February 2007

(02/26/2007)  --  Need some pointers on how to manage your practice? Take a look at a batch of Academy-generated resources dubbed "Operational Procedures for the Physician Office." More

(02/26/2007)  --  The Academy's Center for Health Information Technology, or CHiT, has added another module to its list of free CME activities created to help FPs learn how to research, select and implement electronic health records, or EHRs, in their practices. More

(02/26/2007)  --  On Feb. 13, the FDA notified health care professionals and the public about 28 reports of intussusception after administration of live, oral, pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, marketed as RotaTeq. At this time, it is not known whether the vaccine caused some or all of these cases, although this incidence is consistent with what would be expected at baseline (i.e., in an unvaccinated population). More

(02/23/2007)  --  Family physicians with Medicare patients who should be immunized against herpes zoster, commonly known as shingles, need to know how to code for administration of the vaccine -- Zostavax -- in order to be paid for their service. More

(02/21/2007)  --  February may be more than half over, but there's still plenty of time during American Heart Month to discuss cardiovascular disease with your patients. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in both men and women in the United States, according to the American Heart Association. More

(02/21/2007)  --  The AAFP is seeking abstracts for the fourth International Family Medicine Development Workshop Sept. 13-15 in Tucson, Ariz. The workshop's theme is "Equipping Others for Sustainable Health Outcomes: Leaving a Global Legacy." More

(02/21/2007)  --  The FDA on Feb. 12 announced several changes to the package label of the antibiotic telithromycin, marketed as Ketek. Among those changes is removal of two of three previously approved indications for use of the drug based on postmarketing safety data. More

(02/20/2007)  --  Family physicians looking for ways to improve the care they provide to their patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, should check out COPD: Improving Patient Care, which launched Feb. 15. It is the newest module in AAFP's performance improvement program known as METRIC, or Measuring, Evaluating and Translating Research Into Care. More

(02/20/2007)  --  A new research study in the Feb. 15 Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that 60 percent of middle- and high-school students have difficulty falling asleep, and 22 percent say they never get enough sleep. The study, which was led by FP James Pagel Jr., M.D., explores relationships among rates of sleep disturbances in students in grades six through 11; the youngsters' grade point averages, or GPAs; and factors such as household income. More

(02/19/2007)  --  Congress has passed and on Feb. 15 President Bush signed legislation that will provide at least $24.6 million to family medicine training programs and also will boost funding for NIH and community health centers. The legislation, called a continuing resolution, will help keep the federal government's doors open at least through Sept. 30, which is when the federal government's current fiscal year ends. More

(02/19/2007)  --  Adding a fourth year to residency training. Immersing residents in the medical home concept. Redesigning curriculum to enhance expertise in health issues and the health information technology of the future. Those are among the elements included in proposals put forth by 14 family medicine residency programs that will test innovations in training tomorrow's family physicians. The Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors and the American Board of Family Medicine, in conjunction with TransforMED -- AAFP's practice redesign initiative -- recently named the family medicine residency programs that will participate in a groundbreaking project. More

(02/19/2007)  --  The Maine AFP announces the candidacy of Judith Chamberlain, M.D., of Brunswick for AAFP president-elect. More

(02/16/2007)  --  The CDC and FDA have linked a recent multistate outbreak of foodborne illness caused by Salmonella serotype Tennessee to consumption of peanut butter sold under the Peter Pan and Great Value labels. More

(02/16/2007)  --  Scratch a satisfied physician, and you just might find satisfied patients in the same area of the country. So says "Congruent Satisfaction: Is There Geographic Correlation Between Patient and Physician Satisfaction?" in the January issue of Medical Care, a journal of the American Public Health Association. The study used data from telephone surveys of 179,127 patients and 37,238 physicians, according to the abstract. More

(02/16/2007)  --  Enrollment in Medicaid has plummeted as a result of new federal requirements that low-income patients must show proof of citizenship before they can qualify for Medicaid, according to a study published Feb. 2 by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, or CBPP. Washington, D.C.-based CBPP is a policy organization that works at the national and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals. More

(02/14/2007)  --  What really happens during a clinical primary care encounter? A survey to tackle that question has unearthed some surprises, according to an article in the January/February issue of Annals of Family Medicine. The survey data on primary care clinicians, patients and services in some cases differ dramatically from results of a survey in wide use, say the article's authors. More

(02/14/2007)  --  Physicians who think their patients don't follow their prescribed treatments and wait too long before making an appointment are far from alone in that view. In a survey of patients and primary care physicians published in the February Consumer Reports, 59 percent and 41 percent of primary care physicians, respectively, said these to be their two biggest complaints about patients. More

(02/14/2007)  --  In the face of a growing number of states taking up legislation that calls for vaccination of preteen girls against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, as a requirement for school entry, the Academy has adopted a more cautious tone, saying it's too early to consider mandating the vaccine in the absence of more definitive data about its use and a better understanding of the logistical issues involved in making it available to this sizable patient population. More

(02/14/2007)  --  Head to Florida this spring to learn how to improve care of female patients and yourself at the Women's Health and Physician Wellness course to be held April 26-29 at Ponte Vedra Beach. Participants of this course can earn as many as 25 Prescribed CME credits. More

(02/12/2007)  --  The Virginia AFP announces the candidacy of David Ellington, M.D., of Lexington for AAFP director. More

(02/09/2007)  --  Family physicians are the good guys and gals, the docs with the white coats and the friendly smiles. They love their patients, and they love their work -- helping people to stay healthy, going the extra mile to reassure the ailing and taking the time to really know those whom they serve. But there comes a time when even the nice folks have had enough. More (Members Only)

(02/09/2007)  --  The AAFP and family medicine are "deeply disappointed" in President Bush's proposed 2008 federal budget and call on Congress to reject those portions "that will ultimately reduce access to health care," said AAFP President Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan. More

(02/07/2007)  --  There's still time to take advantage of early registration savings for the Selected Ambulatory and Hospital Internal Medicine Topics course, to be held March 12-16 in Cancun, Mexico. More

(02/07/2007)  --  Do oncologists, surgeons and their teams almost exclusively provide medical care to patients with active diagnoses of cancer, or do family physicians also directly provide care? Empirical studies say little about primary care physicians' involvement in caring for such patients, but in reality, patients can expect a lot from their family physicians, suggests an study presented in the February issue of Family Medicine. More

(02/07/2007)  --  The AAFP has called for an end to a federal requirement that rural health clinics have a nonphysician health care provider on site for at least 50 percent of the time the clinic is open. The call comes in a letter from AAFP Board Chair Larry Fields, M.D., of Flatwoods, Ky., that urges Congress to repeal "an outdated and unnecessary statutory provision" in the Rural Health Clinics Act of 1977. More

(02/06/2007)  --  Clinically screening patients for alcohol problems could be as easy as 1-2-3, thanks to Helping Patients Who Drink Too Much: A Clinician's Guide (Updated 2005 Edition), a free resource produced by NIH's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, or NIAAA. More

(02/06/2007)  --  Health care coverage for the uninsured is emerging as a key political issue in 2007, at both the state and national levels. On Jan. 18, a groundbreaking alliance of health care stakeholders, including the AAFP, announced a proposal that would extend health care coverage to America's nearly 47 million residents without health insurance. The Health Coverage Coalition for the Uninsured, or HCCU, advocates a combination of public programs and tax incentives to achieve the coverage. HCCU rolled out the plan at a news conference in Washington, D.C. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(02/05/2007)  --  Kansas legislators searching for solutions to the challenges posed by the growing number of the state's uninsured residents likely will follow other states' leads, with a focus on incremental changes that improve access to health insurance. That was the word from Kansas Speaker of the House Melvin Neufeld during the Jan. 24 Kansas AFP Family Medicine Advocacy Day here. More

(02/02/2007)  --  Selecting which medication may be best for your patients with osteoarthritis may not be as difficult as in the past thanks to a new guide for clinicians developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Effective Health Care Program. More

(02/02/2007)  --  The American College of Physicians, or ACP, has released its annual overview, which highlights problems in the U.S. health care system and calls for sweeping payment reforms designed to shift the nation's focus back to patient-centered primary care and prevention. More

(02/02/2007)  --  Family physicians who want to give their health plans a performance appraisal -- and share those findings with their FP colleagues -- are running out of time. The deadline to take the AAFP/Family Practice Management "Grade Your Payers" survey is March 1. More

(02/02/2007)  --  Family physicians now have a new resource they can offer patients who are concerned about their risks for specific genetically mediated conditions or who simply have questions about the science of genetics. In partnership with the AAFP and several other associations, the NIH's National Library of Medicine has launched Genetics Home Reference, a free, patient-friendly Web site that includes entries on more than 500 topics related to genetic conditions and the genes associated with those conditions. More

(02/01/2007)  --  Three retail health clinics prominent in the national health care market have signed an agreement in support of the Academy's list of desired attributes for such clinics. More

(02/01/2007)  --  In meetings with Capitol Hill staff members and letters to U.S. House and Senate leaders, the AAFP and other health professions education advocates have launched a campaign to boost funding for Title VII of the Public Health Service Act over fiscal year 2006 levels. And members of Congress have begun to respond. More