August 2008

(08/29/2008)  --  Notice to physicians: Hold on to your Medicare Provider Transaction Access Numbers, or PTANs -- also known as legacy numbers -- which were to have been retired after the mandatory use of National Provider Identifier, or NPI, numbers began on May 23. CMS has found another use for those old PTANs. Effective March 1, 2009, physicians will have to provide their PTAN, their NPI and the last five digits of their tax identification number, or TIN, when making written or telephone inquiries to CMS' customer service or interactive voice response systems. More

(08/27/2008)  --  The AAFP's Center for International Health Initiatives has launched a Web-based newsletter -- International Update -- for family physicians, faculty members, family medicine residents and medical students to share their global medicine experiences, projects and interests. More

(08/27/2008)  --  Emergency rooms now serve as the main source of health care for a growing segment of the U.S. population that lacks adequate access to primary care services. That's according to a new CDC study. The annual number of emergency department visits jumped from 90.3 million in 1996 to more than 119 million in 2006, a 32 percent increase. More

(08/27/2008)  --  The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, recently issued revised recommendations for screening for lipid disorders in adults. Although the USPSTF continues to strongly recommend screening all men ages 35 and older for lipid disorders and has not changed its stance on routine screening in men ages 20 to 35 (recommending neither for nor against), the guidance on screening women for these disorders has changed since the task force released its 2001 recommendations. More

(08/26/2008)  --  Family physicians -- particularly those practicing in low-income urban and rural areas -- know all too well that patients experiencing dental emergencies often turn to their primary care physician or the local hospital emergency room for relief. A report released in late July by the Center for Studying Health System Change highlighted the inability of low-income patients to access dental care as a cause for concern. More

(08/26/2008)  --  Family medicine residents now can get more involved in the AAFP -- and in the many issues facing family medicine -- all without making a lengthy time commitment. It's as simple as joining an e-mail discussion forum specifically designed to allow residents to share information and concerns with their peers. More

(08/22/2008)  --  Five fourth-year medical students will receive scholarships of as much as $28,000 each after being selected as the 2008 Pisacano Scholars by the Pisacano Leadership Foundation of the American Board of Family Medicine, or ABFM. More

(08/20/2008)  --  Testing process errors, as well as the adverse patient consequences that result, are common in primary care practices, although these errors rarely result in significant physical harm to patients. That's according to a study conducted by the AAFP National Research Network, or NRN, that was published recently in the journal Quality and Safety in Health Care. More

(08/20/2008)  --  The United States could save more than $16 billion a year within the next five years by making small but strategic investments in disease prevention, according to a new study released by the Trust for America's Health, or TFAH. More

(08/20/2008)  --  Recent revisions in the Physician Payments Sunshine Act would override physician sunshine laws at the state level, establishing national rules and regulations requiring drug, biological product and medical device manufacturers with $100 million or more in annual gross revenues to disclose the names and office addresses of every physician who receives a gift valued at more than $25 from one of these companies. More

(08/20/2008)  --  The nation's community health centers, or CHCs, are suffering from a shortage of primary care professionals that will continue to worsen unless federal and state governments take steps to boost the primary care workforce. So says a recently released study by the National Association of Community Health Centers, or NACHC, AAFP's Robert Graham Center in Washington and George Washington University. More

(08/20/2008)  --  Family physicians provide health care to millions of Americans, and it's fair to assume that every one of those FPs understands the role vaccinations play in disease prevention. According to an AAFP CME Bulletin, steady increases in immunization rates in the United States during the past 50 years have led to a steep decline -- more than 95 percent -- in preventable diseases such as measles, influenza, hepatitis A and B, and herpes zoster. More

(08/20/2008)  --  The FDA announced last month it was requiring manufacturers of systemic fluoroquinolones to place a boxed warning on these products' package labels concerning the increased risk of tendonitis and tendon rupture associated with use of these drugs. FDA officials also have called for fluoroquinolone manufacturers to create a Medication Guide for patients that discusses these and other potential side effects. More

(08/17/2008)  --  A family medicine "man for all seasons" and a "physician's physician." Those are the words his medical colleagues and residents use when referring to William Ellert, M.D. But to the homeless people on the streets of Phoenix, he is a compassionate and high-quality caregiver. It is all of those qualities, however, that got Ellert selected as the 2009 AAFP Family Physician of the Year. More

(08/13/2008)  --  The AAFP has released four of five planned podcasts in its "Ask the Expert" tobacco cessation podcast series. The podcasts are part of the Academy's Ask and Act tobacco cessation program, which encourages family physicians to ask all patients about tobacco use and then act to help them quit. More

(08/13/2008)  --  Have you ever stood at the edge of a crowded room and tried to get the attention of someone on the other side? If you have, you know how hard it is to succeed when you're competing with the din of information overload. It helps immensely to stand out in a way that relates to your intended recipient's interests and needs. More

(08/13/2008)  --  Massachusetts has enacted a sweeping health care measure designed to strengthen the state's primary care infrastructure by addressing primary care workforce shortages while bolstering an existing health care plan. Gov. Deval Patrick signed S.B. 2863 into law on Aug. 10. The measure gives the state the authority to establish a medical home demonstration project and creates a loan forgiveness program for physicians and nurses who agree to practice primary care in medically underserved areas. In addition, the law establishes an affordable housing pilot for health care professionals who practice in underserved areas and provides greater tuition incentives for University of Massachusetts medical students who agree to practice primary care in the state for four years. More

(08/13/2008)  --  The ability to write electronic prescriptions for members of the U.S. military and their families is one step closer to reality. That's according to recent correspondence from TRICARE, the U.S. military health plan, to AAFP President Jim King, M.D., of Selmer, Tenn. In a recent letter to King, Maj. Gen. Elder Granger said that nonmilitary family physicians and other civilian health care professionals providing health care services through TRICARE now are able to receive the Department of Defense, or DoD, uniform formulary electronically. More

(08/12/2008)  --  Family physicians who send patient prescriptions electronically -- or who plan to use this technology in the near future -- will welcome recent clarification of a CMS policy. Tamper-resistant computer paper will not be mandatory when phase two of tamper-resistant prescription policies for Medicaid outpatient drugs go into effect on Oct. 1. More

(08/12/2008)  --  Future family physicians recently looked to the AAFP for help in bolstering the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH, concept in academic settings and residency training. They're also seeking the Academy's help in getting certain hardship-based medical school loan deferments reinstated, and they'd like more guidance on how to deal with pharmaceutical representatives, along with additional scrutiny of pharmaceutical funding for various resident and student scholarships and other activities. More

(08/07/2008)  --  Delegates to the National Congress of Family Medicine Residents and the National Congress of Student Members chose new leaders here Aug. 2 to represent them in the coming year. More

(08/07/2008)  --  All newborns should be screened for hearing loss, according to a new recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF. The USPSTF recommends that screening programs be conducted using a one- or two-step protocol, such as otoacoustic emission followed by auditory brainstem response in newborns who fail the first test. The task force members also recommend that all infants be screened before age 1 month; infants who did not pass the screening should undergo evaluation before age 3 months. More

(08/07/2008)  --  HHS has withdrawn a proposed rule on the designation of health professional shortage areas, or HPSAs, and medically underserved areas, or MUAs, that could have derailed access to care for millions of Medicare beneficiaries. HHS issued the proposed rule on Feb. 29, putting forth a plan to consolidate the criteria for HPSAs and MUAs into a single new methodology called the Index of Primary Care Underservice. Shortly after HHS issued the proposal, the AAFP signed onto a letter to HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt urging withdrawal of the proposition. More

(08/07/2008)  --  A number of AAFP members received honors, awards or other career development opportunities in the past several months. More

(08/06/2008)  --  Congress should provide tax breaks and other incentives to help small physician practices buy and maintain electronic health record, or EHR, systems, said a family physician who testified before the House Committee on Small Business on July 31. Thaddeus Bort, M.D., of The Family Medical Group in Cincinnati, said, "the investment and utilization of health information technology, or HIT, should continue to receive some form of tax incentive or system of reward." More

(08/06/2008)  --  Were you randomly selected to participate in the AMA's 2008 Physician Practice Information Survey? Selected survey participants from more than 60 medical specialty societies should have received postcards earlier this summer outlining the AMA's efforts to conduct a comprehensive multispecialty survey of America's physicians. More

(08/06/2008)  --  Many family physicians also serve as small business owners and, as such, are responsible for negotiating yearly contracts with health plans. To help its members through the contracting jungle, the Academy has developed a free 12-page contracting guide called Managed Care Contract Negotiation. More

(08/06/2008)  --  Gary Morsch, M.D., M.P.H., of Bucyrus, Kan., stood before a ballroom packed with medical students and family medicine residents recently and encouraged them to dive in and begin to experience what he called "the power of service to others." More

(08/06/2008)  --  Physician practices that participate in an upcoming Medicare medical home demonstration project should receive a per-member, per-month fee based on a recommendation made by the AMA/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee, or RUC. However, CMS may have to reduce the payment rates to meet cost-neutrality requirements, according to Jim Coan, a CMS project officer in charge of the medical home demonstration project. More