May 2006

(05/30/2006)  --  MinuteClinic, a company that operates 82 retail health clinics in 10 states, has named FP Andrew Eisenberg, M.D., of Sarasota Fla., a member of the AAFP Commission on Practice Enhancement, to its National Clinical Quality Advisory Council. More

(05/30/2006)  --  The American Board of Family Medicine has fast-tracked changes to add flexibility to the Maintenance of Certification Program for Family Physicians, or MC-FP. More

(05/26/2006)  --  People who learn they're at high risk for a disease just might be more motivated to change their behaviors to avoid getting the illness than those who know they have a lower risk. More

(05/24/2006)  --  Sometimes, it may seem there aren't enough hours in the day for you to give patients the time and information they need. Now, the Academy can help you deliver key information to your patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week -- online. More

(05/24/2006)  --  Despite only lukewarm support in the Senate this year, the Bush administration will continue urging passage of legislation that would expand health savings accounts, or HSAs, as a solution to meeting the needs of America's under- and uninsured patients. More

(05/24/2006)  --  Even as high-school seniors are making their plans for the summer, the AAFP, CDC and other organizations are planning for those students' exodus to college next fall. More

(05/24/2006)  --  In light of the current multistate mumps outbreak, the AAFP Board of Directors recently approved clinical recommendations that supplement the Academy's 2006 Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule More

(05/23/2006)  --  Meeting Americans' expectations for price transparency in physician, hospital and pharmacy charges "is a good idea but must be done very cautiously," according to AAFP President Larry Fields, M.D., of Ashland, Ky. More

(05/23/2006)  --  Tackling topics such as retail health clinic information and immigrants' care, the AAFP National Conference of Special Constituencies proposed AAFP policies during its meeting May 4-6 in Kansas City, Mo. More

(05/23/2006)  --  The 2004 Future of Family Medicine report called for changes in the U.S. health care system, such as "taking steps to ensure that every American has a personal medical home," and now the AAFP Board of Directors has adopted a policy that includes a definition of "personal medical home," according to Board Chair Mary Frank, M.D., of Mill Valley, Calif. More

(05/22/2006)  --  "You pick the date. You pick the quantity. FFF delivers." That's the motto of a new Web site created by FFF Enterprises, the largest distributor of annual influenza vaccine in the United States. The site -- MyFluVaccine.com http://www.myfluvaccine.com/ -- and the service it represents reflect "a significant advancement in vaccine distribution efficiency," according to FFF Enterprises president and CEO Patrick Schmidt. More

(05/19/2006)  --  A new project to restructure and renew family medicine residency training has received more than $1.7 million in pledges this spring from the American Board of Family Medicine Foundation and Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors. More

(05/19/2006)  --  According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, falls are common among residents of nursing facilities and often have serious health consequences, especially for frail elderly patients. More

(05/17/2006)  --  If Americans are to have a medical home that ensures quality care and lowers costs, health care policy-makers must institute three tenets: medical liability reform, appropriate physician payment and workforce policies that encourage medical students to enter primary care. More

(05/17/2006)  --  A bill currently on Colorado Gov. Bill Owens' desk may serve as a national model for transparency in health plan contracts. S.B. 198 would require the Colorado insurance commissioner to develop a standardized contract for all Colorado health plans and physicians so Colorado family physicians will know exactly what their health plan contracts pay, under what circumstances and for what period of time. More

(05/17/2006)  --  The board of directors of the American Board of Family Medicine held its annual elections during the directors' meeting in Palm Springs, Calif., April 22-26. Karen Mitchell, M.D., of Rochester, Mich., is the new chair of the board of directors. More

(05/17/2006)  --  If your practice provides maternity care or is thinking about providing this care, the AAFP may have just the course for you. Learn more about what you and your practice can do for expectant and new mothers at the Family Centered Maternity Care course, to be held July 19-23 in Providence, R.I. More

(05/17/2006)  --  America's health care system is on the cusp of dramatic change, and family medicine is in a prime position to have significant influence on that change. That reality should spur family physicians to jump into political activism, according to Randell Wexler, M.D., of Columbus, Ohio. More

(05/17/2006)  --  "One Voice. One Vision." That's the tag line for the country's first National Health IT Week, which debuts June 5-8 in Washington, D.C. The Academy is a partner in the event. More

(05/15/2006)  --  As the 2006 hurricane season approaches, family physicians continue to be at the forefront of resuscitating the Gulf Coast health care system, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Progress remains tenuous, however, as FPs work to rebuild practices and their patient censuses. More

(05/12/2006)  --  Plan for avian influenza, and keep yourselves and your patients educated about the disease. This was the advice American Public Health Association Executive Director Georges Benjamin, M.D., gave to family physicians and AAFP chapter staff at the combined National Conference of Special Constituencies and Annual Leadership Forum here May 4. More

(05/11/2006)  --  Experience the AAFP, an Academy membership retention program that recently evolved from a pilot project to a permanent initiative, already may be boosting AAFP membership renewals, according to Colleen Lawler, C.A.E., director of the Membership Division. The program offers price cuts and free resources for members in their first seven years of practice. More

(05/10/2006)  --  Want the latest news sent to you as soon as it's posted at AAFP News Now? You can enjoy that convenience via the new ANN RSS feed. More

(05/10/2006)  --  Constituent chapter representatives at the AAFP National Conference of Special Constituencies elected people to a variety of leadership positions during the NCSC meeting May 4-6 in Kansas City, Mo. More

(05/10/2006)  --  Navigating through medical school can be a major undertaking on virtually every level: emotionally, intellectually, physically and financially. The AAFP can’t take your exams for you or ease demanding rotation schedules, but it can help relieve some of the financial shock. More

(05/10/2006)  --  The Academy recently joined a team of medical specialty societies and organizations to go to bat for physicians against a blended rate policy implemented by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Ohio last fall, but the team has made little progress to date in resolving the dispute. More

(05/10/2006)  --  Physicians now can request a supply of Together Rx Access "quick-start" cards that provide prescription drug discounts to patients who don't have health insurance or who don't have prescription drug coverage under their health plans and who meet income eligibility requirements. More

(05/10/2006)  --  The federal government may raise the interest rate for student loans by as much as 2 percent on July 1, but borrowers may lock in their current rates by consolidating their loans now. More

(05/09/2006)  --  Despite a slew of activity urging U.S. senators to end debate on medical liability reform, an effort this past week to bring the Medical Care Access Protection Act of 2006, S. 22, to a floor vote failed to muster the necessary votes. More

(05/09/2006)  --  Ten candidates are seeking election or re-election to AAFP offices and the AAFP Board of Directors. The AAFP Congress of Delegates will elect officers and new directors Sept. 28 in Washington, D.C. More

(05/09/2006)  --  UnitedHealthcare, a payer with which many family physicians have contracts, has agreed to revise a payment policy that the Academy has argued for months is unfair to physicians. More

(05/08/2006)  --  Family physicians who administer drugs and biologicals to patients in their offices under Medicare Part B now have the option to acquire those medications from BioScrip, the vendor selected for the first phase of CMS' Competitive Acquisition Program, or CAP. More

(05/05/2006)  --  Note this change in policy regarding Medicare billing: Physicians accustomed to receiving both an electronic remittance advice, or ERA, and a standard paper remittance, or SPR, soon may receive only the ERA. More

(05/05/2006)  --  Thanks for the AAFP News Now article "Negotiation Skills Tame Managed Care Contracts." I have been trying to get my colleagues to at least look at contracts before signing them. However, the process is not very rewarding. The response from Health Net and Anthem is a categorical, "This is a non-negotiable contract." More (Members Only)

(05/05/2006)  --  Contact your senators. Urge them to put an end to the debate over medical liability reform and bring the issue to the floor for a full vote. More

(05/05/2006)  --  The health insurance crisis is creeping up the economic ladder. That’s the conclusion of a report, Gaps in Health Insurance: An All-American Problem, released April 26 by the Commonwealth Fund. More

(05/03/2006)  --  It’s no secret that a family physician’s time is precious. It seems as though there's always a backlog of things to be done and patients to be seen. Finding time to earn CME credit can be a challenge. More

(05/03/2006)  --  Family physicians now can send their patients to a wealth of online information on maintaining a healthy heart, learning to live with heart disease and achieving healthy sleep habits thanks to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. More

(05/03/2006)  --  A new CMS policy on Medicare Part D plans' formularies may mean less prescription-related paperwork for physicians -- at least for the rest of 2006. The policy requires Part D plans to continue covering medications for Medicare enrollees, even if the companies drop the drugs from their formularies. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(05/03/2006)  --  Physicians considering the purchase of an electronic health record system in the near future are one step closer to having a bevy of certified products from which to choose. More

(05/03/2006)  --  The Academy's National Research Network is seeking family physicians and patients interested in comparing a new prescription method with the status quo in prescribing. Each practice in the study, the Prescription Methods Assessment Project, will enroll about 30 adult patients who have new diagnoses or uncontrolled cases of osteoarthritis or gastroesophageal reflux disease, also called GERD. More

(05/02/2006)  --  Check out the May issue of Reader's Digest -- the "America's 100 Best 2006" special issue -- and read about Sister Adele O'Sullivan, C.S.J., M.D., who was named "best good Samaritan" by the magazine. More

(05/01/2006)  --  Family physicians might want to remind their older and disabled patients about the May 15 enrollment deadline for Medicare Part D prescription plans. That's because an April 20 Kaiser Family Foundation Poll found 44 percent of respondents age 65 or older and 73 percent of people ages 18 to 64 did not know the enrollment deadline. More