|
academy
alert
New
Poll
Finds
Texas
Medicaid
Patients
Unable
to
Find
Primary
Care
Physicians
Texas
Primary
Care
Coalition
releases
poll
results
on
access
for
Medicaid
patients
New
Texas
Medicaid
patients
seeking
care
from
primary
care
physicians
find
the
outlook
dismal,
according
to
a
survey
released
Tuesday
by
the
Primary
Care
Coalition.
The
poll,
completed
by
Allyn
&
Co.
found
44
percent
of
primary
care
physicians
are
not
accepting
new
Medicaid
patients
under
any
condition.
“Medicaid
patients
may
be
unable
to
access
much-needed
and
less-expensive
preventive
and
primary
care
services
as
fewer
and
fewer
Texas
primary
care
physicians
are
seeing
Medicaid
patients,”
said
Gene
Stokes,
M.D.,
chair
of
the
Primary
Care
Coalition
and
past
president
of
the
Texas
Academy
of
Internal
Medicine
Services.
“People
won’t
stop
getting
sick,
but
without
access
to
a
primary
care
physician
they
will
be
forced
to
seek
more
costly
care
in
the
emergency
room.”
click
here
to
read
press
release
EHR
Conference
next
weekend
Make
plans
now
to
attend
the
Electronic
Health
Records
Conference,
Apr.
16
in
Irving
Interested
in
purchasing
and
implementing
an
electronic
health
record
system
(EHR)
in
your
clinic,
but
need
more
information
before
taking
the
plunge?
Then
clear
your
calendar
on
Apr.
16
and
plan
to
attend
TAFP’s
second
Electronic
Health
Records
Conference,
back
by
popular
demand.
The
conference
will
be
held
at
the
Omni
Mandalay
at
Las
Colinas
in
Irving,
Texas
and
is
sponsored
by
TAFP
and
several
other
organizations.
At
the
conference,
you’ll
hear
from
technical
and
industry
experts
like
David
Kibbe,
M.D.,
Director
of
AAFP’s
Center
for
Health
Information
Technology.
You’ll
talk
with
physicians
who
have
successfully
implemented
EHRs
in
their
offices
and
you’ll
have
time
to
meet
with
software
vendors
and
finance
professionals.
If
you
didn’t
attend
the
first
conference,
don’t
miss
this
opportunity
to
prepare
yourself
for
the
health
IT
revolution.
click
here
for
more
information
and
to
register
online
Frustrated
by
the
ABFM
Self
Assessment
Modules?
Here
is
a
tip
to
reduce
frustration
and
turn
the
SAM
into
a
good
learning
experience
One
member
reported
that
he
attended
a
meeting
on
SAMs
in
Florida.
A
representative
from
the
ABFM
told
the
group
the
best
way
to
approach
a
SAM
is
to
sit
down
and
answer
all
questions
as
best
you
can.
Don’t
be
pressured
into
believing
you
have
to
ace
the
SAM
the
first
time.
Relax
and
take
it
without
any
expectation of
passing
the
first
time. The
software
modification
implemented
by
the
ABFM
will
tell
you
what
you
got
right
and
what
you
didn’t.
You
will
be
done
with
all
questions
you
answered
correctly.
You
can
then
work
your
way
through
other
questions.
Unlike
the
original
software
design,
the
references
are
now
sorted
by
question. This
is
what
the
ABFM
means
when
it
says
the
SAM
is
not
a
pass/fail
test
but
an
assessment
module
and
learning
tool.
Looking
for
a
Few
Good
Physicians
Few
slots
open
in
TAFP’s
bicycle
safety
initiative
There
is
still
room
for
family
physicians
to
sign
up
for
the
TAFP’s
accident
prevention
and
public
relations
campaign,
which
will
be
staged
in
conjunction
with
National
Bicycle
Safety
Month
this
May.
In
the
campaign,
Academy
staff
will
recruit
members
to
take
part
in
the
TMA
Foundation’s
Hard
Hats
for
Little
Heads,
a
program
through
which
physicians
host
bicycle
safety
events
where
they
distribute
and
fit
safety
helmets
to
children
in
the
community.
TAFP
will
cover
the
cost
of
half
of
the
helmets
distributed
and
the
TMA
Foundation
takes
care
of
the
other
half.
The
hope
is
that
this
campaign
can
be
a
model
for
a
series
of
public
service
events
designed
to
increase
public
awareness
of
family
medicine
while
doing
good
in
the
community.
“Wearing
a
bicycle
helmet
is
such
a
simple
way
to
help
ensure
a
child’s
health
and
safety,”
said
Erica
Swegler,
M.D.,
president
of
TAFP.
“We
physicians
wanted
to
start
summer
vacation
right
by
putting
a
helmet
on
our
children’s
heads.”
click
here
to
read
the
whole
story
TAFP
Perspective:
April
is
Sexual
Assault
Awareness
and
Child
Abuse
Awareness
Month
By
Beverly
Nuckols,
M.D.
Recent
news
stories
have
focused
on
sensational
allegations
of
sexual
assault
and
child
abuse.
While
we
can
hope
that
the
publicity
about
these
trials
will
heighten
awareness
of
these
abuses,
there
are
still
many
myths
in
popular
knowledge
about
these
and
other
forms
of
intimate
partner
violence
(also
called
domestic
violence).
Family
doctors
can
use
the
national
campaigns
in
April
on
sexual
abuse
and
child
abuse
awareness
to
educate
ourselves
and
our
patients.
click
here
to
continue
reading
april
is
national
minority
health
month
By
Cleve
Messidor
Director
of
Communications
and
Media
Strategies
National
Minority
Health
Month
Foundation
Since
its
inception
in
1999,
the
National
Minority
Health
Month
Foundation
has
distinguished
itself
as
a
leader
in
making
efforts
to
eliminate
health
care
disparities.
The
Foundation’s
second
annual
national
summit
on
health
disparities,
scheduled
for
April
26-27,
2005,
will
provide
industry
leaders,
clinicians,
policymakers
and
community
experts
a
forum
to
gain
new
insights
into
identifying,
measuring,
and
treating
chronic
disease
disparities.
click
here
to
read
the
whole
story
medicaid
PCCM
Meetings
Texas
Medicaid
&
Healthcare
Partnership
holds
meetings
across
the
state
The
Texas
Medicaid
and
Healthcare
Partnership
is
holding
meetings
on
Primary
Care
Case
Management
(PCCM)
expansion
in
Waco,
Paris,
San
Angelo
and
Wichita
Falls.
The
meetings
are
an
opportunity
to
answer
physicians'
questions
about
how
PCCM
works
and
to
sign
up
to
participate.
click
here
for
the
complete
schedule
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