February 1, 2024
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is recruiting practices for a no-cost virtual program that promotes appropriate antibiotic use in telemedicine. The program consists of monthly 20-minute webinars from June 2024 through December 2025.
AHRQ lists the following benefits of participating:
Improve efficiency and patient satisfaction with antibiotic prescribing, using approaches such as scripting for live and patient portal interactions.
Perform better on antibiotic-related quality measures (e.g., Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set [HEDIS], Merit-based Incentive Payment System [MIPS], and The Joint Commission Antimicrobial Stewardship standards).
Receive continuing education credits (CEUs), continuing medical education credits (CMEs), and American Board of Internal Medicine Maintenance of Certification (MOC) points through live and/or self-paced materials.
The enrollment deadline is May 23. To learn more about the program, consider visiting this FAQ page and/or signing up for a 15-minute overview webinar.
To contact program staff directly, email safetyprogram4telemedicine@norc.org.
December 4, 2025
On December 4, Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released its budget forecast for the 2026-27 biennium, showing a short-term budget surplus of $2.5 billion for the current biennium, but warned of a long-term $2.96 billion deficit for the 2028-29 biennium.
December 4, 2025
On December 2, the Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP) released a study on the safety, effectiveness, and public health impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccinations at birth.
December 4, 2025
The Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) is now accepting public comments regarding proposed legislation to mandate insurance coverage of certain treatments.