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Thought of the Week
| "The power of imagination makes us infinite."
John Muir
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From the President....
| | Susan M. Whitely, M.D.
"The Correlation of College Football & Medicine"
Fall is here, and that means college football is beginning! This is a fun time for me, and many of my patients. It always amazes me to see the regional differences in style of football; the SEC dominating most of the time. I wonder about the regional differences in the practice of medicine - do they exist? Does the South practice medicine differently than the East? Is there a dominant style of medicine or approach to caring for patients? I believe cultural differences can be vast. When I attended Medical School at Ohio State, many of our patients came from the "hollers" of Appalachia. In addition to the expected diseases of diabetes and heart disease, we saw more unusual conditions such as multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes, radon lung disease, cystic fibrosis, histoplasmosis and Lyme disease. In Arizona, we see different Native American tribes, each with unique health issues. And cocci are an ever-present health concern. Complete Article... |
Are you ready for some Tailgating?
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Join us for MCMS' 2010 Annual Meeting/Event
Friday, October 15th
6 - 9 pm
Medical Society Courtyard
326 E. Coronado Road
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Please RSVP by Friday, October 8th
View invitation here
Phone: 602.252.2015
Fax: 602.256.2749
Email: mcms@mcmsonline.com
This is a complimentary event to MCMS members and one guest
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Join us September 25th, 2010!!!
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The annual ACT Kids Health Fair serves at-risk children who are eligible for metropolitan Phoenix Head Start programs, but lack appropriate medical clearances. This all-volunteer event addresses the full spectrum of health requirements: transportation to and from the children's neighborhoods, all appropriate medical screenings and immunizations, establishing and updating medical records, and arranging emergency or continuing care as needed. Over 20,000 children have been screened to date. The Maricopa County Medical Society is in its 20th year assisting the health fair (since its inception!). We would really love to have this be a fantastic year for this wonderful community event; will YOU help? The Society is in need of VOLUNTEERS for this event! Physicians, nurses, medical students, residents, friends, spouses....the more the merrier! Please join the MCMS in this great cause; you won't forget the experience! Physician Volunteer Sign-upMedical Personnel Sign-upGeneral Volunteer Sign-upSaturday, September 25th University Public School Phoenix 735 E. Fillmore Street, Phoenix, AZ 85006 SHIFTS AVAILABLE - 7:00 to 12:00pm; 11:45 to 3:30pm; All Day |
| AMA, state societies back plan limiting insurers' administrative spending | | |
Insurance commissioners propose barring health plans from considering anti-fraud efforts, coding upgrades and some utilization review as medical expenditures.
Physician and hospital organizations have expressed general support for a proposal from state insurance commissioners on what health insurers should be allowed to consider medical spending under new health system reform regulations.
Starting next year, insurers will be required to spend 80% of the premiums they collect for individual and small-group policies on patient care and quality improvement -- 85% of premiums for large-group policies. The latest draft proposal from the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners gives an idea of how the federal government might classify particular types of spending when determining the medical-loss ratio, which is the portion of premium revenue spent on actual medical services compared with the portion that goes toward administrative costs, plan profits and other expenses.
Continue...
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| Medicaid EMR guidelines spell out state help for doctors | | |
CMS clarifies the physician support and technical help that will be required, with the federal government paying 90% of administrative costs.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published details for state Medicaid directors on what they should expect from the federal government as they administer the Medicaid portion of the electronic medical records incentive program starting in 2011.
The incentive program stipulates that the federal government will pay the full cost of Medicaid bonuses to eligible physicians who adopt certified EMR technology in a way that meets the government's "meaningful use" criteria. It also will pay 90% of states' eligible administrative expenses. Aspects of the latter have been a source of particular confusion for state agencies, which is why CMS chose to issue the additional guidance on Aug. 17, according to policy experts familiar with the incentive program.
Continue...
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| Highly Anticipated Study Is Second to Link Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Retrovirus | |
The authors of a new study that found a strong association between chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and a group of mouse retroviruses closely related to XMRV, or xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, offered possible explanations for the varying results among different research laboratories in Europe and the United States.
Published online August 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study is the first to confirm the results of Lombardi and colleagues from last October (Science. 2009;326:585-589). That group reported finding XMRV in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 67% of 101 patients with CFS compared with 3.7% of 218 healthy control patients. Four subsequent studies failed to find evidence of XMRV or related viruses in patients with CFS, including a study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, published online July 1 (Retrovirology. 2010;7:57).
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| Guidelines Updated for Influenza Vaccination and Antiviral Therapy in Children | The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has updated guidelines for use of trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine and antiviral medications to prevent and treat influenza in children, according to an AAP policy statement posted early online on August 30. The new guidelines, "Recommendations for Prevention and Control of Influenza in Children, 2010-2011," will also be published in the October 2010 print issue of Pediatrics. "The 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic virus is expected to circulate, with infants and children at increased risk of severe illness and death," write AAP 2010-2011 Committee on Infectious Diseases chairperson Michael T. Brady, MD, and colleagues. "This year's trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine contains A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like antigen (derived from the 2009 pandemic influenza A [H1N1] virus); A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like antigen; and B/Brisbane/60/2008-like antigen." Continue... |
2010 Healthcare Conference
| "Successfully Navigating Healthcare Reform" October 1-2, 2010 up to 10 CME credits available Red Rock Casino Resort Spa - Las Vegas, NV For more information & to register: www.2010healthcareconference.com/pci |
Featured Business
| | MedaBytes is a
part of the Maricopa County Medical Society's family of businesses
operating under the Medical Society Business Services. We were
established to assist the medical community with its computer and
networking needs. Like the other family members, MedaBytes strives to
offer a valuable service at a fair price.
For more information, visit:
www.medabytes.com
602.253.2983 |
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P - 602.252.2015
F - 602.256.2749
Serving medicine, serving the community since 1892...
InforMed Society is published by the
Maricopa County Medical Society.
Copyright © 2010
Questions or Comments, please email us at: InforMed@mcmsonline.com |
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