June 2009

(06/26/2009)  --  By adopting recommendations in an AMA Board of Trustees report considered during the 2009 annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates, delegates threw their support behind the concepts -- if not the precise modalities -- embodied in a resolution introduced by the AAFP and the American Academy of Pediatrics, or AAP, last year that dealt with finding ways to capture information about patients' tobacco use from patients and urge them to quit. More

(06/26/2009)  --  There's no need for more research into a possible link between vaccines and autism. But there is a continuing need for support of ongoing research into the true etiology of autism and its treatment. And physicians should continue to take a lead role in extolling the benefits of vaccines to health policymakers and the public. More

(06/24/2009)  --  Patient-centered medical homes, or PCMHs, should take responsibility for reducing hospital readmissions to demonstrate the true value of the medical home and create a clear business case for adequately funding the PCMH model. That's according to Harold Miller, president and CEO of the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement and executive director of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Miller spoke during a June 10 forum on payment reform sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. More

(06/24/2009)  --  An international committee of diabetes experts has recommended that the hemoglobin A1c assay, which now is routinely used to monitor the course of disease in patients with diabetes and signal the pending development of diabetic complications, should become the new "gold standard" for diagnosing diabetes. More

(06/23/2009)  --  At least 81 health care workers across the country have confirmed or probable cases of novel influenza A (H1N1), evidence that some workers are not following CDC guidance for personal protection from infectious disease. Michael Bell, M.D., associate director for infection control in CDC's Division of Healthcare and Quality Promotion, said in a June 19 news conference that health care workers should use fit-tested respirators, gloves and eye protection when caring for a patient with probable H1N1 infection. More

(06/22/2009)  --  Congress needs to provide a total 30 percent payment increase for primary care physicians under Medicare during the next five years to revitalize the nation's primary care infrastructure and, thus, achieve true reform of the U.S. health care system. That's according to AAFP President Ted Epperly, M.D., of Boise, Idaho, who spoke during a Capitol Hill press briefing on June 18. Epperly paired that message with calls to bolster the primary care workforce through graduate medical education policies that support medical students' choice of careers in primary care and revamp the health insurance system so that Americans are able to access needed health care services. More

(06/19/2009)  --  In a recent letter to a key Senate committee, AAFP Board Chair Jim King, M.D., of Selmer, Tenn., reiterated the Academy's strong support for high-quality comparative effectiveness research, saying, "If we wish to improve patient care and control costs in this country, this type of research is crucial." More

(06/17/2009)  --  FP David Barbe, M.D., M.H.A., of Mountain Grove, Mo., was elected to the AMA Board of Trustees during this year's annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates, June 13-17 in Chicago. Barbe has twice been elected to the AMA Council on Medical Service, most recently serving as chair of the council. He also has served on numerous AMA committees, as well as on the association's Physicians Data Release Task Force. More

(06/17/2009)  --  A number of AAFP members received honors or other recognition this past month. More

(06/16/2009)  --  The ability to access a medical home represents one way to reduce health disparities between minority and nonminority patients, according to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education on June 2. More

(06/12/2009)  --  The World Health Organization, or WHO, raised its influenza pandemic alert to its highest level -- phase six -- on June 11, but the distinction is not expected to have much immediate impact on how public health officials, physicians and others deal with the novel H1N1 influenza virus in the United States. Still, says one Academy leader, it offers FPs an opportunity to examine their practices' current pandemic readiness levels. More

(06/11/2009)  --  The AAFP has emerged as a prominent player in the health care reform debate on Capitol Hill, staking out positions on several key issues that are designed to improve health care quality, enhance access and contain costs. The AAFP has long assailed the U.S. health care system as a nonsystem of uncoordinated, fragmented care that emphasizes intervention rather than prevention and the comprehensive management of care. This fragmentation has led to rapidly increasing health care costs, decreased access and less-than-optimal care, say Academy leaders. More

(06/11/2009)  --  Congress could pass a comprehensive health care reform bill this year that provides some type of payment increase for primary care physicians under Medicare. If a primary care bonus is passed as part of a comprehensive health care reform bill, however, it is not clear how much of an increase it will be, according to analysts interviewed by AAFP News Now. "I have not heard any leading congressman say, 'We are not going to do something for primary care physicians to really raise the (payment) increases,'" said Robert Blendon, Ph.D., professor of health policy and political analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "But I think from Congress' point of view, they are not in a position yet to figure out how much money they actually have to do that." More

(06/10/2009)  --  According to new guidance the AAFP has approved for inclusion in its recommendations for clinical preventive services, insufficient evidence exists to support routine screening for gestational diabetes mellitus. More

(06/10/2009)  --  A new report from the Trust for America's Health gives U.S. public health officials high marks for communication, coordination and ability to adapt to a rapidly changing situation during the recent outbreak of novel H1N1 influenza, but the report also says the outbreak revealed that the nation's public health capacity would be overwhelmed by a more severe or widespread outbreak. More

(06/08/2009)  --  New physician members now can take advantage of many new discounts on courses, products and services as part of the Academy's Experience the AAFP program. More

(06/05/2009)  --  The FDA is warning physicians about the risks of liver injury, including liver failure and death, associated with the use of propylthiouracil. On June 4, the agency advised clinicians to "carefully consider" whether to prescribe the drug, which is used to treat hyperthyroidism due to Graves' disease in certain patients. More

(06/05/2009)  --  The AAFP has joined the AMA and other physician-led organizations in asking Congress and the Obama administration to replace the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula this year with an updated payment system that reflects increases in physicians' and other health professionals' practice costs. More

(06/02/2009)  --  The Institute of Medicine's guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy have been updated for the first time in nearly 20 years. Although the new guidelines don't differ drastically from the previous ones, members of the committee that drafted the document say they hope physicians and women will pay closer attention to this version. More

(06/02/2009)  --  Physicians know all too well that dealing with the details required by health insurance plans takes time. Now, researchers have tallied up all those physician and staff hours spent on administrative tasks related to pharmaceutical formularies, prior authorizations, claims and billing, credentialing, and contracting, and they have assigned these services a hefty price tag. The researchers estimate the cost of such administrative tasks ranges from $23 billion to $31 billion annually. (Discuss this story on the AAFP News Now bulletin board.) More

(06/02/2009)  --  June 2 is a big day for new family physicians who could use some help getting their educational loans paid back and are seeking a unique service opportunity. Of a total of $300 million allocated to the National Health Service Corps, or NHSC, under the American and Recovery Reinvestment Act of 2009, some $200 million is slated to go to the NHSC Loan Repayment Program, or LRP. Starting today, physicians can apply for the NHSC LRP funds. More

(06/02/2009)  --  The Obama administration plans to allocate about a quarter of a $200 million fund that was set aside via the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA, to training programs for primary care physicians and other health care professionals. In February, Congress passed the ARRA, which set aside $500 million to strengthen the nation's health care workforce. The ARRA gave $300 million of the $500 million to the National Health Services Corps, or NHSC, and $200 million to programs authorized by Titles VII and VIII of the Public Health Service Act. More

(06/01/2009)  --  A new area on the Academy's Web site is open for business. Check out the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH, Web pages, which were created by the Academy to make family physicians' transition to the medical home as smooth as possible. More