Board and leaders at ALF and NCSC

Illinois leaders at NCSC and ALF

IAFP sent a full delegation to Kansas City for the AAFP National Conference of Special Constituencies this week to participate in the leadership process representing key sectors of the IAFP membership, which by the way - is now over 115,000, with 26,000 student members!

Representing Illinois are:

New IAFP board member Regina Kim, MD - Women

Tabatha Wells, MD - Minority

IAFP New Physician Board member Michael Hanak, MD - New Physician

Board member Asim Jaffer, MD - IMG

Treasurer and Alternate Delegate to AAFP Ravi Grivois-Shah, MD- GLBT

Board member Alice Daniels , MD & Resident Board Member Monica Fudala, MD are also attending NCSC as general attendees.

Meanwhile the rest of the IAFP board and key staff are participating the concurrent Annual Leadership Forum to hone their leadership skills and exchange best practice information with fellow chapters.  The board of directors will meet on Saturday, May 3 after the conferences conclude.  Look for key outcomes from that meeting in the next issue of e-news.  

E-cigarette restrictions now law in Chicago

Carolyn Lopez, MD

Tuesday April 29, 2014 marked the beginning of the end for electronic cigarettes in Chicago, as the nicotine delivery devices were officially included in the city's Clean Indoor Air act.  Likewise, e-cigarettes are subjected to the same rules for sale as traditional cigarettes, meaning they must be kept behind the counter and may not be sold to anyone under age 18.  Chicago was the first major city to pass an ordinance, and was quickly followed by other major cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Past President Carolyn Lopez, MD, the current president of the Chicago Board of Health kicked off the press conference unveiling the City's updated no smoking signs now available for Chicago businesses and facilities.

IAFP Hosts Roundtable on Food Safety

Family physicians, residents and medical students gathered April 23 for dinner and conversation hosted by IAFP.  Ronald Kleinman, MD, chair of pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital discussed food safety and biotechnology. "More than ever in our history, the public has questions about food: how it is produced, where it was grown, whether it is safe. At the center of many discussions is agricultural biotechnology. We as physicians are called upon to provide guidance for patients and policy makers alike. People care about and listen to what we think and what we say."  IAFP leaders included Kristin Drynan, MD, board member and chair of the Public Relations Task Force; Aaron Goldstein, student board member and member of the Public Health Committee; and John Franco, MD, resident member of the Government Relations Committee.  Coincidentally, the May 2014 issue of National Geographic features the start of six issues of features on food, safety and biotechnology.

Nominate a deserving FP of the Year-Nominations are due June 1 and must have a support letter included.  Link to the form here with more details. 

Baseball season is here!  

Contribute to our region's premiere family medicine collaborative event - Family Medicine Midwest 2014 - October 10-12 in Minneapolis!

 How can you contribute to the success of the event?  

Submit an Abstract.  All submissions must be entered through the online form.  The deadline for presentation abstracts is May 19.  Prior to submitting, please review the following documents:

2014 FMM Call for Abstracts Information

2014 FMM Poster Presentation Guide

Attend the event and share in the Joy of Midwest Family Medicine.  Networking and learning opportunities are everywhere, from the pre-conferences to the closing research presentation!  Information, the schedule and online registration are all available on the conference web site at www.iafp.com/fmm

Donate to the scholarship fund:

Student scholarships are available with free registration and a stipend to help fund travel expenses and hotel stay.  Scholarships will be limited by the total funds available.  Help send more Illinois students to this conference.  You can support students from the school of your choosing.  Link to a donation form here.

Nominate a colleague, resident or student for an award!  

Advocate Lutheran General Family Medicine Residency

Multiple positions available with teaching opportunities

Gibson City

Family Physician with ED experience needed for immediate opportunity

Rush-Copley Family Medicine Residency

Opening for faculty physician at this program in Aurora

PCC Wellness Center

PCC has openings for physicians at their clinics on the Near West Side and in Oak Park

Family Medicine Osteopathic Full Time Faculty Member 

Adventist Hinsdale Hospital Family Medicine Residency is seeking a full time osteopathic faculty member for our dually accredited ACGME/AOA program.

Family Medicine Residency Program Director

The Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford is seeking an Assistant / Associate Professor of Clinical Family Medicine for the Program Director for the core family medicine program in Rockford along with its two affiliated rural programs. 

Site Medical Director-Waukegan

Opening July 2014 - Apply at www.eriefamilyhealth.org. 

Statehouse Update

Spring Session in Springfield: The General Assembly returned on April 28^th after a two week Spring Break.  The list below highlights a few bills that IAFP is either actively supporting or opposing

Sen. Mulroe and Dr. Albers talk after the hearing

Mandatory Hep C Screening:  IAFP opposes SB2670 bill that would mandate screening for Hepatitis C screening for eligible populations.  President-elect Janet Albers, MD testified before the Senate Public Health committee at a subject matter-only hearing on April 29 urging a collaborative education and awareness approach rather than a mandate.

"Family physicians would like to see increased awareness of the Hep C screening guidelines among providers, patients, and insurance carriers...." Albers told the committee. "As our health care system moves toward a patient-centered medical home, this comprehensive care model can lead to improved screening rates and the provision of preventive services for those who need them.  We believe the Task Force is the appropriate structure for further action on raising Hepatitis C awareness. Medicine must remain responsive as new evidence leads to changing recommendations and new treatment options emerge.  Legislatively mandated screenings are not always the best course of action to address public health concerns."

Read her full testimony on our web site

Funding the Poison Control Center (IPC): SB 2674 Harmon/ HB 4230 Lilly. IAFP supports these bills which would reallocate two cents of an existing wireless surcharge to fund the IPC. Without long-term sustainable funding, the IPC is facing an impending closure date of June 30, 2014.  SB2674 is moving and is on 3^rd reading in the Senate. The fact sheet includes IAFP.

ACTION ALERT

Due to state and federal funding reductions, the Illinois Poison Center (IPC) has lost $1.5 million in annual funding since 2009.  In response to the funding cuts, the IPC decreased outreach education services by 70% and decreased clinical call center staff by 25%.  The IPC has notified IDPH of its impending closure on 6-30-2014.

The IPC has been working with the Illinois State legislature on a plan that will provide sustainable funding for many years. HB 4230 and SB 2674 would reallocate 2 cents from a cell phone fee to the IPC. The money is reallocation from the Wireless Carrier Fund which the state is currently sweeping for other purposes.

Health care providers in Illinois are one of the biggest utilizers of the IPC services, with over 21,500 requests for information every year.  We ask you to send this physician-specific letter that will be automatically sent to your representative and senator. The text can be edited and personalized to reflect your practice situation if desired.  Send your letter now

Opposing dentists vaccinating: IAFP is working to oppose SB 3409, the synopsis of which provides that a dentist enrolled in a medical network or enrolled as a Medicare or Medicaid provider may administer vaccinations for influenza to patients enrolled in the same medical network or enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid upon completion of appropriate training. Vaccinations shall be limited to patients 18 years of age and older pursuant to a valid prescription or standing order by a physician and requires notification to the patient's physician and appropriate reporting and record retention. This bill has passed the Senate and is assigned to the House Health Care Licensing committee. The fact sheet enumerates providers' concerns.

Redistricting Amendment There is a campaign to place an amendment on the ballot for the November General election to establish an independent commission.  The independent Commission which would draw district boundariesfor redistricting. Here is the link: http://independentmaps.org/amendment

Medicaid Reform Rollout

Today's Term:  Accountable Care Entity (ACE) - Illinois Medicaid members in the five managed care regions (see Care Coordination Expansion map) will join a managed care entity.  This means that most children, families and newly eligible ACA adults will receive care coordination services in the five managed care regions primarily from one of three types of managed care entities.  Learn more on the IL Dept. of Healthcare and Family Services website.

Medical Marijuana hearings on proposed rules

Illinois health officials are planning two public hearings on proposed rules affecting patients who want to use medical marijuana. The state's medical marijuana program is a four-year pilot project. The rules under consideration affect how adult patients with specific health conditions will be able to buy marijuana. The Chicago hearing will be at the Thompson Center starting at 9:30 a.m. May 5. The Springfield hearing will be on the University of Illinois Springfield campus at 9 a.m. May 21.

The proposed rules were published in the Illinois Register on April 18. The Legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules begins its review in early June.

Federal Update

HHS Releases ACA Marketplace and Medicaid enrollment figures

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just released their report on Obamacare enrollment. The result? 217,492 Illinoisans have now secured health care coverage through the Marketplace. They contribute to 8.2 million Marketplace plan enrollees, and to 21 million total enrollees nationwide!

Check out Illinois' state profile from the report.

Learn more about Medicaid enrollment numbers.

Read the complete report.  

SGR - what happened in DC? The U.S House passed yet another temporary fix to the controversial sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for calculating Medicare payments, thus averting a major cut in payments for physicians. However, AAFP is leading the call on legislators to finish their work on a permanent repeal. This time, the patch spans 12 months. For more information, AAFP News provided "Ask the Expert: What You Need to Know About the Latest SGR Patch" http://www.aafp.org/news/government- medicine/20140402patelsgrinterview.html

Access all our FREE self-study CME that meets your needs! Log on at with www.iafp.com/education

May Lunch and Learn Webinar - HFS Medicaid Care Coordination Roll-out: What You as a Primary Care Provider Need to Know

Presented by: Alvia Siddiqi, MD, FAAFP, Medical Director, Illinois Health Connect Primary Care Case Management Program
Thursday, May 29, 2014, 12:00-1:00 pm CST

The Illinois Academy of Family Physicians and The Illinois Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP) are pleased to co-host May's Lunch and Learn Webinar.

• Be able to increase awareness among the Primary Care Provider community of the upcoming changes in the Illinois Medicaid program.
• Discuss key updates with regards to the HFS Medicaid care coordination roll-out of families and children slated to begin in July, 2014, including Illinois Health Connect PCCM's role in the HFS Care Coordination Roll-out.
• Understand how to contract with Accountable Care Entities (ACE), Care Coordination Entities (CCE), including Children with Complex Medical Needs (CCMN), and Managed Care Organizations (MCO) in order to promote continuity of care for your Medicaid patients

More Upcoming Illinois Health connect CME webinars for providers

Use this link to view the full schedule and register for any of the free webinars

05/29/14 at noon -  HPV Screening

05/22/14 at noon -   Lead Screening

Summit for Healthcare Providers:  Strategies for Pediatric Obesity Prevention and Control

Wednesday, May 14, 2014 from 7 am - 11 am (Presentations are 7:30 - 10:30 am)

Medinah Shriners, 550 Shriners Dr, Addison, IL 60101 (near I-355 and Army Trail Rd)

Free CME, Breakfast Provided

Presentations will cover communicating more effectively based on the patient's culture, ethnicity and socioeconomic status; taking a multidisciplinary approach to address patient overweight or obesity; and becoming an advocate for widespread change in the overweight/obese pediatric population.  Local clinical and community resource providers for pediatric overweight or obese patients will be present.  Please see the attached flyer for more details.

Register for this free CME event at www.dupagehealth.org/summit.

For more information, contact FORWARD at forward@dupagehealth.org or (630) 221-7146.

MEMBER BENEFIT - Mass Mutual Insurance Company

Do you have questions about individual/family and small group health insurance rules and options in 2014?  Our member benefits partners at Mass Marketing Insurance Consultants (MMIC) have answers for you.  Check out their new fact sheet. 

Illinois posts new ACA E/M and Vaccines fee schedules

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has posted a new ACA E/M and ACA Vaccine Fee Schedule to the Fee Schedule page. You may view the new ACA E/M and ACA Vaccine Fee Schedule here.

Medicaid Meaningful Use - Public Health

To meet Meaningful Use measures for Stage 1 and Stage 2 Eligible Professionals (EPs) must register their intent to submit data within the first 60 days of their selected reporting period to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

IDPH, as the Public Health Authority (PHA), is tasked with registering EPs and EHs that intend to submit data to IDPH in fulfillment of Meaningful Use Requirements.

EP Stage 1

EP Stage 2 

This registration system will collect the required information for your facility and will inform IDPH of your request to test, validate and submit production-level data for core and optional Public Health Meaningful Use objectives. For More Information and to register intent: CLICK HERE

If you have a news item to share, email it to Ginnie Flynn at gflynn@iafp.com.

Former IAFP resident board member Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, MD, MPH is returning to Chicago.  After several years at Johns-Hopkins University in Baltimore, Salisbury-Afshar is the new medical director for Heartland Health Outreach Center.

IAFP Second Vice President Deborah Edberg, MD is included in this week's AAFP News story about her testimony at an April 9 hearing (www.help.senate.gov) of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions' Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, in support of teaching health centers like her residency program, Northwestern McGaw Family Medicine Residency program based at Erie Family Health Center.

Congratulations to Christine Mueller, MD of Elgin who has been named Altrusa International Elgin Woman of the Year.  She will receive the honor at a banquet on May 15.  The local Altrusa Woman of the Year Award began in 1950 when Harriet Armstrong was recognized as the first recipient. Since then, a long line of dedicated local women have been honored for their volunteer service to the greater Elgin area community.  The award announcement appeared in several suburban Chicago newspapers on May 2. 

Baseball season is here!  

IPHCA Call for Speaker Proposals

The Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) will be hosting its 2014 Annual Conference at The Ritz-Carlton Resort in St. Louis, Missouri. Attached, please find the 2014 Speaker Request for Proposals and Proposal Submission Form. Conference sessions will be held Wednesday, October 1 through Friday, October 3, 2014. Download documents: Call for proposals, Topics to consider and Speaker Application