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 and to access the ACP Advocate archives, go to www.acponline.org/advocacy.
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Welcome to The ACP Advocate.
In this week’s issue you’ll find continuing coverage of the health care reform debate happening in Washington. As part of that coverage, we take a closer look at the town hall meetings that were taking place across the country over the past month, and the experience of ACP members who tried to attend their local meetings. We also address the facts and myths about health care reform. We also are proud to tell you about another new policy paper from the College. The paper, Controlling Health Care Costs While Promoting the Best Possible Health Outcomes, outlines some of the ways that rising health care costs could be reined in without sacrificing quality of care.
Also, for more coverage of health care reform, yesterday’s posting to my blog, The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty, is all about the speech President Obama delivered to Congress Wednesday night. Take a look to find out my reaction--and the reaction from ACP members and others--to the speech. (I encourage you to post your own comments.)
You also will learn major developments on the Medicare regulatory front that affect payments for internists’ services.
And, as always, 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
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In the news
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Misperceptions Cloud Health Reform Debate |
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Some physicians fear legislation would result in rationing, government control |
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As the din over health reform reached screaming-match proportions this summer, not even medical professionals were immune to rampant rumors about what the legislation would and would not do or to viral attacks aimed at stirring opposition to various provis... » Click to read the full article
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Members Join the Masses at Health Reform Town Halls |
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ACP representatives help push priorities and urge congressional action |
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Though the town hall meetings on health-care reform held during the end-of-summer congressional break were often anything but orderly, ACP members who attended some of the sessions came away hopeful that cooler heads will prevail as lawmakers settle down ... » Click to read the full article
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ACP Outlines Cost-Control Options |
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Stubbs: Savings could be realized without sacrificing quality of care |
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A new white paper from the American College of Physicians tackles a huge challenge facing Congress as it considers health reform legislation: how to rein in health-care costs without harming clinical outcomes.
Public debate in recent weeks h... » Click to read the full article
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In focus
Do you need help becoming a Patient Centered Medical Home?
ACP Practice Solutions’ Medical Home Builder (MHB) is a new, web-based tool to help guide practices through the process of becoming a PCMH. The tool provides affordable, accessible, on-line guidance for practices that is tailored for each user. The tool is organized into seven different modules including patient-centered care and communication, access and scheduling, use of technology, and others. A practice can focus on any module which includes an introduction to the topic and background reading material. ACP will be conducting free live online demonstrations of the MHB throughout the fall. |
Are you achieving meaningful use of your EHR?
The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) is holding a four-day boot camp to provide Chief Medical Information Officers with an opportunity to make sure their organizations are using their electronic health records systems to their full advantage. The boot camp will use an experimental learning approach to familiarize attendees with the scientific principles that underlie applied health informatics. The program faculty includes, Jim M. Walker, MD, FACP and Paul Tang, MD, FACP, both members of ACP’s Medical Informatics Subcommittee. The boot camp will be held Oct. 7 to 10 in Scotts |
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