AAFP to Share Ownership of National Procedures Institute

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. NPI was founded by AAFP member John Pfenninger, M.D., of Midland, Mich., who serves as both president and director of the institute.

Tom Banning, CEO and EVP of the Texas AFP, said closure of the institute would have created a significant void in the CME market. "NPI has been around for 18 years; they've educated over 45,000 physicians. They are, bar none, the 'class act' premier program for procedural training," said Banning. "We didn't want our physicians and our colleagues to lose access to this resource."

Banning made it clear that the NPI was changing hands at Pfenninger's discretion -- a decision he had made for personal reasons. Texas AFP will own 60 percent of the NPI and will serve as the managing partner. The AAFP and STFM will own 20 percent each.

NPI's 2008 calendar of course listings includes a wide variety of procedural training sessions, including courses on aesthetic procedures, carotid ultrasonography, echocardiography, colonoscopy, sclerotherapy, ECG interpretation and gastroscopy. Course locations span the country, from Scottsdale, Ariz., to Chicago, to Miami. Course registration fees range from $465 to $1,295.

Banning called the purchase a "win-win" for everyone. "It's about providing doctors the training for the skills that they need to enhance their practices and increase their practice revenues," said Banning.

"Once a physician has taken a course and is comfortable providing those procedural skills, he or she can make up the cost of that course very quickly with less than a day's worth of work providing those procedural skills," he added.

The NPI will keep its headquarters in Midland and will retain its current staff and course instructors. The only changes will be positive ones, said Banning. "Our hope is that through this partnership we'll be able to grow the number of course offerings available to physicians," he said.