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 2009 American Academy of Family Physicians http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20090702epperly-house-test.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20090702epperly-house-test.html Legislation that underscores the critical role of primary care by providing support for the patient-centered medical home, aligning incentives to embrace value over volume, and ensuring the adequacy of the primary care workforce is vital to health care reform. That was the message delivered by AAFP President Ted Epperly, M.D., of Boise, Idaho, during his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee on June 24 and a House Energy and Commerce health care subcommittee on June 25. jarvantes@aafp.org Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:55:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20090702heim-hcan.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/government-medicine/20090702heim-hcan.html More than 250 health care professionals called on Congress to pass a comprehensive health care reform bill that includes a public plan option during a town hall meeting here on June 26. The meeting was convened by Health Care for America Now, or HCAN. jarvantes@aafp.org Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:00:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20090702acetamin.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20090702acetamin.html An FDA advisory panel has recommended that the agency remove prescription drugs that combine acetaminophen and powerful painkillers -- such as Percocet, which is formulated with oxycodone, and Vicodin, which is formulated with hydrocodone -- from the market because of the risk of liver injury associated with misuse of the products. The panel also voted to lower dosage recommendations for over-the-counter, or OTC, acetaminophen products. dmitchell@aafp.org Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:45:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/resident-student-focus/20090702acgme-tstmny.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/resident-student-focus/20090702acgme-tstmny.html The AAFP, along with the other academic family medicine organizations, have asked the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, or ACGME, to resist putting additional restrictions on residents' duty hours because such restrictions may harm family medicine training programs and the quality of patient care. bbein@aafp.org Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:10:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/news-in-brief/20090702clin-upd.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/news-in-brief/20090702clin-upd.html This roundup includes the following brief clinical practice updates: AHRQ Offering Fact Sheets on Cardiovascular Diseases; Escherichia coli Outbreak Linked to Cookie Dough; CDC Study Focuses on Falls; FDA Seeking Input on Tobacco Regulation; Chantix, Zyban to Add Boxed Warnings. ann@aafp.org Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:25:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20090701hib-reinstated.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20090701hib-reinstated.html After more than a year and a half of deferrals, the booster dose of Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, vaccine should again be considered a routine part of the childhood immunization schedule. The CDC -- in consultation with its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, the AAFP and the American Academy of Pediatrics -- is recommending that physicians immediately reinstate the Hib booster dose for children ages 12-15 months who have completed the three-dose primary series. dmitchell@aafp.org Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:40:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20090701acip-h1n1.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/clinical-care-research/20090701acip-h1n1.html Members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, approved new antiviral treatment recommendations during the committee's June 24-26 meeting in Atlanta. The recommendations originally were released as interim guidance last year in the wake of oseltamivir resistance among circulating seasonal influenza A (H1N1) viruses. dmitchell@aapf.org Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:30:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/health-of-the-public/20090701depress-study.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/health-of-the-public/20090701depress-study.html Physicians and other health professionals who treat adults with depression also should consider the effects of the illness on their patients' children, according to a new report from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine. dmitchell@aafp.org Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:30:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/health-of-the-public/20090626ama-vaccines.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/health-of-the-public/20090626ama-vaccines.html There's no need for more research into a possible link between vaccines and autism. But there is a continuing need for support of ongoing research into the true etiology of autism and its treatment. And physicians should continue to take a lead role in extolling the benefits of vaccines to health policymakers and the public. ann@aafp.org Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:15:00 CDT AAFP News Now http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/health-of-the-public/20090626ama-tobacco.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/health-of-the-public/20090626ama-tobacco.html By adopting recommendations in an AMA Board of Trustees report considered during the 2009 annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates, delegates threw their support behind the concepts -- if not the precise modalities -- embodied in a resolution introduced by the AAFP and the American Academy of Pediatrics, or AAP, last year that dealt with finding ways to capture information about patients' tobacco use from patients and urge them to quit. ann@aafp.org Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:25:00 CDT AAFP News Now