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INSURANCE DEPARTMENT REVIEWS BASIC INSURANCE CAPACITY OF PRIVATE MARKETPLACE
In July, Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Consedine issued an analysis of the medical malpractice insurance marketplace – conducted every three years – to determine whether sufficient additional basic insurance capacity exists in the current marketplace. Consedine has determined that current conditions do not allow for an increase in the amount of medical professional liability coverage that physicians obtain on the private market, freezing the amount of coverage physicians obtain from the Mcare fund to $500,000 for at least the next three years.
FAIR CONTRACTING MATERIALS NOW AVAILABLE
The Fair Health Care Provider Contracting Act (House Bill 1763), introduced by Rep. Nick Miccarelli (R-Delaware) earlier this summer, will assist physicians in making informed decisions when contracting with the Pennsylvania Blues plans and their affiliates. Visit the AAFP Speak Out site to urge your state legislators to support fair contracting – House Bill 1763. To learn more about the Fair Health Care Provider Contracting Act, we’ve made materials including a bill analysis and issue brief available on the PAFP homepage.
PAFP URGES TOOMEY TO FIX SGR AND SAVE GME
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) has been appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. The AAFP is asking states to contact committee members regarding health care issue such as physician payment and training. The PAFP has sent a letter to Sen. Toomey urging his support to repeal the flawed formula based on the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) and recommended a 3 percent higher rate for primary care physicians delivering primary care services. Additionally, the PAFP advised against reductions in Graduate Medical Education (GME) payments for primary care education and training.
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2011 REGIONAL CME LECTURE SERIES – IMPROVING DIABETES CARE USING THE PATIENT-CENTERED MEDICAL HOME (PCMH)
Wednesday, Sept. 7, Harrisburg: Wildwood Conference Center at HACC, 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. (breakfast)
Wednesday, Sept. 21, Philadelphia: College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. (breakfast)
Thursday, Sept. 22, Scranton: Hilton Scranton Conference Center, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. (dinner)
Wednesday, Oct. 5, Erie: Manufacturers and Business Conference Center, 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. (breakfast)
Thursday, Oct. 6, Pittsburgh: Penn State Allegheny, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. (dinner)
Wednesday, Oct. 12, Altoona: Blair County Convention Center, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. (dinner)
*Free registration for PAFP and PA-ACP members and one office staff member.
According to a recent study, the number of Americans with diabetes will increase from an estimated 32.3 million to 53.1 million by 2025, with one in seven Americans expected to have diabetes by 2025. Pennsylvania is among ten states described in the study as a "diabetes hot spot," where the national burden of diabetes is expected to be the greatest. Pennsylvania is projected to have 1.9 million residents with diabetes by 2025, at an estimated cost of $18.37 billion.
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LUNCHTIME WEBINAR: BUILDING A MEDICAL HOME
Building a medical home goes hand-in-hand with the Patient-Centered Medical Home. Learn how to get started with this lunchtime webinar! Register today!
This webinar, from noon until 1 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15, will provide an overview of the Pennsylvania Medical Home Initiative and will provide information on the following: What is a “medical home”? • Why parent partners? • Data collection strategies and results • Payers and reimbursement
PAD IN PRIMARY CARE
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common and significant problem that can be effectively managed in primary care, but it’s often overlooked by primary care physicians and their staff, according to the April 2011 ACP Internist. Join the PAFP Foundation Tuesday, Sept. 20 for a free lunchtime CME webcast for you and your staff on...
Early Detection and Treatment of PAD in Primary Care
Tuesday, Sept. 20, noon - 1 p.m. • Register today!
SUICIDE RISK AND TBI
A recent young athlete suicide raises awareness of suicide risk among patients with TBI and reminds physicians to assess for suicide risk in this population. Click here, read, and take the post-test for a chance to win a 50 percent off coupon for the November or March CME conference.
TAR WARS
School is back in session. Why not get involved with the youth in your area and schedule a Tar Wars presentation this fall?
COMING IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF KEYSTONE PHYSICIAN: Public health articles: Sexual Abuse Survivors and Primary Care • TBI and Domestic Violence • Online CME catalog
Click here for public health information and CME in Keystone Physician, including a 2011 vaccine update.
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TEST THIS CHANGE IN YOUR PRACTICE
A physician leader in the PA IPIP Residency Program Collaborative (operated by the PAFP Foundation) congratulated team members during a recent call when they shared their latest PDSA. They trained staff who room patients to ask about tobacco use and willingness to quit. The staffers then hand out materials and alert the doctor if the patient is ready. Try it in your practice! Read this article about PDSAs, and then aim to improve documentation of tobacco prevalence and counseling by Nov. 17, the “Great American Smokeout.”
USE THE PCMH TO IMPROVE DIABETES CARE
The Patient-Centered Medical Home and Chronic Care Model are powerful drivers to measurably improve diabetes care in your practice. Where do you get started? At the PAFP Foundation Regional Lecture Series where you’ll learn about evidence-based strategies straight out of the PCMH and the Chronic Care Model. Bring your office manager, because team-based care is the key to successful transformation. Register at www.pafp.com.
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A MESSAGE FROM RESIDENT ASSEMBLY CHAIR, ANDY FARABAUGH, MD (YORK)
Missed out on a leadership opportunity at the National Conference? Luckily, there is no need to wait until next year to get involved! Several AAFP commissions are looking for talented, excited AAFP members just like you.
How do you do it?
Step 1 – Click here!
Step 2 – Download the helpful PDF files that will walk you through the application process.
Step 3 – Contact Molly Talley to let her know for which position you want to apply. She can give you further instructions on submitting all of your materials to the PAFP, which will then forward everything to the AAFP.
Step 4 – Complete your application, CV and letter of interest, and obtain a letter of support from your program director.
Step 5 – Act now! The PAFP’s deadline to submit your materials to the AAFP is Sept. 9, 2011.
Good luck!
Andrew Farabaugh (York)
PAFP Resident Assembly Chair
afarabaugh@wellspan.org
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TWEETS FROM THE SCIENTIFIC ASSEMBLY
Follow @PAFPandF on Twitter between Sept. 11 and 16 for all the latest on the AAFP Scientific Assembly! PAFP Communications Director, Michael Zigmund, and Media and PR Manager, Bryan Peach, will be tweeting their thoughts and photos from the event in Orlando. Just look for tweets that start with “Mike” or “Peach” and include the hashtag #AAFPassembly. All of this social media will be collected in a larger piece about the Scientific Assembly in the fall issue of Keystone Physician!
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR KEVIN MD!
KevinMD is social media’s leading physician voice. Its author and editor, Kevin Pho, MD, is an agenda-setter in medical media. A column by Andy Lutzkanin (PSU MS 4), Student Assembly Chair, was featured on KevinMD last week! Here’s a preview:
…But are the cardiologists who work in our Heart and Vascular Institute any better than the other physicians at our hospital? Is the care we give to patients post MI any better than the care we give to the nursing home patient with pneumonia or the 15 year old with appendicitis, or even the 4 year old with type 1 diabetes. I would hope not! So what then earns you the distinction of being named an institute? Can anyone be called an institute?
LOWER YOUR VACCINE COSTS WITH ATLANTIC HEALTH PARTNERS
Join the nation’s leading vaccine-buying group now to get the lowest prices before the back-to-school peak vaccine season! Additional benefits include:
• The lowest prices and most favorable payment terms for Sanofi Pasteur and Merck vaccines
• Reimbursement support • Medical supply discounts • Office supply discounts • Discounts for patient recall program • Call (800) 741-2044 or email info@atlantichealthpartners.com.
COMPLIMENTARY INSURANCE REVIEW
As a valued PAFP member, you are entitled to a complimentary Life, Long Term Care and Disability Insurance Review. Make sure that your coverage has kept pace with the changes in your life and is consistent with future goals. A review will ensure that your policies are current with beneficiary designations, competitively priced and up-to-date with marketplace innovations. For more details, contact an expert adviser at Asset MarketPlace, your PAFP-approved insurance provider, at (866) 482-2175, or send an email.
PAFP ON TWITTER
If you want to know how PAFP staff members are working for you – and check out an excellent resource for family physician news – check out the PAFP Twitter, now live. The communications team updates the news feed daily. When your friends ask you how you know so much about the landscape of family medicine, just say that “a little bird told you”!
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