May 2007

(05/30/2007)  --  The federal government's keen interest in electronic health records -- fueled by President Bush's call in 2004 to make EHRs available to most Americans within 10 years -- continues to grow, as evidenced by recent HHS and related activity. More

(05/30/2007)  --  A proposed CMS regulation that would slash $1.78 billion in federal support for Medicaid graduate medical education, or GME, funding during a four-year period has been derailed by legislation funding the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. More

(05/30/2007)  --  Some of the nation's largest health care professional organizations plan to send a proposal to Congress asking lawmakers to phase in a repeal of Medicare's sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula by 2016 if Congress cannot immediately eliminate the current physician payment system. More

(05/30/2007)  --  The FDA is investigating potential safety issues related to rosiglitazone maleate, which is used to treat type 2 diabetes, but has suggested no specific changes related to the drug at this time. FDA officials currently are reviewing data from numerous clinical trials involving rosiglitazone, which is the sole active ingredient in the brand-name prescription drug Avandia and an ingredient in two other antidiabetic drugs, Avandamet and Avandaryl. More

(05/30/2007)  --  Getting ready to take the American Board of Family Medicine, or ABFM, certification or recertification examination? AAFP is here to help. Just choose how you want to prepare. You still have time to register for the June 24-30 Family Medicine Board Review Course in Greensboro, N.C. More

(05/29/2007)  --  As of July 1, family physicians and other qualified professionals can earn a 1.5 percent bonus payment from Medicare for participating in CMS' physician quality reporting initiative, or PQRI. PQRI incorporates a financial incentive for physicians to report on a designated set of quality measures and to do so for 80 percent of their Medicare patients to whom those measures pertain. More

(05/25/2007)  --  The AAFP has played a key role in launching a national coalition that has vowed to make the management and prevention of chronic disease a major issue in the 2008 presidential campaign. The coalition, known as the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, or PFCD, consists of more than 40 organizations that represent a diverse and powerful cross-section of business and labor groups, health professional organizations, community agencies, and consumer and other stakeholder groups. More

(05/24/2007)  --  Congress needs to adopt a Medicare payment system that compensates physicians for providing primary health care services, said a member of Congress during the AAFP Family Medicine Congressional Conference in Washington May 16-18. More

(05/23/2007)  --  Smoking status may be used as a clinical indicator of alcohol misuse, according to the abstract of "Smoking Status as a Clinical Indicator for Alcohol Misuse in U.S. Adults," a study published in the April 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. More

(05/23/2007)  --  Earlier this year, the American Academy of Family Physicians and Revolution Health Group joined together to promote a more patient-centered model of care. Such a partnership is long overdue. This patient-centered philosophy is at the core of Revolution Health. More (Members Only)

(05/23/2007)  --  Academy members now can check their reported CME, register for an AAFP course and change their mailing address -- all with just one phone call to the Academy's new Member Central service. More

(05/23/2007)  --  Official chapter representatives who attended the Academy's National Conference of Special Constituencies, or NCSC, here May 3-5 hit the ground running and kept up a breakneck pace throughout the meeting, debating and voting on scores of resolutions, as well as choosing new leaders. More

(05/23/2007)  --  Cultural and language differences are just two of the problems some Hispanic parents may face in the United States. To help, NIH has released a free Spanish-language guide for Hispanic parents looking for advice on parenting. More

(05/23/2007)  --  The National Coalition on Health Care, an alliance that includes more than 70 organizations and agencies spanning academia, business and government -- including the Academy -- is seeking your input on health system reform. More

(05/22/2007)  --  AAFP leaders know that fair payment for the purchase and administration of vaccines continues to be a thorn in the sides of many family physicians. However, relief is on the way from one of the nation's largest insurers -- Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. -- which insures nearly 35 million Americans across 14 states. More

(05/18/2007)  --  Medical device manufacturer ResMed has recalled nearly 300,000 continuous positive air pressure, or CPAP, units it produced between July 2004 and mid-May 2006. The voluntary recall potentially affects hundreds of thousands of patients around the globe who use the devices to ease symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea or similar disorders. More

(05/18/2007)  --  Pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck & Co. Inc. has projected that, beginning in July, current supplies of its measles-mumps-rubella-varicella, or MMRV, vaccine would be depleted, possibly resulting in back orders for the combination vaccine in the coming months. The company expects the vaccine to remain unavailable through the rest of 2007. More

(05/17/2007)  --  What has the AAFP done for you lately? Look no further than the home page of the Academy's Web site -- aafp.org -- to find out. The Academy knows members are frantically busy but still want to know what the AAFP is doing on their behalf. More

(05/17/2007)  --  Filling the primary care pipeline is all about the numbers. It's about the numbers of studies documenting a shortage in primary care medicine, medical students choosing family medicine, medically underserved counties, patients who have limited or no access to primary care physicians, and legislators whose constituents see health care access as a major concern. More

(05/17/2007)  --  The AAFP has taken steps to bring family medicine issues to the forefront in the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign. In early May, the Academy launched a new Web-based resource, Campaign for U.S. President 2008, to keep its members updated and informed during the presidential primary process. More

(05/17/2007)  --  A group that has been working diligently behind the scenes for months to raise awareness about the value of the personal medical home made its public debut on May 10. The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative was formally introduced to the public and the U.S. House of Representatives via a "Statement for the Record" presented to the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Health. More

(05/17/2007)  --  Spiraling consumer demand for aesthetic cosmetic services means family physicians with the desire to offer such services can tap into a multibillion dollar market. According to a recently released survey from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 11.5 million cosmetic procedures, surgical and nonsurgical, were performed in 2006 in the United States, an overall increase of 446 percent since the collection of statistics began in 1997. More

(05/14/2007)  --  Testifying May 10 before the House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Health, AAFP President Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan., urged Congress to adopt a Medicare physician payment system that reimburses physician practices for providing a patient-centered medical home to manage and coordinate care. More

(05/10/2007)  --  Eight candidates are seeking election or re-election to Academy offices and the AAFP Board of Directors. The AAFP Congress of Delegates will elect officers and new directors Oct. 3 in Chicago. More

(05/09/2007)  --  Women are more likely than men to have a stroke, and, as women grow older, their risks for both heart disease and stroke rise, according to the American Heart Association. That's why the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has issued an updated version of its heart guide for women. It's a resource you may want to recommend to some of your female patients. More

(05/09/2007)  --  The times, they are a-changin', so get on the bandwagon! That was the message from AAFP President Rick Kellerman, M.D., of Wichita, Kan., May 5 when he described the ways family medicine and the health care system need to change for every American to have a personal medical home. More

(05/09/2007)  --  Want to win in Congress? Build a network. Work together. Speak with one voice. Speak often. That recipe, said Harold Johnston, M.D., of Anchorage, Alaska, has worked well for WWAMI, a partnership comprising the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, and 17 residency programs in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. More

(05/09/2007)  --  "While you cannot do all the good the world needs, the world needs all the good you can do," said FP Eduardo Sanchez, M.D., M.P.H., quoting an anonymous source as he delivered the keynote address to an audience of family physicians and others at the National Conference of Special Constituencies, or NCSC, held May 3-5 in Kansas City, Mo. More

(05/09/2007)  --  Just because school lets out for summer doesn't mean learning stops. The Academy has resources to help you educate your patients on important issues that often arise when the temperatures start climbing. More

(05/09/2007)  --  Representatives from AAFP constituent chapters who attended the Academy's National Conference of Special Constituencies May 3-5 in Kansas City, Mo., elected colleagues to fill various leadership positions during the meeting. More

(05/09/2007)  --  Less than a year after its announced demise, the Duke University Family Medicine Residency Program, like a phoenix, has risen from the ashes. The program, which stopped accepting new applicants in May 2006, will recruit residents for July 2008, according to an announcement by Brian Halstater, M.D., residency program director and assistant professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, N.C. More

(05/08/2007)  --  Family physicians in small- to medium-sized practices may want to take advantage of a free, Web-based educational venue recently launched by CMS and dubbed DOQ-IT, or Doctor's Office Quality Information Technology, University. More

(05/08/2007)  --  Take note of these deadlines to register or submit materials for upcoming Tar Wars® events, as well as to submit proposed AAFP Bylaws amendments. More

(05/04/2007)  --  The medical home will become a major component of managing patient health care as the nation's health care system moves toward integrating innovative technologies and places a greater emphasis on preventive care, said former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and others during a Capitol Hill briefing on April 23. More

(05/03/2007)  --  AAFP challenged CMS recently on the federal agency's estimation of the financial burdens placed on family physicians who supply Medicare patients with the required Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage, or ABN, form. More

(05/02/2007)  --  Canada has quietly emerged as a major supplier of physicians to the United States in the past several years, second only to India in the number of doctors it produces for the American medical market, according to a new study in the April 10 Canadian Medical Association Journal. More

(05/02/2007)  --  Convincing older adult patients to reverse sedentary habits and incorporate an exercise program is one of the biggest obstacles physicians have to overcome, says family physician Jeffrey Zlotnick, M.D., of Easton, Pa. Zlotnick, a board-certified FP who holds a certificate of added qualifications in sports medicine, knows how beneficial a regular exercise program is for this age group, but he sometimes has difficulty convincing his patients. More

(05/01/2007)  --  Communication between physicians and patients is not always what it should be, which can lead to errors and put patients at risk, according to a public policy report recently released by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, known as the Joint Commission. More

(05/01/2007)  --  Use the strength of numbers to help your patients quit smoking. Group visits can enhance the quality of care, improve patient satisfaction, increase your productivity and decrease the overall cost of providing care. Now you can put all that to work for you to help your patients kick the habit. More