http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/2011-year-in-review.html Implementation of various components in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 continued this past year, and the AAFP kept close tabs on how regulators proposed to interpret the law's provisions. The Academy clearly spelled out its positions on a wide range of issues legislators and health policymakers sought to tackle in 2011, not least of which were the sustainable growth rate formula used to determine Medicare physician payments and appropriate payment for family physicians and other primary care physicians. en-us Copyright 2013 American Academy of Family Physicians http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/2011-year-in-review/20120105yiradvocacy.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/2011-year-in-review/20120105yiradvocacy.html Medicare payment reform and the need to replace the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula continued to drive much of the AAFP's legislative and advocacy efforts in 2011, as the Academy repeatedly pressed Congress for fundamental Medicare payment reform. Academy leaders and staff members met regularly with both lawmakers and their staff members to generate support for payment reform that would accomplish the Academy's three main goals: repeal of the SGR, a specified payment rate for the next three to five years to allow time for various demonstration programs and alternative health care delivery models to generate sufficient data to determine which payment methods make the best fiscal and quality sense, and at least a 3 percent higher payment rate for primary care physicians delivering primary care services. jarvantes@aafp.org Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:50:00 CST 2011: The Year in Review http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/2011-year-in-review/20120104yirpracticesupport.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/2011-year-in-review/20120104yirpracticesupport.html The year 2011 marked a time of great change for family physicians and the way they run their practices. The Academy -- and its wholly-owned subsidiary TransforMED -- stood ready to assist family physicians as they worked to transform their practices into patient-centered medical homes; implement electronic health records, or EHRs; and adjust to all the payment, coding and regulatory changes that are part and parcel of a new way of doing business. And for some family physicians, efforts put forth in 2011 paid off in increased revenues via incentive payments made available through federal programs such as the Physician Quality Reporting System, the Primary Care Incentive Program, the Medicare Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program, and the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive programs. sporter@aafp.org Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:45:00 CST 2011: The Year in Review http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/2011-year-in-review/20120104yir-clinical.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/2011-year-in-review/20120104yir-clinical.html New recommendations for immunizations and clinical preventive services came fast and furious in 2011, with the AAFP playing a key role in formulating many of the changes. The FDA also made headlines last year, launching dozens of actions aimed at pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, as well as the tobacco industry. Meanwhile, the Academy fought its own the battle against tobacco, even as it heightened its efforts to combat obesity by announcing a plan to take the fight to the nation's family medicine residencies. And, as always, chronic disease and other public health threats commanded the attention of the nation's family physicians. mbrown@aafp.org Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:35:00 CST 2011: The Year in Review http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/2011-year-in-review/20120104yireducation.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/2011-year-in-review/20120104yireducation.html As the nation faced growing recognition of the expected shortage of primary care physicians in 2011, the medical education establishment responded with a concerted call for change. The increased attention to the lack of family physicians and other primary care physicians needed to meet the nation's growing needs may have had an effect on medical students' choices of specialty. For the second year in a row, the number of medical students who chose to enter family medicine rose, according to the National Resident Matching Program. In fact, the fill rate for family medicine in 2011 was a record high of 94.4 percent, up 3 percent from 2010. nkuehl@aafp.org Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:10:00 CST 2011: The Year in Review http://blogs.aafp.org/cfr/leadervoices/entry/let_s_make_ourselves_and http://blogs.aafp.org/cfr/leadervoices/entry/let_s_make_ourselves_and Earlier this year, the Academy asked members, "What great things will you do" for family medicine. More than 350 of you responded with inspiring comments and plans for your future and the future of family medicine. With a new year beginning, I reflected on those pledges we made for our patients, communities and specialty. At the time, I said, "I will demonstrate that family medicine is the unstoppable force that will transform the American health care system." Sun, 01 Jan 2012 13:05:00 CST 2011: The Year in Review http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20111205finprivacy.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/inside-aafp/20111205finprivacy.html Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:25:00 CST 2011: The Year in Review