Pennsylvania Podiatric Medical Association

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Important Child Abuse and Opioid Requirements for License Renewal

As the December 31, 2018, deadline approaches to renew your license to practice podiatry in the state of Pennsylvania, there are two very important requirements that you need to be aware of. Below is an explanation of each requirement and resources available to assist you with obtaining the needed continuing education.

Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting Requirements

Per Act 31 of 2014, two (2) hours of Board-approved continuing education in child abuse recognition and reporting requirements must be completed prior to renewal or reinstatement of a license.The Association does not endorse a specific course; a list of approved courses can be found here.

The Announcements page of the Board of Podiatry’s website contains all of the information detailing Act 31, including Frequently Asked Questions and an Exemp tion Form. With some exceptions, notably newer practitioners, the vast majority of podiatrists in the state of PA renewing their licenses by December 31, 2018, are required to have at least 2 hours of Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting training.

Opioid Education

Section 9.1(a) of ABC-MAP requires that all prescribers or dispensers, as defined in Section 3 of ABC-MAP, applying for licensure/certification complete at least four (4) hours of Board-approved education consisting of two (2) hours in pain management or the identification of addiction and two (2) hours in the practices of prescribing or dispensing of opioids. Podiatrists fall within ABC-MAP’s definition of prescribers or dispensers.

Note that the 4-hour requirement is in place for the first licensure/renewal period (occurring now, ending December 31, 2018) and after that, the requirement is 2 hours (for the licensure cycle ending December 31, 2020). PPMA has worked with the PA Medical Society on a free webinar series, which can be used to meet the required number of hours.

For general questions about license renewal, such as how many CE Contact Hours are required, how many can be earned online, what types of credits count, etc., visit the Continuing Education page.

APMA Data Registry

APMA has developed a data registry that has been approved by CMS as a Qualified Clinical Data Registry for 2018. All APMA members can use the APMA Registry to attest to Advancing Care Information (ACI) and Clinical Practice Improvement Activity (CPIA) components of MIPS in 2018. https://www.apma.org/registry.

PPMA Scholarship & Guild 45/OPEIU Every year PPMA offers a $1,000 academic scholarship to a family member of an active member of PPMA whose professional liability insurance is supplied through the PMAP program. It shall be used by the family member to offset costs incurred to attend an accredited four-year college, an accredited two-year college, or an accredited trade school. Click on the Headline for Application. This year's deadline is August 17, 2018, to apply.

OPEIU Scholarships: Go to the link provided by clicking the Guild45/OPEIU headline above that takes you directly to website for information and applying for these scholarships offered through OPEIU:

Howard Coughlin Memorial Scholarship Fund
John Kelly Labor Studies Scholarship Fund
Romeo Corbeil/Gilles Beauregard Scholarship Fund "Summer Camp"

Guild 45 & OPEIU's Efforts to Develop a Healthcare Plan to Offer PPMA Members is progressing. More information as it becomes available.

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