September 2009

(09/29/2009)  --  Although the official start of the 2009-10 flu season is pegged at Oct. 4, the long-anticipated novel influenza A (H1N1) pandemic influenza is here now. For the week of Sept. 13-19, the CDC reported that 26 states had geographically widespread influenza activity; 11 states had regional influenza activity; and 12 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had local influenza activity. More

(09/28/2009)  --  As the nation's supply of Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, vaccine increases thanks to the FDA's August approval of GlaxoSmithKline's Hiberix as a booster dose for children ages 15 months to 4 years, the AAFP has adopted the CDC's recommendation that physicians recall children who have not received a booster dose. More

(09/28/2009)  --  The FDA is alerting physicians and pharmacists to the potential for dosing errors with Tamiflu (i.e., oseltamivir phosphate) for oral suspension. According to the agency, U.S. physicians typically write prescriptions for liquid medications in milliliters or teaspoons. However, dose recommendations on the Tamiflu package insert are provided in milligrams, and the dosing dispenser provided with the drug is marked at 30, 45 and 60 milligrams only. More

(09/25/2009)  --  In recognition of September as National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, many of your male patients (and their wives) may have been reading, hearing and seeing news reports, commercials and public service announcements encouraging men to be screened for the disease. However, the AAFP has concluded that current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening in men younger than age 75, and the Academy actually recommends against screening men 75 and older. More

(09/25/2009)  --  Almost three-quarters of U.S. adults think they are up-to-date on their immunizations, says a recent AAFP survey. According to CDC statistics, however, only 2 percent of adults received the tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis vaccine, or Tdap, from 2005 through 2007. More

(09/24/2009)  --  McNeil Consumer Healthcare, in consultation with the FDA, has voluntarily recalled a total of 57 lots of more than 20 of its liquid children's and infants' Tylenol products because of potential bacterial contamination. More

(09/23/2009)  --  The nation's primary care physician residency programs are plagued by a lack of interest, support and funding. This situation, in turn, is helping to drive the nation's chronic shortage of primary care physicians, said the chair of the Council on Graduate Medical Education, or COGME, who spoke before the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, Sept. 18 in Washington. More

(09/23/2009)  --  The novel influenza A (H1N1) virus could overwhelm the nation's health care system by exacerbating the existing shortages of physicians and other health care professionals, thus leaving some patients who contract the virus without proper medical attention. That was one of the main messages delivered by witnesses who testified before the House Committee on Small Business on Sept. 9. More

(09/23/2009)  --  Encouraging news about adult clinical trials involving the novel influenza A (H1N1) vaccine could boost uptake levels, but by how much remains to be seen. "It's still going to be an uphill battle," said family physician Doug Campos-Outcalt, M.D., M.P.A., the Academy's liaison to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. More

(09/23/2009)  --  The AAFP has joined with a number of other physician groups to remind lawmakers that Congress needs to replace the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula as part of any comprehensive health care reform plan. More

(09/22/2009)  --  Children are back in school and ready to learn. Are you ready to teach? Family physicians and other health care professionals present Tar Wars -- the Academy's tobacco-free education program -- to about 400,000 fourth- and fifth-grade students each year. The program has updated its curriculum for presenters and teachers just in time for back to school, said Pamela Rodriguez, AAFP's tobacco control manager. More

(09/22/2009)  --  A health care bill put forth by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chair of the Senate Finance Committee, makes progress toward the twin goals of expanding access to affordable health care and strengthening the nation's primary care infrastructure, according to AAFP President Ted Epperly, M.D., of Boise, Idaho. More

(09/16/2009)  --  Childhood immunization rates in the United States are high and remained relatively stable last year, says a new report from the CDC, but a disparity exists between rates among children in families living below the poverty line and those in children whose families are at or above that line. More

(09/16/2009)  --  Although the entry of retail health clinics into health care during the past few years has generated concern among more established providers, a recently released RAND Corp. study published in the Sept. 1 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that the cost and quality of health care provided by retail health clinics may be comparable to that provided in more traditional health care settings. More

(09/16/2009)  --  The FDA's approval of four vaccines against the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus is official. Now, physicians in private practice need details from health insurance companies about how to code and bill payers for administering the vaccine to receive timely payment for this service. More

(09/16/2009)  --  In the battle to recognize the importance of a primary care-based health care system to health care reform, computer giant IBM has been a vocal proponent of the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH. Led by its global director of health care transformation, Paul Grundy, M.D., M.P.H., the company has been immersed in encouraging other large employers to recognize that a PCMH model can lead to lower costs, as well as to improved access, quality and health care outcomes. More

(09/16/2009)  --  A recently released government report found that U.S. adults are spending almost $34 billion a year on complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, products and therapies, as well as on visits to CAM practitioners. And that popularity can translate into extra dollars for family physicians, says one FP. There's no reason CAM techniques and remedies can't be incorporated into family medicine practices, says Reid Blackwelder, M.D., of Kingsport, Tenn. -- especially when doing so can help many diverse patients and earn FPs added compensation. More

(09/15/2009)  --  The FDA has approved four vaccines against the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus, and initial lots are expected to be distributed nationally within the next four weeks, according to a Sept. 15 news release from the agency. The approved vaccines are manufactured by CSL Ltd., MedImmune LLC, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics Ltd. and sanofi pasteur Inc. following the same processes used to produce seasonal influenza vaccines. More

(09/11/2009)  --  The Institute of Medicine, or IOM, has endorsed the CDC's recommendation that health care workers who interact with patients with novel influenza A (H1N1) infection or influenza-like illnesses should use fit-tested N95 respirators. More

(09/11/2009)  --  The CDC is urging physicians to use antiviral medications appropriately to treat influenza during the 2009-10 flu season in order to avoid shortages and development of antiviral resistance. "It is very important that people know most children, adolescents and adults with influenza-like illness don't need the medicine," said Anne Schuchat, M.D., director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, during a Sept. 8 media briefing. More

(09/10/2009)  --  Family physicians have been on the front lines in dealing with the problems of the current health care system, including skyrocketing coverage costs, fragmentation of care and a payment environment that values procedures over prevention, said AAFP President Ted Epperly, M.D., in response to a Sept. 9 speech by President Obama to a joint session of Congress. More

(09/09/2009)  --  The AAFP has secured a tool to help family physicians earn extra dollars through CMS' 2009 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, or PQRI. The new resource -- dubbed the PQRIwizard -- is a CMS-approved PQRI registry that offers physicians an online solution to reporting qualified measures data under the 2009 incentive program. More

(09/09/2009)  --  A good way to take the pulse of America's medical practices in tough economic times is to survey medical practice managers. And for the second year in a row, the Medical Group Management Association, or MGMA, a membership organization for professional administrators and leaders of medical group practices, has done just that. More

(09/09/2009)  --  The CDC has updated its recommendations to physicians for prophylaxis against ophthalmia neonatorum, or neonatal conjunctivitis, in light of the current shortage of erythromycin ophthalmic ointment (0.5%), which is the only product available in the United States that is FDA-approved for this indication. More

(09/09/2009)  --  Another weight loss drug has come under FDA scrutiny. The agency said Aug. 24 that it is reviewing the safety of orlistat after receiving reports of liver injury in patients using the drug, which is marketed as the prescription drug Xenical and the OTC medication Alli. More

(09/09/2009)  --  U.S. medical school seniors who successfully matched into family medicine residency programs during the 2009 National Resident Matching Program, or NRMP, main residency Match displayed some common characteristics, says a new report prepared by the NRMP and the Association of American Medical Colleges, or AAMC. More

(09/09/2009)  --  Medical students in family medicine interest groups, or FMIGs, and their faculty advisers who are interested in learning more about effective advocacy are invited to register for the AAFP/AAFP Foundation Web-based Educational Forum on Advocacy presented by self-styled advocacy guru Stephanie Vance. More

(09/08/2009)  --  Family physicians who contract with Humana and who received a recent letter from the health insurance company may be concerned about coding changes that take effect on Oct. 27. In particular, the AAFP's Practice Support Division has received inquiries from members who are uncertain about Humana's payment policy for a problem-oriented evaluation and management, or E/M, service when the service is performed on the same day as a preventive care visit. More

(09/08/2009)  --  The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ, has released two new guides to help women with gestational diabetes and their physicians make informed decisions about treatment options. AHRQ said in its Aug. 20 electronic newsletter that the guides provide the latest scientific evidence on the effectiveness and safety of drugs used to treat gestational diabetes, which affects 7 percent of pregnant women. More

(09/04/2009)  --  The CDC is informing physicians of a shortage of erythromycin (0.5%) ophthalmic ointment, which is the only product available in the United States that is recommended for prophylaxis against ophthalmia neonatorum, or neonatal conjunctivitis. More

(09/02/2009)  --  After a joint review of more than 12,000 adverse events reported after administration of quadrivalent human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine, FDA and CDC researchers concluded the vaccine "continues to be safe and effective, and its benefits continue to outweigh the risks." More

(09/02/2009)  --  Two successive telephone town hall call-in meetings on Aug. 31 gave Academy leaders a chance to answer dozens of questions from AAFP members about the Academy's positions on several key health care reform issues, including the public plan option, Medicare payment reform and the patient-centered medical home. More

(09/02/2009)  --  Family medicine faces numerous challenges in the next generation, including public perception of the specialty, how family medicine practices are organized, how the specialty is treated in academia and how FPs are remunerated, according to an article in the September issue of Family Medicine. More

(09/02/2009)  --  Barbara Starfield, M.D., M.P.H., is a renowned researcher, scholar and author. A distinguished professor with appointments in the departments of Health Policy and Management and Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine in Baltimore, she is known throughout the world for her work in demonstrating the value of primary care. More