AAFP News Now
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News Briefs: Week of March 8-12
This roundup includes the following news briefs: FDA Approves Name Change for Heartburn Drug; State Supreme Court Strikes Down Medical Malpractice Law; New Mexico Prepares to Enact Insurance Measure; AAFP Looking for Poster Presenters; Solo FP Testifies on Meaningful Use Regulations; Obama Administration Launches Healthy Food Financing Initiative; MedPAC Submits March Report to Congress.
AAFP Uses Connect for Reform to Answer Questions on SGR Efforts
The AAFP has posted a question and answer document about the latest congressional action on the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula, along with a detailed analysis of the SGR itself, on its Connect for Reform Web site.
Warnings, Recommendations Fail to Improve Monitoring of Use of Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs
An important warning about atypical, or second-generation, antipsychotic drugs and a connection to increased risk for diabetes and hyperglycemia didn't make it to primary care physicians, according to a new study in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
HHS Presents Plan for Health IT Certification
HHS recently announced a proposed rule that would establish certification programs to test electronic health record, or EHR, systems. The federal proposal calls for the establishment of a temporary certification program that eventually would be replaced by a permanent program.
Changing the Discussion From Physician Burnout to Physician Wellness
A new case study by family medicine educators indicates that to create a more positive educational environment for residents and faculty, academic medicine has to change from a focus on the causes of physician burnout to a focus on physician wellness. In addition, educational programs need to create interventions for residents and faculty that encourage them to think about overall physician wellbeing.
Docs Should Play Role in Increasing Immunization Uptake in Adults
According to a new report from the Trust for America's Health, up to 50,000 U.S. adults die each year from vaccine preventable diseases, and the direct health care burden of vaccine preventable diseases in American adults is $10 billion a year. Physicians, however, can help increase uptake levels for adult vaccinations by making the most of office visits with these patients to get them immunized.
ACCME Updates Providers, Stakeholders on System for CME Activity Data
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, or ACCME, has completed the second phase of testing its Program Activity and Reporting System, or PARS, a new Web-based portal designed to streamline data collection from ACCME-accredited providers.
Academy Leaders Carry Family Physicians' Message to White House, Capitol Hill
In the wake of legislation that reversed a cut in Medicare physician payments through March 31, AAFP leaders once again fanned out in Washington to deliver their message about the value and importance of primary care and family medicine to the White House and congressional leaders. During a series of meetings with administration officials and lawmakers on March 2-3, AAFP President Lori Heim, M.D., of Vass, N.C.; AAFP President-elect Roland Goertz, M.D., M.B.A., of Waco, Texas; AAFP Board Chair Ted Epperly, M.D., of Boise, Idaho; and AAFP EVP Doug Henley, M.D., stressed the importance of family medicine and the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH.
'Meaningful Use' Rule Needs Significant Modifications, Says AAFP
The AAFP has responded to the federal government's Dec. 30 release of electronic health record, or EHR, regulations that define the term "meaningful use" with comments detailing how the Academy would make the regulations more helpful -- and more palatable -- to family physicians. Defining meaningful use is important because qualifying for government stimulus funds for the purchase of health information technology, or health IT, depends on how physician practices are meeting the regulations' criteria.
NIH Consensus Development Conference to Address VBAC Issues
A consensus development conference scheduled for March 8-10 at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., will draw together a diverse group of experts to address key issues related to vaginal birth after cesarean, or VBAC.
News Briefs: Week of March 1-5
This roundup includes the following news briefs: NCQA Offers Free CME Program on Treating Children With ADHD; NCQA Seeks Physician Input on Medical Home Criteria; Part-time Service Option Available for NHSC Loan Repayment Program; U.S. Surgeon General Launches Family Health Initiative; and AAFP's International Activities Has New 'Ask the Expert' Service.
ACIP Makes Universal Flu Vaccination Recommendation
The influenza vaccination recommendations for the 2010-2011 flu season should be a lot less complicated than those for the current season, thanks to a new recommendation from the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. During the committee's Feb. 24-25 meeting in Atlanta, ACIP members voted without objection to expand the recommendation for annual influenza vaccination to include all people ages 6 months and older in whom the vaccine is not contraindicated.
Senate Acts to Reverse Deep Reductions in Physician Payments
The Senate has passed a one-month extension of the Medicare physician payment rate, thus reversing a 21.2 percent payment reduction that took effect based on the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula on March 1. On March 2, the Senate approved a House-passed bill, H.R. 4691, that provides a 30-day extension for several programs, including the Medicare physician payment rate. President Obama signed the measure into law the same day.
AAFP Supports ACCME Proposal on Complaints, Inquiries Process
The AAFP is supporting two proposals recently made by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, or ACCME. One would modify the ACCME's complaints and inquiries process with the aim of balancing transparency in the CME enterprise with CME providers' confidentiality. The other would acknowledge that CME should facilitate changes in knowledge, competence, performance and/or patient outcomes.
FDA Fighting for Authority to Regulate Electronic Cigarettes
A U.S. Court of Appeals ruling reinstates the FDA's authority -- at least temporarily -- to stop e-cigarettes from entering the country after a lower court ruled that the agency does not have the authority to regulate electronic cigarettes, even though Congress granted the agency the power to regulate tobacco products in 2009. The FDA filed the appeal after a U.S. District Court judge granted an injunction on Jan. 14 that blocked the FDA from stopping electronic cigarettes from entering the country.
Urge Federal Lawmakers to Reverse Medicare Physician Payment Cut
The AAFP has issued a Speak Out Action Alert asking Academy members to contact their congressional representatives to urge them to reverse a 21.2 percent reduction in the Medicare physician payment rate called for under the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula. The cut went into effect on March 1.
CMS Alerts Physicians to Billing Glitch
Physicians who are participating Medicare providers should be aware of a glitch in CMS' system that occurred when some claims did not cross over to supplemental payers automatically, although the provider remittance advice indicated otherwise.
Senate Fails to Block Deep Cuts in Medicare Payments
The Senate has failed to pass a short-term payment patch for the Medicare physician payment rate, thus allowing a 21.2 percent payment cut to take effect on March 1 based on the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula. But the reduction is not expected to have an immediate effect on physician payments.
AMA-IMG Section Position Paper Discusses Role of IMGs in Primary Care
A recently released position paper from the AMA's International Medical Graduate, or IMG, Section Governing Council says IMGs are essential to the U.S. primary care health care delivery system. According to the paper, "International Medical Graduates in American Medicine: Contemporary Challenges and Opportunities," more IMGs train in primary care specialties and internal medicine subspecialties than do graduates of U.S. medical schools. Moreover, many go on to practice in medically underserved areas, especially remote, rural communities.
Major Insurers Create 'One-stop' Shopping for Insurance Filing, Verification
The nation's largest insurance lobby is rolling out initiatives in New Jersey and Ohio to streamline and simplify the insurance filing process by allowing physician offices to log on to one Web portal to carry out a full range of insurance functions.