May 2005

(05/27/2005)  --  Dr. Wilson (in "Letter: Claims-filed Data No True Indicator of Care Quality," posted online in April) blames the patient or the lab for apparent poor quality of care in her two examples. It's frustrating, but even if that is correct, explanations like that will cause us trouble. More

(05/27/2005)  --  The Academy on May 25 announced its agreement with a new vaccination recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and CDC. That recommendation: Young adolescents (defined as 11- to 12-year-olds) should be routinely vaccinated with tetravalent meningococcal polysaccharide-protein conjugate vaccine, or MCV4. More

(05/27/2005)  --  The prospect of battling Alzheimer's disease -- of progressing through the relentless mental and physical decline that mark the condition -- is frightening for many of us. You may already be fielding questions from patients, particularly those with a relative who has Alzheimer's, about their likelihood of developing the disease. The latest program of the AAFP's 2005 Annual Clinical Focus Genomics can help you provide some answers. More

(05/26/2005)  --  Every successful model of care includes patient self-management, Bertha Safford, M.D., told participants at the AAFP Practice Enhancement Program in Spokane, Wash., May 20 -21. " This is the hardest part," she added. More

(05/26/2005)  --  Much of the discussion at the Practice Enhancement Program May 20 - 21 in Spokane, Wash., centered on teamwork. More

(05/26/2005)  --  Strut their stuff -- that's what family physicians' office staff members have decided to do as a bid for their own fitness and a way to model a healthy lifestyle for patients. About 1,700 staff members have enrolled in Step 2 of AAFP's Americans in Motion, and you can, too. More

(05/26/2005)  --  "Think about what you'd like your office to become, because if you don't have a clear idea of where you're going, it's very difficult to get there." With that statement, Bruce Bagley, M.D., engaged the participants at AAFP's Practice Enhancement Program May 20 - 21 in Spokane, Wash., launching the innovative program on its maiden voyage. More

(05/25/2005)  --  Cancer prevention permeates the care you give your patients. Each time you talk with a patient about quitting smoking or help another design an exercise regimen he or she can stick with, you stand to make a dint in the hundreds of thousands of cancer-related deaths that occur annually in the United States. A new resource from the American Cancer Society can help you focus your cancer prevention and detection efforts to maximize benefit to your patients. More

(05/25/2005)  --  If you’d like to learn more about maternity care or help develop recommendations to improve it, check out these opportunities. The Academy is sponsoring the Family-Centered Maternity Care Course July 20 - 24 in Vancouver, British Columbia. In conjunction with that event, you may want to attend an Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics Instructor Course July 19 in Vancouver. More

(05/24/2005)  --  Women who take certain antidepressants during their last trimester of pregnancy may have newborns who suffer from neonatal behavior syndrome -- a condition characterized by difficulty feeding and sleeping, irritability, prolonged crying, tremors, and seizures in the weeks after birth -- says a literature review published in the May 18 Journal of the American Medical Association. More

(05/24/2005)  --  Wonca, the World Organization of Family Doctors, last fall adopted the Wonca Statement on Humanity, and the AAFP Board of Directors decided in early May to ask Wonca to publish and promote the statement as soon as possible. More

(05/23/2005)  --  A bipartisan bill that provides for increases in Medicare physician payment is a good start to solving Medicare reimbursement issues, according to AAFP President Mary Frank, M.D., of Mill Valley, Calif. More

(05/23/2005)  --  The iron is definitely hot when it comes to physician payment and medical liability. Family physicians want help in those areas -- and the sooner, the better. In response, the AAFP Board of Directors has established two "strike forces" that will explore ways to help members cope with these issues in the short term, AAFP President Mary Frank, M.D., of Mill Valley, Calif., said during her president's report at the Annual Leadership Forum and National Conference of Special Constituencies May 7. More

(05/20/2005)  --  Congressional and Bush administration support for the education of and equitable payment to primary care physicians will go far in saving money while providing health care coverage for the uninsured. More

(05/19/2005)  --  Political analysts predicted it would happen, and it did. In an environment of tight budgets, tax cuts and lingering economic uncertainty, health care policies grew out of budget and appropriations bills, not from health or social services proposals. More

(05/18/2005)  --  A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives May 10 would help push the paper-based U.S. health care system into the world of health information technology. The Academy is supporting the measure, saying now is the time to act. More

(05/18/2005)  --  HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt issued a report May 11 calling for public-private collaboration to make widespread adoption of health information technology a reality. More

(05/18/2005)  --  Reach out and pull them in. That's the mantra of AAFP constituent chapters in states where between 20 percent and 40 percent of medical school graduates choose family medicine. More

(05/17/2005)  --  In recent years, AAFP members have asked for more hands-on procedural skills training, and the Academy has responded by offering Procedural Skills: Hands-on Opportunities. This CME course debuted in February and is scheduled for a repeat performance July 18 - 19 in Portland, Ore. More

(05/17/2005)  --  A draft version of the continuity-of-care record standard may be ready for software vendors -- and then physicians -- very soon. The CCR standard could be released as a "draft standard for trial use," said Dan Smith, a manager at ASTM International, the company responsible for the standard's development. "ASTM is working to release the draft standard for sale to the general public in a matter of weeks," said Smith in mid-May. More

(05/16/2005)  --  The Academy's National Conference of Special Constituencies debated issues ranging from a Medicaid "tax" to liability insurance for part-time practice during its meeting May 5 - 7 in Kansas City, Mo. More

(05/13/2005)  --  AAFP has integrated the tenets of Future of Family Medicine into all aspects of its new governance structure by matching commissions' scope of work with those of FFM goals, according to Academy leadership. More

(05/13/2005)  --  The AAFP National Conference of Special Constituencies voted recently to send the AAFP Congress of Delegates four resolutions, three of them dealing with gender identity. The constituencies -- representing new physicians; women physicians; minority physicians; physicians interested in gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues; and international medical graduates -- voted for the four resolutions in a joint session at the end of their May 5 - 7 meeting in Kansas City, Mo. More

(05/13/2005)  --  AAFP has integrated the tenets of Future of Family Medicine into all aspects of its new governance structure by matching commissions' scope of work with those of FFM goals, according to Academy leadership. More

(05/12/2005)  --  The nation's health care policies should recognize both pharmacists' rights to conscientiously object to filling prescriptions and patients' rights to obtain legally prescribed and medically appropriate medications. More

(05/11/2005)  --  Constituent chapter representatives at the National Conference of Special Constituencies voted for a broad slate of candidates during NCSC's annual meeting in Kansas City, Mo., May 5 - 7. More

(05/11/2005)  --  May 31 is the deadline to earn CME credit for completing one of three programs offered as part of AAFP's Online CME Case Studies series. By completing "Case Studies in the Evaluation and Management of Dyspepsia," AAFP members can earn up to two Prescribed CME credits. More

(05/11/2005)  --  The National Residency Matching Program Board of Directors has decided not to implement a second "match" for candidates choosing residency programs. The decision was announced in a news release (PDF file: 1 page / 105 KB.) issued shortly after the group's May 2 meeting. More

(05/10/2005)  --  The Academy has selected Donna Valponi, M.B.A., to fill the position of vice president for marketing, membership and meetings at AAFP headquarters in Leawood, Kan. More

(05/10/2005)  --  AAFP Past President Richard Roberts, M.D., J.D., drew a standing ovation from national Academy and constituent chapter leaders when he spoke what he called "the unvarnished truth," about the Academy's Future of Family Medicine project in Kansas City, Mo., on May 6. More

(05/09/2005)  --  CMS should reinstate a moratorium on enforcing complex rules that govern whether a teaching hospital can use volunteer preceptors in residency training programs. That was the advice AAFP Board Chair Michael Fleming, M.D., of Shreveport, La., recently gave CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, M.D., PhD. More

(05/09/2005)  --  Thirty-four members of Congress have asked for more information about issues of importance to family medicine. The request came in response to Capitol Hill visits from AAFP members April 21, during the Family Medicine Congressional Conference in Washington. More

(05/09/2005)  --  Link research, science and education in a way that produces practical tools for family physicians to improve the quality of their care. This, says AAFP President Mary Frank, M.D., was the ultimate goal of the AAFP Task Force on Linkages to Practice Improvement. It met last year and early this year, recommending outcomes the AAFP Board of Directors endorsed in March. More

(05/06/2005)  --  Flashes of insight. Energy. Passion. These bubbled up in the faces and comments of family physicians at AAFP's National Conference of Special Constituencies May 5 - 7 in Kansas City, Mo. More

(05/05/2005)  --  The FDA has approved a combined booster vaccine for adolescents that includes a pertussis component. The May 3 approval of GlaxoSmithKline's Boostrix vaccine marks the first time a tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis vaccine, adsorbed, has been marketed for this age group in the United States. More

(05/05/2005)  --  Although many studies have probed the link between direct-to-consumer drug advertising and physician and/or consumer behaviors, few have directly assessed whether such ads are associated with under- or overprescribing by physicians. More

(05/05/2005)  --  AAFP President Mary Frank, M.D., of Mill Valley, Calif., was all business when she told an audience of Senate staffers last month that she's a practicing physician concerned about the patients she sees on a daily basis who can't afford their medications. More

(05/05/2005)  --  Physicians play a pivotal role in identifying and responding to domestic violence, and the Academy strongly supports efforts of the AMA National Advisory Council on Violence and Abuse to address the issue. More

(05/04/2005)  --  The Academy's Americans in Motion project is developing the AIM to Change toolkit for your use with patients. The kit contains resources for FPs and supporting patient education materials. More

(05/04/2005)  --  The AAFP is taking a leadership role in improving the quality of the U.S. health care system by endorsing -- through its work in the Ambulatory care Quality Alliance, or AQA -- a "starter set" of 26 clinical performance measures for ambulatory care. More

(05/04/2005)  --  The AAFP Board of Directors has established a new structure to govern the Academy, effective in 2006. The system, approved by the Board May 3, will align more closely with the strategic goals of the organization, according to Board Chair Michael Fleming, M.D., of Shreveport, La. More

(05/03/2005)  --  The selection committee of the National Quality Forum's Ambulatory Measure Project recently sent forward for comment 49 of 100 quality measures it considered in an expedited review process. The proposed evidence-based performance measures address seven areas of care: asthma/respiratory conditions; depression/behavioral health; bone diseases; heart disease; hypertension; prenatal care; and prevention, immunization, and screening. More

(05/03/2005)  --  Want to join your FP colleagues in taking pharmaceuticals and medical instruments to the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan? That country -- bordering Afghanistan, China and other countries in central Asia -- is the destination of the Physicians With Heart airlift Oct. 13 - 23. More

(05/02/2005)  --  Symptoms: runny nose, itchy eyes, slight sore throat and an unproductive cough lasting more than two weeks. The patient is a middle-aged man. Diagnosis: pertussis. More