)
  
• dermabrasion,
  
• Other procedures of the head and neck performed by plastic surgeons, otolaryngologists, ophthalmologists and neurosurgeons

Working with WildApricot, we have corrected the security certificate issue. 

You can rest assure everything is up and working correctly. Your information (for example, passwords or credit card numbers) are all private when it is sent to this site.

We thank our members who alerted us to the issue and to WildApricot for their speediness in resolving the issue!

Should you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact us: nyssps@gmail.com or 518-598-7755.

Thank you to our members who have alerted us to a hiccup in our launch of the new website!  We are working to resolve and we will inform you once completed!