Voters Registration and Telemedicine Rule Issue and AJC Article

Voters Registration and Telemedicine Rule Issue and AJC Article

1) Again, please see and respond to the attached proposed telemedicine rule by the Board of Medicine. Comments are due by October 26. It is important for you to know that this is NOT a bill or legislation that your elected officials will vote on during the session of the legislature that starts in January. This is a regulation by the Board of Medicine that will be acted on at their November 1 meeting, just a few weeks away. Please let me know how implementation of this rule in its current form would affect your practice and access to care for your patients.  Send this information to LSearcy@caprn.org.  The link to the full posting from the Board of Medicine with directions on how to submit comments is:

 http://medicalboard.georgia.gov/sites/medicalboard.georgia.gov/files/related_files/site_page/telemed.pdf

Attached is the excerpted language of the rule, note especially sections (5) and (6), which are of particular concern.

2) Tomorrow, October 9 is the deadline to register to vote for the November 6 elections. To register to vote you must be:
- A citizen of the United States.
-  A legal resident of Georgia and of the county in which you wish to vote.
-  At least 17 1/2 years of age to register and 18 to vote.

You can register in person at government offices like the Department of Motor Vehicles, the public library or the US Post Office.

Remember, as well as the Presidential Elections, all members of the Georgia General Assembly will be elected on November 6. It is this state legislature that regulates the practice of nursing in Georgia. Please pay attention to the candidates that will represent YOU in the General Assembly. If you do not educate and inform them of your role in providing health care to Georgia’s citizens, they will not be able to make informed decisions when legislation is voted on. Elected officials listen to what their constituents think and want—so tell them!

3) There was an article published on the front page of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution on Sunday October 7, 2012 which focuses on the increasing use of nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants and Georgia’s physician shortage. It is a “must read” and can be found here

Happy Columbus Day

Laura Searcy