Safe Prescriber Program

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IAFP delegation with AAFP President Jeff Cain, MD and U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth

 Every other year, the IAFP Board of Directors holds its spring meeting in conjunction with the AAFP's Family Medicine Congressional Conference in Washington, DC.  This year, the Board met on Monday evening at the newly located AAFP DC headquarters building.  Using the ready expertise of AAFP staff, two featured speakers briefed our board on the ABFM and Robert Graham Center.  The board also worked on addressing the Academy's strategic plan.  

Also on Monday, Renee M. Poole, MD of Chicago was named as the replacement to fulfill the unexpired term of IAFP First Vice President.  Dr. Poole has previously served on the IAFP Board of Directors on an interim basis.  She is IAFP's representative on the Medicaid Advisory Board and a frequent contributor to media requests and other IAFP activity. 

On Tuesday, FMCC attendees were briefed on several key issues which prepared everyone for their visits with Congress on Wednesday.  Keynote speakers included physicians elected to Congress and House and Senate staff.  Look for more information in an AAFP News Now story next week about the federal family medicine lobbying efforts.

IAFP members with U.S. Senator Mark Kirk

On Wednesday, IAFP Board and volunteer leaders started and ended their day with visits to Illinois' two senators' offices: Kirk and Durbin, respectively.  From 9:30 am until 5 pm, every Illinois Congressional delegation member received a briefing on the issues.  Only three offices were not able to meet in person so they received a packet of information and fact sheets on the key issues.  IAFP's board member attendees were led by President Carrie Nelson, MD and Board Chair Michael Temporal, MD.  Incoming resident board member Monica Fudala, MD of University of Chicago/NorthShore substituted for her colleague Lubna Madani, MD.

Overall, everyone experienced a positive visit with their U.S. representative or staff and had an opportunity to share family medicine's priority issues and concerns.  These visits will have lasting effect for those who follow up and schedule visits when the lawmakers are back in Illinois. 

Link to May-June Issue of Illinois Family Physician

The latest issue of Illinois Family Physician is now available!  Check out the future of family medicine - right from the 2013 Match.  Find out about how family physicians from across the state and the career spectrum represented you in Springfield last month.   Finally, catch up on some important federal payment policies and how you can maximize revenue and minimize penalties. 

Download the issue now.

SB2187, the psychologist prescribing bill, was scheduled for hearing this week in the House Executive Committee.  It was not called in committee due to ongoing negotiations but is scheduled for hearing next Tuesday, May 21^st.  To date, IAFP remains strongly opposed.  Thank you to the many IAFP members who have made phone calls and email contacts to give voice to our Academy's opposition.

SB26, the Medicaid expansion bill, had been dormant in the House Rules committee since February and just received committee assignment.  It is scheduled for a hearing next Tuesday, May 21^st in House Human Services.  IAFP supports Medicaid expansion, see our statement.  

DEADLINE APPROACHING Medicaid-Medicare Parity payment attestation update

As of Jan. 1 Illinois Medicaid payment rates must equal Medicare for primary care services.  Make sure you get this new payment rate for your services retroactive to Jan. 1. The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has a Web based Certification and Attestation for Primary Care Rate Increase. This feature allows providers to submit their attestations directly to the department electronically. Once eligibility for this program has been approved, physicians will receive a new Provider Information Sheet from the department identifying a new specialty code has been added to the provider database. Physicians who do not receive a new provider information sheet within thirty (30) days may contact the Provider Participation Unit (PPU) by telephone at 217-782-0538 or by sending an e-mail to HFS.PPU@illinois.gov.  More information is at http://hfs.illinois.gov/pcpattest/

Illinois AFP past president Ellen Brull, MD, who is on the AAFP FamMedPAC board of directors, would like to remind members to contribute to FamMedPAC to help build family medicine's voice in Washington, D.C.   Click on the icon below to contribute today!   

IAFP is looking for subject matter experts and speakers to assist with curriculum development and to present at our Annual Meeting, webinars, or other conferences. Please fill out our online form to indicate your preferred topics and content format.We are looking for clinical presentations or hands on workshops for the 2013 Annual Meeting. If you are interested in presenting, don't hesitate, fill out the form today!  The deadline for Annual Meeting submissions is June 1, 2013.

IAFP Lunch & Learn

Beer's Criteria: A Fresh Look at an Old Way of Looking at Old Drugs for Old Patients
Presented by: David Hagan, MD, Gibson City Clinic  Thursday, May 30, 2013, 12:00-1:00pm CST

The 2012 American Geriatric Society Beers Criteria is an important and improved update of a previously established guideline with great clinical utility. Also employed as a quality measure, the Criteria can aid the family physician in more effective and safer prescribing practices, which should lead to fewer adverse drug reactions, toxicity and lower cost of care for our senior patients.

Register Online

Preventing Hepatitis B in Two at Risk Populations: Infants and Health Care Personnel Webinar

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 - 12:30-1:30pm

May is National Hepatitis Awareness Month. Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B can both be prevented with vaccines. Over half of parents don't know how their children got infected with hepatitis B virus. The hepatitis B vaccine is now recommended for all infants at birth and for adults who may be at increased risk.Join the Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP) for a webinar on Preventing Hepatitis B in Two at Risk Populations: Infants and Health Care Personnel on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 12:30-1:30pm presented by Nancy Fenlon, RN, MS, Hepatitis B Coordinator, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Sarah Schillie, MD, MPH, MBA, Medical Epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.By the end of the webinar, participants will be able to describe the ACIP recommendations for management of infants born to HBsAg-positive women, understand the importance of completing the recommended Post-Vaccination Serologic Testing (PVST) of infants born to HBsAg-positive women, and understand hepatitis B vaccination recommendations for health care personnel.  See flyer for details

Click here to register

Past/Recorded ICAAP Immunization Webinars

Click here to access all of ICAAP's recorded immunization webinars from 2012 and 2013. 

If you would like a copy of any of the items below, or have a news item to share, email it to Ginnie Flynn at gflynn@iafp.com.