In the News


8 health organizations, American Bar Association call for gun policies

A call for policies to help mitigate the rate of firearm injuries and deaths in the U.S. was announced by the American College of Physicians, 7 other national health professional organizations, and the American Bar Association.

Varenicline increased quit rates among smokers contemplating cessation

Varenicline increased smoking cessation rates compared to placebo in smokers who were contemplating quitting but were not ready to do so immediately, a manufacturer-sponsored study found.

MKSAP Quiz: murmur during a physical examination

A 21-year-old male student is evaluated for a murmur heard during an athletic preparticipation physical examination. He is asymptomatic. His medical and family history is unremarkable and he takes no medications. Following a physical exam and transthoracic echocardiogram, what is the most appropriate treatment?

IOM releases report on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report recently calling for improved diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and recommended that it be renamed “systemic exertion intolerance disease.”

Cardiovascular risk calculators may overestimate, study finds

Cardiovascular risk calculators may regularly overestimate risk, according to a recent study.

Fondaparinux associated with better outcomes than LMWH in NSTEMI study

Fondaparinux was associated with lower risk of major bleeding and death than low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), a recent prospective study found.

Deadlines to submit PQRS data fast approaching, PQRSwizard extended

The submission deadline for your 2014 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) data through the PQRSwizard registry has been extended to March 13, at 5 p.m. ET. There is still time to participate in the 2014 PQRS program using PQRSwizard to report to CMS.

Patient engagement main topic of ACP's 2014 Healthcare Roundtable

Patient engagement and patient-centered care were the topics of discussion at the fourth meeting of the ACP Healthcare Roundtable, held at ACP's Philadelphia headquarters on Dec. 9. The ACP Healthcare Roundtable provides a forum for industry leaders and ACP governance and staff to discuss critical issues affecting health care.

ABIM's internal medicine specialty board and improving MOC

Yul Ejnes, MD, MACP, continues his monthly column at KevinMD.com about his perspective on Maintenance of Certification (MOC) as a community-based physician member of ABIM's internal medicine specialty board.

Clarification

An item in the Feb. 10 issue of ACP Internist Weekly requires clarification. The item, “Inadequate pain relief common among patients with knee osteoarthritis,” should have noted that pharmaceutical sponsorship was involved in the design and conduct of the study under discussion.

Put words in our mouth

ACP Internist Weekly wants readers to create captions for our new cartoon and help choose the winner. Pen the winning caption and win a $50 gift certificate good toward any ACP product, program or service.