September 2005

Government Lists Medicare Part D-Approved Companies

(09/30/2005) -- CMS has released the list of health insurance companies that have contracts under Medicare to offer prescription drug plans to Medicare beneficiaries. The prescription drug benefit begins Jan. 1 for enrolled elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries. More

Laughter, Learning a Good Combo at Menopause Lecture

(09/30/2005) -- How many Assembly sessions on serious topics start with entertainment, crazy lyrics and a singalong? Very few, but that’s exactly what transpired Thursday at "Menopause: Celebration or Catastrophe.” More

Congress of Delegates Wrestles With Public Health Issues

(09/30/2005) -- The AAFP Congress of Delegates tackled public health topics this week, including end-of-life care, sex education and healthy food choices. More

FPs Are Integral to Diagnosis, Treatment of Mental Illness

(09/30/2005) -- A young adult has persistent stomachaches. Think mental health. A child presents with chronic headaches. Think mental health. An elderly man complains of fatigue. Think mental health. A diabetic fails to take insulin. Think mental health. More

AAFP Election Results

Delegates Choose Rick Kellerman, M.D., President-Elect

(09/29/2005) -- The AAFP Congress of Delegates on Sept. 28 elected Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan., to be the AAFP's next president-elect. More

Delegates Chart Academy's Course in Disaster Planning

(09/29/2005) -- The AAFP Congress of Delegates acted Sept. 27 to help ensure that family physicians’ expertise would be at the heart of future disaster relief efforts. More

New AAFP President Speaks:

'Always Do What's Right for the Patient, and Everything Else Will Sort Itself Out'

(09/29/2005) -- Listen to that still small voice inside of you that says, ‘Always do what’s right for the patient, and everything else will sort itself out,’” said incoming AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky., in his president’s address on Sept. 28 More

Town Hall Meeting Sparks Lively Discourse

(09/28/2005) -- The 2005 AAFP Congress of Delegates didn't open until Monday, but Academy delegates and alternate delegates, constituent chapter leaders, and members were already in the spirit of discussion during a Town Hall Meeting on Sept. 25. More

2006 Family Physician of the Year Serves the Homeless

(09/28/2005) -- Many people who come to the downtown Phoenix clinic of Sister Adele O’Sullivan, C.S.J., M.D., spend their nights in cars, under highway overpasses, by railroad tracks and in shelters for the homeless. More

Familydoctor.org Promotes Breast Cancer Awareness Month

(09/27/2005) -- You may not know that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, but you probably should be aware that according to the American Cancer Society, more than 212,000 women and 1,600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. More

VistA EHR Software Ready for Review

(09/26/2005) -- CMS announced Sept. 19 that an evaluation version of VistA Office Electronic Health Record, or VistA-Office, has been released to software vendors for distribution to a small number of physician offices for testing. More

Share Hurricane Experiences With AAFP via Voice Mail

(09/26/2005) -- Have experiences related to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita that you'd like to share, but accessing e-mail is difficult? You now can tell the Academy about your hurricane-related experiences by telephone. More

ACF 2005 Genomics

View Video CME Program on Bipolar Disorder

(09/23/2005) -- How can you help patients who have bipolar disorder -- or their family members -- understand the connection between the disorder and genetics? For guidance, view the free AAFP Video CME program "Bipolar Disorder," the latest online offering from the Annual Clinical Focus 2005 Genomics. More

Hand-Washing Initiative, Study Highlight Health Benefits of Lathering Up

(09/23/2005) -- The AAFP has teamed up with longtime children’s hygiene advocate Henry the Hand to urge children to lather up frequently and thoroughly More

Virginia FP Delivers Medical Supplies, Expertise to Katrina Victims

(09/23/2005) -- When FP Dima Ali, M.D., drove to the aid of Hurricane Katrina victims on Sept. 2, angels followed. Sometimes they were invisible, such as when -- for some unknown reason -- the car remained upright, despite the fact that the trailer she was pulling was careening from side to side on an axle that broke at highway speeds between the North Carolina cities of Raleigh and Durham. More

Consult List of Pay-for Performance Stakeholders, Resources

(09/22/2005) -- The world of pay-for-performance can be a daunting at first. This who’s who of major players and insurance companies includes Web addresses and brief descriptions, as well as Academy resources. More

P4P Gets Major Play in Mainstream Media

(09/21/2005) -- As more players in health care embrace the idea of pay-for-performance programs, the commercial media are beginning to evaluate the risks and benefits of this incentive-based type of reimbursement. Following are some quotes from articles about P4P. More

Don’t Miss the Worm …

Early-Bird Cutoff for Emergency Care Course Nears

(09/21/2005) -- There are only a few days left to receive $80 to $100 off registration for the AAFP’s Emergency and Urgent Care Course, to be held Oct. 26 - 29 in San Antonio. More

Demonstrations Test Feasibility of Physician Pay-for-Performance

(09/20/2005) -- Congress may postpone consideration of specific pay-for-performance initiatives until next session, but CMS continues to investigate the P4P concept's financial viability and effects on quality of care. More

Hurricane Katrina Affects Legislative Priorities

Pay-for-Performance Could Stall This Year, Return Next Session

(09/20/2005) -- Congress has largely set aside its earlier legislative calendar to grapple with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; confirmation proceedings for U.S. chief justice nominee John Roberts Jr., J.D.; and other time-sensitive issues, according to Kevin Burke, director of the AAFP Division of Government Relations. More

Reduce Risk of Medical Errors, Improve Care with P4P

(09/20/2005) -- The mere mention of the phrase pay-for-performance leaves some folks in health care circles shaking their heads in frustration, but Robert Fortini, clinical operations manager at Community Care Physicians in Albany, N.Y., has a different take on the topic. More

Pay-for-Performance Discussed

MedPAC Urged to Give Physicians Incentive Payments

(09/20/2005) -- Family physicians and their primary care colleagues should receive a 5 percent to 10 percent incentive payment for meeting quality standards under any Medicare pay-for-performance program approved by Congress. More

Medicare Part D Educational Resource Available

(09/19/2005) -- Want to help your patients understand the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit? CMS has published a PowerPoint educational resource that can help. More

Part D Deadline Flexible for Patients With 'Creditable Coverage'

(09/19/2005) -- Is your 22-year-old, disabled, Medicare-eligible patient required to sign up for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage? Not necessarily, say Medicare officials. More

Here Are Answers to Pay-for-Performance Questions

(09/19/2005) -- Pay-for-performance programs may puzzle you. If so, try these answers to frequently asked questions. They're from Bruce Bagley, M.D., the Academy's medical director of quality improvement. More

Groups Still Accepted --

HHS Halts Individual Volunteer Recruitment for Katrina

(09/19/2005) -- HHS is no longer accepting individual physician volunteers to help provide care to victims of Hurricane Katrina. More

Academy, FPs Help Shape Future of P4P

(09/19/2005) -- "Pay-for-performance is an incentive to prove the quality of care we already provide and to improve our care," AAFP President Mary Frank, M.D., tells family physicians asking about P4P. More

AAFP Leader Confers With Members of Congress

(09/19/2005) -- "Family physicians' visibility is being raised" on Capitol Hill, said AAFP President Mary Frank, M.D., after visits with members of Congress and their aides Sept. 13 - 14. More

Health Info Tech Will Transform U.S. Health Care System

(09/19/2005) -- America's business community should care about overhauling America's health care system because the current system is costing lives and money and is straining the economy. That was the message delivered at a one-day forum, "No More Excuses: Business and Health Information Technology," held Sept. 15 in Washington, D.C. More

2005 Match Results Point to Greater Diversity

(09/16/2005) -- As more international medical graduates enter primary care, they may offer a solution to some of the problems encountered by an increasing population of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. More

FDA Defers Decision on Allowing OTC Status for Plan B

Commissioner Requests Public Comment; Cites 'Difficult' Policy Issues

(09/15/2005) -- FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D., effectively 'punted the ball' last month, putting off an FDA decision on whether to grant over-the-counter status for the emergency contraceptive known as Plan B in certain circumstances. Instead, Crawford announced he would open a public comment period on the OTC application to gain input on what he called "difficult and novel policy and regulatory issues." More

Health Insurers Establish Call Center, Web Site for Hurricane Katrina Victims

(09/15/2005) -- Family physicians caring for patients who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina can help them connect to their health insurance plans by giving them a national, toll-free number. More

AAFP Leader Gives Input on Medicare Part D to HHS Secretary

(09/15/2005) -- AAFP President Mary Frank, M.D., seized the opportunity to speak up for patients and physicians at a Sept. 12 meeting in the White House complex. More

Get Bioterrorism Guide for Your PDA

(09/14/2005) -- Americans recently observed a somber milestone: the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The calamitous events of that day were quickly followed by word of more acts of terrorism, this time using anthrax as a weapon. Family physicians were on the front lines of care during these events, and they remain there now. More

Buprenorphine Update

Law Lifts 30-Patient Cap for Group Practices

(09/14/2005) -- Legislation signed by President Bush last month could open up a treatment option to millions of Americans addicted to opioids. More

Goal: Interoperability

HHS Selects Henley for Health IT Panel

(09/14/2005) -- AAFP's Executive Vice President Douglas Henley, M.D., will represent all physicians as he serves on a new blue-ribbon commission designed to bring U.S. health care into the age of electronics. More

Academy Updates Katrina Response via New Web Resource

(09/13/2005) -- The AAFP has launched a Web resource designed to update members on the Academy's, individual FPs' and constituent chapters' responses to Hurricane Katrina. The page provides links to news coverage about the Academy's response to the hurricane, a list of CME opportunities related to disaster response and other resources for members. More

FPM Unveils New Design, Updated ICD-9 List

(09/13/2005) -- The September issue of Family Practice Management has long been popular for its inclusion of the annual updated ICD-9 code list, but now there's another reason to keep an eye out for it to arrive in your mailbox: FPM has a new design. More

New Campaign Aims to Raise Awareness of PPA Program

(09/13/2005) -- Tens of thousands of physicians serving low-income communities will soon receive resources to help them educate their patients about the Partnership for Prescription Assistance program. More

Academy Initiative Calls for Action on Availability of CCRs

(09/13/2005) -- One largely unrecognized aftereffect of Hurricane Katrina has been the destruction of thousands of medical records belonging to patients needing immediate medical care. In recognition of this fact, the AAFP has established Project Continuity of Care to address the difficulties physicians face when trying to provide quality care to patients without the benefit of medical histories and medication lists. More

AAFP Congress Faces Bumper Crop of Resolutions

(09/13/2005) -- The AAFP Congress of Delegates will deal with resolutions on topics ranging from a clearinghouse for health plan reimbursement data to pharmacists' conscientious objections about filling some prescriptions. More

Florida FP Offers to Donate His Practice

(09/12/2005) -- After surviving Hurricane Ivan nearly a year ago, Jerry Leventhal, M.D., is giving it all away. The Navarre, Fla., family physician will donate his practice -- including all the equipment that fills a 2,400 square-foot office space -- to a colleague who has lost his or her practice in Hurricane Katrina. More

FamMedPAC Distributes First $1,000

(09/12/2005) -- "Preserve Title VII." That was among the messages taken to Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, chair of the House Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies, when representatives of AAFP's FamMedPAC attended a Sept. 7 breakfast in Washington. The topic of discussion: pending health care legislation. More

FPs Respond to Call for Help

Volunteer Effort Moves from Chapter to Federal Level Coordination

(09/09/2005) -- A generator. Clinical examination tables. A home. An entire medical practice. These are among the donations made by family physicians to family physicians in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. More

AIM Launches Library Project

(09/09/2005) -- Public libraries across the country have received materials from the Academy to further their health-related efforts. More

CDC Issues Disaster-Related Health Advisories

(09/09/2005) -- The CDC Health Alert Network, known as HAN, issued two health advisories Sept. 5 targeting health professionals caring for patients from areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. More

AAFP Board OKs Payment, Liability Recommendations from 'Strike Forces'

(09/09/2005) -- Help is on the way for family physicians in the hot-button areas of physician payment and medical liability. That help comes from initiatives approved by the AAFP Board of Directors at its meeting Aug. 2 - 6 in Banff, Canada. More

AAFP Congress Faces Bumper Crop of Resolutions

(09/09/2005) -- The AAFP Congress of Delegates will deal with resolutions on topics ranging from a clearinghouse for health plan reimbursement data to pharmacists' conscientious objections about filling some prescriptions. More

Filing Deadline for Health Net Settlement is Sept. 21

(09/08/2005) -- The deadline is drawing near for physicians who wish to participate in the proposed settlement of the class-action lawsuit against Health Net, one of the remaining managed-care defendants in an ongoing national physician class-action lawsuit. More

Academy Resource Helps FPs Starting New Practices

(09/07/2005) -- Starting a new practice can be overwhelmingly complicated. You may find yourself asking such questions as, "How much staffing do I need? What are my corporate structuring options? How should I handle fees and contracting? What about marketing, office design, computerization?" More

HHS Seeks Input on Healthy People 2010

(09/07/2005) -- At the midpoint of the Healthy People 2010 midcourse initiative, HHS is inviting the public to view proposed revisions to the Healthy People 2010 objectives and comment on those proposals online. More

Residency Program Directors Can Now Get 'Advanced' Training

(09/07/2005) -- Begin with a family physician and add teaching expertise. Fold in specialized training through the National Institute for Program Director Development and allow the newly acquired business savvy and leadership and organizational skills to blend together. Infuse with patience, enthusiasm and political acumen. More

Two-Pronged Approach

Physician Recruitment in High Gear for Katrina Victims

(09/07/2005) -- The federal government has launched an all-out effort to meet the health care needs of Hurricane Katrina's victims. The efforts include recruiting physicians to provide on-site care in affected areas and easing the regulatory environment for physicians caring for hurricane evacuees relocated to cities throughout the United States More

Annual Report Shows Growth of Research Network

FamMedPAC To Take Next Steps in Legislative Advocacy

(09/06/2005) -- Members of the U.S. House and Senate this fall will hear directly from family medicine about ensuring adequate Medicare payment, reforming medical liability and providing health care coverage for the uninsured, thanks to FamMedPAC. More

STFM Seeks Award Nominations

(09/06/2005) -- The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine is accepting nominations for six awards that will be presented during its Annual Spring Conference April 26 - 20, 2006, in San Francisco. More

Attend CMS Meeting to Discuss Medicare Policies

(09/06/2005) -- CMS has issued an invitation to Medicare fee-for-service providers and suppliers to join in its "Medicare Provider Feedback Town Hall Meeting" from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT Sept. 12. More

Hurricane-Stricken States Establish System for Volunteer Physicians

(09/06/2005) -- Family physicians wanting to volunteer their medical expertise to the victims of Hurricane Katrina can do so by contacting the Mississippi and Louisiana AFPs. The two constituent chapters are coordinating family physician volunteers with each state's health department. More

Conference Examines Drug Research in Minority Populations

(09/02/2005) -- Doctors wanting to learn more about drug abuse research and to discuss prevention and treatment options for minority populations will be able to do both at a National Institute on Drug Abuse Health Disparities Conference Oct. 24 - 26 in Atlanta. More

Racial Disparity Abates Among Medicare Enrollees

(09/02/2005) -- More black Medicare enrollees are being screened for breast cancer and treated for diabetes or heart disease, according to a study published in the Aug. 18 New England Journal of Medicine. More

AAFP Launches Emergency Fund for Hurricane Victims

(09/02/2005) -- "We know we must help and help quickly." With that statement, AAFP President Mary Frank, M.D., of Mill Valley Calif., announced an Academy-wide effort to provide financial support and medical expertise to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. More

2005 Archives

September 2005