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May 2014



    The MAFP Board of Directors has announced Ronald Blum MD's candidacy for AAFP Board of Directors.  Elections for AAFP Board of Directors will take place during the Annual AAFP Congress of Delegates, this year October 20-22nd in Washington DC.

     Dr. Blum has been a member of the AAFP since 1977, and lived and practiced Family Medicine here in Maine the majority of his medical career.  He as served on the MAFP Board of Directors, including a term as President.  He has also represented the MAFP on the national level as our Delegate to the AAFP Congress of Delegates for several years, as well as on the AAFP Commissions "Health of the Public", and currently "Commission on Education".

     Any AAFP member may attend the Congress of Delegates, and of course, the Annual Scientific Assembly which follows Oct. 22-25, also in Washington DC. 

(for information on registering for these events see AAFP COD and AAFP Assembly)
 
Ronald Blum MD, FAAFP
 
Bangor Family Physician Receives MAFP's Family Physician of the Year Award
The Maine Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) is pleased to recognize the MAFP Family Physician of the Year, 2014. This year's Family Physician of the Year is an outstanding individual who truly exemplifies clinical excellence, devotion to patients, and the highest traditions of family medicine. This year's award goes to Barbara Vereault, DO.  (READ MORE)
MAFP Member Physician Presents Tar Wars Curriculum to 2 of the Top Winners in Maine's State Poster Contest!
Dr. Minda Gold of Damariscotta was the physician presenter at the 4th Grade of Boothbay Region Elementary School - the very class that both the First and Second Place posters in Maine came from!

Dr. Gold is shown here presenting Zoe Eason with her new bike for placing 1st. Zoe's poster will be entered as the Maine entry in the National Tar Wars Poster Contest.  The winners will be announced at the National Tar Wars Conference in Washington DC at the end of July.

See Maine's top 3 posters and more pictures here.
What's All the Buzz About Direct Primary Care? 

May 06, 2014 - Kansas City, Mo. - How does a plenary speaker keep his family physician audience totally engaged and yearning for more discussion late on a Friday afternoon -- especially after a 75-minute presentation that includes a slide show packed with statistics?

The answer is simple. Enthrall that audience with details about direct primary care (DPC), a practice model that is sweeping the nation and re-energizing physicians and their patients.

 

Presented as part of the AAFP's 2014 Annual Leadership Forum (ALF) held here May 1-3, last Friday's session, titled "Hope for Independent Family Physicians -- How a Direct Care Model Can Allow Small Practices to Thrive," did just that.

 

Plenary speaker and family physician Brian Forrest, M.D., opened his DPC practice, Access Healthcare,(www.accesshealthcaredirect.com ) 12 years ago, in Apex, N.C., to a chorus of negative comments from well-meaning colleagues. They insisted that Forrest was crazy and jeopardizing his business.  (READ MORE

 

 

"Alternative Models of Care Delivery" - MAFP's President Elect Interviewed on WABI TV (Banogr)
Alternative Models of Care Delivery - "May You Live in Interesting Times"
William A. Sturrock, MD

While scholars may argue whether this purported Chinese proverb is a blessing or a curse, no one could dispute that the American medical marketplace today is seeing great and interesting changes in how care is delivered. All across the landscape, providers, patients and insurers are wrestling with a new world of increasing numbers of older (and sicker) individuals needing care, combined with fewer healthcare dollars to accomplish the task. Indeed, we cannot continue on the same path medicine has been on since the 1950s with a patchwork system of 3rd party insurers, Federal, State, employer-based organizations, and patients' own pocketbooks trying to foot an ever increasing bill for medical care that is not meeting society's healthcare needs. (watch the interview or read the complete transcript)
Are You Ready for the  May 21st change in NRCME Regulation?

Since April 2013, the MAFP and NECOEM have partnered in training a total of 154 healthcare providers practicing in Maine. 

 

Only 48 (31%) of these trained providers have become certified Medical Examiners in the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners after passing the certification exam.

 

This the same percentage of providers who have certified nationally, according to NRCME stats.   

 

Given the limited number and geographical inaccessibility of NRCME test centers in Maine, it is surprising that Maine has such a "high" percentage of certified Medical Examiners!

 

If you have received the CME training and need to take the test or register with the NRCME to find a testing site near you!

Sincerely,
 

Deborah Halbach
Maine Academy of Family Physicians
Telephone:  207-938-5005
Email:  [email protected]
Web:  www.maineafp.org
In This Issue
2014 MAFP Family Physician of the Year
Maine Tar Wars Poster Contest
Direct Primary
Alternative Models of Care
NRCME Regulation Changes Go Into Affect
Lyme & Vector-Bourne Disease
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month

Lyme disease is the most common vectorborne disease in Maine. Cases have already been reported in 2014, and the number will rise as the weather continues to get warmer.

 

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection carried by the deer tick.  Cases have been increasing each year in Maine, and occur in all 16 counties. More than 1,375 cases of Lyme disease were reported statewide in 2013, a record high for Maine.  

 

Lyme disease is most common among school age children and adults older than 65. Most infections occur during the summer months.

 

The most common early symptom of Lyme disease is an expanding red rash that occurs 3-30 days after being bitten. Fever, headache, joint and muscle pains, and fatigue are also common during the first several weeks. Later features of Lyme disease can include arthritis in one or more joints (often the knee), Bell's palsy and other cranial nerve palsies, meningitis, and carditis (AV block). Lyme disease is treatable, and the majority of patients recover after receiving appropriate therapy.

 

Other Tick-bourne diseases: 

Other diseases that are carried by ticks in Maine include Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis and Powassan.  

Symptoms of Anaplasma include: fever, headache, malaise, and body aches. Symptoms of Babesia include: extreme fatigue, aches, fever, chills, sweating, dark urine, and possibly anemia.  Symptoms of Powassan include:  fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, loss of coordination, speech difficulties, seizures, and encephalitis and meningitis.

 

In 2013, providers reported 94 cases of Anaplasmosis, 36 cases of Babesiosis, and 1 case of Powassan.  Five anaplasmosis cases and two babesiosis cases have already been reported in 2014.   (

reprinted from MMA Weekly Update) 

 

 

For Physician & Patient Education Resources see the MAFP's Tick & Vector-Bourne Disease Resouce Page 

 

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