February 2006

(02/28/2006)  --  Physicians With Heart, an annual humanitarian initiative, will visit Moldova Oct. 19-29. Participants are expected to deliver millions of dollars' worth of donated pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and medical supplies; provide education on family medicine; conduct Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics courses; and bring aid to children's centers. More

(02/28/2006)  --  A Feb. 14 meeting in Washington between Veterans Health Administration officials and AAFP representatives was the direct result of a Jan. 3 letter from the Academy to the Department of Veterans Affairs. In the letter, the AAFP asked the VA to make changes in the way prescription restrictions and communications between VHA physicians and community-based physicians are handled. More

(02/27/2006)  --  Expanding research efforts led the Academy to establish an internal institutional review board earlier this year. More

(02/27/2006)  --  Acknowledging the Academy's leadership role in shaping health care policy, the Bush administration recently invited AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky., and AAFP EVP Douglas Henley to a meeting at the White House concerning President Bush's plans for health care. More

(02/27/2006)  --  Family physicians and Academy recommendations were highlighted in the Feb. 20 USA Today, which included an article on men's overall aversion to routine medical checkups. More

(02/24/2006)  --  Common sense -- that's what a segment on the Feb. 23 NBC Nightly News said was missing from the barrage of pharmaceutical ads and conflicting research reports consumers are hit with every day. However, common sense is what former AAFP President Patrick Harr, M.D., is providing, according to the show. More

(02/23/2006)  --  The Jan. 1 launch of Medicare Part D focused many patients' attention on outpatient prescriptions, and many may think Part D, whether submitted to a retail pharmacy or administered by a physician during an office visit, covers all their medications. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(02/23/2006)  --  The January-February issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, a theme issue on the work of practice-based research networks, celebrates their progress in "A Short History of Primary Care Practice-Based Research Networks: From Concept to Essential Research Laboratories. More

(02/22/2006)  --  Planning for retirement can raise some difficult issues. From transferring patients and closing a practice to rediscovering a spouse, and from making sure the financial aspects of retirement are covered to figuring out just what to do with all the free time -- there are a myriad of changes. More

(02/22/2006)  --  Family physicians follow some but not all guidelines for identifying and treating patients with hyperlipidemia, say researchers in the January-February issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. More

(02/22/2006)  --  "Your Future Is Family Medicine" is a new toolkit that informs medical students about the specialty of family medicine and encourages them to consider becoming family physicians. More

(02/22/2006)  --  A businessman's struggle to obtain a Friday night strep test for his son and a family physician's willingness to stay after hours to provide that test launched a new concept in patient-centered care six years ago. More

(02/21/2006)  --  The acronym "COPD" may not mean much to many patients, but with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease being the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, now may be a good time for them to learn about this condition. More

(02/21/2006)  --  The AAFP has co-founded a coalition to simplify the burden and reduce the costs of administrative paperwork associated with operating a medical practice. Coalition partners are the Health Information Management Association and the Medical Group Management Association. More

(02/21/2006)  --  Family physicians interested in incorporating electronic health records into their practices can learn from those who already have adopted EHRs via a learning resource Web site recently launched by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. More

(02/16/2006)  --  As one of its many legacies, Hurricane Katrina left a shattered health care infrastructure in New Orleans. According to Vangy Franklin, M.D., project manager for the City of New Orleans Health Department, just 15 percent of physicians who practiced in New Orleans before Katrina have returned to the city, and five of the city's health clinics no longer exist. More

(02/16/2006)  --  That young patient sitting in your waiting room listening to his MP3 player may be damaging his hearing, and it's likely he doesn't even know it. But with the right approach, you might be able to help him make that connection. More

(02/15/2006)  --  If networking opportunities, one-on-one access to AAFP leaders, and the opportunity to improve leadership and diversity skills aren't reasons enough to attend the Annual Leadership Forum this May in Kansas City, Mo., here's another: two conferences for the price of one. More

(02/14/2006)  --  America must have uniform and universal performance standards that are incrementally implemented if pay-for-performance programs are to succeed, according to Bruce Bagley, M.D., AAFP director for quality improvement. More

(02/14/2006)  --  The Budget Reconciliation Act of 2005, S. 1932, could boost the number of uninsured Americans as Medicaid patients lose coverage because of higher monthly premiums and copayments and modified income eligibility thresholds. More

(02/14/2006)  --  The launch of Health Recovery Week at New Orleans' Audubon Zoo on Feb. 6 drew hundreds of participants from surrounding areas; many of them had a solid understanding of the advantages of a personal health record. More

(02/14/2006)  --  A California experiment has found that pay-for-performance can succeed if key elements -- including adequate incentives, uniform performance measures across all payment sources and public reporting of physician performance -- comprise the program. More

(02/14/2006)  --  The lure of free medical care, dental work, eyeglasses, pharmacy services and, yes, even a portable personal health record -- known as a PHR -- drew more than 3,900 people from hurricane-ravaged New Orleans and surrounding areas to the New Orleans Audubon Zoo from Feb. 6 to 12. More

(02/10/2006)  --  Notices of openings for family physicians are on the upswing in American Family Physician and AAFP Placement Services. More

(02/10/2006)  --  Pay-for-performance may be the best possible health care reform to hit primary care physicians. That's because, if the concept truly focuses on quality improvement, it must rely on medical homes with primary care physicians who prevent the onset of or complications from illness and who coordinate comprehensive care when illness strikes, according to speakers at the Feb. 6-8 National Pay-for-Performance Summit. More

(02/09/2006)  --  "Family physicians are dismayed that the budget proposed by the Bush administration ... could not find room for important health care programs, thus threatening the health care infrastructure for the most vulnerable people in our country." With that opening statement, AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky., expressed the Academy's extreme disappointment that President Bush's proposed 2007 federal budget fails to invest in America's health care system. More

(02/09/2006)  --  Veterans Health Administration policies about communication processes and prescriptions pose problems for veterans and their community-based family physicians, said the Academy in three recent letters. More

(02/08/2006)  --  Wouldn't it be great if your patients could exercise right in your office while they waited for their appointments? But since exercise equipment is pretty pricey -- and arguably too bulky -- for the reception area, why not do the next best thing and put up some posters encouraging healthy living? More

(02/08/2006)  --  Good news: The FDA has revised the format for providing prescription drug information to present that information more clearly and concisely. More

(02/08/2006)  --  "Primary care, the backbone of the nation's health care system, is at grave risk of collapse due to a dysfunctional financing and delivery system," says the American College of Physicians in a Jan. 30 report. More

(02/07/2006)  --  Physicians shouldering the burden of unfair coding practices may breathe a little easier if they have a contract with Aetna. As of Feb. 11, two evaluation and management coding changes that the Academy has been fighting for take effect. More

(02/07/2006)  --  Academic medical centers should take the lead in regulating relationships between physicians and manufacturers of drugs and medical devices, says an article in the Jan. 25 Journal of the American Medical Association. More

(02/06/2006)  --  The nation's first urgent care fellowship is opening in Cleveland. Graduates of accredited family medicine and internal medicine-pediatrics residencies may apply for the one-year fellowship. More

(02/06/2006)  --  Kevin Burke, director of the AAFP Division of Government Relations, has been named one of American medicine's most effective spokespersons. The recognition came in an article in the Feb. 1 issue of The Hill, a publication read by U.S. senators and representatives, their legislative aides, and others involved in the federal government. More

(02/06/2006)  --  AAFP's quitline referral cards, free to members while supplies last, are in high demand. The wallet cards became available for mailing in early January, and, by Feb. 1, the Academy had mailed 509 packages to members. Because each package contains 200 cards, the tally so far is 101,800 cards shipped to AAFP members. More

(02/06/2006)  --  Family physicians will recoup money lost as a result of the 4.4 percent Medicare pay cut that went into effect Jan. 1, thanks to final passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Once signed by President Bush, the new law would freeze Medicare physician payments at 2005 levels. Its provisions are retroactive to the first of this year. More

(02/06/2006)  --  The latest issue of Annals of Family Medicine demonstrates how practice-based research networks are engaging community members as advisers in their research efforts. More

(02/03/2006)  --  First came diabetes, then coronary artery disease and now asthma. They're all topics covered by AAFP's performance improvement initiative known as METRIC -- Measuring, Evaluating and Translating Research Into Care -- which launched its third module Jan 31. More

(02/03/2006)  --  A good idea just got better. On Feb. 1, the Academy launched its own version of an online health plan complaint form that gives members an avenue to report insurance company hassles. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(02/02/2006)  --  Better care for people with diabetes requires system changes in primary care offices, and the state of anger can trigger violence. Researchers report these conclusions in articles in the January/February issue of Annals of Family Medicine. More

(02/02/2006)  --  Physicians can expect fewer administrative complications but ongoing formulary issues -- particularly for disabled and chronically ill patients -- in upcoming weeks as they write prescriptions for their Medicare patients. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(02/01/2006)  --  A flurry of physicians attempting to order influenza vaccine for the 2006-07 flu season directly from manufacturer sanofi pasteur temporarily "maxed out" the Web servers supporting the company's VaccineShoppe.com site Jan. 31, according to John Zahradnik, M.D., sanofi pasteur's director of immunization policy. More

(02/01/2006)  --  The big holiday meals have long since passed, and January is over. But some of your patients might still need help achieving their New Year's resolutions to eat better and live healthier. More

(02/01/2006)  --  The disruption of care that many AAFP members feared when Medicare Part D launched Jan. 1 has become reality for many elderly and disabled patients, according to physician reports across the country. More

(02/01/2006)  --  A battle of words erupted recently between CMS and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America over Medicare Part D's impact on pharmaceutical companies' patient assistance programs. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(02/01/2006)  --  Family physicians will reap significant relief from medical liability premiums if members of Congress act on President Bush’s recommendation that they enact medical liability reform this year. More