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Academy News
Zika virus warning from the CDC
IDPH issued a memo this week to alert health care providers who may have pregnant women under their care to consider Zika virus disease in the differential diagnosis when considering possible mosquito-borne diseases. Two cases involving pregnant women who traveled abroad have been diagnosed/reported in Illinois so far.  Read more
Essential Evidence Update Chicago - Register today!
March 17-18 at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Earn 12.75 CME credits with topics across the spectrum of primary care! The new research evidence and meta-analyses that will either change your practice or confirm that your current approaches are supported by solid evidence from randomized trials and other high quality studies. Its one stop shopping for primary care excellence and CME.
Learn more here - Online registration is now open! $50 discount for early career (less than 7 years post residency) and one-day registration option available!
AAFP National Conference of Constituency Leaders - two delegates needed
The National Conference of Constituency Leaders (NCCL) is the AAFP's leadership and policy development event for underrepresented constituencies. NCCL serves as a platform for different perspectives and concerns of AAFP members to help bring about change. The Illinois chapter seeks to ensure all five constituencies are represented. At this time we are still seeking an active member who is interested in attending the conference as a delegate for either of these two constituencies:
- International Medical Graduate (IMG)
- Gay Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender physicians or allies
If you would like to apply for either position, please contact Jennifer OLeary, IAFP deputy executive vice president by March 1. Your registration will be covered and travel expenses (limits apply) will be reimbursed by IAFP. Please be sure to include which constituency you wish to represent.
SAMs workshop in the suburbs!
Let IAFP help you get this requirement done, with some group fun! Our SAM Workshops offer a convenient and high-quality solution for your busy schedule to complete the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) Maintenance of Certification (MoC) Self-Assessment Module (SAM). Registration fees are only $250 for active members and $75 for resident members. Learn more and register today!
SAMs on Hypertension
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 from 8:30 am - 1:00 pm
Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora. REGISTER HERE
H3 Healthy Hearts in the Heartland webinar features new IAFP board member
Michael Rakotz, MD, Director of Chronic Disease Prevention at the American Medical Association and a new member of the IAFP board of directors, presents a webinar discussion for providers and office staff on blood pressure (BP) control improvement methods on February 25thfrom 12:30-1pm. Get a great deal of information in only 30 minutes!
More info and registration:
View all the H3 webinar opportunities:
Interested in enrolling your practice in the H3 QI project to improve cardiovascular outcome and prepare for value based payments? Learn more
Special Lunchtime webinar! Check out the final part of this 3-part series
January 28, 2016, 12:00 - 1:00 pm CST - Perioperative Anticoagulation
Presented by: Michael Hanak, MD, FAAFP, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Rush University Medical Center
For additional information, including learning objectives and registration links, visit the IAFP website.
Direct Primary Care and You - How does it work? Find out in Detroit
Attend the Direct Primary Care Workshop in Detroit, MI, April 2, to get the answers you need. Receive dedicated face time from industry experts. Participate in small group, peer-to-peer learning sessions. And gain first-hand knowledge of the benefits and challenges involved with starting or converting your practice. Save $100 when you register by March 11.
Earn up to 5.5 CME credits. Medical and legal experts will customize the day based on topics that are important to you. As an added bonus, every registration comes with a one-year, complimentary subscription to the DPC Toolkit.
Government Relations
State Update
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has posted a new Provider Notice with a Managed Care Manual for Medicaid link:
Medicaid providers can find information on care coordination and transitions of care in this a one-stop location for navigating Medicaid Managed Care.
Federal Update
Physicians cheer the demise of Meaningful Use
Finally! You can stop stressing over the next phase of E.H.R. Medicare Meaningful Use Attestation! Read more in the AAFP News
Support Save Our Teaching Health Centers with Social Media and Direct Contact
There is an urgent need to federally fund Teaching Health Centers in order to prevent the closure of over 60 programs! One of these programs is Northwester McGaw at Humboldt Park. These programs train family physicians prepared for and passionate about caring for the underserved. The American Association of Teaching Health Centers has launched theSaveOurTeachingHealthCenters.org web site that has all the tools you need to help support the continuation of these vital programs that work. Use your social media savvy or directly contact to your Illinois members of Congress. IAFP will be supporting this effort through our Twitter and Facebook platforms throughout January.
Some hashtags to use:
#SaveOurCommunityDocs
#WeNeedMoreDocs
Prevent penalties. Report by February 26
The Physician Quality Reporting System, or PQRS, is a Medicare pay-for-reporting system requiring you to submit quality data to CMS. The reporting deadline is February 26, 2016 at 4 p.m. CT.
Why is February 26 important? If you do not report 2015 PQRS measures by this date, you will be charged a 2% penalty to your 2017 Medicare Part B payments.
The AAFP can help. They have partnered with PQRSwizard to offer members an easy-to-use reporting solution at a reduced price for both individual and group providers. Avoid the 2% penalty. Register now, and get started today.
News You Can Use
New public campaign to highlight undiagnosed prediabetes
The American Diabetes Association (ADA), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have partnered with the Ad Council to launch the first national public service advertising (PSA) campaign about prediabetes. Nearly 90 percent of people with prediabetes don't know they have it and aren't aware of the long-term risks to their health, including type 2 diabetes, heart attack, and stroke. You can encourage your patients to take a short online test at DoIHavePrediabetes.org to learn their risk.
Download the Toolkit for providers: Prevent Diabetes STAT program
Illinois Telehealth Law Forum Conference Three-event series
Save all three dates: April 6, June 7 and September 13, 2016
Locations: Chicago (Loop), Carbondale, Naperville and Springfield
The Illinois Telehealth Initiative invites you to the inaugural Illinois Telehealth Law Forum, a three-part series examining the telehealth landscape in Illinois and the broader Midwest. Each of the three forums will provide excellent educational and networking opportunities for anyone interested or engaged in telehealth.
HepC CME and other resources
While mandatory hepatitis C screening is not required by law, IAFP encourages our members to be up to date on HepC and ready to discuss risk and screening with patients, where appropriate.
The Illinois State Medical Society (ISMS) offers a FREE CME program on their web site (registration required). Another resource to share with your at-risk patients: Check out a simple 1-minute video co-branded by ISMS, IAFP and Illinois Osteopathic Medical Society. You can link to it from your website or share it with patients who you think might benefit from this one-minute intervention. Find it all on the HepC Resources page on our web site.
New IAFP resources on Behavior Health Integration
A contact person for each model is included, so you can ask questions and get answers! Go to the Practice Resources page of the website.
ABOM Offers Certification for Obesity Medicine Specialists
The American Board of Obesity Medicine offers a pathway for doctors interested in earning certification as an obesity medicine specialist. Learn more here
Great Lakes Practice Transformation Network now enrolling!
Northwestern University has opened enrollment for the Great Lakes Practice Transformation Network (GLPTN), one of 29 Practice Transformation Networks nationwide.
The GLPTN will support organizations at no cost through health care quality compliance, transitions to value-based care, and engaging patients to be responsible health care consumers.
Primary care physicians are eligible to participate. Your organization is not eligible if you currently participate in any of the following: Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), the CMS Multi-Payer Advanced Primary Care Practice , or are receiving services from one of the other 28 CMS-designated PTNs. Providers who do not accept any Medicare or Medicaid patients are also ineligible.
Learn more here: http://chitrec.org/glptn/
Members in the News
If you have a news item to share, email it to Ginnie Flynn at[email protected].
IAFP member Ronald Rembert, MD provided touching tributes to Regnal Jones in the Chicago Sun-Times on January 21. Rembert credits Jones for inspiring and encouraging him in his path to family medicine. Jones traveled across the country to urge minority students to pursue careers in medicine and other health professions.
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