To renew online you must use Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher and pay by MASTERCARD or VISA. The DC Board of Medicine's system is not compatible with Firefox, Google Chrome or Safari.

     This renewal period will include an additional but critical step - a Healthcare Workforce Survey - for Physicians and Physician Assistants. The survey will allow the HPLA to accurately capture, quantify, and analyze the District's current physician workforce demographics and practice information and develop strategies for building the capacity needed to meet the workforce needs of the future. The data will be used for workforce statistical analyses and reporting purposes ONLY.

     To renew online, go to the HPLA website at https://app.hpla.doh.dc.gov/mylicense/ and complete the steps as listed below.

1. Workforce survey (MDs/DOs and PAs) only. Voluntary survey

2. Home Address: Update and confirm your home address.

3. Business Address: Update and confirm your business address.

4. Physician Profile: Provide detailed information regarding your medical practice. MDs/DOs only.

5. Renewal Questions: Complete the renewal and screening questions.* Print a summary for your records.

6. Fees and Payment: Make payment (MC/VISA) and print the receipt for your records.

     MDs/DOs must also update physician profiles and controlled substance registrations. Physician Assistants must also renew registrations.

For more information, click here.

     In two earlier issues of eNewsline, I introduced the concept of behavioral economics and its value in understanding what is going on in health care and health care reform. To review, behavioral economics rejects the traditional economist's view that people always act rationally, and examines how people can be "predictably irrational." Behavioral economists are just beginning to turn their attention to health care, which is rich with examples of patients, physicians, and society not acting the way that traditional economists predict. In the September issue, I used the concept of "action bias" to explain why patients insist on getting a prescription or having a test ordered whenever they go to a physician's office with an ailment. Last month, I used behavioral economics to help explain why upwards of 30,000 patients die each year in the US from central line-associated bloodstream infections, even though a simple checklist used by physicians and nurses can reduce that number by 1/3.
     In this third and final article, I want to examine the uproar that occurred late last year when the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released its recommendations regarding screening mammographies. The USPSTF was created by an act of Congress in 1984, and has a mission to "evaluate the benefits of individual services based on age, gender, and risk factors for disease; make recommendations about which preventive services should be incorporated routinely into primary medical care and for which populations; and identify a research agenda for clinical preventive care." (USPSTF website, 2010) According to the Task Force's website, "The USPSTF conducts rigorous, impartial assessments of the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of a broad range of clinical preventive services, including screening, counseling, and preventive medications. Its recommendations are considered the 'gold standard' for clinical preventive services."
     It was in that spirit of "rigorous, impartial assessment" that in November 2009 the Task Force issued an update of its 2002 recommendation statement on screening for breast cancer in the general population. Included in the statement were recommendations against routine screening mammography for women in their 40s and against clinicians teaching women how to conduct breast self-examinations. The recommendations were driven by the Task Force's concern about the psychological and physical harm caused by false positive mammography results that research had indicated were more prevalent in young women and those who conducted breast self-exams. (Screening for Breast Cancer, 2009)

The public response to the statement was instantaneous and vociferous, catching the Task Force by surprise.

Making the Rounds: Working for You

     The Medical Society has been following the issue very closely to ensure the program addresses physicians' concerns from a clinical and legal standpoint. We will continue to be actively involved in this issue as regulations are drafted and revised, and will consult with other national specialty and state medical associations on their recommendations and policies on the issue.

 The Physician Health Committee is Here to Help All Physicians in Need

     At this time of sadness and stress, it is likely that some of our fellow members may react by abusive use of alcohol and/or other psychotropic medications.  The Physician Health Committee of your Medical Society is available at any time to help you or your colleagues.

   If you feel the need of assistance for yourselves, members of your family, or your associates, please feel free to get in touch with us.  All communications will be treated both sympathetically and confidentially.  Contact Barbara Allen at 202-355-9403.

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