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Data Illustrate Geographic Dispersal of Family Physicians, Other Primary Care Professionals
Family physicians are the most likely of any physician specialty or subspecialty to practice in rural areas and the most likely to be geographically distributed in the same proportion as the U.S. population, according to a one-page fact sheet published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on Feb. 3. The data, which are based on research by the AAFP's Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care, found that 22.5 percent of family physicians practice in rural areas, compared with 9.7 percent of all physicians who do so.
CDC 2D Vaccine Barcoding Pilot Nearing Sign-up Deadline
For family physicians who count immunizations as one of the many services they provide, the CDC is funding a two-dimensional (2D) vaccine barcoding pilot project that is scheduled to begin in August. The pilot is gearing up to begin installing scanning equipment and training participants, but there is still time to enroll. According to Erin Kennedy, M.P.H., D.V.M., a medical officer in the CDC's Immunization Services Division, "2D barcoded vaccines have a number of potential public health benefits, which include decreasing errors in recorded immunization information and improving patient safety." The sign-up period for the project, which will assess the challenges and determine best practices for documenting vaccine encounters using 2D barcodes, comes to a close in late February.
Data Illustrate Geographic Dispersal of Family Physicians, Other Primary Care Professionals
Family physicians are the most likely of any physician specialty or subspecialty to practice in rural areas and the most likely to be geographically distributed in the same proportion as the U.S. population, according to a one-page fact sheet published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on Feb. 3. The data, which are based on research by the AAFP's Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care, found that 22.5 percent of family physicians practice in rural areas, compared with 9.7 percent of all physicians who do so.
CDC 2D Vaccine Barcoding Pilot Nearing Sign-up Deadline
For family physicians who count immunizations as one of the many services they provide, the CDC is funding a two-dimensional (2D) vaccine barcoding pilot project that is scheduled to begin in August. The pilot is gearing up to begin installing scanning equipment and training participants, but there is still time to enroll. According to Erin Kennedy, M.P.H., D.V.M., a medical officer in the CDC's Immunization Services Division, "2D barcoded vaccines have a number of potential public health benefits, which include decreasing errors in recorded immunization information and improving patient safety." The sign-up period for the project, which will assess the challenges and determine best practices for documenting vaccine encounters using 2D barcodes, comes to a close in late February.
AAFP Task Force Releases New Draft of Proposed Bylaws
The AAFP is continuing its work on revising the organization's Bylaws, and a new draft version of the Bylaws is now available from the AAFP Task Force on Bylaws Revision. The revised draft is available for member comment until Feb. 29. AAFP Speaker John Meigs Jr., M.D., of Centreville, Ala., chair of the Task Force on Bylaws Revision, said this type of review is needed to ensure the AAFP's Bylaws remain relevant to the needs of the organization. "In the 64-year history of the AAFP, the organization had never undertaken a thorough review of its original Bylaws," said Meigs in a letter to members.
AAFP Task Force Releases New Draft of Proposed Bylaws
The AAFP is continuing its work on revising the organization's Bylaws, and a new draft version of the Bylaws is now available from the AAFP Task Force on Bylaws Revision. The revised draft is available for member comment until Feb. 29. AAFP Speaker John Meigs Jr., M.D., of Centreville, Ala., chair of the Task Force on Bylaws Revision, said this type of review is needed to ensure the AAFP's Bylaws remain relevant to the needs of the organization. "In the 64-year history of the AAFP, the organization had never undertaken a thorough review of its original Bylaws," said Meigs in a letter to members.
Task Force Finalizing Recommendations to Improve Fee-for-Service
In my Jan. 19 blog post, I told you that the AAFP Primary Care Valuation Task Force would be meeting Jan. 24 in Washington. The AAFP formed the task force last July in response to inadequate payment for primary care services. At the AAFP Board of Directors meeting in March, Academy leaders will consider recommendations put forth by the task force, which includes representatives from other primary care specialty organizations and others with health care expertise.
Task Force Finalizing Recommendations to Improve Fee-for-Service
In my Jan. 19 blog post, I told you that the AAFP Primary Care Valuation Task Force would be meeting Jan. 24 in Washington. The AAFP formed the task force last July in response to inadequate payment for primary care services. At the AAFP Board of Directors meeting in March, Academy leaders will consider recommendations put forth by the task force, which includes representatives from other primary care specialty organizations and others with health care expertise.
Family Physicians Tell Their Stories About SGR Impact on Family Medicine, Patient Care
Family physician Jeff Harwood, M.D., of New London, Ohio, has been in private practice for the past 22 years. For much of that time, Harwood has dealt with the ongoing saga of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula -- the perpetual cycle of looming Medicare payment cuts and last-minute congressional interventions required to block impending reductions. For Harwood and thousands of other family physicians, the SGR serves as a constant reminder of a flawed Medicare payment system, a recurring problem that continues to drain time, energy and other resources away from the practice of medicine. "The SGR causes recurring stress, and it is eating up a lot of our political capital," says Harwood, a solo family physician. "It is the same topic year after year, and you get burned out fighting it. It causes you to lose faith in the whole federal legislative agenda. I am frustrated and fed up with having to think about it all of the time."
Family Physicians Tell Their Stories About SGR Impact on Family Medicine, Patient Care
Family physician Jeff Harwood, M.D., of New London, Ohio, has been in private practice for the past 22 years. For much of that time, Harwood has dealt with the ongoing saga of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula -- the perpetual cycle of looming Medicare payment cuts and last-minute congressional interventions required to block impending reductions. For Harwood and thousands of other family physicians, the SGR serves as a constant reminder of a flawed Medicare payment system, a recurring problem that continues to drain time, energy and other resources away from the practice of medicine. "The SGR causes recurring stress, and it is eating up a lot of our political capital," says Harwood, a solo family physician. "It is the same topic year after year, and you get burned out fighting it. It causes you to lose faith in the whole federal legislative agenda. I am frustrated and fed up with having to think about it all of the time."
News in Brief: Week of Jan. 30-Feb. 3
This roundup includes the following news briefs: Some Diabetes Guidelines Do Not Reflect All Available Evidence; NIH Creates Patient-friendly Resource on A1C Testing; Cost of SGR Repeal Continues to Climb, Says CBO; and AHA Issues Statement on Parent/Adult Caregiver Role in Childhood Obesity.
News in Brief: Week of Jan. 30-Feb. 3
This roundup includes the following news briefs: Some Diabetes Guidelines Do Not Reflect All Available Evidence; NIH Creates Patient-friendly Resource on A1C Testing; Cost of SGR Repeal Continues to Climb, Says CBO; and AHA Issues Statement on Parent/Adult Caregiver Role in Childhood Obesity.
Health Plans Beginning to Recognize Importance of Paying for PCMH Model
The AAFP's persistence is beginning to pay off. You might not be aware that AAFP leaders and staff members meet with the nation's largest health plans annually to discuss payment issues and improving care coordination and quality. Now our ongoing dialogue with these health plans has resulted in a significant increase in one health plan's investment in primary care. WellPoint Inc. recently announced that it plans to increase its base fee schedule by 10 percent, start paying for electronic visits and other previously uncompensated services, and offer practices shared savings payments. And according to Samuel Nussbaum, M.D., WellPoint's chief medical officer and EVP for clinical health policy, the Academy's input was critical to the development of its new primary care program.
Health Plans Beginning to Recognize Importance of Paying for PCMH Model
The AAFP's persistence is beginning to pay off. You might not be aware that AAFP leaders and staff members meet with the nation's largest health plans annually to discuss payment issues and improving care coordination and quality. Now our ongoing dialogue with these health plans has resulted in a significant increase in one health plan's investment in primary care. WellPoint Inc. recently announced that it plans to increase its base fee schedule by 10 percent, start paying for electronic visits and other previously uncompensated services, and offer practices shared savings payments. And according to Samuel Nussbaum, M.D., WellPoint's chief medical officer and EVP for clinical health policy, the Academy's input was critical to the development of its new primary care program.
AAFP, Other Physician Groups Deliver Unified SGR Message to Capitol Hill
In a dramatic show of unity, AAFP leaders joined with their colleagues from other physician specialty organizations in pressing House and Senate members for a permanent Medicare payment solution during a series of Jan. 31 meetings on Capitol Hill. AAFP Board Chair Roland Goertz, M.D., M.B.A., of Waco, Texas, and AAFP President-elect Jeffrey Cain, M.D., of Denver, along with representatives from the American College of Physicians, the American Osteopathic Association, and the American College of Surgeons, met with several key Republican and Democratic members of the House and Senate to push for a repeal of the sustainable growth rate formula.
AAFP, Other Physician Groups Deliver Unified SGR Message to Capitol Hill
In a dramatic show of unity, AAFP leaders joined with their colleagues from other physician specialty organizations in pressing House and Senate members for a permanent Medicare payment solution during a series of Jan. 31 meetings on Capitol Hill. AAFP Board Chair Roland Goertz, M.D., M.B.A., of Waco, Texas, and AAFP President-elect Jeffrey Cain, M.D., of Denver, along with representatives from the American College of Physicians, the American Osteopathic Association, and the American College of Surgeons, met with several key Republican and Democratic members of the House and Senate to push for a repeal of the sustainable growth rate formula.
Major Health Insurer Announces Plan to Pay Primary Care Docs More
WellPoint Inc., one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, recently announced a new program that will increase the company's investment in primary care practices. In a Jan. 27 press release, WellPoint said the program would roll out to a few markets in the third quarter of 2012 and will be available throughout its network of participating physicians by the end of 2014. The program will increase regular fees paid to primary care practices for some specific physician services; initiate payment for some services, such as telephone consultations, e-visits and the creation of care management plans for patients with complex conditions; and offer shared savings to practices that meet quality requirements and reduce medical costs.
Major Health Insurer Announces Plan to Pay Primary Care Docs More
WellPoint Inc., one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, recently announced a new program that will increase the company's investment in primary care practices. In a Jan. 27 press release, WellPoint said the program would roll out to a few markets in the third quarter of 2012 and will be available throughout its network of participating physicians by the end of 2014. The program will increase regular fees paid to primary care practices for some specific physician services; initiate payment for some services, such as telephone consultations, e-visits and the creation of care management plans for patients with complex conditions; and offer shared savings to practices that meet quality requirements and reduce medical costs.
Changes to Tdap, HPV, Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendations Among 2012 Schedule Highlights
More than a dozen changes are reflected in the CDC's 2012 child, adolescent and adult immunization schedules. Developed in conjunction with the AAFP and other groups, several of the 2012 changes are especially pertinent to family physicians, according to the AAFP's liaison to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Jamie Loehr, M.D., of Ithaca, N.Y. "Some of the most important changes for family physicians in the 2012 immunization schedules involve the tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis vaccine for pregnant women and health care personnel, as well as the hepatitis B vaccine for patients with diabetes," Loehr told
Changes to Tdap, HPV, Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendations Among 2012 Schedule Highlights
More than a dozen changes are reflected in the CDC's 2012 child, adolescent and adult immunization schedules. Developed in conjunction with the AAFP and other groups, several of the 2012 changes are especially pertinent to family physicians, according to the AAFP's liaison to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Jamie Loehr, M.D., of Ithaca, N.Y. "Some of the most important changes for family physicians in the 2012 immunization schedules involve the tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis vaccine for pregnant women and health care personnel, as well as the hepatitis B vaccine for patients with diabetes," Loehr told
