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Top stories summarized by our editors

Expert: Med schools fall short on teaching leadership, advocacy

5/1/2018

Skills such as leadership and advocacy are not included in the curriculum at most medical schools, former American Academy of Family Physicians President Reid Blackwelder, M.D., told attendees of the 2018 AAFP National Conference of Constituency Leaders. Blackwelder said physicians should stay up-to-date on health care issues and support family medicine by helping policymakers, legislators and payers understand its scope and breadth.

Blackwelder: Med schools fall short on teaching leadership, advocacy

4/30/2018

Skills such as leadership and advocacy are not included in the curriculum at most medical schools, former AAFP President Reid Blackwelder, M.D., told attendees of the 2018 AAFP National Conference of Constituency Leaders. Blackwelder said physicians should stay up-to-date on health care issues and support family medicine by helping policymakers, legislators and payers understand its scope and breadth.

CMS: Few Medicare patients get annual wellness visit

9/8/2015

CMS data show just 12% of eligible Medicare patients in 2013 took advantage of annual wellness visits, which American Academy of Family Physicians Board Chairman Dr. Reid Blackwelder called a time for patients and physicians to "take a breath, and focus on looking ahead at risks they need to be aware of." However, physicians say the visits are not integrated into the flow of patient care because physicians are not allowed to discuss any type of current medical condition or concern during the visits.

CMS: Few Medicare patients get annual wellness visit

9/4/2015

CMS data show just 12% of eligible Medicare patients in 2013 took advantage of annual wellness visits, which AAFP Board Chairman Reid Blackwelder, M.D., called a time for patients and physicians to "take a breath, and focus on looking ahead at risks they need to be aware of." However, physicians say the visits are not integrated into the flow of patient care because physicians are not allowed to discuss any type of current medical condition or concern during the visits.

AAFP insists CMS respond to meaningful use audit system concerns

7/20/2015

The AAFP told the CMS it has "growing concerns" about Medicare's meaningful use audit system after family physicians reported having negative experiences with the audits. AAFP Board Chair Reid Blackwelder, M.D., said the Academy has concerns about auditors causing "undue hardship" for physicians by making unreasonable demands for documentation that add to the cost of complying with the program's rules.

Lawmakers drop Medicare pay cut in trade bill after AAFP objects

7/7/2015

The AAFP argued against a 0.25% Medicare pay cut contained in the Trade Preferences Extension Act, and lawmakers removed the language before passage. AAFP Board Chair Reid Blackwelder, M.D., wrote to legislators that sequester cuts are bad enough, and using Medicare physician pay reductions for non-Medicare programs "is even more alarming to family physicians."

AAFP: Family physicians are at heart of chronic care management

6/24/2015

The AAFP told a Senate Finance Committee working group studying chronic disease management that family medicine must be at the center of chronic disease care in the U.S. The letter from AAFP Board Chair Reid Blackwelder, M.D., contained a list of recommendations to address chronic care management, and said doing so is a necessary part of meeting the Triple Aim of better population health, improved patient care and lower health costs.

AAFP protests funding cuts in draft appropriations bill

6/22/2015

The AAFP told House lawmakers it opposes health-related funding cuts included in a draft appropriations bill released by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies. In a letter to lawmakers, AAFP Board Chair Reid Blackwelder, M.D., said the legislation lacks sufficient support for physician workforce training and the National Health Service Corps, and that the Academy is opposed to ending the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and defunding the Affordable Care Act.

AAFP input guides CMS proposal to expand mental health parity

6/11/2015

An AAFP letter to the CMS expresses Academy support for mental and medical parity in insurance coverage, and Board Chair Reid Blackwelder, M.D., emphasized that family physicians are trained to diagnose and treat mental illness and should be appropriately compensated. The comments were made in support of mental health parity provisions in a CMS proposed rule, which Blackwelder said uses language similar to what the Academy proposed.

AAFP fights to delay meaningful use stage 3

6/3/2015

Implementation of meaningful use stage 3 must be delayed until the health care system's transition to value-based payment is farther along, AAFP Board Chair Reid Blackwelder, M.D., demanded in comments on a proposed CMS rule. Blackwelder argued that the rule, as written, would impose an "enormous burden" on physicians, and he criticized its "all-or-nothing" approach, which would unfairly penalize thousands of participants.