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IAFP e-News for February 22
IAFP News
**FEB/MARCH
08 FAMILY PHYSICIAN AVAILABLE ONLINE -The
current issue of Family Physician newsletter is online at http://www.iafp.com/pdfs/FebMarch08.pdf
**IAFP
REPRESENTATIVE NEEDED FOR “CAMPAIGN TO SAVE OUR BABIES”
Dr.
Steve Knight, IAFP president, is seeking IAFP members who may be
interested in serving as IAFP representatives to the “Campaign to Save
Our Babies.” This Campaign
is being organized by the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition, http://www.ilmaternal.org
to reduce infant mortality racial disparities by 50 percent in the next 10
years and entirely by 2033.
The
Campaign is meeting on Weds., March 26, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at University of
Illinois at Chicago, Student Center West, Chicago Room A, 828 S. Wolcott,
Chicago.
To register to attend or find out more information, please contact Angela Ellison Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition, 312-491-8161.
IAFP was in on the ground floor of development of programming and
coordination for the meth issue in 2002.
The launch of the new Illinois Meth Project is another step in the
right direction towards taking action to fight this epidemic.
Adam
W. Bennett, M.D., for
2008 AAFP Exemplary Teaching Award. These awards acknowledge AAFP
members who deserve recognition for excellence in teaching, as well as
individuals who have implemented outstanding educational programs and/or
developed innovative teaching models. Dr. Bennett was the IAFP 2007
Family Medicine part-time Teacher of the Year. Dr. Bennett is on
faculty at the Department of Family Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine,
The
awards will be given at the AAFP Congress of Delegates, Sept. 15-17 in
**IAFP
LEADERS ATTEND 10 STATE CONFERENCE
AAFP
chapters from the northeast quadrant of the
The very mention of immunizations can
start debate among anyone who works in family medicine.
The AAFP and IAFP have been working in recent years to identify how
to assist our members deal with the ever-increasing costs of providing
vaccines, along with addressing proper storage, ordering, and payment
problems.
IAFP is pleased to announce a strong,
new partner to help with vaccine purchase savings.
This new partner – Atlantic Health Partners – can help our
member practices save precious dollars and advocate on your behalf with
payers and manufacturers.
Many AAFP family physicians currently
participate with
Jeff Winokur is the primary contact at
Audio introduction from President
Steve Knight, M.D.
Listen to Dr. Knight explain how IAFP
members can participate in the Spring Into Action meeting and make a
difference for family medicine. Click
here
Choose one of the five dates offered:
Tues. March 4
Wed. March 5
Tues. March 11
Wed. April 2
Thurs. April 10
Each “mini” session will use the same template, so ANY date you pick will afford you the same opportunity to:
- Talk
to your legislators about what is important to you.
-
Advocate on behalf of family medicine and its strengths
-
Share your practice environment and how it’s impacted by current healthcare issues debated in
-
Increase your visibility with legislators and policymakers
-
Exchange information about public policy and its effects on your practice and patients
-
Serve your specialty as a patient advocate and
-
Promote a comprehensive public health agenda to improve the health of
Go
to http://guest.cvent.com/i.aspx?1Q,M3,d821c2f7-baea-4e06-86d2-a9c86c3ebbf1
and register today!
**IAFP
SEEKS REPRESENTATIVES FOR NCSC IN
IAFP
is looking for an International Medical Grad (IMG) member interested in
going to the National Conference on Special Constituencies (NCSC) in
**IAFP’S
ONLINE RESOURCE FOR YOUR JOB SEARCH OR POSTING
The RIGHT job or job candidate is out there, and we’re here to help find
it today! Visit http://www.iafp.com
and select Job Listings from the menu on the left to learn more.
You can contact your IAFP Board of
Directors through the IAFP website at http://www.iafp.com/about/officers.htm
about any issue or idea you would like.
The Board would love to hear from you!
Budget Address: Governor
Blagojevich took credit for providing health care coverage for 750,000
persons who did not have it through the All Kids program, in his Feb. 20
budget address. In these tough economic times, he focused his talk
on strengthening the economy through business tax cuts, funds to
taxpayers, and a capital works project. He did mention that there
would be a 2% across the board cut in state agencies budgets, with the
exception of health care, education and public safety. He felt
strongly about continuing the mission to provide affordable quality health
care for all by increasing access to health care for all
Healthcare: Employer Assessment
($417 million)
•A 3% payroll assessment only on
employers of a certain size that do not spend at least 4% of their payroll
on health care for their employees.
•The money will be deposited in the
new Illinois Covered Trust Fund, which will serve as the treasury for the
Illinois Covered plan.
Illinois Covered is a landmark
plan to provide access to quality, affordable healthcare for all
•Access for
low-income adults
•Roadmap to
health
•
•Affordable
insurance options
MANY MORE DETAILS are needed and
remain missing at this time. The House democrats have already stated
that the budget is dead on arrival in their chamber and will not even
attempt an analysis until the budget is introduced in bill form.
**
Illinois
Cares Rx Pilot Project for People who Lost Extra Help
As
many of you know, the state has the statutory authority to apply on
members' behalf for the federal Medicare Part D Low Income Subsidy often
called Extra Help. Illinois
Cares Rx has begun a PILOT project to obtain the necessary information
from our members to apply on their behalf.
In the coming weeks, certain members will receive a letter from us
requesting they complete the Schedule C.
If you have a member coming in with such a letter, please advise
them this is a legitimate effort on the state's part.
Please let the member know the important financial benefit to them
of being determined eligible for Extra Help.
In
addition to this pilot project, we will continue to work toward efficient
mechanisms for applying for Extra Help on behalf of our members when
appropriate.
**People Who
Lost
As you know, for many members, Illinois Cares Rx coverage ended 12-31-2007 because they didn't reapply for Illinois Cares Rx or they reapplied and were determined ineligible for Illinois Cares Rx due to income.
These
former members are beginning to reapply for Illinois Cares Rx and will be
determined eligible now and over the next several months.
When working with these members, please contact the plan to
request the wrap or encourage the member to contact the plan to request
the wrap. We have reminded
the plan to take this information from the member and verify eligibility
using the process we provided to them. We also provide reenrollment
information directly to the plans as members are determined eligible by
the Department on Aging.
You
may use the wrap request form, but, again, please attempt to contact the
plan first to request the wrap. DO
NOT send a wrap request form to HFS if you have already confirmed the wrap
with the plan. This only
creates more work for you, the plan and us. Once a request for wrap has
been made to the plan, the wrap usually is in place within 24 to 48 hours.
After which time, the member may go to the pharmacy to receive the
lower Illinois Cares Rx co-payments.
Please
be aware, members are responsible for plan premiums and the plan
co-payments during the time they do not have Illinois Cares Rx coverage or
the federal Extra Help.
Finally
on a related note, members will begin to move in to the coverage gap
as the year moves along. Don't
forget cost sharing for members increases during this time because they
are responsible for the low co-payment and the 20% cost sharing.
We know some members are in the coverage gap already and in fact
some have actually moved to the 5% catastrophic coverage.
Questions
may be directed to terri.gendel@ageoptions.org
or georgia.tzanetopoulos@ageoptions.org.
MORE RESOURCES at http://www.iafp.com/PR/
LISTEN: Podcast from IAFP board chair Kathleen J. Miller, MD of Decatur http://www.iafp.com/pdfs/smokefreeil.mp3
ACT: Use AAFP’s “Ask and Act” program to help smokers quit in your
practice (www.askandact.org)
REFER: Patients to the Illinois Quit Line at 1-866-QUIT-YES
LEARN information about the new law on the IDPH web site at
http://www.smoke-free.illinois.gov/index.htm
**”ASK AND ACT” TO HELP YOUR PATIENTS QUIT SMOKING
What can you do?
1. Read up on the ”Ask and Act” CME web casts at http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/clinical/publichealth/tobacco/cme/webcasts.html
You can choose from four different CME web casts that suit your practice
or facility’s needs.
3. Approach the appropriate leadership at your hospital or practice
facility and ask for the opportunity to present Ask and Act to providers.
4. Celebrate 2008 as
5. Ensure that every patient who smokes gets some intervention when he or
she comes to your facility.
6. Use the Illinois Quit Line at 866-QUIT-YES as a resource for patients
who smoke and are ready to quit. You can request free materials for your
practice at http://www.lungil.org/tobacco/ITQPromotionalMaterialRequestForm.pdf
and also find an easy to use Tobacco Treatment Referral Form at http://www.lungil.org/tobacco/IllinoisTobaccoQuitlineFaxReferralFormForHealthProssionals.pdf
Federal Government Relations
**QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS AVAILABLE
The
federal government is making quality improvement grants through the Small
Health Care Provider Quality Improvement (SHCPQI) program.
http://ruralhealth.hrsa.gov/funding/SHCPQI.asp
Deadline
for applications is March 20, 2008 SHCPQI
will distribute over $4.5 million across 60 new grantees, each eligible
for up to $75,000 over a two-year period to support their quality
improvement efforts. This
grant could be used to support a patient registry for chronic disease such
as DocSite, which was used by all 15 grantees in the first round of grants
for the SHCPQI program. See press release, http://www.docsite.com/pdf/HRSA%20Press%20Release_2008-02-13_FINAL.pdf
**SEN.
DICK DURBAN HELPS PUSH FOR SENATE VOTE ON FDA REGULATION OF TOBACCO
In the last issue of e-News, we
reported IAFP signing onto a letter encouraging Sen. Durbin to push for a
senate vote on the FDA regulation of tobacco.
He did and the Chicago Tribune article “Durbin urges law
giving FDA power over tobacco industry/Proposal would give FDA power over
cigarette industry” can be found at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-durbin_tobacco__both_feb21,1,95801.story
AAFP
has put up a new "Medicare Alert" feature on the home page of
AAFP.org from now until July with a "Keep the Door Open" theme.
The feature includes an actual door that members can click on to enter the
Medicare section (on the right side of the main page, underneath member
log-in). The direct link is http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/policy/federal/medicarecut.html.
Members
will be able to use this link to reach all Medicare resources for members
and patients. A letter from
1. Send an e-mail to your senators and
representative asking them to act by July 1 to stop the Medicare payment
cut.
2. Print off a letter about this issue and hand it to your patients.
Then encourage them to send it to their senators and representative,
telling them not to shut the door on Medicare patients.
3. Print off a sample petition for your patients to sign; then send
it to your senators and representative.
4. Print off a sample op-ed, sign it and send it to your local
newspaper describing what this cut will do to your Medicare patients and
your community.
5. Print off a downloadable poster and hang it in your office.
6. Send us your personal story: How are declining Medicare payments
hurting your patients and your practice? What have you had to do as
a result of the payment decline? Write to AAFP at ann@aafp.org or IAFP at vkeenan@iafp.com
We need your help to stop the Medicare physician payment cut. Thank you
for taking time out of your busy day to act; it's critical that we all
work together to ensure a stable payment system.
**NATIONAL
PROVIDER IDENTIFIER (NPI)
Beginning March 1, 2008 Medicare Fee-for-Service electronic and paper claims must include an NPI on the claim. On May 23, 2008, only the NPI will be accepted, and all legacy identifiers must be removed or the claim will be rejected. AAFP provides NPI information in series of questions and answers on its web site at http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/practicemgt/regulatory-compliance/hipaa/natlproviderid.html
CME
Information
** CME CASE STUDIES ON HYPERTENSION
AND DIABETES
IAFP is offering free online CME case
studies on “Hypertension in Primary
Care Practice” and "Diabetes in Primary Care Practice" at http://www.IAFP.com\education.
There are three case studies for each topic.
The patient in each case study is uniquely different and represents
what you see in your everyday practice. Each study takes about 45-60
minutes to complete.
*Hypertension in Primary Care
Practice: a case study with coding
Three cases on Hypertension.
Learn how to diagnose and treat “Ed, Gayle & Jim” 1
Prescribed Credit or 1 AMA PRA Category 1 credit ™ for each case study.
A program for Bridging Health Care sponsored by the
Hypertension case study 1:
Ed http://www.iafp.com/education/CourseListing_Detail.asp?CourseID=45
Hypertension case study 2:
Gayle http://www.iafp.com/education/CourseListing_Detail.asp?CourseID=46
Hypertension case study 3: Jim http://www.iafp.com/education/CourseListing_Detail.asp?CourseID=44
Three cases on Diabetes.
Learn how to diagnose and treat “Isabella, John & Sam”1
Prescribed Credit or 1 AMA PRA Category 1 credit ™ for each case study
A program for Bridging Health Care sponsored by the
Link to the Diabetes Case Studies:
Diabetes case study 1: Isabella http://www.iafp.com/education/CourseListing_Detail.asp?CourseID=47
Diabetes case study 2:
John http://www.iafp.com/education/CourseListing_Detail.asp?CourseID=48
Diabetes case study 3: Sam http://www.iafp.com/education/CourseListing_Detail.asp?CourseID=49
Partnering with the IAFP, Pri-Med Updates offers world-class CME programs
in your area. Taught by leading experts, you can earn Continuing Medical
Education credits at no cost. All activities listed are approved for AMA
PRA Category 1 Credit(s). Application for AAFP Prescribed credit has been
submitted.
*Pri-Med Updates
Two-day continuing medical education programs designed for Primary Care
Physicians currently engaged in patient care. This program features new
and emerging guidelines, therapies, and evidence- based information on
multiple therapeutic areas encountered in primary care.
New Updates scheduled for 2008!!
Oakbrook, IL – Wednesday, April 2, 2008
http://www.pri-med.com/pmo/ViewEvent.aspx?EventCode=30OAK08A&CCODE=r12
Chicago, IL – Tuesday & Wednesday, June 10-11, 2008
http://www.pri-med.com/pmo/ViewEvent.aspx?EventCode=30chi08a&CCODE=r12
*Pri-Med Online
Pri-Med.com offers over 200 primary care focused eCME activities at
no-cost in 15 key Condition Resource Centers including: ADHD, Benign
Prostatic Hypertrophy, Cancer in Primary Care, Congestive Heart Failure,
Diabetes, Dyslipidemia, Hypertension, Infectious Disease, Sleep Disorders
and more. Plus, four eCME activity types are offered so you can thoroughly
examine a topic, including: Patient case studies, Clinical reviews, Expert
perspectives and Multi-media slide lecture series. Earn high-quality
physician-authored eCME anytime at http://www.pri-med.com/onlineCME
.
Members
in the News
**Sharon Smaga, M.D.,
associate professor of family medicine at SIU/Carbondale, was in the Jan.
27 issue of Carbondale Southern Illinoisian for hosting medical
student Eric Garcia-Torres of
**Lucy Canaday, M.D.,
**Steven Armbrust, M.D.,
**Benjamin Brewer, M.D.,Forrest,
writes about the Illinois Medicaid program in his column in the Wall
Street Journal Online. It
is titled “Finding a Medical Home May be Just What the Doctor Ordered”
and can be found at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120277184155560513.html
**Janice
Benson, M.D., Chicago, was quoted in the
Chicago Tribune story “Demonstrators push Cook County to boost
funding for health care/Cook County urged to restore funding”by Deborah
L. Shelton. About 350 doctors,
including many IAFP members, patients and health-care workers rallied
downtown at the
Chicago
Temple
last Monday to press for increased funding for the Cook County Bureau of
Health Services. Read the article at http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-cookhealth_19feb19,0,2712403.story
**Jeffrey Ripperda,
M.D., Murphysboro, was interviewed in a “To Your Health” piece on
Vitamin D on WSIL TV, Carterville. To
view the clip go to http://www.wsiltv.com/p/news_details.php?newsID=4146&type=top
News You Can Use
**CDC
DEVELOPS NEW IPV ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS
Recent research by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5705a1.htm)
shows men and women who report suffering from Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
are significantly more likely to experience a number of chronic
health conditions such as arthritis, asthma, and activity limitations.
To help healthcare practitioners better identify and
treat these victims, CDC recently developed the Intimate
Partner Violence and Sexual Violence Victimization Assessment Instruments
for Use in Healthcare Settings. To view, go to http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/IPV/ipv-SViolence.htm
This compilation provides practitioners and clinicians
with an inventory of existing assessment tools for determining intimate
partner violence and/or sexual violence victimization. It
also helps inform decisions about which instruments are most
appropriate for use with a given population. This document will aid in the
selection of assessment instruments to identify victims requiring
additional services. It can also help practitioners make appropriate
referrals for both victims and perpetrators.
Summer Externship Program, Tar
Wars, Students and Resident Activities
**Family
Health Foundation of
The
deadline for applying for the 2008 program is quickly approaching
– March 1st! Interested first-year students are
encouraged to apply. For those of you that have contact with these
students, please share this information with them. Students are
matched with a family physician in
**WHITE
SOX GAME FUNDRAISER FOR TAR WARS
Mark
your calendars now for this summer’s best fundraiser—Tar Wars at the
White Sox! Thursday, Aug. 7 at
7:11 p.m. at US Cellular Field, the White Sox take on the Detroit Tigers.
For ticket information, go to http://www.iafp.com/pdfs/sox08.pdf
**
Poster contest rules are on the IAFP web site at http://www.iafp.com/tarwars/postercontestrules.htm
and also on page 18 of the Tar Wars Program Guide.
Please mail posters to
TAR WARS
C/O IAFP Foundation
4756 Main Street
Lisle, IL 60532
**RESIDENT ROUNDUPS SCHEDULED FOR 2008
The
Family Health Foundation of Illinois’ successful
Resident Round-up series is set to go for 2008!
This FREE
social and education lunch/dinner event for Family Medicine Residents has
two scheduled—one in
Don’t miss this opportunity for food, fun and finance!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
4:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Hilton Hotel
Saturday, April 26, 2008
1- 3 p.m.
Papaspiros – Grecian Taverna,
**RESOURCES FOR RESIDENTS
Resident information is always just a click away at
IAFP’s web site http://www.iafp.com/Residents/index.htm
**STUDENT FMIGs
Family medicine interest groups (FMIG) at the various medical schools are
up and running. Join the group, learn more about family medicine, teach a
Tar Wars program, and spend time with family medicine residents and more.
You can find a complete list of the FMIG leaders at each campus on our web
site at: http://www.iafp.com/students/fmigcontacts.htm
**FMIG LEADERS – have you connected with your “Adopt an FMIG”
resident contacts? If you need assistance, please contact the resident
leaders Ravi Shah or Helen Williams at IAFPResidents@yahoo.com.
Worth Repeating
**FEB/MARCH 08 FAMILY PHYSICIAN AVAILABLE ONLINE
The current issue of Family Physician newsletter is
online at http://www.iafp.com/pdfs/FebMarch08.pdf
**INPUT
ON VACCINE ISSUES MEMBERS FACE
Are
you in solo or small group practice?
She
would like to present the issues you have with purchasing vaccines and
getting reimbursement. If you haven’t already, please share your stories
and concerns with her at ckohler@uiuc.edu
.
**INTERVIEW ON
Ellen
Brull, M.D., IAFP past president, discusses her role as a member of the
Illinois Electronic Health Records Task Force and can be heard on IAFP’s
web site. Dr. Brull was
instrumental in getting HB 2345 passed in 2005 to establish the Task
Force. This taskforce was to
create a plan for the "development and utilization of electronic
health records (EHR) in the state in order to improve the quality of
patient care, increase the efficiency of health care practice, improve
safety, and reduce health care errors."
http://www.idph.state.il.us/ehrtf/Draft%20Report/EHR%20Taskforce%20Report_Plan%20Dec%2006.pdf
**REPORTING FOR 2008 PHYSICIAN QUALITY REPORTING
INITIATIVE (PQRI) BEGAN JANUARY 1, 2008.
Eligible
professionals should begin submitting appropriate 2008 Quality Data Codes
on qualifying Part B claims with a date of service of January 1, 2008 or
after. Information on the 119
2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) measures, release
notes, and detailed specifications are available on the CMS website at
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/pqri.
The
American Medical Association (AMA) has posted PQRI worksheets for the 2008
PQRI program on the AMA website at
http://www.ama-assn.org.
These worksheets are also available in the CMS 2008 PQRI Toolkit which is
posted at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/pqri.
**CMS
INFORMATION ON NEW MEDICARE FEE SCHEDULE
CMS
released that all Medicare contractors were instructed to process claims
with January 2008 dates of service, using the new fees, beginning January
7. The new fee schedule should have been posted on contractors' Web sites
by January 11. Also, the "Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
Look-Up" link on the CMS Web site (online athttp://www.cms.hhs.gov/PFSlookup/
), which allows users to customize a search, should be updated with 2008
information. Carrier-specific,
public-use files are also available on the CMS website, which can be
accessed at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PhysicianFeeSched/PFSCSF/list.asp#TopOfPage
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