December 2007

(12/21/2007)  --  Congress has approved an extension of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, until the end of March 2009, providing a $1.6 billion increase for the program that should prevent states from running out of SCHIP funds for the next 18 months, according to analysts. More

(12/19/2007)  --  In an effort to turn the tide on reported increases in methadone-related adverse events, the DEA announced in a recent advisory that manufacturers of methadone hydrochloride 40-mg tablets have agreed to restrict their distribution of that particular formulation of the drug. More

(12/19/2007)  --  When it comes to Congress' weak answer to the deepening crisis in how Medicare pays for the nation's most vital physicians, we can publicly say we're dismayed. We can announce that we're deeply disappointed. And we have. But the fact is, we are more than dismayed or disappointed, we are just plain angry. More (Members Only)

(12/19/2007)  --  In response to a looming shortage of Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, conjugate vaccine, the CDC, in consultation with its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP; the AAFP; and the American Academy of Pediatrics, is recommending that physicians and other vaccine providers temporarily defer the routine Hib vaccine booster dose typically administered at age 12-15 months except for children in specific high-risk groups. CDC officials are encouraging health care professionals to track children in whom the booster dose is deferred so they can be recalled for immunization when the current Hib vaccine supply disruption improves. More

(12/19/2007)  --  Thanks in part to concerted efforts by AAFP members, Congress has passed a minimal Medicare payment increase for the next six months as part of a bill that temporarily postpones deep cuts in the Medicare physician payment rate, thus averting a Medicare payment crisis for the present. More

(12/19/2007)  --  Medicare physicians would be required to adopt electronic prescribing by 2011 or face possible financial penalties under legislation recently introduced in the House and Senate. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa., have introduced legislation that, if passed, would use financial incentives and disincentives to encourage the adoption of electronic prescribing, or e-prescribing, under Medicare. More

(12/19/2007)  --  Buy yourself a holiday gift that benefits your practice: the Medicopeia - Family Physician Edition software or software-plus-PDA. Purchase by Dec. 31 and you'll get $30 off at checkout when you use coupon code AAFP30. More

(12/19/2007)  --  It's the poorest of the former Soviet republics. It's suffered a hundredfold reduction in health care funding since its independence in 1991. It's in the midst of reforming its national health care system. The nation is Tajikistan, just north of Afghanistan and Pakistan in Central Asia. This past fall, much-needed help -- including medical aid worth $6.4 million (U.S. wholesale) -- arrived via the 2007 Physicians With Heart, or PWH, humanitarian airlift project. More (Members Only)

(12/18/2007)  --  Nearly 20 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 did not have a regular source for health care in 2004 and 2005, a strong indication many Americans may not be receiving needed care, according to a study recently released by the CDC. More

(12/18/2007)  --  Eric Wall, M.D., M.P.H., of Seattle has been appointed to serve on the Effective Health Care Stakeholder Group of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, or AHRQ. Wall, who was nominated for the position by the AAFP, is a practicing family physician and senior medical director for Qualis Health, a nonprofit private health care quality improvement organization based in Seattle. He chaired the Academy's Commission on Science from 2005-07, has been involved in the development of various clinical practice guidelines, and currently serves on the AMA's Performance Measures and Evaluation Subcommittee. More

(12/13/2007)  --  The AAFP has issued an Action Alert for members as part of an ongoing push to stop a 10.1 percent reduction in the Medicare physician payment rate scheduled to take effect under the sustainable growth rate formula in 2008. More

(12/13/2007)  --  Vaccine manufacturer Merck & Co. Inc. yesterday announced a voluntary recall involving two vaccine products containing its Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, conjugate vaccine because of a potential for contamination of these products. The recall covers 10 lots of Merck's Hib conjugate vaccine, sold as PedvaxHIB, and two lots of its combination Hib/hepatitis B vaccine, COMVAX. In all, about 1 million doses of vaccine have been recalled. More

(12/13/2007)  --  The U.S. Department of Education has extended until fall 2008 a hardship deferment program that allows qualifying recipients to delay loan repayments for three years without accruing any extra interest on their federally subsidized student loans. More

(12/12/2007)  --  As you plan for 2008, here are a couple of CME courses from the Academy you may want to factor into the mix. Treat yourself to CME with a Caribbean twist by attending the March 10-14 Selected Ambulatory and Hospital Internal Medicine Topics course in St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles. More

(12/12/2007)  --  Legislators are impressed when family physicians speak out on the specialty's issues. They're even more impressed when patients champion those issues. Now, the AAFP has launched an online resource designed to recruit a cadre of motivated consumers who will advocate about FP issues that speak to them. More

(12/12/2007)  --  The AAFP, the Texas AFP and the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, or STFM, have teamed up to ensure that family physicians and other primary care providers don't lose a vital source of medical procedures training. On Jan. 1, 2008, ownership of the National Procedures Institute, or NPI, a national provider of CME training, will pass to these three new owners. More

(12/07/2007)  --  The FDA on Nov. 20 announced it is in the process of evaluating the safety of the smoking cessation drug varenicline, sold as Chantix. The agency's move comes after Pfizer Inc., the drug's manufacturer, submitted to FDA officials postmarketing cases that describe suicidal ideation and occasional suicidal behavior in some patients who have taken varenicline. The FDA is reviewing those cases and a number of other recent reports, but has reached no conclusion on the need for regulatory action at this time. More

(12/06/2007)  --  The American Health Information Community, or AHIC, recently submitted a list of recommendations regarding mandatory electronic prescribing, known as e-prescribing, in Medicare to HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt. AHIC was acting in its role as a federal advisory body tasked with advising HHS on health information technology, or health IT. More

(12/05/2007)  --  Learn the finer points of effective lobbying -- then practice your new skills on Capitol Hill -- during the 2008 Family Medicine Congressional Conference May 19-20 in Washington, D.C. For the first time, the conference is open to all AAFP members and others in the academic family medicine community. More

(12/05/2007)  --  The AAFP has raised concerns about a bill that would provide a patient-centered medical home for some Medicaid recipients and others, saying that key provisions of the legislation should be changed. More

(12/05/2007)  --  Thanks in part to language offered by an Academy representative to the AMA House of Delegates during its recent interim meeting in Honolulu, as well as to testimony from AAFP delegation members and others, the AMA will formally investigate the barriers keeping many medical students from choosing careers in primary care and how those obstacles affect patient access. More

(12/05/2007)  --  The AAFP is holding a virtual rally on Capitol Hill this week, urging members to call their senators to stop pending cuts in Medicare physician payment rates. The cuts are scheduled to go into effect in 2008 and 2009 under the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula. More

(12/05/2007)  --  Congress should adopt a two-year physician payment update under Medicare to give lawmakers enough time to develop a viable alternative to the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula, said a Texas congressman in a recent interview with AAFP News Now. More

(12/04/2007)  --  Primary care has played a major role in the dramatic drop in cancer-related deaths during the past several years, making it a critical component in winning the war against cancer, said the immediate past president of the American Cancer Society, or ACS, during the AAFP's 2007 State Legislative Conference in Memphis, Tenn., on Nov. 17. More

(12/04/2007)  --  The New Jersey AFP announces the candidacy of Robert Pallay, M.D., of Hillsborough for AAFP president-elect. More

(12/04/2007)  --  The Nebraska AFP announces the candidacy of Robert Wergin, M.D., of Milford for AAFP director. More

(12/04/2007)  --  Here's a reminder for family physicians who certified or recertified with the American Board of Family Medicine, or ABFM, in 2004: If you want to continue on the path to earning a three-year extension on your certificate, you only have until Dec. 31 of this year to complete the first stage of the ABFM's Maintenance of Certification Program for Family Physicians, or MC-FP, 10-year certification option. More

(12/03/2007)  --  The FDA's behind-the-counter, or BTC, drug proposal has generated so much interest from physicians and pharmacists that the agency has reopened its public docket for comments on the issue until Dec. 17. More