Bring it on!
Father-daughter FP team ready to tackle maintenance of certification
 FPs Warren Heffron, M.D., and his daughter, Kimberly Perkins, M.D., attend a session together at the Family Practice Board Review course in Kansas City, Mo. The two -- both scheduled to recertify this year -- will begin the new maintenance of certification process in 2005. |
AAFP Past Vice President Warren Heffron, M.D., of Albuquerque, N.M., and his daughter, Kimberly Perkins, M.D., of Apple Valley, Minn., share more than the usual genetic complement.
This July, you'll find them both taking the American Board of Family Practice recertification exam in St. Paul, Minn. - Heffron for the sixth time, Perkins for the third. Next January, they'll both enter ABFP's Maintenance of Certification Program for Family Physicians.
The two shared some thoughts about the new program while taking the Academy's Family Practice Board Review course April 23 in Kansas City, Mo. (For a refresher on the basics of MC-FP, visit https://www.abfp.org/moc/about.aspx.)
FP Report: Based on your current understanding of the MC-FP process, what do you think about the new program?
Heffron: I was vice president of the Academy at one time, and I was also president of the (ABFP) board, so I sat there last year (during debates on this topic at the 2003 Congress of Delegates) thinking, "I can see both sides of this."
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WARREN HEFFRON,
M.D.: |
I've been a firm believer in recertification and in maintenance of competence and skills for years. We're doing that by being here taking this course: We're using it to study for the board exam, but we're also upgrading our skills with CME to apply to our practices and to teaching.
FP Report: What about the hassle factor some FPs see as an inevitable side product of including clinical self-assessment modules in the MC-FP process?
Perkins: From day one in medical school, we were learning based on patient cases. So if we're going to have to do it, at least it's something that's clinically relevant - something that we're going to learn from and that will make us able to treat our patients better. Also, with it being eligible for CME, it's not like it's going to be extra work that doesn't count for something.
FP Report: The whole maintenance of certification concept is said to have grown out of an overall decline in the quality of U.S. health care, including care provided by physicians. How do you respond to that?
Heffron: A perfect example of what this movement is about is the hypertension module (one of two self-assessment modules offered in 2004). For years, we've maintained (a blood pressure of) 140/90 was OK. Now we're having to get the word out that that's no longer acceptable; we need to treat down to 120/80. This is a way to get that message out so we are more aggressive in treating hypertension. So I think these things can be positive and help us all learn to practice better.
FP Report: It's fair to say the two of you represent different generations. Has that had an effect on how you view the transition to MC-FP?
Perkins: Dad, your generation would have had more autonomy in your day. I grew up training in a state that was highly managed care. So, as far as formularies are concerned and being in a system in which you're told, "These are the networks that we have and that you can interact with," it was already restricted. Also, having trained more recently, I'm used to jumping through the hoops and having requirements to meet.
Heffron: I'm thinking back to all the flak last year at the annual meeting and trying to remember if it was more physicians of my generation who were saying it was threatening; it may have been threatening for some. Overall, though, I'd say neither generation finds it threatening or something we disagree with.
FP Report: Any final thoughts on starting this new process?
Perkins: As far as being able to say, "Oh yeah, it's a good thing" -- we don't really know what's required yet. Right now, it's kind of nebulous.
Heffron: My prediction is that once we've all been through that first cycle, it'll all settle down and we'll say, "This is OK, I did it. I can do it."
It's the uncertainty; something new always creates a little anxiety.
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