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July 2014



Please join the MAFP in congratulating two new AAFP Fellows

Shirley A. Frederick MD, FAAFP of South Berwick
Ghinwa Hassan MD, FAAFP of Bangor


*The Degree of Fellow recognizes AAFP members who have distinguished themselves among their colleagues, as well as in their communities, by their service to family medicine, by their advancement of health care to the American people and by their professional development through medical education and research. Fellows of the AAFP are recognized as Champions of Family Medicine. They are the physicians who make family medicine the premier specialty in service to their community and profession. From a personal perspective, being a Fellow signifies not only 'tenure' but one's additional work in your community, within organized medicine, within teaching, and a greater commitment to continuing professional development and/or research.

Are you interested in becoming a Fellow?  Information HERE

Do you treat any of Maine's 127,694 Veterans?  Visit our "Treating Veterans Resource Page" 

Are You Interested In Direct Primary Care? 

SAVE - the - DATES  

September 26 & 27 

Direct Primary Care Workshop for Maine Physicians


When:  Sept. 26, 1 - 5 pm & Sept. 27, 8:30am-12:30pm 

Where:  Maine Medical Association, Manchester, Maine

 

Presenters will be Dr. Brian Forrest, (founder of Access Healthcare Direct & AAFP DPC Workgroup Leader) and Maine physicians developing an integrated Maine Direct Care network for existing practices on Improved Affordability,Patient Centered Access, and Reduced Practice Overhead  .

 

Come explore the options!

All are welcome, CME credits will be available, meals included.  

 
 For more information and to register, email:

[email protected] 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

Family Practice News Digital Network July 3, 2014:

 

Starting Jan. 1, 2015, Medicare will pay physicians about $42 for certain care management services outside of the face-to-face office visit, according to a new government proposal.

 

The proposed rule for the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, released on July 3, offers details on how officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plan to roll out the new chronic care management services payments that begin in 2015. The proposal also expands telehealth services offered by Medicare and makes changes to the Open Payments program.

 
Read More
FP Essentials Seeking Authors

FP Essentials, a subscription-only AAFP continuing medical education and Board review publication (monthly monographs) with a circulation of several thousand is currently seeking authors to write about the following topics:

  • Metabolic Syndrome
  • Hearing Loss
  • Adverse Effects of Commonly Used Drugs
  • Herbal Medicines, and Dietary Supplements
  • Acute Coronary Syndrome


The deadline to submit a proposal is August 15 and an honorarium is available. For more information, please visit  
http://www.aafp.org/cme/subscriptions/fp-essentials/authors.html.

 

Were 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 nee
d to take the test or register with the NRCME to find a testing site near you!

If you completed your training and are unable to locate the CME Certificate of Completion that you were given - please send me an email with the date of your training and I'll send you another - you absolutely need to have the Certificate to be able to take your exam!

Email me, Deborah Halbach, Executive Director at:    
Need more information about the new regulations?

Sincerely,
 

Deborah Halbach
Maine Academy of Family Physicians
Telephone:  207-938-5005
Email:  [email protected]
Web:  www.maineafp.org
In This Issue
Treating Maine's 127,694 Veterans
DPC Workshop
Direct Primary "Buzz"
Medicare Fee Schedule Changes
FP Essentials Seeks Authors
NRCME Regulation Changes Go Into Affect
Lyme & Vector-Bourne Disease
Quick Links

Lyme Disease Awareness

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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