What's New?
The Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH)
The Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) has become the most discussed practice
model in medicine and offers potential for enhancing the physician-patient partnership
in improving practice efficiency and clinical outcomes.
The 2009 issue of New York Magazine’s Best Doctors includes several Academy members. Congratulations to:
- Kenneth Levites, MD, of West Sayville
- Albert Levy, MD, of New York
- Thomas Molnar, MD, of Jamaica
- Robert Schiller, MD, of New York
- Bruce Soloway, MD of the Bronx
- Miriam Vincent, MD, of Brooklyn
Get a special 15% off rate for all of your Family Medicine postings
Get a special 15% off rate for all of your Family Medicine postings throughout the month of July. By taking advantage of this opportunity, your posting will be active during the National Conference of Family Medicine Residents & Medical Students. Web site traffic is traditionally higher around conference times, and FP Jobs Online, the New York State Academy of Family Physicians and HEALTHeCAREERS Network are here to assist you in filling your family medicine positions. Contact us today at 888-884-8242 or info@healthecareers.com.
NYSAFP President Mark Krotowski, MD, and Sally Krotowski
NYSAFP President Mark Krotowski, MD, and Sally Krotowski at June 19, 2009 installation
dinner in Albany
8th Annual Regional Family Medicine Conference
8th Annual Regional Family Medicine Conference, Saturday, September 12, 2009
MSSNY NEWS article re NYSAFP single payer position
Click here for article (doc)
Evidence-Based Management of Diabetic Foot Infections
THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2009 - 6:00 P.M.
Speaker: Warren Joseph DPM
This is a free dinner meeting for NYACP members. You must, however, pre-register
to reserve your place. Click
here for registration form (doc)
Prescriber's Letter Subscription
Follow this link to subscribe to the Prescriber's Letter and receive the NYSAFP
member discount: http://www.prescribersletter.com/nysafp
NY Family Physicians Ask Congress To Increase Payment For Services Rendered
May 20, 2009. Washington D.C. Drs. Ellen Reinheimer, Mark Josefski, Mark Krotowski,
Jun David, and Vito Grasso attended the AAFP Family Medicine Congressional Conference.
This years' emphasis during lobby day was to increase physician payment by at
least 30 % over the next 30 years; modernize graduate medical education with
increased payments for primary care training, reward hospitals based on the
number of primary care physicians produced, and to get support reauthorize and
appropriate $215 million for the Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry Cluster
of Title VII Health Professions Training Programs.
Dr. David: Posting Caloric Labels Makes Sense
May 18, 2009. Albany, NY. This initiative was discussed in a press conference
with Governor Paterson. The proposed legislation would require restaurants,
supermarkets and convenience stores that belong to large chains to post caloric
labels. The obesity epidemic now involves more than 70 percent of our adolescents
and they are at great risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.
Dr. David, Senator Duane, Assemblyman Ortiz, DOH Commissioner Daines, Albany
Medical Center, Chief of Cardiology, Dr. Edward Philbin
endorsed the Governor's obesity prevention plan. NYSAFP strongly supports this
important public health program.
NYSAFP president-elect Mark Krotowski and EVP Vito Grasso met with NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo
NYSAFP president-elect Mark Krotowski and EVP Vito Grasso met with NYS Attorney
General Andrew Cuomo on May 12th. They discussed health care issues including
the AG’s inquiry into the contractual relationship between health insurance
plans and physicians. Dr. Krotowski also advise the AG that some practices by
plans have the effect of blocking patient access to services.
Latest Swine Flu Advisory from NYSDOH
Follow this link to CDC Swine Flu Site for updates on swine flu developments
Family Physician is now 203rd President of MSSNY
NYSAFP member David Hannan, MD, became the 203rd president of MSSNY on May 2,
2009 at the MSSNY House of Delegates meeting in Rochester NY at the recent MSSNY
House of Delegates meeting. Dr. Hannan served with the United States Air Force
as an aeronautical engineer before deciding on a career as a Family Physician.
Dr. Hannan is also the chair for the MSSNY AMA Delegation. His agenda for the
year is focused on increasing membership, physician-related reform and insure
payment transparency by carriers. NYSAFP presidents who attended the ceremony
were Drs. Jun David, Drew Merritt, Charles Aswad and Norman Loomis and board
member/ MSSNY delegate, Dr. Neil Nepola. Dr.Nepola also chaired the reference
committee on Governmental Affairs.
Promoting Diversity: The IMGs
NYSAFP president Jose “Jun” David, MD, presented a talk on International
Medical Graduates (IMG’s) at the 2009 Annual Leadership Forum of the American
Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) in Kansas City April 24-25th.
IMG’s comprise about seventeen percent of the membership of the AAFP and continue to be a growing source of new members for the Academy. Thirty four percent of NYSAFP membership are IMG’s.
The purpose of the panel was to identify reasons why thirty percent of the IMG’s who finish residency training in family medicine fail to convert to active membership. There was comprehensive discussion at the program, which was also well attended by AAFP Board members including AAFP president, Dr. Ted Epperly. Dr. Epperly said, "The Academy is grateful to all the contributions by the IMGs and we will try our best to find ways to attract them back to become members."
Dr. David explained that most IMGs face a number of difficulties in their transition from residency to practice, including US Medical Licensure Examinations, visa issues and lack of mentorship or external clerkships to better prepare them for residency training. Drs. Angelo Patsalis, president of the Michigan chapter and Ashok Kumar, president elect of the Texas chapter also participated in the panel discussion and relayed their own experiences as IMG’s. They further suggested that some IMGs prefer to join ethnic medical organizations that have provided them with fellowship and better meet their needs for CME.
Red Flags Rule May Apply to Physicians
A new rule promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission to protect consumers against identify theft may also apply to medical practices. NYSAFP legal counsel, Kern Augustine Conroy & Schoppmann, has developed several documents to explain the rule and identify options for compliance. Click links below to view those documents.
RED FLAGS RULE FOR THE MEDICAL PRACTICE (doc)
Physician Legal Alert: New "Red Flag Rules" & Physician Practices (doc)
2009 Academy Lobby Day a Great Success; Record Turnout
Article by Weingarten, Reid & McNally, LLC - March 3, 2009
As a result of the efforts by Academy President,
Jun David MD, Advocacy Chair, Phil Kaplan MD, Executive Vice President Vito
Grasso and many physician and student members, the New York State Academy of
Family Physician’s State lobby day was the largest in recent history.
On Monday, March 2nd, over thirty Academy members and students from across the
State participated in the annual Albany lobby day. While in town, members attended
over thirty legislative visits arranged by the Academy’s Government Affairs
firm, Weingarten, Reid & McNally. Meetings included top staff to State Health
Commissioner Dr. Daines, the Chairs of the Senate and Assembly Health Committees,
the Chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee and other key policymakers
and staff. Also, physicians and students met with their own local legislators
while in Albany and will be doing local follow up through letters and in-district
visits.
The key issues that were discussed in legislative visits include the Academy’s:
· Support for universal health care coverage through a Single Payer system;
· Support for the Doctors Across New York program funded at almost $7
million per year and other Executive Budget initiatives to shift resources to
primary care through enhanced reimbursement to assist with recruitment and retention
of physicians in shortage areas;
· Opposition to the proposed Physician Biennial Registration Fee increase
from $600-$1000 in the Executive Budget;
· Support for legislation to change State law to allow physicians to
collectively negotiate the terms and conditions of their contracts with health
plans;
· Support for legislation to streamline HIV testing and provide the ability
to test unconscious or deceased patients in cases of occupational exposure;
· Opposition to legislation which would change the 2 ½ year statute
of limitation on medical liability cases and provide for a one year revival
of previously dismissed cases in New York. In addition, we called for comprehensive
medical liability reform in the State;
· Support for legislation to provide for confidentiality of testimony
given in peer review proceedings; and
· Support for the Reproductive Health Act to move New York’s abortion
statute from the penal code to the public health law and codify New York’s
support of a woman’s right to make personal reproductive decisions related
to pregnancy, abortion and contraception in law.
Overall the lobby day was a great success. Members had very productive meetings and covered a lot of ground in advocating for the Academy’s priorities. During our visits, we learned that the Assembly and Senate Health Committee Chairs, Assemblyman Gottfried and Senator Duane will be introducing the NYS DOH HIV testing bill shortly and will make it’s advancement a priority. Also, a number of legislators expressed interest in introducing or co-sponsoring the Academy’s other priority legislation and expressed support for the Academy’s budget priorities.
The day ended with a meeting with top staff to Health Commissioner Daines. Academy Leaders including President Jun David, MD, President-elect Mark Krotowski, MD, Vice President, James Greenwald, MD, Advocacy Chairman Phil Kaplan, MD and EVP Vito Grasso were joined by a physician who recently started in practice as well as a medical student in the meeting. The group provided feedback and recommendations to the Department on their continued efforts to assist with recruitment and retention of primary care physicians in New York, as well as the Academy’s concerns with health plan hassle factors which affect patient care and regressive medical liability proposals during a time when the liability system is severely broken and in need of major reforms. The Department was very interested in our input and thankful for the Academy’s help and support. We asked that the Academy continue to have a seat at the table as the State moves forward with initiatives related to expanded health care access, the primary care medical home, health information technology, liability reform and other efforts focused on primary care investments.
The Academy and Weingarten, Reid & McNally would like to thank all members who participated for their help in making the Academy’s 2009 Lobby Day such a success!
Click here to view the 2009 Lobby Day Photo Gallery.
Ehealth4NY Web Site Launched
Last week, the Legal Action Center launched a new ehealth4NY website – www.ehealth4ny.org – as part of its Consumer Education and Engagement on eHealth initiative, dedicated to educating New Yorkers about the benefits offered by growing electronic health information networks in the state, and the options and choices New Yorkers now have for reaping those benefits in their own lives.
Visit www.ehealth4ny.org >>
NYSAFP Member Installed as President of Statewide Organization
Norman Wetterau, MD, of Dansville, NY, is the new president of the NY Society
of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Wetterau was installed during the Society’s
annual meeting February 1-2nd in New York City.
NYSAM’s mission is to improve the care and treatment of people with the disease of addiction and advance the practice of Addiction Medicine.
Dr. Wetterau currently serves on the board of the NYSAFP and as the Academy’s
alternate delegate to MSSNY. He has been an active member of the Academy for
many years and is a past chairman of the Commission on Public Health. He is
a frequent presenter at Academy and NYSAM CME meetings and has been an advocate
for addiction medicine and family medicine throughout his career.
NYSAFP Members: New Commissions will soon be forming.
The following are descriptions of the six (6) NYSAFP Commissions for your review:
Commission on Family Practice Advocacy, Commission on Members Services, Commission
on Public Health, Commission on Academy Operations, Commission on Education,
Commission on Leadership Development.
If you are interested in joining one of our Commissions, please download, fill
out and return the response form below so that it is received by Academy Headquarters
by April 30, 2009:
Download Commissions,
Descriptions and Application Form (pdf) >>
NYSAFP EVP Receives Honor
Vito Grasso, MPA, CAE, executive vice president of
NYSAFP, received the Award of Merit from the American Academy of Family Physicians
at the Annual
Leadership Forum on April 25, 2009 in Kansas City. He is pictured here with
(left to right): Carla Coleman, EVP of the Arkansas Chapter; Carolyn Gaughan,
EVP of the Kansas Chapter; and Esther Barr, EVP of the Maryland Chapter. Ms.
Coleman and Ms. Barr received the Executive Service Award for 25 years of service
with the Academy. Ms. Gaughan also received the Award of Merit.
Kern Augustine Conroy & Schoppmann, P.C.
Kern Augustine Conroy & Schoppmann, P.C. - legal counsel for the NYSAFP. Offers access to firm’s services and publications to Academy members.
Follow
this link to the firm’s web site >>
Pulse - Voices from the heart of medicine
Pulse--voices from the heart of
medicine (www.pulsemagazine.org),
a unique online publication and community created by family physicians that
invites patients and health professionals to share their healthcare experiences.
Every Friday, Pulse e-mails an issue--a single first-person story or a poem.
The stories are professionally edited to op-ed length; readers post comments
and are invited to submit their own stories.
>> more info (pdf)
Favorite Pulse Stories and Poems
>> click here (pdf)
Dr. David Discusses Health Care Issues on Radio Show
NYSAFP president Jose David, MD, appeared on "Modern Medicine
on AM590 WROW" a radioshow in Albany on February 14th to discuss health
care issues and respond to calls from listeners.
Dr. David explained the role and purpose of the Academy and talked about
a variety of issues confronting physicians. He and host Jonathan Dougherty
from the Medical Society of New York discussed health care questions raised
by callers and Dr. David answered questions about specific diseases and
conditions including alcoholism, sleep disorders,safe sex practices, erectile
dysfunction, iappropriate antibiotic usage, etc.
There were several questions regarding the cost and complexity of our health care system. Dr. David said the Academy has expressed support for collective bargaining by physicians and development of a single payer health care system as the best ways to control costs and preserve patient rights.
Dr David and Mr. Dougherty briefly discussed the pending Senate bill 1729
which would change the current 21/2 year statute of limitation on medical
malpractice cases, which currently runs from the date of the alleged malpractice,
to instead run from the date of the discovery of alleged malpractice. If
this is passed, Dr David stated that this will devastate tail coverage and
malpractice premiums will skyrocket to more than 30%. " This is just
like committing murder---there is no statute of limitation," Dr David
stated. We already have a work force shortage and this will even encourage
more physicians to leave New York.
Medicare E-Prescribing Update
Beginning January 1, 2009, eligible professionals can participate by reporting on their adoption and use of an e-prescribing system by submitting claims information on one e-prescribing measure on their Medicare Part B claims. The specifications for reporting the measure that will be used to determine if an eligible professional is a successful e-prescriber and qualify for a 2% incentive payment for 2009 can be found in the "Downloads" section below. This document also provides the definition of a "qualified e-prescribing system." Please note that specifications for this measure are subject to additional revisions prior to January 1, 2009.
In addition to the e-prescribing specifications document, a step-by-step guide, to help eligible professionals: 1) determine their eligibility to participate in the e-prescribing incentive program, and 2) walks an eligible professional through the e-prescribing process, has been created. "2009 Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing) Incentive Program Made Simple" is available in the "Downloads" section below.
Scroll down to the downloads section to obtain further information and the Billing Codes.
Sincerely, Dr. Mark Krotowski
NYSAFP Discusses Health Plan Hassles with AG
Services of the Attorney General's Health Bureau
Important News
Update >From Medicaid Preferred Drug Program
NYS Medicaid Preferred Drug Program (pdf)
Updated Preferred Drug List (pdf)
Useful Links
https://newyork.fhsc.com
http://www.nyhealth.gov
Medical Career Opportunities With Upstate NY Hospitals
Download UNYPR Brochure (pdf)
NYQA Physician Alliance Educational Materials
Emerging Management Strategies to Optimize Outcomes in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
NYSAFP and Atlantic Health Partners offer vaccine discount purchase program.
News
There are no recent news articles.
Colorectal Cancer
Training Session
The New York State Academy of Family Physicians, in partnership with the American Cancer Society, Eastern Division, is offering physician education on identifying patients at increased of risk for colorectal cancer and improving screening rates utilizing the most recent guidelines and recommendations.
Click here to find out more.
