Contact Us
Carrie A. Horwitch MD, MPH, FACP
Governor
Email Me
Amanda Watne
Chapter Executive
Email Me
2033 6th Ave Ste 1100
Seattle, WA 98121
Ph: 206.956.3650
F: 206.441.5863
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By Carrie Horwitch MD FACP, WA-ACP Governor
"The spirit of democracy is not a mechanical thing to be adjusted by abolition of forms. It requires change of heart." Mahatma Gandhi
The
recent tragic events in Newtown, CT have once again focused our nation
on the issue of gun violence and gun control. Our thoughts and
prayers go to all those families and communities whose lives have been
affected by these violent crimes. I certainly hope that our
society is now ready for a change of heart and action when it comes to
gun control and reduction of violence in our communities. When the
initial shock of the news wore off, I contacted national ACP to see what
our professional organization was doing about this issue and what we
will plan to do. I was pleased to see that ACP has had a policy
about firearms for a number of years and will be revisiting this issue
in one of the policy meetings. Please read the statement made by ACP President Dr David Bronson.
There is also a related posting on Bob Doherty's blog posted December 17, 2012. ACP also published an editorial
in the Annals on January 1, 2013 by Dr Christine Laine who makes a very
strong case that we should look at gun violence as a public health
issue in this country.
This is one health related issue that will
be before the current congress at the national level. We also have
several issues that will be before our state house and senate.
Budget concerns continue to be a worry and several programs run a risk
of having reduction of funding- this is at the same time as our state is
moving forward on implementing health exchanges, Medicaid expansion and
other components of the health reform law (ACA). Many of these changes
will take place in 2014 but we should start seeing some benefits this
year with increased reimbursement to primary care.
I would
strongly urge you to be more involved in our state advocacy efforts.
The WSMA leadership day is Monday February 4th, several of us will be
going to Olympia- if you are interested you need to register at: https://wsma.org/13-LegSummit
Please
let us know if you are attending so we can arrange to meet at the hotel
beforehand . Also if you are interested in carpooling please contact
me.
In November 2012- we had our annual chapter meeting that was
co-chaired by Drs Lisa Chiou and Chris Knight. It was a fantastic
turnout and the attendees gave it high marks for clinical content,
advocacy issues, interacting with others in the field, and improving
clinical skills. Please see below for more information about the
recent meeting and the award winners from the chapter. Congratulations
to all our awardees.
We are already planning for our next annual
chapter meeting which will be Nov 7-9, at Bell Harbor in Seattle.
Please save the date.
I am now entering my last year as
your Governor. It is hard to believe that three years has passed
already. I continue to be energized by my career choice as an internist
and by ACP as my professional society home.
In April 2014,
Dr Joyce Wipf will become the next Governor for WA state- I know that
our chapter will be in wonderful hands and Dr Wipf will do great things
in the years to come.
As always, if you have ideas for our chapter or want to become more involved please contact me at carrieho@comcast.net |
 Mentoring Brunch for Medical Students Needs Mentors!
The
medical students hope to meet physicians in practice with an informal
opportunity for dialogue. Other mentoring opportunities may be created
through these initial contacts. Please consider bringing your
non-physician or physician spouse and family to this event and contact
Kemi Nakabayashi, MD, FACP at kemin@pacmed.org if you can attend as a mentor.
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Membership Committee Report
By Kemi Nakabayashi MD FAC, and Saleem Memom, MD, FACP, Membership Co-Chairs
Happy
New Year from your WA-ACP membership chairpersons! We look
forward to another inspiring year with IM 2013 in San Francisco in April
and hope to see you there. The Recruit-A-Colleague program
continues for this cycle through March 31. Inviting new members
with discounted registration to the annual meeting before the regular
registration fee deadline of January 31 is a great enticement. Here is the link to additional information on Recruit-A-Colleague.
We
feel that hospitalists can particularly promote the value of ACP
membership for board recertification, MKSAP and other CME offerings and
take advantage of the Recruit-A-Colleague benefits as we continue to
work on collaboration with Society of Hospital Medicine. Please
also see the various interest group articles and use these activities as
a way to promote the value of ACP membership. The Women in
Medicine Dim Sum Around the Sound gatherings for example are not
exclusive to ACP members. Bring a friend with you!
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Dr. Joyce Wipf Elected Governor-Elect
We had two outstanding candidates for Washington chapter governor, Drs. Matt Hollon and Joyce Wipf.Congratulations
to Joyce Wipf MD, FACP who was selected to be your next Governor.
We thank both these individuals for their enthusiasm and their work on
behalf of the Washington chapter over the years. We also thank our
membership who voted in this election.
Dr. Wipf will be considered the Governor-elect Designee and will start
her four year term as Governor in the Spring of 2014. As Governor, Dr.
Wipf serves as the official representative of the College for the
Washington Chapter, providing a link between members at the local level
and leadership at the national level. The Governor has a variety of
responsibilities at both levels.
The results of the chapter elections were announced at the Annual Business Meeting on November 2, 2012.
Congratulations to Lisa Chiou MD FACP, Everett, Doug Lindahl DO FACP, Shelton, and Mark Beiter DO FACP, Marysville/Seattle, elected to serve two year terms on the chapter's Executive Council.
In addition, David C. Dugdale III MD FACP, Rebecca Ruud MD FACP, Jeff S. Clarke MD FACP, and Saleem Memon MD FACP were reelected to serve an additional two year terms on the Executive Council.
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Annual Meeting Recap
By Meeting Co-Chairs Chris Knight MD FACP and Lisa Chiou MD FACP
This
past November, over 300 people attended the 2012 Washington ACP meeting
in Seattle, making this year's conference a success. During the
two day conference, speakers presented a broad range of topics on
inpatient and outpatient medicine, including medical marijuana and
physician burnout. A thorough and thought-provoking update
on health care reform was given by Bob Doherty, ACP Senior Vice
President for Governmental Affairs and Public Policy.
The two
precourses in hospital medicine and sports medicine were well-attended
and both provided hands-on learning opportunities by skilled faculty
teachers. For the first time, we also offered ABIM Maintenance of
Certification modules. Oral and poster presentations by associates
and medical students were stellar yet again. Dr. Moe Hagman
presided over the always entertaining Medical Jeopardy, and the winning
team from Virginia Mason will surely represent Washington well at the
national ACP conference in April.
Planning is already underway
for the 2013 Washington ACP meeting which will be held from November 8-9
at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle. On November 7,
we will have precourses in hospital medicine and palliative care, and
again we will be offering ABIM Maintenance of Certification
modules. We are looking forward to what Drs. Maggie Adam and Paul
Kassab, our conference co-chairs, have in store for us!
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Save the Date - WC-ACP 2013 Annual Meeting
By Paul G. Kassab MD FACP and Maggie R. Adam MD, Planning Committee Co-Chairs
The
2013 ACP Washington Chapter Scientific Session will be held on Friday
and Saturday, November 8 and 9, at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in
Seattle. Half-day pre-courses and MOC Modules will be held at the same
venue on Thursday, November 7.
Be sure to mark your calendar. We look forward to seeing you!
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Washington ACP 2012 Award Recipients
Annually the Washington ACP honors internists for their
contributions to patient care, community service, and education. The
following 2012 awards were presented in November at the Washington ACP
Annual Scientific Meeting.
2012
Award Recipients (from left to right) Bruce Smith MD, FACP, Laureate
Award; Steven Konicek MD, Internist of the Year; Dr. Carrie
Horwitch, Chapter Governor; Tim Hatlen, Outstanding Medical Student;
Paul Bunge MD, Community Service
Laureate Award
From left to right: Laureate Award Winner, Bruce Smith MD, FACP, son, Brendan, wife, Denise and daughter, Andrea
The 2012 recipient of the Laureate Award from the Washington Chapter of the ACP is Bruce Smith MD FACP.
Dr.
Bruce C. Smith is the recipient of the ACP Washington Chapter Laureate
Award for 2012. He was born and raised near Lynnwood, Washington
where his family has lived since the 1930's. He attended
Washington State University in their Honors Program and received a
degree in biochemistry in 1979. He graduated from the University
of Washington School of Medicine in 1984 and completed his residency in
Internal Medicine at Virginia Mason Medical Center in 1987.
After
residency he began practice in primary care internal medicine at
Virginia Mason's satellite clinic in Issaquah. His practice
quickly developed a concentration on geriatrics out of his own interest
and feedback from his patients. He managed his own hospitalized
patients at Overlake, Virginia Mason, and other hospitals for many years
and served on the residency faculty at Virginia Mason. In 1999 he
left Virginia Mason to focus exclusively on geriatrics at Overlake
Hospital's new Bellevue Senior Health Center. There he developed
and managed their nursing home program along with his outpatient clinic
practice. He became more involved in administration of his medical
group and as a nursing home medical director. In 2006 he joined
Group Health to manage their system-wide nursing home rounding program
and later also became the medical director of their hospice
program. He continued to see patients in nursing homes and hospice
settings. In 2012 he became an Associate Medical Director for
Group Health's 1400-member medical group. Dr. Smith is board
certified in Internal Medicine as well as Hospice and Palliative
Medicine. He is a certified medical director for long-term care
and hospice and completed the Certificate program in Medical Management
at the University of Washington. Read More
Internist of the Year
From left to right: Steven Konicek MD, Internist of the Year, and Dr. Carrie Horwitch, Chapter Governor
Each
year the chapter seeks to honor a community-based internist considered
to be a role model by his or her peers, possess excellent clinical
skills, dedication to patients, enthusiasm for medical practice
leadership, and the ability to balance between professional and personal
interest that we can all strive to emulate. This year's recipient
of the Internist of the Year Award goes to Steven Konicek, MD,
Dr.
Konicek is a well-respected full-time civilian provider in the Internal
Medicine Clinic at Madigan Army Medical Center. He provides
exemplary outpatient care to active duty military members, retirees, and
their families. Patients often remark what a privilege it is to
have him as their primary care physician. In addition to seeing
his panel of over 1000 patients, Dr. Konicek also routinely performs
exercise treadmill stress tests and attends on the Madigan Outpatient
Internal Medicine Consult Service. He has been a member of both
the Washington State Medical Association and the Pierce County Medical
Society since 1995. Read More
Golden Apple Award
Pictured left to right: Jeff Peterson MD and Carrie Horwitch MD, MPH, FACP, WA-ACP Governor
With
this award, the chapter honors volunteer teachers who have made a
substantial contribution to the education of medical or other health
profession students in his or her community. This year's Golden
Apple Award recipient is Jeff Peterson MD,
Dr.
Peterson works at Seattle Arthritis Clinic. He has had a third
year student in his clinic every week for the past decade. In a time
when it is harder and harder to find physicians to volunteer to teach
students, Jeff enthusiastically teaches always
Community Service Award
From left to right: Paul Smith MD, FACP, Awards Chair, and Paul Bunge MD, Community Service Award Winner
In
recognition of an internist or group of internists who have an
exceptionally positive impact on their community through volunteer
activities. The winner of this year's award is Paul Bunge MD,
Dr.
Bunge graduated from University of Missouri - Columbia School of
medicine 1995 under US Navy scholarship Internship at Madigan Army
Medical Center followed by 2 1/2 year service on Guam as Undersea
Medical Officer. He finished Internal Medicine Residency at Balboa
Naval Hospital in San Diego in 2001 followed by service at Camp
Pendleton Naval Hospital. Read More
Outstanding Medical Student Award
From left to right: Doug Paauw MD, MACP, Medical Student Liaison and Tim Hatlen, Outstanding Medical Student Award Winner
This year's Outstanding Medical Student was awarded to Tim Hatlen.
Tim
Hatlen is applying for residencies in Internal Medicine with his career
goals focused on becoming a rural general internist. His passions
in medicine include the continuity of care, the complex medical
problems, and depth of the patient-physician relationship.
His number one goal is to return to Washington after his residency (and
his future wife's residency who is three years behind) to help precept a
rural IM outpatient experience for third and fourth year medical
students. Tim's desire for providing optimal delivery of future
patient care has driven him during his clinical years to learn all he
could, appreciate the art and lessons taught by his preceptors, and
serve continually for the community that is supporting him. He
spent 5 months of his 3rd year training, including his outpatient IM, in
Lewistown, MT which provided an appreciation of the demands of a rural
general internist. Tim has recently been elected to Alpha Omega
Alpha as well as the Gold Humanism Honor Society this fall. Read More
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2012 Associate and Student Competition Winners
Associate competitions at the 2012 chapter meeting included an oral
presentation, poster presentation, and always popular Jeopardy
match. Students participated in a poster presentation
competition. We were lucky to have the opportunity to learn from
our Associate colleagues. Dr. Joey Parker won the
oral presentation competition. For his efforts, Dr. Parker won a trip
to the National ACP meeting in San Francisco April 2013. Dr. Nicholas Mark won the poster competition and received $750 towards ACP CME or educational materials. Camille Asher
from Virginia Mason Medical Center won the student poster competition
and received $250 towards ACP CME or educational materials. In the
Medical Jeopardy competition, the Associates from Virginia Mason
Medical Center (Drs. Joey Parker, Ananth Shenoy, and Eric Tuday
prevailed over teams from Spokane, University of Washington, and
Madigan to win a trip to the National ACP Doctor's Dilemma competition
at the national meeting in San Francisco 2013. If you attend the
national meeting, please take the time to cheer on our Washington State
team.
Virginia Mason Medical Center Associate Jeopardy Winners (from left to right) Drs. Eric Tuday, Joey Parker and Ananth Shenoy
From
left to right: Michael Soung MD, FACP, Associate Program Chair,
Matt Hollon MD, MPH, FACP, Oral Presenter Judge, and Joey Parker MD,
Oral Presenter Winner
From
left to right: Associate Poster Winner, Nicholas Mark MD,
University of Washington, and Michael Soung MD, FACP, Associate Program
Chair
From
left to right: Leslie Yen MD, Student Poster Judge, Michael Soung MD,
FACP, Associate Program Chair, and Medical Student Poster Winner,
Camille Asher, University of Washington
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Advocacy
By Genevieve Pagalilauan MD FACP, Advocacy Co-Chair
In
November we had the special honor of having ACP Senior Vice President of
advocacy and policy, Bob Doherty, as our national ACP
representative. He joined the advocacy committee in presenting a
breakfast workshop which was well attended and informative. Our
discussion topics were 1) national ACP's priorities and programs 2) ways
for ACP members to get involved in advocacy 3) Washington State
Medicaid expansion, and 4) Federal Basic Health.
Since the November 2012 election the balance of our state
senate has changed as 2 democrats have declared themselves
republican. Democrats control House of Representatives and
Governor's mansion. Washington State faces a 2 billion dollar
budget shortfall over the next biennium. In light of Governor Inslee's
reluctance to specifically recommend taxes for revenue building, and the
WA Supreme Court ruling that we are underfunding K-12 public education,
we must prepare for more drastic cuts to health care and safety net
programs.
Key issues for 2013 include:
- Washington insurance exchanges
- State Medicaid expansion - National and WA chapter ACP supports
- Continued funding for public health, Basic Health, and safety net programs
- Health Care Authority coverage of emergency room visits for Medicaid recipients- ACP supports
- Continued
funding for the VRP (volunteer retired physician) program to cover
medical volunteerism to underserved populations in our state
- Continued funding for interpreter services
- WA-ACP and you, as an individual member, have an opportunity to take a leadership role on issues like:
- Policies around the legalization of marijuana
- Gun control (see Bob Doherty's recent Policy blog on this topic)
- Choosing Wisely campaign (physician initiated reduction of medical over use and spending).
Please share your thoughts with us Genevieve Pagalilauan ( genevieve_pagalilauan@yahoo.com) and Bruce Smith ( smith.bc@ghc.org).
Consider joining the ACP advocacy committee, and attending the
WSMA lobby day in Olympia Washington on 2/4/13. There will be a
contingency from WA-ACP attending. |
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ACP Leadership Day - May 21 & 22
The 21st annual ACP Leadership Day on Capitol Hill will be held May
21-22 at the new Liaison Hotel in Washington, D.C. For more
information log on to http://capwiz.com/acponline/home/LD
If
you are a Washington ACP chapter member and interested in being
included in the chapter's delegation that will be participating in
Leadership Day 2013, contact Amanda Watne at ajw@wsma.org and let her know. Please submit your request no later than February 15, 2013.
Unfortunately,
due to limited funds, the chapter is only able to help reimburse
expenses for a few member-at-large attendees. If selected to
attend, the chapter will reimburse you for coach airfare and two night's
lodging.
Leadership Day enables the College to increase its
presence on Capitol Hill and bring our issues to the attention of U.S.
lawmakers. We are counting on a motivated and engaged delegation to
assist in our advocacy efforts.
The two day event will
provide ACP members with advocacy and/or media training, an update on
the College's priority legislative issues, briefings by members of
Congress, administration officials, and key Capitol Hill staffers, and
an opportunity to meet with your state's elected officials.
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Council of Young Physicians
By Lili Yao MD, CYP Chair
The
WA ACP Council of Young Physicians organized an informative and
pragmatic event on 20 October 2012 in Tacoma. Dr. Denny Maher, the
Director of Legal Affairs of the Washington State Medical Association,
led an interactive discussion with attendees about "Physician Employment
Contract Review." He imparted the following words of
encouragement and advice. It is an exciting time to enter
practice. Before committing to an employment relationship, be sure
you understand the basic terms in a contract: compensation, bonus,
malpractice, tail coverage, and the non-compete clause. Be
proactive. Delineate your employment goals. Know your rights. Obtain
sound advice. Make sure everything that you think is important is
written in the contract. You can always negotiate. Be sure
you also know and understand the terms of the contract and provisions
for termination of the contract. You can find more professional
resources at the Washington State Medical Association
website. Thank you to all those who attended. We
welcome and encourage your comments, involvement and suggestions for
future events. Please contact Lili Yao at lili.yao@multicare.org if you are interested in becoming more involved. We will also have another CYP related session at the 2013 Washington State ACP meeting in November 8-9. Save the date!
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Osler Club News
By Jonathon Sargent, MS-2, Osler Liaison
This past
quarter has been very exciting for the Internal Medicine Interest Group
(Osler Club) as it continued its mission to provide UWSOM students with
the education, skills, and professional connection necessary to succeed
in a career in internal medicine. Newly elected president Amy Chang
heads the Osler Club's leadership team which is composed of Sheida
Aalami, Jeff Bank, Russell Berg, Ruth Go, Steven Levitte, Jennifer
McClure, Parhum Namdaran, Jonathon Sargent, Alex Tanabe, and Greta
Tubbesing. Through their hard work and dedication the club was
able to host four events this quarter, expand its reach to include
students from all WWAMI sites, and connect more students with the
professional members of the American College of Physicians professional
organization.
The Club hosted two well-attended physician panels,
one during Primacy Care Week, and one in November. The panels were
composed of specialists in gastroenterology, oncology, cardiology,
nephrology pulmonary medicine, and general practice. The physicians gave
advice on finding the right practice area, described what makes their
particular field unique, and suggested ways to increase the chances of
being accepted to the residency of one's choice. Following the panel the
students and physicians continued the interaction in a more casual
environment over hors d'oeuvres and drinks. One of the panel
presentations was broadcast to the WWAMI sites to allow greater
opportunities for students in those areas.
On November 28, the
Club hosted a relaxed Resident/Student social hour with pizza, beer, and
wine. Students were eager to interact with residents to better
understand what to expect from residency and residents were enthusiastic
about sharing their experiences and giving advice. The event was
relaxed, informative, a lot of fun and it gave students a better
understanding of what it takes to succeed in upcoming clerkships.
One
area to which the Osler Club is dedicated is advocacy and allowing
students a greater opportunity to become more involved with advocacy. In
an effort to generate greater awareness of these opportunities the
Osler Club partnered with Health Equity Circle and hosted an Election
Results Viewing Party on November 6. The event was a lot of fun and
filled with great conversations, debates, sharing new ideas, and
exploring new and better ways for students and physicians to be involved
with the causes about which they are so passionate.
In its
continuing effort to advance advocacy and create networking and
professional development opportunities for students, the Osler Club
recently selected JP Manning as its representative for this year's
Leadership Day which takes place in Washington D.C. on May 21-22, 2013.
Leadership Day is a national, annual research and advocacy conference
for the American College of Physicians. Students attending Leadership
Day have the opportunity to work with physicians from all over the
country on policy issues related to healthcare access and delivery while
receiving training on talking to legislators, the legal process, and
advocacy in general.
Future events for the Club include
organizing day of service for students on Martin Luther King, Jr Day,
hosting a clinical skills workshop where medical students can learn
directly from residents, and hosting more events where students can gain
practical advice and information from practicing physicians and
residents.
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Women in Medicine News
by Cathrine Wheeler, Co-Chair WIM Organizing Committee- The next event in our ongoing "Dim Sum Around the Sound"
series of informal drop-in conversation cafes will take place on
Saturday, February 2nd (as always, the first Saturday of even-numbered
month) at 10 AM, at Imperial Garden in Kent, 18230 E. Valley Hwy, Suite
116, 425-656-0999 (www.imperial-garden.com,
provides driving directions). Come join us for conversation and a
special shared meal. Residents and associate members are also
always welcome. Although not required, your RSVP will help us to
plan how many tables to reserve. Please contact Kemi Nakabayashi
MD FACP at kemin@pacmed.org if you are planning to come. Contact either Kemi or Linda Bavisotto MD FACP (portaclinica@gmail.com) with any questions. Details for this event will also be posted to the chapter website.
- Spring Event:
A social event and interactive discussion featuring a panel of speakers
who've successfully navigated career transitions and/or career re-entry
following a period of absence is being planned for the spring, with
date and location to be announced.
- A local
event of potential interest to WIM: Most of us are familiar with
the storied careers of visionaries James Watson and Francis Crick, but
how much do we know of the story of their contemporary, British medical
scientist Rosalind Franklin, the talented and courageous x-ray
crystallographer whose pioneering work was pivotal in elucidating the
helical structure of DNA? Seattle Repertory Theater in its 50th
anniversary season will be performing Anna Ziegler's play "Photograph
51", exploring the life and career of Rosalind Franklin. The play,
described as "intriguing" and "touching", runs from February 1 - March
3, 2013. For more details or to purchase tickets, see their
website, www.seattlerep.org
- ACP
(national) has recently announced the creation of 15 "member-only"
special interest online forums, one of which will have the focus Women
in Medicine. Other special interest groups listed include
Work/Life Balance, Sex- and Gender-Specific Medicine, Physician
Educators, Maintenance of Certification, Working Abroad, and a variety
of topics representing particular practice interests. For more
information and a complete listing of other group forums, or to enroll
in any of these groups see: http://www.acponline.org/membership/benefits/special_interest.htm.
We
were pleased to have a good turnout for the WIM no-host dinner at the
annual chapter meeting in November, held at Anthony's Bell Street Diner,
and also for the last dim sum event on December 1, held at Bamboo
Village near Green Lake.
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Plan to Attend: Spokane Society of Internal Medicine's 64th Annual Meeting
by Matt Hollon MD, MPH, FACP
The Washington Chapter of
ACP returns as lead sponsor of the SSIM's 64th annual Update in Internal
Medicine which will be held at the Spokane Convention Center on
February 22, 2013. Registration is open now!
ACP members can take advantage of discounted registration to the SSIM meeting. Click here to view the meeting brochure or visit the SSIM's web page for meeting details.
This
year's meeting features internationally renowned back pain expert, Dr.
Richard Deyo, as well as medical humanities leader, Dr. Robert A.
Schwab. Other topics include updates in rheumatology, palliative
care, and drug therapy, focused sessions on COPD, GERD, and anemia, and a
host of other topics.
If attending the SSIM meeting don't
miss the SSIM-ACP kickoff event on Thursday evening. We will
provide an update on ACP activities regionally and nationally and offer a
short session on advancing to fellowship in the College prior to
hearing an entertaining talk from Dr. Schwab.
All in all,
the SSIM meeting will be an amazing opportunity for both hospital-based
and office-based internists, as well as other specialists and primary
care providers to hear updates on a broad range of areas relevant to the
care of the adult patient.
As this year's meeting will be
held on Friday only, for those traveling to Spokane, consider making an
extended weekend out of it by visiting one of the five major ski areas
(Schweitzer Mt., Silver Mt., 490 North, Mt. Spokane, Lookout Pass)
within a 2 hour drive from downtown Spokane.
We hope to see you in Spokane!
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ACP CME Events in Your Community
by Matt Hollon MD, MPH, FACP
As initially discussed at
the state chapter meeting this past November, we are working on an
initiative to bring ACP mini-CME events (2 - 3 hours) to local
professional communities across Washington State.
We anticipate that
as communities decide to host these events, they will select from a list
of speakers/topics they are interested in for CME. The local
community will be responsible for "hosting" the event by supplying the
date, time, and venue as well as any amenities they wish to
provide. Once they have identified potential speakers from the
"speakers' bureau", the state chapter will work with the local community
to make arrangements for the speakers to travel to the CME event.
The state chapter will also handle the CME accreditation.
We are
currently in the process of assembling this "speakers' bureau".
If you have talks (please no industry supported talks) that you'd be
willing to give to professional communities across the state please send
your name and topic to Amanda Watne at ajw@wsma.org .
Also,
if you are interested in organizing one of these mini-CME events in
your community please contact Amanda Watne and provide her your name and
locale.
If you have questions or additional ideas about this initiative please contact Matt Hollon, MD MPH FACP at mfhollon@uw.edu.
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Vaccine Advisory Committee News
by Justin R. Ortiz MD, Vaccine Advisory Committee
Pertussis
continues to be a major concern for the Washington State Vaccine
Advisory Committee (VAC). During the last full VAC meeting in
October, 2012, we had a discussion with CDC and Washington state
epidemiologists regarding a recent CDC Epi-Aid Investigation of the pertussis outbreak in Washington.
Part of this investigation is a Tdap vaccine effectiveness study which
may have implications in the future for pediatric Tdap vaccine schedules
nationally.
In November, 2012, the Washington State Vaccine
Advisory Committee (VAC) voted to recommend that the Washington State
Department of Health promote pertussis immunization in women. This
vote was in response to a October 2012 provisional recommendation
by the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that
pregnant women should receive a single dose of Tdap vaccine at each
pregnancy regardless of prior vaccination, preferably during their third
trimester.
The ACIP rationale for this provisional recommendation includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Circulation of Pertussis disease continues to be persistent, reaching epidemic levels in states such as Washington.
- Increased risk and severity of disease for infants, resulting in 10 infant deaths nationally in 2012.
- Estimated coverage for Tdap vaccine among pregnant women is only at 2.6 percent nationally.
- Waning immunity of Tdap vaccine.
- A cost-effectiveness analysis was supportive of vaccination during pregnancy.
- Safety of Tdap vaccination during pregnancy was determined acceptable and will continue to be monitored.
The VAC will undergo a complete review the ACIP recommendations once they are finalized and published in 2013.
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Important News from National ACP
ACP Announces High Value Care Website
ACP is pleased to announce the launch of a new High Value Care website that centralizes resources and information about the High Value Care initiative.
The website simplifies access to clinical, advocacy, patient, and academic resources and features:
- ACP's
evidence-based clinical practice recommendations for specific tests and
treatments, such as diagnostic imaging for low back pain and drug
treatment of type 2 diabetes published in Annals of Internal Medicine;
- resources
to help implement high value care in physician practices, including
ethical considerations, performance measurement recommendations, and
peer-reviewed articles about high value care published in Annals of
Internal Medicine;
- summaries of and links to ACP's public policy
papers advocating for legislative reforms that would enhance the
delivery of care while reducing costs;
- the High Value
Cost-Conscious Care Curriculum for internal medicine residents developed
by ACP and the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine;
- patient
education materials, including brochures for common clinical issues
created in partnership with Consumer Reports and based on ACP's
evidence-based recommendations; and
- videos about high value care topics for physicians, medical students, and patients.
ACP
is committed to helping physicians provide the best possible care to
their patients while simultaneously reducing unnecessary health care
costs. The College launched its High Value Care initiative in 2010
because health care expenditures are projected to reach almost 20
percent of the United States' GDP by 2020. Many economists consider this
spending rate unsustainable. Up to 30 percent, or $765 billion, of
health care costs were identified as potentially avoidable--with many of
these costs attributed to unnecessary services.
Explore the new site
to learn more about this important initiative and how it can help you
and your patients pursue care together to improve health, avoid harms,
and reduce wasteful practices.
Call for Fall 2013 Board of Governors Resolutions
Are
you concerned about a practice or clinical issue or have an idea you'd
like to suggest? If so, you might consider submitting a resolution to
your Governor or chapter council.
Initiating a resolution
provides ACP members an opportunity to focus attention at the ACP
national level on a particular issue or topic that concerns them.
Participating in the Board of Governors resolutions process provides the
ACP grassroots member a voice and allows you to shape College policy
that impacts the practice of internal medicine. When drafting a
resolution, don't forget to consider how well it fits within ACP's Mission and Goals. In addition, be sure to use the College's Strategic Plan to guide you when proposing a resolution topic.
If
effecting change interests you, the deadline for submitting new
resolutions to be heard at the Fall 2013 Board of Governors Meeting is
March 20, 2013. Members must submit resolutions to their Governor and/or
chapter council. A resolution becomes a resolution of the chapter once
the chapter council approves it.
Not sure how to begin drafting a
resolution? Researching the College's position on an issue can give you
a start. Visit the ACP Online homepage and click the "Advocacy"
link in the right-hand, top margin to access ACP policy positions, read
about recent ACP advocacy activities, or search the ACP's Public Policy
Virtual Library (PPVL). Visit your chapter website,
too, and click the link under "Advocacy" to access Electronic
Resolutions System (ERS) where you can search past or proposed
resolutions. A copy of the resolutions process is available on the ERS
which furnishes more details on formatting resolutions, as well the
process for submission, review, and approval.
Share your good idea with us. Draft a resolution.
ACP Physician Affiliate Membership Now Available
Physicians trained in specialties other than internal medicine may now join ACP as Physician Affiliate members.
Eligibility
includes graduation from a medical school found in the International
Medical Education Directory (IMED) maintained by the Foundation for
Advancement of Medical Education and Research (FAIMER), and holding a
current medical license to practice in their field. No applicant will be
accepted as a Physician Affiliate member who has trained in, or who is
practicing in, internal medicine.
ACP Physician Affiliate members
have access to most of the benefits provided to full Members. They are
excluded from voting, holding office, or attaining Fellowship in the
College.
Dues for Physician Affiliates are the same as full
Members. Outside of the US, Physician Affiliates may only apply for the
online Membership option.
To learn more, or to share this opportunity with non-internal medicine physicians in your office, visit www.acponline.org/join.
Strengthen Our Chapter: Participate in ACP's Recruit-a-Colleague Chapter Rewards Program!
The
American College of Physicians and the Washington State Chapter
encourages all members to help strengthen the voice of internal medicine
by recommending ACP Membership to colleagues. By joining the College,
your colleagues will enrich their clinical knowledge and skills and have
access to all of the ACP member benefits that you enjoy.
To
thank you for your dedication to our organization, ACP offers incentives
to members and their chapters that recruit new members through the
Recruit-a-Colleague Chapter (RACC) Rewards Program.
As with the
national Recruit-a-Colleague Program, the RACC Program rewards
successful individual recruiters with dues credits for each new full
Member recruited and a chance to win a trip to the annual Internal
Medicine meeting. In addition, the RACC Program also provides rewards to
the recruiters' chapters. The Recruit-a-Colleague Chapter Rewards
Program runs annually from April 1 through March 15.
To participate, simply forward to your colleagues the Membership application found at www.acponline.org/racc. To qualify for the program, your name must be listed on the recruiter line of this specially coded application.
Thank you for your help in strengthening our chapter!
ACP Provides Resources for PQRS Requirement Changes
ACP offers resources
to help you comply with the latest PQRS (Physician Quality Reporting
System) regulations. The PQRS was developed by the CMS in 2007 as a
voluntary reporting program that provides a financial incentive to
physicians and other eligible professionals who report on data on
quality measures for covered services furnished to Medicare
beneficiaries.
Due to changes in regulations, physicians will be
penalized 1.5% of their Medicare payments in 2015, and 2% in 2016 and
each year thereafter, unless they report through PQRS in 2013. If
physicians do report in 2013, they are eligible to receive a .5 percent
bonus from Medicare. ACP, along with other CMSS member organizations,
has contracted with CECity to provide the PQRIwizard tool to assist their members in PQRS reporting.
The
PQRIwizard is a cost-effective online tool to help collect and report
quality measure data for the PQRS incentive payment program. Similar to
online tax preparation software, the PQRIwizard helps guide you through a
few easy steps to help rapidly collect, validate, report and submit the
results to CMS for payment. ACP members can purchase PQRIwizard at a
discounted rate.
ACP Offers Resources to Help Raise Immunization Rates
Several
resources are available to help physicians and health care
professionals ensure that patients receive the correct immunizations in
accordance with the Center for Disease Control’s Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule.
ACP urges physicians and healthcare professionals to conduct an
immunization review with patients during medical visits to assess
whether patients' immunizations are up to date and to educate patients
on the benefits of immunization. "Flu shots and other immunizations can
prevent people from suffering serious illnesses," said David L. Bronson,
MD, FACP, president, ACP. "We need to improve immunization rates for
all adults, especially for people between the ages of 18 to 65 with
chronic conditions."
ACP advises internists, family physicians,
and subspecialists to capitalize on adult medical visits by conducting
an immunization review to educate patients about the benefits of
immunizations and to assess whether the patient's vaccination status is
current, referring to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's
(CDC) Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule.
The list of
vaccines that adults should discuss with their internists include T dap
(tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis, whooping cough), HPV (human
papillomavirus), herpes zoster (shingles), MMR (measles, mumps, and
rubella), pneumococcal pneumonia, hepatitis B (for adults with
diabetes), and varicella (chickenpox).
The U.S. adult
immunization rates for 2010 were 8.2 percent for Tdap (for people 19-64
in the past five years), 20.7 percent for HPV (for women 19-26), 14.4
percent for herpes zoster (for people 60 and older), 18.5 percent for
pneumococcal (for people 19-64 who are at high risk), and 42.0 percent
for hepatitis B among adults (19 to 49) at high risk of infection. Just
39 percent of adults 18 years of age and older received a flu shot in
2011-12.
"It is also important for physicians to immunize themselves,
their staff members, and other health care workers," added Dr. Bronson.
ACP’s Adult Immunization Portal provides resources for clinicians such as the ACP Guide to Adult Immunization, ACP Immunization Advisor App, and the Medical Home Builder adult immunization model.
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Congratulations New Master of ACP
Dr. Roger W Bush MD, MACP
was elected to become a Master of American College of Physicians. He
will receive his Master hooding at the annual ACP meeting in San
Francisco, April 2013.
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Welcome New Members
We are pleased to welcome the following new members since September 2012:
Irfan A Ansari
Jihad Arteh
Amy Baernstein, MD
Scott Beiswenger, MD
Douglas B Berger, MD
Lauren A Beste, MD
Naomi Gilman Diggs, MD
Prashanthi Ganathi, MBBS
Irfan Jawed, MD
Hugh L Keegan, MD
Mehraneh Khalighi
John H Kim, MD
Rebecca D Mallo, MD
Garth J Muir, MD
Bassel Obaid, MD
Masoud Taleghani, MD
Matthew L Wemple, MD
Faiza N Zafar, DO
Mark C Zaros, MD
Irina M Zigelboym, DO
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Congratulations New Fellows
We are pleased to announce the new Fellows in Washington Chapter since September 2012:
Shiraz S Ahmed, MD FACP
Lesley Althouse, MD FACP
Ellen E Frechette, MD FACP
Douglas F Lindahl, DO FACP
Alisse M Ryan, MD FACP
Michael E Westley, MD FACP
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2013 Calendar of Events
Feb 2 WIM Dim Sum Around the Sound - Kent
Feb 4 WSMA Legislative Summit - Olympia
Feb 9 Medical Student Mentoring Brunch - Seattle
Feb 22 SSIM Update on Internal Medicine -Spokane
Feb 23 WSMA Interspecialty Advocacy Council -SeaTac
Apr 6 WIM Dim Sum Around the Sound -Location TBD
April 9-10 Board of Governors Meeting - San Francisco
Apr 11-13 ACP Internal Medicine - San Francisco
Apr 12 Northwest Reception - San Francisco
Apr 20 WSMA Interspecialty Advocacy Council -SeaTac
May 21-22 ACP Leadership Day - Washington DC
Jun 1 WIM Dim Sum Around the Sound - Location TBD
Sep 19-21 Board of Governors Meeting - Savannah, GA
Oct 19 WSMA Interspecialty Advocacy Council -SeaTac
Nov 7-9 WA-ACP Annual Scientific Meeting - Seattle, Bell Harbor
Dec 7 WSMA Interspecialty Advocacy Council -SeaTac
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