New Board Member

At their May 3^rd meeting, the IAFP board of directors selected Rachel Klamo, D.O. of Hinsdale to fill the vacancy in the board of directors' class of 2015.  Klamo is the current chair of the IAFP Family Medicine Educator's Task Force.  View her CV here.

The May issue of Illinois Family Physician will be in your email inbox next week!

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!  Think baseball and the annual IAFP Foundation White Sox Game on Friday, August 15 - the order form is now available and orders are due July 11!  There are two options for tickets and each ticket you purchase is a $10 donation directly to the Family Health Foundation of Illinois.

Thank you to all of our Sox game sponsors who are Home Run Hitters in our book!  Click on the names below to visit their web sites.

• Cerner Corporation
• Cigna-HealthSpring
• Healthcare Associates Credit Union
• Healthy Interactions
• Molina Healthcare
• ProAssurance Professional Liability Group       

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 has been EXTENDED TO MAY 28.  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!  

Click here for full information on each of the positions listed below:

CEO - Ferrell Hospital (serves Southern IL)

Advocate Lutheran General Family Medicine Residency

Multiple positions available with teaching opportunities

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

Site Medical Director-Waukegan

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

Statehouse Update

Spring Session Update:  With a scheduled adjournment of May 31st, the Illinois General Assembly is focused on passing appropriations bills.  Here are just a few other bills of interest to the IAFP:

Funding the Poison Control Center (IPC): SB 2674 passed the Senate and is in the House, waiting committee assignment.  IAFP supports funding the IL Poison Control Center with existing wireless surcharges. Without long-term sustainable funding, the IPC is facing an impending closure date of June 30, 2014. 

Physician Groups go Neutral on Dentists Vaccinating: SB 3409, legislation allowing dentists to vaccinate adults 18+ with influenza vaccine, was amended to include requirements satisfactory to physician groups. The amendment reads as follows: Provides that a dentist who has completed the appropriate training as set forth by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation may administer influenza vaccinations to patients 18 years of age or older pursuant to a valid prescription or standing order by a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches who, in the course of professional practice, administers vaccines to patients. Provides that vaccines shall be administered by the dentist and shall not be delegated to an assistant or any other person. Requires that a dentist notify the patient's primary care physician of each dose of vaccine administered to the patient and that the vaccination be documented in the patient's dental record and entered in the immunization data registry maintained by the Department of Public Health. Provides that a dentist shall only provide vaccinations under the provisions if contracted with and credentialed by the patient's health insurance, health maintenance organization, or other health plan to provide the vaccinations allowed to be provided under the provisions. Further provides that persons enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid may only receive vaccinations from dentists who are authorized by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The bill has passed the Senate and is on third reading in the House.

Pressure Prevents Psychologist Prescribing bill to move in House SB 2187 passed the Senate last session and passed out of the House Human Services Committee last week.  IAFP and other physician groups, along with the Coalition for Patient Safety sent action alerts to their members urging calls to their representatives to vote NO on the bill. At this time, it appears there are enough NO votes to prevent the bill from being called.  It remains on 2nd reading in the House. If you have not contacted your representative, please act today. See the action alert from an earlier email here for instractions.

Medicaid Updates:

The Medicaid Working Group is a group of legislators convening to address Medicaid legislation as a package. This group is reportedly close to a negotiation on the restoration of adult dental services. It is reported that the group has agreed to exclude children enrolled in Accountable Care Entities (ACEs) and Care Coordination Entities (CCEs) from the four prescription prior authorization requirement.

Federal Update

IAFP leaders deliver family medicine's message via AAFP's FamMedPAC

IAFP First Vice President Alvia Siddiqi, MD met with Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, who has a strong interest in veterans' health issues on Monday, May 12.

Dr. Ellen Brull, Dr. Mary Carney, Dr. Catherine Counard, Dr. Deb Edberg, and Dr. Alvia Siddiqi attended a fundraising lunch for Rep. Schakowsky on May 5^th in Chicago to which FamMedPAC contributed.  Brull is on the AAFP FamMedPAC board of directors.  

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, 12:00-1:00pmCST

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.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, participants will:

1. Be able to increase awareness among the Primary Care Provider community of the upcoming changes in the Illinois Medicaid program.

2. 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.

3. 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.

Register Online

Upcoming May 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

June Lunch and Learn Webinar - Primary Palliative Care: What's In It for My Patient?

Presented by: Timothy McCurry, MD, FAAFP, Rainbow Hospice and Palliative Care

Thursday, June 26, 2014 12:00-1:00pm CST   

Primary palliative care refers to the basic skills all clinicians should achieve in caring for patients with serious illness. Those skills include basic symptom assessment and management, psychosocial support and matching appropriate care provided to patient goals and values. Implementing advance directives, calling a specialist palliative consultation, and translating primary palliative care skills to goal-consistent care requires renewed focus of the physician practice.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will:

1. Describe the aspects of patient and family centered care in serious illness.

2. Describe the primary physician's role in advocating for and coordinating care in serious illness. 

3. Describe steps in providing medical care transparency, fair options and honoring patient choice.  4. Describe steps in assessing symptom burden and basic management of common symptoms seen in serious illness.

Register Online

California AFP Webinar on Opioid Prescribing

FDA statistics indicate that more than 33 million Americans, teens and older, misused extended-release and long-acting (ER/LA) opioids during 2007, up from 29 million in 2002.  Yet these drugs have long been a major tool in the management of chronic pain or to help those who suffer from a painful injury or surgery.  Highly effective yet highly addictive, the challenge posed by ER/LA opioids-patient assessment, prescribing guidelines, managing treatment and addressing alternatives when opioids fail-are the critical issues addressed by the California Academy of Family Physicians CO*RE ER/LA Opioid REMS :  Achieving Safe Use While Improving Patient Care live Webinar (given at six different times):

You can visit the series landing page here to find registration links to all the webinars.

Grand Rounds

Family and Community Medicine - Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Wednesday, May 21st, 2014 at 7:30 am

SSM St. Mary's Health Center - Kohler Auditorium - 2nd Floor

Using Opioids in Primary Care

James Toombs, MD - Director of the Pain Rehabilitation Center

St. Louis VA Medical Center

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT: Dr. Toombs has disclosed no relevant financial relationships

For further information call:  Cathy Lee Jung at (314) 951-7230

Continuing Medical Education Credits: Saint Louis University School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.  Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.  

IAFP Seeks FP's to serve as speakers for upcoming DOT medical examiners training programs 

The IAFP will be holding training courses throughout Illinois in the spring (Chicago western suburbs, Peoria or Springfield, Rockford, & Carbondale) and are looking for 2-3 physicians per site that could serve as speakers.  The training course is already developed.  If you have already completed a DOT training course and/ or are part of the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners and are interested in teaching please contact Kate Valentine at kvalentine@iafp.com

Need to complete a training course to become a Certified Medical Examiner?  Watch for upcoming training dates! 

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. 

ICAHN Call for Proposals

The Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network (ICAHN) is putting out a Call for Presenters for its annual conference on Nov. 18 and 19 in Springfield.  Details are attached. Please consider submitting a proposal, the deadline is June 1. 

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

Questions? Call the Illinois Medicaid EHR Incentive Help Desk

If you are a Medicaid provider, call 1-855-MU-HELP-1 (1-855-684-3571) or email hfs.ehrincentive@illinois.gov with questions about Meaningful Use, registration, payment status and attestation.

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

Mohammed Jendi, MD was live on WSIL-TV in Carbondale on May 5 discussing aspects of good sleep hygiene.  

On May 15, William Dixon, MD provided a sound byte to WGEM-TV about asthma triggers during Asthma Awareness Month.

Kohar Jones, MD was back on the radio May 10 talking about obesity on WVON-AM 1690 in Chicago.  Her next broadcast will be May 31 from 3-4 p.m. on WVON 1690-AM and the topic is yoga.

Katherine Austman, MD has been named Medical Director for Ford County, according to the May 10 Bloomington Pantagraph.