Department of Health (DOH) Surgical Practice Registration

Physicians, who indicated on their medical license renewal that they are affiliated with a surgical practice, received notice from the Board of Medical Examiners (BME) and the Department of Health (DOH) regarding the surgical practice registration requirement. The deadline for registration has been extended from April 16, 2012 to October 31, 2012.

This notice has raised some concerns for members that are unsure whether their practices are considered surgical practices under the law. The statutory definition of a surgical practice is a building or office suite that has: one operating room, equipped to perform surgery; one or more post anesthesia care units or a dedicated recovery area; and is established by a physician practice solely for the practice’s use. See N.J.S.A. 26:2H-12 (2012). DOH provided additional guidance on its website stating, “a surgical practice is an operating room using general anesthesia or IV or conscious sedation” and “[a] room in which procedures are done using local anesthesia is not a surgical practice.”

If you have not registered your surgical practice with the DOH already, you must register before October 31, 2012. If you erroneously indicated that your practice is a surgical practice on the BME medical license renewal application, you must inform the BME of the error via e-mail as soon as possible.

The BME notice reported an incorrect e-mail address for notification, which was in e-News last week: please send notices to the correct e-mail: surgical@dca.lps.state.nj.us.

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Sport Injury Prevention – President’s Message: October 10

By Dr. Mary Campagnolo, MSNJ President

Over 3.5 million children ages 14 years and under receive medical treatment for sports injuries each year, according to Safe Kids, USA, a group of organizations that work together to prevent unintentional childhood injury.  As the fall athletic pre-season is about to begin at schools throughout New Jersey, it is important to note that 62 percent of sports-related injuries happen during practice rather than games.

The National Institutes of Health’s MedlinePlus makes the following recommendations for reducing the risk of sports injury:

• Getting a physical to make sure you are healthy before you start playing your sport
• Wearing the right shoes, gear and equipment
• Drinking lots of water
• Warming-up and stretching
• Recovering from old injuries completely before starting-up your sport again. If possible, protect the injured part of your body with padding, a brace or special equipment. When you do start playing again, start slowly.

The National Institutes of Health’s web site MedlinePlus, is a free resource available for patients and their families. Produced by the National Library of Medicine, it offers information about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues.