On May 3, member organizations of the Ohio Coalition of Primary Care Physicians met at the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians’ office to discuss pending state legislation and other issues of common concern.
Organizations who participate in the Ohio Coalition of Primary Care Physicians include the Ohio Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics; the Ohio Osteopathic Association; the Ohio State Society, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians; the Ohio Chapter, American College of Physicians; and the OAFP. Also attending the meeting were representatives from the Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association, the American College of Obstetricians/Gynecologists, Ohio Section; the Ohio State Medical Association; and the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers.
In addition to discussing pending legislation, the group reviewed the most recent version of the state budget bill, discussed progress relative to the allopathic and osteopathic joint accreditation process, strategized on Primary Care Spend as a potential advocacy campaign, and shared information about the new administration, cabinet, and General Assembly.
Ted Wymyslo, MD, spoke on behalf of the Ohio Primary Care Physicians Workforce Collaborative, a group that has been working over the past year to make recommendations to ensure an adequate supply and distribution of primary care physicians in Ohio who are trained to provide comprehensive, continuous primary care using the advance primary care model.
- Finalize the health professionals’ data warehouse for all health professions licensed in Ohio; seek support from the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, the Ohio Department of Medicaid, and the Ohio Department of Health for collecting and analyzing all necessary data sets from licensure/re-licensure materials.
- Form a coalition to create a new version of primary care in Ohio relative to:
- Training/Curriculum Reform
- Practice Style Revisions
- Payment Reform
- Explore the creation of an Ohio Graduate Medical Education Council.
It was decided to try to leverage support from the newly proposed Health Professions Workgroup for finalizing the health professionals’ data warehouse for all health professions licensed in Ohio. The creation of the Health Professions Workgroup is proposed in the state budget currently under consideration. Having that Health Professions Workgroup request the data from the Department of Administrative Services and the State Medical Board could be very helpful. Once that data is secured for analysis, the other two recommendations will be reviewed as to appropriate implementation.