 Edwin Butler gets a routine exam from Murray West, M.D., at a community health center in Baltimore. The pipeline to keep family physicians coming to such centers is at risk (see "Contact Lawmakers Now: Funding to Train FPs in Jeopardy Again"). |
BY J. MICHAEL BRODIE
Edwin Butler lives in the urban neighborhood served by Belair-Edison Family Health Center. "This is where my doctor is," said Butler, who has come to the center for a routine checkup. "If my doctor wasn’t here, I’d have to spend a lot more money and make a choice between this and food and a roof over my head."
In the Baltimore Medical System -- comprising six community health centers, including the one Butler uses -- family physicians offer care and help keep the communities healthy. "Of the physicians in the system, we make up roughly a third," said FP James Corwin, M.D., of Baltimore, who runs several centers in the system. "Family practice has quite a voice here."
Every community health center wants the flexibility of an FP on staff, according to FP Murray West, M.D., Belair-Edison Family Health Center's medical director. "They don't want to hire a pediatrician because they know that if there is a time when there aren't a lot of (pediatric) patients to see, that person won't be productive," he said. "The main thing you lose (with other specialists) is integration. I see the kids, then I see the parents, and then I'll do the Gyn. For a family, there is more a sense of the whole being cared for" when the family sees an FP.
West, who has been at the Belair-Edison center nearly a decade, describes the center as a hybrid of family and geriatric practices that serves not only the growing uninsured population that lives nearby, but also a fair percentage of those from surrounding communities who seek out the center as their first health care option.
"We are not a squeaky clean private practice, but we are also not just a poor peoples' clinic," said West. "You can walk into our waiting room, and you are sitting in there with teachers and other professionals. At the same time, you are sitting next to an uninsured, unemployed mother of four or a person who is disabled or a street drug addict."
The center is one of about 700 community, migrant and homeless health centers nationwide that serve about 3,300 urban and rural communities. About 50 percent of the centers' physicians are family physicians, according to the Robert Graham Center in Washington. The centers provide care to more than 14 million people, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers. And the number of centers is growing at a rapid rate.
By the end of March, HHS was to have opened or expanded 614 community and migrant health centers under President Bush's plan for the sites. The fiscal year 2005 budget proposes an increase of $218 million to open or expand 330 more sites. By 2006, another 260 sites will come on board, according to the president's plan.
Does Congress back the plan? You bet. The House Appropriations Committee, in a July 14 voice vote, upped the ante for community health centers by exactly what the administration wanted: $218 million (from about $1.6 billion for 2004 to about $1.8 billion for 2005). But will there be enough FPs to staff the centers? Maybe not -- see "Contact Lawmakers Now: Funding to Train FPs in Jeopardy Again."
To reach writer J. Michael Brodie, e-mail mbrodie@aafp.org.
The federal government is expanding community health centers in rural and inner-city areas. But federal funding to train the family physicians who staff those centers is in limbo. You can help nudge Congress to protect the specialty's training funds.
For the third consecutive year, HHS has proposed completely zeroing out funds in Section 747 of Title VII of the Public Health Service Act -- which supports training in primary care, including family medicine -- for the next fiscal year. While it didn't support eliminating the funds entirely, the House Appropriations Committee voted July 14 to slash Section 747's funding from $81.7 million for 2004 to $63.86 million for 2005. The $81.7 million in 2004 reflected about a $10 million cut in funding compared with 2003.
You can play a vital role in keeping Section 747 alive by contacting your federal lawmakers and sharing your views about the need for the funds. You might want to read a backgrounder (at http://www.aafp.org/x20018.xml) and an AAFP press statement (at http://www.aafp.org/x28423.xml) before calling or visiting your legislators.
West, who has been at the Belair-Edison center nearly a decade, describes the center as a hybrid of family and geriatric practices that serves not only the growing uninsured population that lives nearby, but also a fair percentage of those from surrounding communities who seek out the center as their first health care option.
The potential impact of a further cut in Section 747 funding isn't lost on those who work in the community health centers. "For many reasons, family physicians are the lifeblood of the community health center," said Murray West, M.D., medical director of the Belair-Edison Family Health Center in Baltimore. "If we are going to have more community health centers, we need to ensure we have enough FPs in the pipeline to staff those centers."
BY SHERI PORTER
Family physicians' interest in implementing electronic
health record systems in their practices is picking up steam. At least that's
what FPs told their AAFP constituent chapters in a May survey.
Nearly 40 percent of respondents are either completely converted to EHRs or in the process. Seventeen percent of the 788 survey respondents had completely converted to EHRs, while another 13 percent reported that most of their patient information was entered into an EHR. Some 9 percent are in the early phases of implementing an EHR.
David C. Kibbe, M.D., director of the Academy's Center for Health Information Technology, was encouraged by the recently released survey data.
"If this pattern holds and the AAFP gives the EHR initiative a bit of a push, we will actually reach our 50 percent target in 2005 or perhaps early 2006," he said, referring to AAFP's goal to have 50 percent of active members using EHRs by the end of 2005.
One of the most gratifying statistics -- at least to folks who have been encouraging physicians to adopt EHRs for the sake of their patients' good health -- was this: Out of the 310 respondents with EHRs, 73 percent said their EHR systems improved the health of their patients. How? In part by reducing prescribing errors and enhancing patient communication.
Other survey findings:
Kibbe tempered his enthusiasm for the survey results with the reality that members answering an online survey are usually the "online community of physicians," or those most likely tuned in to the EHR issue.
But, from Kibbe's viewpoint, there was no denying the good news in this statistic: 24 percent of members who reported owning an EHR system had purchased the system in the past six months.
"This is the first real data suggesting members are purchasing systems in large numbers," he said. "We're now getting data saying members are buying and implementing, and that helps verify more subjective information we have that the EHR train is moving out of the station, and our physicians are onboard."
To reach writer Sheri Porter, e-mail sporter@aafp.org.
BY CINDY BORGMEYER
The AMA House of Delegates, during its annual meeting in Chicago, gave a hearty thumbs-up June 16 to a resolution directing AMA to advocate the position that states be permitted to develop and test new models to improve coverage for low-income patients.
Potential models include combining advanceable and refundable tax credits to purchase health coverage, as well as converting Medicaid from a "categorical eligibility program to one that allows for coverage of additional low-income persons based solely on financial need," said the resolution.
The Academy and five other organizations signed onto the measure, developed by the American College of Physicians.
The AMA will lobby federal legislators for changes to support states' ability to pursue such programs "without incurring new and costly unfunded mandates" and will work with medical specialty societies and other organizations to help develop the programs. The AMA Council on Medical Service also will study options and projects states might now be developing.
The proposal "flew through" the AMA house, said Daniel Ostergaard, M.D., AAFP vice president for international and interprofessional activities. Perhaps most telling, he added, is that the Council on Medical Service -- which historically has favored funding reform primarily through tax credits -- gave the measure its stamp of approval.
AMA delegates also considered a Council on Scientific Affairs report that responded to concerns that pharmaceutical sponsorship of clinical research was skewing study quality and the reporting of results.
In accordance with recommendations adopted as part of that report, the AMA will petition HHS to establish a registry of all U.S. clinical trials. The association also will urge institutional review boards to require all clinical trials to be included in such a registry as a condition of approval. All results of registered clinical trials are to be made readily available to the public, either through journal publication or via an electronic database.
Barely two weeks after adoption of the AMA measure, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association released new "PhRMA Principles on Conduct of Clinical Trials and Communication of Clinical Trial Results." The principles incorporate many of the points in the AMA measure. A June 30 PhRMA press release linking to the principles and related documents is at http://www.phrma.org/mediaroom/press/releases/30.06.2004.427.cfm.
AMA delegates also approved various measures aimed at combating obesity, such as encouraging hospitals to offer healthy food choices, calling for schools to eliminate junk food and soft drinks and to boost physical activity, and advocating development and utilization of public recreational resources. In addition, the delegates directed the AMA to study the U.S. Department of Agriculture's dietary guidelines and food pyramid and possibly suggest improvements. The USDA has since announced plans to revamp its food guidance system, asking for public comments and scheduling a public meeting for Aug. 19 in Washington to discuss the issue.
Finally, the AMA will petition the FDA to reconsider its recent refusal to grant over-the-counter status to emergency contraceptive pills. Coincidentally, the 2003 Congress of Delegates directed the AAFP to support offering progesterone-only contraceptive pills on an OTC basis.
Read highlights from the AMA annual meeting at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/3216-8628.html. Information about selected measures approved by AMA delegates is at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/1615-8642.html.
 Family physician J. Edward Hill, M.D., is AMA's new president-elect. |
Delegates at the annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in Chicago on June 15 elected family physician J. Edward Hill, M.D., of Tupelo, Miss., AMA president-elect. Nominated by the Mississippi State Medical Association and endorsed by the AAFP, Hill will serve as AMA president from June 2005 to June 2006.
Hill has served on the AMA Board of Trustees since 1996 and is a past AMA board chair. He is also past president of the state medical association and the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians.
Hill practiced in the rural Mississippi Delta for 26 years and has seen firsthand the critical difference that access to health care services can make in patients' lives.
"We know that the health care system is in dire need of improvement, and we must work together to make changes that will shape the future of medicine," Hill said in a June 15 news release on his election. "We have a tremendous opportunity to reform a system that is just not meeting all the needs of our patients and our profession."
Go to http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/1616-8633.html for a news release on Hill's election.
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The preparticipation exam, an annual rite for young athletes, is about to get a long-overdue update.
The third edition of Preparticipation Physical Evaluation, being published this month, will be viewed with keen interest in light of developments in the field of sports medicine, says Robert Pallay, M.D., of Hillsborough, N.J., chair of the AAFP Commission on Public Health. High-profile deaths among young athletes have increased interest in the topic, he says.
Pallay served on the editorial board for the publication, which hasn't been updated since 1997. There have been many updates in the evidence since then, he says.
The monograph adds new information on administrative and legal issues and on athletes with disabilities. In addition, new data from studies on cardiology, diabetes, and fluid and electrolyte balance have been incorporated into the recommendations.
AAFP and five other medical specialty groups collaborated on the monograph, published by McGraw-Hill.
The guide will go a long way toward standardizing an examination that for too long has been handled like a "cattle call," with students lining up in gymnasiums or other public settings, says Pallay.
"The group crafted this after completing a literature review and found that over 250 different variations of the PPE were being used around the country. We wanted to create a more consistent, universally acceptable document," he says.
The guide addresses the issues of setting and timing, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and athletes with special considerations.
It's important for the examination to be handled thoroughly since many youngsters have no other contact with medical professionals, says Pallay.
The other organizations involved in updating the guide are the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Sports Medicine, American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine. You can order the guide for $39.95 by calling (800) 262-4729.
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Heads up. A newly designated CPT code may help you bill for and collect reimbursement for online patient consultations.
Effective July 1, physicians can use CPT code 0074T to bill for online evaluation and management services.
News about the code is important because many physicians have resisted moving to electronic communications with patients because of reimbursement snags.
Patients, however, are eager for this service. Participants at the May TEPR (Towards an Electronic Patient Record) conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., learned that nearly a third of patients reported they would switch physicians if they could find one who used online communication. (Go to http://www.aafp.org/fpr/20040700/2.html and scroll to "Enhancing patient communication" to read more about what patients say they want.)
More and more payers "are willing to consider reimbursement" for online E/M services, said Kent Moore, AAFP manager of health care financing and delivery systems.
Physicians should be heartened by news of the code, said Moore. Even if third-party payers are not willing to pay, "this CPT code provides a mechanism for tracking online evaluation and management services through existing billing processes and charging patients where appropriate," he said.
To learn more about the CPT code, go to http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/3885-4897.html, scroll down to "Category III Codes for CPT® 2004," and then read about code 0074T.
BY CINDY BORGMEYER
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Prevention: It's a topic you'd figure family physicians would know quite a lot about. And so they do, according to the results of pre- and post-intervention surveys for the 2003 Annual Clinical Focus on prevention.
ACF is the Academy's yearlong educational program designed to bring state-of-the-art information and resources on specific medical topics to AAFP members. The 2003 initiative covered four areas: primary, secondary and tertiary preventive issues, as well as prevention of medical errors.
"Overall, the results look encouraging," said Stephen Spann, M.D., of Houston, medical director of the ACF program. Spann acknowledged, though, that some results were mixed, perhaps reflecting the inherent difficulty of keeping up with a continual influx of new research findings and practice recommendations.
For example, family physicians' confidence in their ability to identify risk factors for common diseases and to initiate appropriate primary prevention strategies rose after completing the 2003 ACF. However, their confidence in their knowledge of current vaccines and immunization recommendations dipped slightly.
"The childhood immunization schedule, in particular, is getting increasingly complex," Spann noted, "and this may simply mean people are coming to grips with that."
Surveys yield few surprises
In November 2002, the Academy surveyed members about their current and desired knowledge and performance levels on various prevention topics. Of the 2,000 members contacted, 322 returned completed surveys, for a 16 percent response rate.
AAFP sent a follow-up survey in April 2004, after completion of the 2003 ACF activities on prevention. Again, 2,000 surveys were sent; this time, 227 members responded, yielding an 11 percent response rate.
Survey questions about secondary prevention focused chiefly on physicians' confidence in their knowledge of clinical screening guidelines and their ability to use those guidelines to develop and implement clinical prevention strategies. Respondents reported improvements in these areas, also noting an increased level of comfort about working in their communities to provide a primary care approach to disease prevention through use of clinical preventive services programs.
Respondents also reported increased confidence in their ability to implement intervention strategies in three key areas of tertiary prevention. Those areas: preventing complications of cardiovascular disease, managing asthma and preventing complications of diabetes.
For the first time, the ACF surveys included queries about quality improvement activities -- namely, protocols aimed at ensuring patient safety by avoiding medical errors. Members said they gained greater confidence in implementing specific steps of a QI program, such as documenting medication allergies in patient records, following up on lab tests and procedures ordered, and discussing the relative harms and benefits of screening tests with patients. One finding was somewhat surprising, Spann said: Although nearly 60 percent of respondents answered yes when asked if the 2003 ACF had heightened their awareness of prevention-related educational programs or their interest in pursuing such opportunities, almost 40 percent said no.
"Family doctors are pretty well-trained in prevention," Spann pointed out, "and perhaps felt they didn't need to go into more depth." This finding in particular presents an opportunity for further study to explore whether additional training would enhance patient outcomes, he added.
ACF gets vote of confidence
Members expressed resounding support for the ACF initiative, with nearly 90 percent of respondents affirming the AAFP's decision to devote educational resources to the program each year.
ACF 2003 was developed in cooperation with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, American Cancer Society, American College of Preventive Medicine, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, CDC, National Cancer Institute, and NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute.
The 2003 initiative was supported by educational grants from Schering, Pharmacia Corp. (now Pfizer), Aventis Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott Laboratories, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Aventis Pasteur Inc. and AstraZeneca.
To reach writer Cindy Borgmeyer, e-mail cborgmey@aafp.org.
WEB EXTRA! Supreme Court decision bars
states from regulating HMO coverage WEB EXTRA! AAFP, others push patient
safety bill Family physicians would receive a care management fee for services they provide to eligible Medicare beneficiaries under legislation introduced June 24 by Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.
The legislation, "Geriatric and Chronic Care Management Act," or S. 2593, has a companion bill with the same title, introduced in the House as H.R. 4689.
If passed, both bills would incorporate elements of the care management fee concept advocated by the AAFP. The Academy has proposed a monthly care management fee that pays physicians to coordinate health care. The fee would support the functions and technology necessary to care for patients with multiple chronic conditions:
"The AAFP is deeply appreciative of the work of Sen. Lincoln to assure that our seniors receive effective care for chronic conditions and for her recognition of the essential role family physicians have in providing that care," said AAFP President Michael Fleming, M.D., of Shreveport, La.
WEB EXTRA!
WEB EXTRA! AAFP, others push patient
safety bill BY J. MICHAEL BRODIE
A recent Supreme Court ruling on lawsuits and HMOs could reignite congressional conversation about long-dormant patients' rights legislation. That could be the only plus to an otherwise dismal ruling, one Academy leader suggested.
The high court's unanimous June 21 ruling found that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act pre-empted state laws that permit patients to sue HMOs when the refusal to pay for treatment allegedly results in death or injury. As a result of the ruling, patients can seek redress only in federal courts.
"The Supreme Court's decision is disappointing but not surprising," said AAFP Board Chair James Martin, M.D., of San Antonio.
The cases -- Aetna v. Davila and Cigna Healthcare v. Calad -- involved the Texas Health Care Liability Act, adopted in 1997. The act made employer-paid health insurance plans liable for negligence when they wrongfully refused to pay for medical care.
The court backed the insurance industry's contention that coverage determinations are strictly decisions over what a given plan will and will not fund, not whether the patient deserves the care. The Bush administration took a similar position in its arguments before the court. Congress passed ERISA in 1974 to encourage the formation of employee benefit plans by subjecting them to federal regulation rather than the rules of individual states.
"Our hope had been that, rather than just upholding current law, the court would have supported the concept that current ERISA law does not adequately address the issues of health care," Martin said. "We hoped this would encourage the development of a new national set of legal health care guidelines."
Martin said that, before the ruling, HMOs in Texas were compelled to fulfill contractual agreements regarding care. "They recognized that refusal or denial of agreed-upon contractual services and subsequent poor outcomes would result in substantial penalty to them," he said. "As a result of this decision, the patients and physicians of this country will need to be vigilant regarding future decisions from these organizations."
Martin predicted the court's ruling would probably prompt members of Congress to introduce new patient protection bills.
In contrast to Martin's dismay with the ruling, insurance company supporters lauded the decision as a victory for patients and employers.
"The ruling puts the brakes on efforts by trial lawyers to turn every question about the scope of an individual's coverage into a costly lawsuit," said Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans.
Ignagni described the ruling as a victory for consumers and employers who otherwise would have faced higher health care costs without added benefit.
"There is already far too great a reliance on using the courts to resolve disputes in health care, a practice that has had great consequences for the fabric of our health care system," Ignagni said.
To reach writer J. Michael Brodie, e-mail mbrodie@aafp.org.
WEB EXTRA!
WEB EXTRA! Supreme Court decision bars
states from regulating HMO coverage The AAFP joined more than 100 health organizations recently in urging U.S. Senate support for S. 720, the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act. The letter, drafted by the AMA and signed by 115 organizations, was sent to all 100 U.S. senators.
The legislation would amend Title IX of the Public Health Service Act to enable physicians and other health care providers to report patient safety data without fear of legal repercussions.
"Currently, there is a disincentive for physicians and other health care professionals to engage in a reporting system because of fear of litigation," the health organizations said in the letter.
S. 720 defines patient safety data as information collected by a provider for reports to and use by patient safety organizations. Such information, the bill says, will be privileged and confidential. Moreover, for example, it will not be:
In their letter of support, the health organizations said the legislation could create a system for sharing and analyzing information on medical errors to prevent incidents from recurring.
"This voluntary reporting system enables physicians, hospitals and other health care providers to report information on errors to patient safety organizations that would confidentially collect and analyze the information," the June 18 letter said. "The PSO would also provide patient safety improvement strategies based on the data."
A similar bill, H.R. 663, passed the House of Representatives last year by a 418-6 vote.
To reach writer J. Michael Brodie, e-mail mbrodie@aafp.org.
BY LESLIE CHAMPLIN
You can’t rob Peter to pay Paul. That’s the lesson residents and their training programs are learning as they struggle to comply with a year-old duty hours rule without compromising the quality of education or patient care.
The challenge came in July 2003 when the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education rule took effect, limiting residents to an 80-hour workweek averaged over four weeks and a maximum 30-hour workday.
Advocates hailed the rule as an improvement over the 100-hour week residents had often worked.
"Most students and residents will attest to the poor learning and dangerous compromises that are realities when we are exhausted," said Ron Story, M.D., third-year resident at La Crosse-Mayo Family Practice Residency, La Crosse, Wis.
Meeting clinical requirements
Though increasing rest time between work shifts reduces fatigue, it also increases absence from rounds, lectures and clinical experiences.
"The residents are spending more time away from the hospital, so they're missing out on a lot of education," said Richard Viken, M.D., chair of the family medicine department at the University of Texas Health Center, Tyler. "I'd estimate that 10 to 15 percent of educational curriculum time is being lost."
Colleen Conry, M.D., director of the University of Colorado Family Medicine Residency, Denver, said weekly teaching conferences have suffered. "We now routinely have less than half of the residents -- some are post-call and cannot attend," she said. "Previously residents would usually stay post-call."
Moreover, residents struggle to see the ACGME-required daily minimum number of patients within the duty hour limit, said Robert Ross, M.D., residency director at the Cascades East Family Practice Center, Klamath Falls, Ore. "Seeing 15 healthy adults and children is easy," he said. "But to see 15 elderly Medicare patients with multiple problems is impossible if you want to deliver quality care."
The duty hour restriction frustrates many residents.
"In many programs, continuity of patient care and availability for education activities have suffered," said Mike Mendoza, M.D., resident at the University of California, San Francisco-San Francisco General Hospital Family Practice Residency. "When the system requires that you leave, you leave behind a patient, whom you know, to a colleague who doesn't know the patient in the same way."
Andreas Cohrssen, MD, who has worked in several New York residency programs and is current director of the Beth Israel Residency in Urban Family Practice, New York City, has heard reports that residents feel pressure to fudge on their time cards during rotations through other specialties.
"When a department says it has the 80-hour rule, but its residents have an unofficial 84-hour rule, the family medicine resident who leaves 'early' doesn't get to participate fully" in educational opportunities, he said.
Some solutions
Residencies have adopted techniques to deal with the rule -- and they're meeting with success.
For example, Ross distributed personal digital assistants to his program's four physicians and 18 residents. An informal survey a month later demonstrated a 57 percent drop in time spent retrieving patient charts. Average savings: eight hours a week, Ross said.
Other techniques developed by residencies:
In addition, the American College of Surgeons offers several suggestions that can be adapted for family medicine; see http://www.facs.org/education/residencyassisteaster.html.
Despite the discomfort of change, the new rule will enhance the quality of future physicians, said Story.
"Our profession is an honorable one, but we are not good physicians if we are not first good parents, children, neighbors, church members and citizens," he said.
To reach writer Leslie Champlin, e-mail lchampli@aafp.org.
WEB EXTRA!
To the editor:
I read your June FP Report article ("A Trend? -- Other Specialists Crowd Primary Care Picture, Study Says") about the Robert Graham Center research published in the March/April Journal of the American Board of Family Practice. The FP Report article discussed nonprimary care physicians providing primary care services. We must also recognize that nonphysicians are providing much of the primary care services in Colorado.
If research shows nonprimary care-trained physicians provide lesser quality primary care, it stands to reason that the nonphysicians who are practicing medicine -- often in primary care physicians' offices without appropriate supervision -- are also providing substandard care. Together, these two groups -- the nonphysicians and the untrained physicians providing primary care -- mean unqualified providers are delivering a great deal of services.
Perhaps this is why so many studies show that patients often do not receive a high-quality standard of medical care for everything from diabetes management to blood pressure control. Unfortunately, the Future of Family Medicine architects have chosen to ignore these issues about scope of practice and nonphysician providers. As this trend continues, we will see the end of family medicine as practiced by appropriately trained physicians, and a further degradation of care.
Robert Brockmann, M.D., M.S.
Englewood,
Colo.
WEB EXTRA!
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Here's a great reason to attend the AAFP Scientific Assembly Oct. 13 - 17 in Orlando, Fla. -- a visit to the Intelligent Medical Practice® Exhibit. Participate in interactive demonstrations of how an electronic health record system can improve work flow and enhance the quality of health care you deliver to patients. The exhibit features products from 10 health care information technology companies, all core members of the AAFP's Partners for Patients initiative. Visit booth #3001 Oct. 14 - 16 during exposition hall hours. Go to http://www.aafp.org/x24594.xml for Assembly registration. Visit http://www.aafp.org/partners4patients.xml to read about the Academy's EHR initiative. |
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Proven value: Join the next Fundamentals of Management program and enhance your leadership and management skills. This unique educational opportunity will help you take your organization to a higher level of success. Note these dates: Sept. 30, early-bird application deadline; Oct. 29, final application deadline. Questions? Go to http://www.aafp.org/fom.xml for program curriculum and application information. |
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Proven value: Attending to patients with life-threatening medical conditions is part of family medicine. Keep your skills sharp by attending the AAFP's Emergency and Urgent Care Course Oct. 28 - 31 in New Orleans. Lecture topics include stroke, seizure and respiratory emergencies. Learn more about topics such as fractures, back pain, asthma and sexual assault during breakout sessions. Go to http://www.aafp.org/x14351.xml for details and to register. Register by Sept. 28 to meet the early-bird deadline. |
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Proven value: Is providing your patients with high-quality patient education materials a priority in your practice? There's no better place to gather the latest in patient resources than the 2004 Patient Education Conference Nov. 11 - 14 in San Francisco. The opening plenary features entertainer Jerry Lewis, who will talk about living with chronic pain and the healing power of humor. Choose from nearly 100 CME workshops, seminars, computer sessions and more. Go to http://www.aafp.org/pec.xml to register. |
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A shipping fee may apply; Kansas residents pay a 7.525 percent tax. |
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WEB EXTRA!
Consider participating in the following activities and adding the deadlines to your calendar.
Perhaps you've got ideas you and your colleagues want the AAFP to adopt as policy. Channel your suggestions through your constituent chapter now; the chapter needs to submit its resolutions by Sept. 11 for them to be considered by the AAFP Congress of Delegates Oct. 11 - 13 in Orlando, Fla.
Look ahead to the 2005 Scientific Assembly and decide whether you'd like to present a CME session during the convention Sept. 28 - Oct. 2 in San Francisco. Speakers' proposals, which must be submitted online, are due Nov. 1. Go to http://www.aafp.org/proposal.xml to apply.
The Fundamentals of Management program, a management and leadership training experience approved for Prescribed CME credit, has two deadlines looming: Sept. 30 for early-bird applications and Oct. 29 for other applications. You can download a program brochure, including an application, from http://www.aafp.org/fom.xml.
Your constituent chapter or its foundation may also offer leadership training. Chapters sponsoring 6- to 8-hour educational sessions focusing on communication, media training and leadership skills may request a Schering-Plough State Leadership Grant. The maximum grant is $10,000, but an added $1,500 may be awarded to support resident and medical student participation. The deadline for applying for a grant is Sept. 6. For information, go to http://aafpfoundation.org/x478.xml or e-mail mnichols@aafp.org.
The Resident Scholars Competition has a deadline of Nov. 15 for applications. If you are or recently were the lead author for a research project or scholarly activity as a resident, join this competition. Awards range from "honorable mention" to $300. Go to http://www.aafp.org/x20566.xml for more information or e-mail pcarter@aafp.org to request details and an application form.
FP Report is published by the
AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2004 by
American Academy of Family Physicians.
