WEB EXTRA!
BY J. MICHAEL BRODIE
Michael Fleming, M.D., of Shreveport, La., takes the reins of the AAFP at a critical time in medicine.
Many family physicians are faced with privileging battles, rising insurance rates, reduced fees and challenges that go to the heart of how family physicians view the profession. This is a time, for example, when physicians ponder whether to continue taking new Medicare patients.
During his first official address as AAFP president Oct. 3, Fleming recalled an interview he did on a local TV station about the potential impact of reduced Medicare payments.
"Later, Maggie, one of my wonderful little ladies from a local assisted-living facility, tearfully asked me, 'Dr. Fleming, will you still take care of me?'" Fleming said. "I gave her a hug and a reassuring promise: 'Not only will I take care of you, but I will care about you!'"
Fleming explained to her how Medicare cuts threaten access to care, and he advised writing Congress about the cuts. Several weeks later, he heard from his lawmakers that a whopping 386 letters from the assisted-living facility had deluged their offices.
"Did it make a difference?" Fleming asked. "You bet it did!"
He called the specialty the heart, the mind and the soul of medicine. Accenting the mind, he said, "About two years ago, this specialty decided that we needed to take a look at ourselves to see what we had accomplished. We started the Future of Family Medicine project." In the coming months, the Academy will release a set of recommendations for the profession based on FFM research, Fleming explained. "The challenge is -- what will we do with those recommendations?"
Fleming reflected, "For a long time, we were the heart, the mind and the soul of medicine who sometimes stood aside while others made decisions that affected us. We stood by while others decided our destiny."
"No more," he said.
Fleming urged members to use tools such as "Speak Out" (at http://capitol.aafp.org) to express their views to lawmakers. He lauded the AAFP's Patient Voices in Washington program (http://www.aafp.org/x21354.xml), which includes information on legislative topics and talking points physicians can use in conversations with patients and lawmakers.
Fleming said he welcomed the chance to represent the Academy in Washington, where Congress has been embroiled in addressing issues vital to family practice.
"I expect a great deal from me, I expect a great deal from this Academy and I expect a great deal from you," he concluded.
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