AAFP Invites Members to Sign Up for Health Care Notification Network

The AAFP has reached a partnership agreement with the Health Care Notification Network, or HCNN, a free online system that rapidly informs clinicians of FDA-mandated patient safety alerts by replacing the "Dear Doctor" letters traditionally delivered via standard mail with electronic communications.

"Unlike paper-based 'Dear Doctor' letters delivered via the United States Postal Service, which can literally be lost in the shuffle, online alerts from the HCNN are delivered immediately to a physician's (e-mail) inbox," said Henry DePhillips, M.D., HCNN's chief medical officer.

Electronic receipt of an alert is verified when a physician logs into the HCNN system to view the alert. Registered physicians who don't open an electronic alert within 72 hours are mailed a paper copy of the alert.

Under the terms of the agreement, if at least 5 percent of active AAFP members register for the HCNN program via an AAFP Web link to a co-branded Web page and respond to an HCNN alert within 72 hours, the AAFP will receive a nominal fee from HCNN.

According to DePhillips, the traditional paper-based alert process can take several days or weeks, depending on the timing and complexity of the alert. "There is no confirmation of receipt with the mail, and, in fact, most practices report paper overload as a key motivation in registering for HCNN," he told AAFP News Now.

In addition to providing immediate delivery of FDA-mandated patient safety alerts, DePhillips said the network reduces physicians' liability risk by adhering to the FDA guidance for safety alert communication, which specifies a preference for online delivery, and by providing a reliable tracking system to ensure that physicians have both received and read each alert.

DePhillips said HCNN alerts are specialty-specific, targeted to appropriate prescribers, and contain no advertising or extraneous information. The system has sent three alerts regarding four prescription drugs since October, he added. All three alerts were sent to family doctors.

DePhillips said HCNN reaches more than 250,000 physicians and 70,000 physician assistants. Staff members also can be added to a physician's account to receive reminders when alerts are available, minimizing the possibility that the information might be overlooked.

Family physician Nancy Dickey, M.D., chair of the not-for-profit organization iHealth Alliance, which governs the HCNN, said the organization is working with several groups to allow doctors to receive CME credit for receiving and processing the information HCNN provides.

"So, a few minutes reviewing new information about an important label change could get you CME credit," said Dickey, who is president of the Texas A&M Health Science Center at College Station, vice chancellor for health affairs for the Texas A&M System, and a past president of the AMA.