Packers, other state pro teams join WisMed in COVID coalition

The Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks have joined the ever-growing coalition of health care, business and government advocacy organizations urging the public to help control the spread of COVID-19. The Stop the COVID Spread! coalition also released another public service announcement statewide on October 26 featuring the Packers’ Adrian Amos, Kenny Clark and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. This new message follows on the heels of another PSA featuring former Wisconsin Governor and current UW System President Tommy Thompson.

The Wisconsin Medical Society (Society) is a founding member of the coalition, helping to launch the campaign earlier this month.

“The Packers playing in an empty Lambeau Field really drives home the point of what can happen when a pandemic hits our state,” Society CEO Bud Chumbley, MD, MBA, said. “I know we all miss getting together with our family and friends to do things like watch the Packers play, so we hope the message of masking, hand washing and social distancing coming from some of Green Bay’s finest themselves will grab people’s attention.”

The Society is also using its social media accounts to help share these safe behavior messages; Society members are encouraged to share, retweet and post those messages on their own personal accounts.

Contact Society Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer Mark Grapentine, JD for more information.

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SARS-CoV-2 CME series begins next week with Virus Biology and Vaccine Development

Scott S. Terhune, PhD, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology and Biomedical Engineering at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), kicks off the first of five sessions in the Wisconsin Medical Society’s SARS-CoV-2 CME Town Hall Series* with the presentation Virus Biology and Vaccine Development.

Terhune received his PhD from Northwestern University and his postdoctoral training at Princeton University. He participates in both graduate student and medical student education at MCW focusing on virus replication and infection. Research in the Terhune laboratory focuses on defining how human cytomegalovirus manipulates human cells and alters networks of interactions to support infection.

This webinar is free for Wisconsin Medical Society members, but registration is required to attend.

Session topics and schedule for the entire series are listed below. All live presentations will be held from 12:15 – 12:45 p.m. To view the sessions and to register click here.

November 4, 2020: SARS-CoV-2 Virus Biology and Vaccine Development
November 11, 2020: The Current State of Therapeutics
November 18, 2020: Communicability and Public Health Response
November 25, 2020: The Convergence of Seasonal Flu and SARS-CoV-2
December 2, 2020: Combating COVID-19 Challenges in Disadvantaged Populations – a Case Study

Please email [email protected] with any questions.

*This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 credit™.

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New editor-in-chief named for WMJ

The Publishing Board for the Wisconsin Medical Journal (WMJ) has named Sarina Schrager, MD, MS, Editor-in-Chief for a three-year term effective immediately. Doctor Schrager, a professor in the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health's Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, has served as interim editor-in-chief since May 2019, when John Frey, III, MD retired from the position. Prior to that, she had served as associate editor and as a member of the Editorial Board.

WMJ is an indexed, peer-reviewed medical journal owned and operated jointly by the Medical College of Wisconsin and UW SMPH. The seven-member Publishing Board is comprised of faculty and staff from both institutions, as well Donn Dexter, MD, who represents the Wisconsin Medical Society as an ex officio member. Learn more here.

Deadline nears for submissions for special issue of WMJ

There is still time to submit manuscripts for WMJ’s special issue on the impact of race and racism on health in Wisconsin. Consideration will be given to original research, review articles, case reports and brief reports, as well as commentaries and narratives. The deadline for submissions is November 1; the issue will be published in January 2020. Learn more here.

Cyber threats to physician offices and health care facilities

The CISA, FBI and HHS have issued a warning advisory regarding an imminent threat of ransomware targeting hospitals and health care providers. They have credible information to suggest that there will be a widespread Ryuk ransomware attack this weekend. The threat actors are claiming that they are targeting 400 health care organizations. Based on what is known about Ryuk, it is possible that the targeted health care entities may already have the encryption malware on their systems, but the threat actors have not commanded it to activate. KrebsOnSecurity reported that several hospitals had already experienced ransomware attacks earlier this week and CNN released this article today noting that some hospitals have already been affected.

Analysis of 2019 cyber claims data indicates increase in phishing attacks

WisMed Assure’s partner insurance carrier Tokio Marine HCC published a 2020 Cyber Digest: Analysis of 2019 Cyber Claims Data. The following excerpts are particularly relevant to physician’s offices, and other health care-related facilities:

If there was a theme for 2019 cyber claims, it would be the growth of phishing* attacks on small to mid-size businesses. Ransomware and financial fraud claims were up across the board vs 2018 and, largely, initiated through phishing attacks. Though the larger cyber incidents at Facebook, Citrix, and Capital One grab the headlines, the rampant attacks on small and mid-sized businesses are devastating as most SMBs don't have sufficient resources to prepare nor defend themselves. A recent Fundera study reports that “3 out of 4 small businesses don’t have the personnel to address IT security.”

While the cybercriminals continue to increase the frequency and sophistication of their attacks, business owners are also becoming more knowledgeable and prepared to defend themselves and their organizations. While cyber insurance is one effective means of mitigating risk, there are new tools, processes and technologies that small businesses can employ to protect themselves.

For best practices to fight cybercrime, download the Tokio Marine HCC Ransomware & BEC Fact Sheet.

For more information about Cyber Liability Insurance solutions, please click here. For additional information about this 2019 Cyber Claims Digest please click here.

*Phishing is a technique used to gain access to your company email so criminals can impersonate a coworker, manager or other trusted business partner to steal sensitive data and money.

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