ACP InternistSM - July/August 2008
Featured Articles
Internal Medicine 2008
A wrap-up of events at ACP's annual meeting held in May in Washington, DC.
Evidence-based tips for common illnesses
Evidence-based tips for common illnesses Coughs, headaches, fatigue and dizziness are the internist’s bread and butter. Learn easy tips for quickly sorting out a diagnosis. Also, quiz yourself on everyday symptoms.
War dilemmas put medical ethics under fire
Physicians debate challenges posed by war on terror and caring for enemy detainees at Guantanamo.
Consider race-based risks, but treat patients individually
Data on the prevalence of certain diseases and health risks among different populations should surely play a role in crafting public health screenings and education programs targeted to specific groups. Once in the doctor's office, though, a patient's treatment is an individual matter.
ACP presses its case for payments, pilots and primary care
Leadership Day attendees focused on three key areas when they met with their congress people for comprehensive payment reforms.
Playing the blame game for rising prostate cancer rates
Need short blurb here
New info on common outpatient infections
Expert offers recommendations on UTIs, sinusitis and MRSA
Perspectives
Internal Medicine 2008
By Janet Colwell
An overview of contents from the July/August issue of ACP Internist, including Internal Medicine wrap-up coverage, a look at the patient-centered medical home, and other articles of note.
Letters to the Editor
Primary care’s primacy
A College Fellow updates his peers on efforts to recoup money from a pharmacy benefit management company for filling out prior authorization forms.
Response to ‘Ethical Dilemmas’
Blurb needed here
Practice Management
How to survive private practice and have a life
Medical school prepares physicians to care for patients, not to run a business. Young physicians share their best tips.
Practice Rx
It's not too late to start reporting quality data to Medicare and receive a bonus payment. Learn how to submit claims on 15 consecutive eligible Medicare patients to receive a bonus of 1.5% of allowed Medicare charges from July 1 to Dec. 31.
CPII Tips
Much of the time physicians spend on patients' paperwork is uncompensated, but insurers usually will reimburse physicians for filling out forms, such as home health plans and copying medical records, that require a significant investment of time.
Commentary
Mindful Medicine
By Jerome Groopman, FACP and Pamela Hartzband, FACP
The case of a young woman mistakenly diagnosed with asthma llustrates the danger of confusing correlation and causation.
Practical Genomics
By W. Gregory Feero, MD, PhD
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act—the first civil rights bill of the new century of the life sciences—affords nationwide protection from discrimination based on genetic heritage.
Staff Columns
College Watch
Anthony S. Fauci, MACP, received the Presidential medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award, in recognition of his efforts to advance understanding and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
FDA Update
An overview of agency actions, including an alert for CellCept and recalls for Solodyn and Digitek.
Web Watch
By Jessica Berthold
The Health Care Innovations Exchange Web site informs users how their peers have tackled common problems such as appointment scheduling or monitoring glucose levels of hospitalized patients.
The Campaign Trail
By Stacey Butterfield
The advantage of being a definitive presidential nominee while the other party continues to fight out the primary is that you get a head start on general election campaigning. The disadvantage, as Sen. John McCain's campaign learned at Internal Medicine 2008, is that the other party may double-team you.
President's Message
Discontent leads to medical home models
By Jeffrey P. Harris, FACP
Returning primary care to the foundation of health care delivery and adopting the patient-centered medical home as the central hub for each patient's care holds great promise for fostering a system that patients welcome and young physicians find appealing.
Washington Update
A passion for primary care and politics at Internal Medicine
By Robert B. Doherty
Internists often ask me what it will take to restore primary care in the U.S. Even more important than policies, strategies or tactics is having the passion to create great change.
Cartoon Caption Contest
July's Winning Entry
By ACP Internist Staff
Readers submit their wit by providing captions for cartoons. The latest winner is …
ACP Highlights
White House lauds ACP Master for work on AIDS
By ACP Internist Staff
What's new from other areas of The College's Medical Knowledge and Education offerings.
Internist Archives Quick Links
ACP Career Connection
Looking for a new internal medicine or subspecialty position?
ACP Career Connection can help you find your next job in internal medicine. Search internist and subspecialist positions nationwide that suit your criteria and preferences. Jobs are posted about two weeks before print publication of Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP Internist, and ACP Hospitalist. Exclusive “Online Direct” opportunities are updated weekly. Check us out online.
New ACP Online Clinical Information Page
Sneak a peek at ACPs new and improved Clinical Information page! Test drive the beta version of our redesigned Clinical Information landing page, give us your feedback, and help us make it as easy to use as possible.
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Your voice in these surveys is very important to ACP and enables us to continue to produce the high-quality publications that you expect. Find out more.