http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now.html The family physician's trusted source for news -- ANN is the official news publication of the American Academy of Family Physicians. en-us Copyright 2012 American Academy of Family Physicians http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20120515otcletter.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20120515otcletter.html Many FPs and their patients were surprised to learn in January that a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required a physician's prescription to use funds from tax-preferred health accounts to purchase OTC items. Now, the AAFP has joined with dozens of other organizations in calling on Congress to repeal the provision, which "increases costs to the health care system and places a new administrative burden on already overburdened physician offices," according to members of the Health Choices Coalition, of which the AAFP is a member. In an April 25 letter to the House Ways and Means Committee, the coalition said the provision has "resulted in unintended consequences to both physicians and patients." ann@aafp.org Tue, 15 May 2012 17:05:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/health-of-the-public/20120515fluoro-retdetach.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/health-of-the-public/20120515fluoro-retdetach.html Before signing off on that prescription for a fluoroquinolone, family physicians may wish to consider an alternative, as yet another possible side effect has surfaced for patients who take these broad-spectrum antibiotics. According to a study published last month in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), patients who take fluoroquinolones are at increased risk for retinal detachment. ann@aafp.org Tue, 15 May 2012 16:10:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://blogs.aafp.org/cfr/leadervoices/entry/aafp_org_coming_soon_to http://blogs.aafp.org/cfr/leadervoices/entry/aafp_org_coming_soon_to When it comes to interacting with for-profit companies, consumers expect to be able to do just about anything -- banking, downloading music, paying bills, shopping or even making dinner reservations -- via their mobile device. Although most nonprofit companies aren't quite as advanced in mobile technology, the AAFP is working on making it possible for us to engage with the Academy on our smartphones or tablet computers as easily as when we buy something on Amazon.com. Mon, 14 May 2012 16:00:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://blogs.aafp.org/cfr/leadervoices/entry/proposed_increase_in_medicaid_payments http://blogs.aafp.org/cfr/leadervoices/entry/proposed_increase_in_medicaid_payments Thirty-six percent of AAFP members do not accept new Medicaid patients, and nearly 20 percent don't see Medicaid patients at all, according to a 2011 member survey. Considering that in 2008, Medicaid paid an average of 34 percent less than Medicare for primary care services, those numbers aren't surprising. In nine states, the difference was more than 40 percent. However, that sizable gap between the two programs will disappear starting in January. Fri, 11 May 2012 14:40:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20120509schwartzbill.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20120509schwartzbill.html The AAFP is urging Congress to act quickly on a bipartisan House bill that seeks to revamp the Medicare payment system by eliminating the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and initiating various payment reforms to reward the provision of primary care services, including via a 2.5 percent payment increase for primary care physicians. "This legislation begins the transition to a sustainable payment system and helps our complex system better recognize the value of primary medical care," said AAFP President Glen Stream, M.D., M.B.I., of Spokane, Wash., in a prepared statement. "By providing a 2 percent higher payment rate for primary care services for the next several years, this bill improves the environment for currently practicing physicians." ann@aafp.org Wed, 09 May 2012 17:10:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20120509ncscadvocacy.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20120509ncscadvocacy.html When the applause finally subsided after impassioned testimony by women's constituency delegate Cathleen London, M.D., about the need to protect women's health and reproductive rights, as well as a physicians' ability to treat those patients, Kevin Wang, M.D., of Seattle, chair of the Reference Committee on Advocacy, asked if there was any more testimony on London's resolution. "I don't think we need any," a delegate shouted out, drawing more applause and laughter from others who attended the May 4 reference committee hearing held during the National Conference of Special Constituencies in Kansas City, Mo. dmitchell@aafp.org Wed, 09 May 2012 13:45:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20120509ncsc-organdfinance.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20120509ncsc-organdfinance.html "Image" was a big focus during the 2012 National Conference of Special Constituencies (NCSC) May 3-5 in Kansas City, Mo., as delegates considered various measures intended to boost family medicine's image among medical students and the public, reinforce the value of Academy membership among residents transitioning to new physician status, and raise the visibility of NCSC among AAFP members at all levels of the organization. cborgmey@aafp.org Wed, 09 May 2012 16:35:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20120509hops-refcmte.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20120509hops-refcmte.html Members of the Reference Committee on the Health of the Public and Science (HOPS) were cheered during the May 5 business session of the National Conference of Special Constituencies (NCSC) here, as delegates voted unanimously to adopt all of the recommendations contained in the consent calendar they presented. But although the final consent calendar spurred no debate, the list of resolutions presented during the reference committee hearing on May 4 generated passionate testimony. mbrown@aafp.org Wed, 09 May 2012 17:05:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20120509educ-refcmte.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20120509educ-refcmte.html Despite recommendations against adopting measures focused on, respectively, demystifying the visa application process for residency directors and improving parity for international medical graduates (IMGs), delegates to the National Conference of Special Constituencies (NCSC) in Kansas City, Mo., called on the AAFP to do just that. After spirited debate, NCSC delegates voted May 5 to override the Reference Committee on Education's recommendations and adopt the two resolutions, along with numerous other education-related measures. mbrown@aafp.org Wed, 09 May 2012 17:15:00 CDT AAFP News Now