http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues.html en-us Copyright 2009 American Academy of Family Physicians http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091118ama-med-ed.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091118ama-med-ed.html Delegates at the 2009 interim meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in Houston recently adopted several recommendations that put the AMA squarely in line with key components of the AAFP's new physician workforce reform policy and with other medical education issues championed by the Academy. Some of the most important measures adopted concern expanding funding for graduate medical education, or GME; limiting future restrictions on resident and fellow duty hours; and enhancing the availability of clinical training sites for medical students. bbein@aafp.org Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:05:00 CST Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091117ibm-prim-care.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091117ibm-prim-care.html IBM plans to eliminate copays and deductibles for primary care physician services for most of its employees in January, a move that could prompt other large companies and employers to eliminate financial barriers for primary care services as well, according to analysts interviewed by AAFP News Now. jarvantes@aafp.org Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:30:00 CST Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091112pcpcc-summit.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091112pcpcc-summit.html As more demonstration projects prove the value of the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH, in increasing care efficacy and reducing costs, a number of federal agencies are adopting the medical home model as part of their overall health care transformation efforts. That was one of the messages that came out of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, or PCPCC, summit held Oct. 22 in Washington. jarvantes@aafp.org Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:35:00 CST Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091111ama-reform.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091111ama-reform.html The AMA threw its support behind health system reform on Nov. 9 during the 2009 interim meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in Houston. And according to members of the Academy's delegation, the final measure adopted by the delegates carries forward much of the Academy's own message on reform. bbein@aafp.org Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:10:00 CST Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091109mindful-comm.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091109mindful-comm.html Research has documented that primary care physicians report troubling levels of professional and personal distress, with more than half of practicing physicians in some studies reporting symptoms of burnout. Physician burnout, in turn, has been linked to lower quality of care and more medical errors. bbein@aafp.org Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:50:00 CST Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091028texas-loans.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091028texas-loans.html Texas has taken steps to increase the number of primary care physicians in underserved areas of the state by putting in place one of the most generous physician loan repayment programs in the country. The program, which will be funded at $60 million on a biannual basis, will award as much as $160,000 during a four-year period to individual physicians who agree to provide primary care services in federally designated health professional shortage areas, or HPSAs. jarvantes@aafp.org Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091007hospitalist.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091007hospitalist.html The American Board of Family Medicine, or ABFM, has announced that it is joining forces with the American Board of Internal Medicine, or ABIM, to establish a pilot program for Recognition of Focused Practice, or RFP, in Hospital Medicine. The announcement is welcome news to AAFP President-elect Lori Heim, M.D., of Vass, N.C., a hospitalist who says she sees many benefits in such recognition. But she cautions that any RFP program that might result from the pilot should not be used to limit the scope of family physicians who practice the full scope of family medicine, including both inpatient and outpatient medicine. bbein@aafp.org Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:00:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091002workforce-rpt.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20091002workforce-rpt.html The AAFP has sounded a clarion call in a new physician workforce reform report that recommends comprehensive changes in national workforce planning; specialty distribution; graduate medical education, or GME, funding; and medical education policy to secure a family physician and primary care workforce that meets the country's burgeoning needs. bbein@aafp.org Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:35:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090923king-h1n1.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090923king-h1n1.html The novel influenza A (H1N1) virus could overwhelm the nation's health care system by exacerbating the existing shortages of physicians and other health care professionals, thus leaving some patients who contract the virus without proper medical attention. That was one of the main messages delivered by witnesses who testified before the House Committee on Small Business on Sept. 9. jarvantes@aafp.org Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:10:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090923medpac-pcps.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090923medpac-pcps.html The nation's primary care physician residency programs are plagued by a lack of interest, support and funding. This situation, in turn, is helping to drive the nation's chronic shortage of primary care physicians, said the chair of the Council on Graduate Medical Education, or COGME, who spoke before the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, Sept. 18 in Washington. jarvantes@aafp.org Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:15:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090916rand-retail.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090916rand-retail.html Although the entry of retail health clinics into health care during the past few years has generated concern among more established providers, a recently released RAND Corp. study published in the Sept. 1 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that the cost and quality of health care provided by retail health clinics may be comparable to that provided in more traditional health care settings. sporter@aafp.org Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:00:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090916grundy-q-a.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090916grundy-q-a.html In the battle to recognize the importance of a primary care-based health care system to health care reform, computer giant IBM has been a vocal proponent of the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH. Led by its global director of health care transformation, Paul Grundy, M.D., M.P.H., the company has been immersed in encouraging other large employers to recognize that a PCMH model can lead to lower costs, as well as to improved access, quality and health care outcomes. jarvantes@aafp.org Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:50:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090902starfield-q-a.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090902starfield-q-a.html Barbara Starfield, M.D., M.P.H., is a renowned researcher, scholar and author. A distinguished professor with appointments in the departments of Health Policy and Management and Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and School of Medicine in Baltimore, she is known throughout the world for her work in demonstrating the value of primary care. jarvantes@aafp.org Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:20:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090826nj-aco.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090826nj-aco.html New Jersey is one of the first states to experiment with accountable care organizations, or ACOs, a relatively new health care model that is similar to the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH, and that links primary care and subspecialist practices with area hospitals to create an integrated delivery system. Providers are accountable for costs and the quality of care delivered, and bonuses and penalties are tied to overall spending and quality measures. jarvantes@aafp.org Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:00:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090817board-cert-scam.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090817board-cert-scam.html AAFP members should be aware of a scam perpetrated through the mail involving the sale of bogus medical board certifications. A family physician in Hudson, Fla., recently received an unsolicited letter offering him lifetime diplomate certification by the American Board of Geriatric Medicine. The letter included an "expedited application form" and requested a registration fee of $500. ann@aafp.org Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:25:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090715perf-meas-remind.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090715perf-meas-remind.html The AAFP has put dozens of America's health insurance companies on notice that it expects them to abide by the principles outlined in the Patient Charter for Physician Performance Measurement, Reporting and Tiering Programs, which launched about 15 months ago. ann@aafp.org Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:50:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090624ama-dnp.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090624ama-dnp.html The AAFP received a strong show of support from subspecialists and other physicians for its earlier objections to the way the National Board of Medical Examiners, or NBME, has been presenting its new certification examination for doctors of nursing practice, or DNPs. In fact, a resolution introduced during the 2009 annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates, held June 13-17 in Chicago, originally asked the AMA to withdraw its representatives to the NBME if the two organizations could not see eye-to-eye on what the resolution's sponsors termed "the integrity of the physician licensure process." bbein@aafp.org Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:50:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090624ama-pcmh.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090624ama-pcmh.html The AAFP gained just about all it wanted when the AMA reaffirmed its support of the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH, and came out for beefed-up Medicare incentive payments to primary care and other physicians whose practices qualify as medical homes that would be funded by savings from throughout the entire health care system, not just Part B. bbein@aafp.org Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:00:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090617obama-ama.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090617obama-ama.html The United States needs to make a greater investment in primary care by changing the current physician payment system and by doing more to reward medical students who choose careers as primary care physicians, according to President Obama, who addressed physicians during the annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates June 15 in Chicago. jarvantes@aafp.org Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:05:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090610fps-recession.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090610fps-recession.html Is the turndown in the U.S. economy impacting America's family physicians and their patients? You bet it is -- and in a multitude of ways. "What we're seeing in the office is patients are generally coming in sicker," said solo FP Linda Stewart, M.D., of Baton Rouge, La. "It really stresses the office when you're having to rush several (patients) off to be admitted (to the hospital)," she added. sporter@aafp.org Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:05:00 CDT Professional Issues http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090601pcpcc-q-a.html http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/publications/news/news-now/professional-issues/20090601pcpcc-q-a.html When the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, or PCPCC, began two years ago, it consisted of the AAFP, several other physician-led organizations and a few large employers. During the past few years, however, the collaborative has experienced explosive growth, swelling to more than 500 members who represent nearly every segment of society. Edwina Rogers, J.D., is executive director of the PCPCC. AAFP News Now recently sat down with Rogers to talk about the goals of the PCPCC and how far the collaborative has come. ann@aafp.org Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:45:00 CDT Professional Issues