April 2009

(04/29/2009)  --  During the past couple of months, there has been a lot of discussion about where nurse practitioners, or NPs, fit into the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH, model, particularly in light of planned and ongoing PCMH demonstration projects. Although the AAFP continues to push for PCMH demonstration projects that are led by physician-directed medical practices, members of Congress, employers and consumers often don't understand why the PCMH model cannot rely on NPs in states where these practitioners have authority under state law to practice independently. More (Members Only)

(04/29/2009)  --  Congress needs to increase Medicare payments for primary care physicians to sustain and strengthen the nation's primary care infrastructure and ensure a high-functioning, cost-efficient health care system. That's according to witnesses who testified before the Senate Finance Committee on April 21. More

(04/29/2009)  --  More underinsured children will have access to immunizations as a result of $300 million in vaccines and grants being distributed through the CDC's Section 317 program. On April 9, Vice President Joe Biden announced the funding, which was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or ARRA. More

(04/29/2009)  --  Family doctors and other primary care physicians can play a role in preventing mental, emotional and behavioral disorders in the nation's young people. In fact, primary care physicians and American schools should become partners in first-line prevention efforts, according to the authors of a recent report from the National Research Council, or NRC, and the Institute of Medicine, or IOM. More

(04/29/2009)  --  The CDC said April 29 that the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus infection had climbed to 91 people in 10 states, up from 64 cases in five states a day earlier. Meanwhile, the first swine flu-related death in the United States was reported April 29 by the Texas Department of State Health Services. More

(04/28/2009)  --  Eleven candidates are seeking election or re-election to Academy offices and the AAFP Board of Directors. The AAFP Congress of Delegates will elect officers and new directors Oct. 14 in Boston. Find out more about the candidates' views on key topics by checking out the 2009 "AAFP Candidates" Web page. More

(04/27/2009)  --  HHS has declared a public health emergency in response to a swine flu outbreak that has resulted in 40 confirmed human cases in five states. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization, or WHO, today raised its influenza pandemic alert from phase 3 to phase 4, after cases of the illness were confirmed in Canada and Spain. More

(04/27/2009)  --  AAFP constituent chapter representatives who attended the Academy's National Conference of Special Constituencies, or NCSC, April 23-25 in Kansas City, Mo., elected colleagues to fill various leadership positions during the meeting. More

(04/24/2009)  --  Physicians living in Virginia, Illinois and Georgia have a new online option when it comes to selecting an electronic health record, or EHR, system -- that is, if they are members of Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and are willing to consider a prepackaged assortment of products and services. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(04/22/2009)  --  The annual economic burden of diabetes in the United States was well over $100 billion nearly a decade ago, and the problem, say researchers, is expected to get much worse in the coming years. With the annual number of diabetes treatment-related patient visits topping 35 million in 2007, and the average number of medications patients take for their disease also climbing steadily upward, one FP expert is pointing to lifestyle changes as a major player in helping patients with diabetes take charge of their disease. More

(04/22/2009)  --  The Obama administration wants to move forward with a Medicare medical home initiative as part of an overall effort to reform the nation's health care system, according to Nancy-Ann DeParle, the new director of the White House Office of Health Reform. "There are very robust demonstrations of (the medical home) going on right now in the private sector," DeParle said during an April 14 press briefing in Washington. "Some insurance companies are doing this already, and they have shown real promise. We hope to move forward with (the program) in Medicare." More

(04/22/2009)  --  Newly released findings from AARP Public Policy Institute surveys of chronically ill patients and their caregivers describe complaints about poor communication and care coordination, especially during patient transfers. The institute's recommendations to solve these problems, says one FP who is well-versed in caring for such patients, sound much like the principles undergirding the patient-centered medical home. More

(04/22/2009)  --  The AAFP has reached a partnership agreement with the Health Care Notification Network, or HCNN, a free online system that rapidly informs clinicians of FDA-mandated patient safety alerts by replacing the "Dear Doctor" letters traditionally delivered via standard mail with electronic communications. More

(04/20/2009)  --  The patient-centered medical home could serve as a linchpin for an emerging health care delivery model known as an accountable care organization, or ACO, according to some members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, which met April 9 in Washington. More

(04/16/2009)  --  Despite the Academy's attempts to get its members exempted, as of May 1, nearly all physician practices in the country will be required to comply with a new federal rule aimed at safeguarding consumers' personal identifying information. The Identity Theft Red Flags Rule will require family physicians to determine what identity theft red flags may occur in their practices and have a plan for responding to those red flags. More

(04/16/2009)  --  Congress needs to fundamentally revise the Medicare physician payment system to better reward the provision of primary care services if it expects to pass health care reform legislation that achieves the simultaneous goals of higher quality, lower costs and enhanced access. That's according to witnesses who testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on April 1. More

(04/15/2009)  --  The AAFP has endorsed an "amici curiae" (friends of the court) brief supporting review of a Georgia Supreme Court ruling that threatens to undermine the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. The American Academy of Pediatrics, or AAP, filed the brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a petition for a writ of "certiorari" (judicial review) from vaccine manufacturers Wyeth and GlaxoSmithKline. More

(04/15/2009)  --  The AAFP is reinforcing its message on Capitol Hill that a primary care-based health care system could generate significant cost reductions for the nation's Medicare program. The heightened emphasis comes in response to a letter two House members are circulating that asks Congress to not provide increases in payment for primary care physicians by cutting payments to subspecialists. More

(04/13/2009)  --  Last week, the AAFP launched an innovative association management system, or AMS, that promises greater efficiencies in the organization's day-to-day handling of member-related data and enhanced functionality for chapters, members and other Academy customers. One of the most novel aspects of the new system -- known as netFORUM Enterprise -- is that it allows members direct access to their CME transcripts, financial transactions with the AAFP and numerous other records. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(04/13/2009)  --  National Infant Immunization Week is scheduled for April 25-May 2, giving doctors and public health officials an opportunity to emphasize the importance of protecting children from 14 vaccine-preventable diseases. A list of nationwide events and various online resources for parents and health professionals is available from the CDC. More

(04/10/2009)  --  Drug manufacturer Genentech has announced that it is voluntarily withdrawing its psoriasis drug efalizumab, which is marketed as Raptiva, because of life-threatening infections associated with use of the medication. More

(04/09/2009)  --  On April 1, UnitedHealthcare, or UHC, one of the nation's largest health insurance plans, implemented a new fee schedule methodology for its physician contracts that bases physician payment on Medicare's 2008 resource-based relative value units, or RVUs. The move has sparked protest from the AAFP and four other medical specialty groups. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(04/08/2009)  --  The AAFP has issued a Legislative Alert through its newly launched Connect for Reform campaign to urge members of Congress to support the House version of a recently passed budget resolution. More

(04/08/2009)  --  The number of medically disenfranchised Americans, defined as individuals without a regular source of preventive and primary health care, jumped by 4 million people during the past two years, says a new report from the National Association of Community Health Centers, or NACHC. The increase brings the nation's medically disenfranchised population to 60 million. More

(04/08/2009)  --  Take Care Health Systems, operator of the nation's second largest chain of retail health clinics, stepped into the spotlight March 31 when it announced the launch of a short-term plan to provide existing clinic patients with free health care. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(04/08/2009)  --  Merck & Co. Inc. is launching two new programs for its quadrivalent human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine, in an attempt to take the uncertainty out of insurance coverage issues for patients and payment issues for physicians. More

(04/08/2009)  --  Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told a Senate committee last week that if confirmed as secretary of HHS, she would work to change Medicare's payment policies to increase the number of primary care physicians. She also vowed to work with Congress to find a long-term solution to problems associated with use of the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula, which is used to determine Medicare physician payment rates. More

(04/07/2009)  --  Family physicians are a cost-effective usual source of care, especially when compared with subspecialists or even internists, according to a study conducted by the AAFP's Robert Graham Center and published in the March/April issue of Health Affairs. More

(04/06/2009)  --  The Alabama AFP announces the candidacy of John Meigs Jr., M.D., of Brent, for AAFP vice speaker. More

(04/06/2009)  --  The Massachusetts AFP announces the candidacy of Laura Knobel, M.D., of Walpole, for AAFP director. More

(04/06/2009)  --  The Iowa AFP announces the candidacy of John Carroll, M.D., of Carroll, for AAFP director. More

(04/06/2009)  --  The West Virginia AFP announces the candidacy of David Avery, M.D., of Vienna, for AAFP president-elect. More

(04/03/2009)  --  According to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, or NATA, nearly 8,000 of its members worked in hospitals, clinics and physician offices last year, and the number is growing. That figure, which represents more than a quarter of the association's members, is up more than 4 percent since 2001. The services these health professionals provide can bring significant value to a medical practice, says one family physician. More

(04/02/2009)  --  The National Resident Matching Program, or NRMP, and the Association of American Medical Colleges, or AAMC, are seeking comments on proposed changes to the annual "Scramble," during which graduating medical students and other applicants who didn't match to their desired residency choices during the main residency Match can apply for remaining unfilled residency positions. More

(04/01/2009)  --  The AAFP is going to bat for the Stanislaus Family Medicine Residency Program at Doctors Medical Center of Modesto, Calif., after CMS decided to stop supporting the residency with funds for graduate medical education and demanded repayment of more than $19 million in Medicare payments to the facility. CMS has given no regulatory justification for its actions, which could increase health care costs and hurt patients' access to care, says the Academy. More