About this newsletter
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The ACP Advocate is an e-newsletter, edited by the College's Washington, DC governmental affairs division, created to
provide you, our members, with succinct news about public policy issues
affecting internal medicine and patient care. To learn more about ACP's
Advocacy, go to www.acponline.org/advocacy
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Happy New
Year
from The
ACP
Advocate.
Changes are
underway in
Washington. A new Congress convened this
week, and
we’re about to welcome a new administration. Both the Congress and the
President-elect have indicated that health care reform is a major concern
for
our country. In this
issue of The
ACP
Advocate,
the first of 2009, we take an
in-depth look at a few different concepts
that may help give direction to the
debates surrounding health care
reform.
For more on health care
reform and other health policy issues,
check out my blog, The ACP
Advocate Blog by
Bob Doherty
. I hope
you’ll join me over the course of this year, as I
discuss ACP’s efforts in
guiding health care reform.
Please send
your feedback and
suggestions on this newsletter to: TheACPAdvocate@acponline.org.
Yours
truly,
Bob
Doherty
Senior Vice
President
Governmental Affairs and
Public Policy
American College of Physicians |
In the news
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Policymakers, Providers Push for Comparative
Effectiveness |
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Questions about how a national program would operate remain unanswered
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HealthDay News -- "Comparative effectiveness" is quickly becoming the
latest catch phrase in health care.
A growing number of policy
experts and medical groups clamber for data comparing one clinical
intervention against other therapies for a given condition.
Advocates believe an expansion of comparative effectiveness research and greater coordination of these studies is the best way...
» Click to read the full article
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Price Transparency in Health Care: Fad or
Future? |
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Fledgling movement to disclose physician fees
experiences growing pains |
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HealthDay News -- Advocates of "price transparency" want consumers to be able to shop for physician services like any other good or service.
Determining the prices of physician services and procedures, however,
isn't as cut-and-dried as surfing Amazon for the best deal on an MP3
player.
"The state of price transparency tools available to
consumers about physician services is still ve... » Click to read the full article
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Low Health Literacy Undermines Patient Care |
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Using plain
language during office visits and on prescription labels may
help |
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HealthDay News -- Just because patients don't ask questions doesn't mean they understand
their diagnosis, take their medicines correctly or have insight into what
they need to do to manage their care.
Nearly half of all American adults have low health literacy, according to the Institute of Medicine
(IOM). In other words, they have difficulty understanding and acting upon
health information. A... » Click to read the full article
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In focus
Free E-prescribing Webinar January 28th at 7PM EST
Join ACP for a free webinar focused on the
new Medicare E-prescribing Incentive program. Learn about the rationale
underlying the program, participation and reporting requirements, and the
potential for financial reward for successful participation and reporting. In addition, listen to practical information from a practicing internal
medicine physician regarding the use of e-prescribing in an ambulatory
office setting. ACP is planning a series of webinars over the next few
months covering topics such as 2009 Physician Quality Improvement Incentive and the Patient Centered Medical Home. |
ACP Foundation Strives to Improve Health
Literacy
The American College of Physician has a
mission to improve the health and welfare of patients through initiatives
that provide patients with the information they need to understand and
manage their health. These initiatives have produced tools and resources
that can help you provide your patients with a true understanding of their health care. These resources include HEALTH TiPS sheets available in
English and Spanish, and Living with Diabetes: An Everyday Guide for You
and Your Family. |
Discover ACP's stand on Comparative
Effectiveness
In 2008, ACP released a new policy
paper that encourages the use of comparative effectivness data. Improved
Availability of Comparative Effectiveness Information: An Essential
Feature for a High-Quality and Efficient United States Health Care System, argues that clinical effectiveness and costs are both crucial elements to be analyzed when determining comparative effectiveness. |
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