http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues.html en-us Copyright 2013 American Academy of Family Physicians http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130520ptmgtwebinar.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130520ptmgtwebinar.html Most family physicians embrace the concept of patient self-management because it opens the door to patients' involvement in their own health care. In an effort to help physicians learn the necessary skills, the AAFP and TransforMED have lined up a series of three monthly webinars -- May through July -- that dive into patient self-management techniques. Registration for all three webinars, which are free to AAFP members, is available via TransforMED's Delta-Exchange network. The first webinar in the series is titled "Motivational Interviewing: Can I Really Influence My Patient's Motivation to Change?" and is scheduled for May 22 at 1 p.m. CDT. ann@aafp.org Mon, 20 May 2013 16:45:00 CDT Practice & Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130515ehrmuaudit.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130515ehrmuaudit.html Use of the words "audit" and "Medicare" in the same sentence tend to make even the most seasoned physician uncomfortable. So when the news broke in March that CMS had added prepayment meaningful use (MU) audits to its ongoing postpayment audit process, some family physicians expressed concern. Understanding that a little knowledge can go a long way toward alleviating anxiety, AAFP News Now recently spoke with a government expert about how physicians can prepare for MU audits associated with the Medicare Electronic Health Records Incentive Program. ann@aafp.org Wed, 15 May 2013 16:35:00 CDT Practice & Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130514dpcmodel.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130514dpcmodel.html Around 10 a.m. one recent morning, Atlas MD, a family medicine practice in Wichita, Kan., fielded a call from a frantic parent whose 14-year-old son had just been bitten by a dog. As a direct primary care (DPC) practice, Atlas gives its patient "members" unlimited 24/7 access and a bevy of in-office procedures at no additional fee. The rate for children is $10 a month, and today was the payoff for this family. "We got him into an exam room by 10:15, washed out, sewn up and on the way home by 11 a.m.," said Doug Nunamaker, M.D., who spent two years as a hospitalist before joining the practice full time in 2012. He calculated that if the child had been treated at the local emergency room, his $680 bill wouldn't even have included the physician's fee. ann@aafp.org Tue, 14 May 2013 16:30:00 CDT Practice & Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130508directwebinar.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130508directwebinar.html A bevy of recently published news stories about direct primary care -- also referred to as direct medical practice -- has piqued the interest of physicians around the country. And it seems the more family physicians hear about direct primary care, the more they want to know. The practice model generally features a monthly fee that gives patients unfettered access to their primary care physicians who, in return, are able to manage much smaller patient panels and gain significant face time with their patients. ann@aafp.org Wed, 08 May 2013 12:05:00 CDT Practice & Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20120424smallpcmhstudy.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20120424smallpcmhstudy.html Small and solo primary care practices are more likely to achieve improvements in efficiency and quality of care, as well as cost savings, when transitioning to the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model if they have access to care-management services and other key practice support during the transition process. That's according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Connecticut's Health Center (UCHC) and published in a recent online edition of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The study evaluated 32 primary care practices during a two-year period and randomized them into two groups: an intervention and a control group. ann@aafp.org Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:20:00 CDT Practice & Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130417ehrprocon.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130417ehrprocon.html Chris Tashjian, M.D., has been a family physician for the past 25 years and has spent most of his career practicing in a paper-driven medical environment. In that paper-based world, Tashjian says he was forced to practice reactive medicine, responding to the needs and concerns of his patients rather than proactively managing and delivering care. Then, in 2010, Tashjian's small two-physician practice in Ellsworth, Wis., adopted an electronic health record system, which eventually made it much easier for the practice to capture and analyze patient data and use that data to reach out and manage patient care on a proactive basis. ann@aafp.org Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:30:00 CDT Practice & Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130416bundledpayinitiative.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/practice-professional-issues/20130416bundledpayinitiative.html Bundled payment has reached the federal government's test-tube stage of development. At its core, this oft-discussed payment model casts off the conventional method of paying health care professionals individually and directly for the care they provide in favor of offering one lump sum payment to be divided among all who participate in a defined episode of care. In fact, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 directed CMS to test a variety of payment methods, including bundled payments. As such, CMS' Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation was given oversight of the new Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative, which officially launched on Jan. 31. ann@aafp.org Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:55:00 CDT Practice & Professional Issues