(10/09/2008)  --  It's no secret that cost continues to be the greatest deterrent to physician adoption of electronic health records, or EHRs. In recent weeks, two separate organizations have released reports that examine the progress of initiatives designed to help physicians pay for the implementation and maintenance of EHR systems. What they show is that there's significant funding available for this purpose, but it's moving more slowly through some vectors than others. More

(10/08/2008)  --  Averting an impending crisis in the nation's health care system like that now plaguing the financial markets could require the next Congress to consider reforming the Medicare physician payment system to promote the use of primary care services to improve health care quality and save costs. That is according to former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and Kenneth Thorpe, M.D., executive director of the Emory Institute for Advanced Policy Solutions in Atlanta, who spoke during a media telebriefing conducted by the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, or PFCD, on Sept. 30. More

(10/08/2008)  --  Congress has reauthorized two key primary care-related programs, providing each with a renewed sense of direction and focus, while laying out a plan to substantially increase the funding levels for these programs during the next five years. More

(10/08/2008)  --  Medical residency programs are not adequately training residents to meet the needs of the nation's changing patient population base, leaving new physicians without the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver high-quality care to specific patient populations. That was one of the messages delivered by Michael Whitcomb, M.D., former senior VP of medical education for the Association of American Medical Colleges, who spoke before the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, on Oct. 2. More

(10/08/2008)  --  Symptoms associated with cerumen impaction or obstruction are fairly common complaints among patients seeking help from their family physicians. But until now, clinicians have had little or no evidence-based guidance on managing cerumen impaction. A new guideline developed by a multidisciplinary committee selected by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, or AAO-HNS, summarizes the evidence on this common condition and provides guidance to physicians in treating it. More

(10/08/2008)  --  Are you or your faculty interested in authoring a manuscript for AAFP FP Essentials? Proposals are being accepted now through Nov. 15 by the Academy's Division of Continuing Medical Education. More

(10/07/2008)  --  The shortening days and cooler temperatures of fall herald the onset of a seasonal charge familiar to most family physicians: administration of annual influenza vaccine. The influenza vaccination recommendations for the 2008-09 influenza season by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, and approved by the AAFP this summer should prove helpful as FPs start receiving their vaccine supplies. More