(03/10/2010)  --  The AAFP has posted a question and answer document about the latest congressional action on the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula, along with a detailed analysis of the SGR itself, on its Connect for Reform Web site. More

(03/10/2010)  --  This roundup includes the following news briefs: FDA Approves Name Change for Heartburn Drug; State Supreme Court Strikes Down Medical Malpractice Law; New Mexico Prepares to Enact Insurance Measure; AAFP Looking for Poster Presenters; Solo FP Testifies on Meaningful Use Regulations; Obama Administration Launches Healthy Food Financing Initiative; MedPAC Submits March Report to Congress. More

(03/09/2010)  --  A new case study by family medicine educators indicates that to create a more positive educational environment for residents and faculty, academic medicine has to change from a focus on the causes of physician burnout to a focus on physician wellness. In addition, educational programs need to create interventions for residents and faculty that encourage them to think about overall physician wellbeing. More

(03/09/2010)  --  HHS recently announced a proposed rule that would establish certification programs to test electronic health record, or EHR, systems. The federal proposal calls for the establishment of a temporary certification program that eventually would be replaced by a permanent program. More

(03/09/2010)  --  An important warning about atypical, or second-generation, antipsychotic drugs and a connection to increased risk for diabetes and hyperglycemia didn't make it to primary care physicians, according to a new study in the Archives of General Psychiatry. More

(03/08/2010)  --  According to a new report from the Trust for America's Health, up to 50,000 U.S. adults die each year from vaccine preventable diseases, and the direct health care burden of vaccine preventable diseases in American adults is $10 billion a year. Physicians, however, can help increase uptake levels for adult vaccinations by making the most of office visits with these patients to get them immunized. More

(03/05/2010)  --  In the wake of legislation that reversed a cut in Medicare physician payments through March 31, AAFP leaders once again fanned out in Washington to deliver their message about the value and importance of primary care and family medicine to the White House and congressional leaders. During a series of meetings with administration officials and lawmakers on March 2-3, AAFP President Lori Heim, M.D., of Vass, N.C.; AAFP President-elect Roland Goertz, M.D., M.B.A., of Waco, Texas; AAFP Board Chair Ted Epperly, M.D., of Boise, Idaho; and AAFP EVP Doug Henley, M.D., stressed the importance of family medicine and the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH. More