Contents
1

Message from the Executive Vice President

  1. 1.1 Letter from the EVP
  2. 1.2 EVP Video

Letter from the EVP and CEO

Dear Colleagues,

ACP embarked on a campaign this year to promote the excellence of our members and showcase internal medicine as a dynamic profession, vital to the future of healthcare.

As part of the campaign, we implemented a branding strategy; designed a new logo using a modern treatment of the lamp of knowledge to reflect the organization’s historic and contemporary role in the field of scientific inquiry; and we adopted the new tagline, “Leading Internal Medicine, Improving Lives.”

More than a slogan, “Leading Internal Medicine, Improving Lives” is a message that speaks to the core of who we are, what we value, and what we do best as a diverse community of professionals united by a commitment to excellence.

You, ACP members, are the leaders responsible for advancing internal medicine through the work you do every day. The contributions you make to medicine and the compassionate, high-quality patient care you provide are the driving force behind our products and services in the areas of medical education, evidence-based clinical standards, practice transformation, and health care policy.

From vision to reality

In this digital age, where physicians are teaching and practicing alongside Dr. Google, symptom checkers, and diagnosis forums, it might seem as if the profession of medicine is being streamed, tweeted, and blogged right out from under us. The reality, however, is that information and technology are the lifeblood of all professions, and ACP is committed to harnessing that power to help you stay on the cutting edge of medicine’s changing landscape.

But while ACP has successfully immersed itself in new technology—creating electronic platforms for nearly all of our products and services and embracing social media and other online forums—we also recognize that mobile devices and information, by themselves, are no substitute for clinical skills, leadership, and collaboration.

Evidence-based research, the oversight of medical educators, the direction of physician-leaders, and the engagement of other healthcare stakeholders are essential to achieve not only the Triple Aim (improved patient care, better health for the population, and lower per capita healthcare costs), but also the ACP aims to advance the profession of internal medicine, increase the professional satisfaction of our members, and improve quality along the entire spectrum of clinical care.

As leaders of internal medicine, we can turn such visions into reality. The cost and complexity of the nation’s healthcare system may have exceeded its capacity to sustain itself, but it has not exceeded our capacity to care.

Encouraged by change

As you review the contents of this year’s annual report, I hope you will agree that the products we are creating and the activities we are pursuing are making a difference. We recognize the concerns that many of our members have expressed about the Maintenance of Certification program from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), and we are actively addressing these concerns with ABIM’s leadership.

As we face such challenges as reducing administrative burdens and eliminating obstacles to optimal care, we are encouraged by implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the shift toward patient-centered care, and the recognition of the importance of High Value Care. Health care is evolving, and so are we.

I encourage you to visit ACP’s website, engage in discussions through participation at state chapter meetings, and join the conversations on our social media network. Your voice, your skills, and your experience are critical in empowering ACP and its dedicated staff, assuring that we continue to lead internal medicine and improve lives.

I welcome your feedback and thank you for your continued support. Please join us in Boston at Internal Medicine 2015 and help us celebrate ACP’s 100-year anniversary.

Sincerely,

A New Look for ACP

This year, ACP adopted a new logo and tagline as part of a campaign to update the brand positioning of ACP. 

The graphical design of the logo incorporates a more modern typeface as well as a modern take on the traditional element of the lamp of knowledge.  The tagline,"Leading Internal Medicine, Improving Lives,"emphasizes the mission of ACP and its impact on both patients and physicians. 

Watch ACP’s inspiring video celebrating our new brand.

Defining Internal Medicine

“I.M. Proud to be an Internist”

To promote the value of internal medicine, ACP launched a campaign to reinforce why internists are uniquely qualified to provide expert specialty and subspecialty care.

Now available on ACP’s website:

Recognizing Excellence

ACP Awards honor the excellence of ACP members

ACP is a professional community that is home to thousands of internists, subspecialists, residents, and students who are leaders in areas of medical care, education, research, and service within their communities, chapters, and the ACP.

At Internal Medicine 2014, ACP named 42 new Masters (MACP) and inducted more than 400 members as new Fellows of the College (FACP). The College also recognized the achievements and contributions of 65 Chapter Laureates, 18 National Awardees, two Annals Junior Investigators, and granted a new award, the Herbert S. Waxman Clinical Skills Center Teaching Scholarship Award, to five chief residents. Hundreds of ACP Young Achievers—students and residents who participate in ACP’s Poster and Abstract competitions and the extremely popular Doctor’s Dilemma contest—were also recognized.

ACP Leadership Academy

This new web-based and face-to-face leadership training program, developed in partnership with the American College of Physician Executives, has replaced ACP’s LEAD program. ACP Leadership Academy is designed to provide internists with the skills and knowledge necessary to become leaders in medicine.

Providing educational resources, news, and information to enhance clinical practice and support ongoing clinical education and high quality patient care

Annals of Internal Medicine

Annals of Internal Medicine, one of the top five most widely cited peer-reviewed general medical journals in the world, continues to provide physicians with the latest evidence-based, practice-relevant information and research available while offering new formats to deliver content and captivate readers.

Annals Virtual Patient Cases

Annals Virtual Patients is a unique, new digital medical education tool that tests a physician's decision-making skills through examination, diagnosis, and treatment of a virtual patient. Using a unique "if this, then that" format takes each learner down his or her own path through a complex clinical simulation. Upon completion, physicians may earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credits.

Case topics include:

  • Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention
  • Herpes Zoster
  • Contraception
  • Knee Pain
  • Vaginitis and Cervicitis

The Consult Guys

Physicians are laughing while they learn with The Consult Guys, a monthly video series featuring Geno Merli, MD, MACP, and Howard Weitz, MD, MACP, who use humor and draw on evidence as they address clinical problems. These brief videos are open to all to view. Some of the episodes feature “stumper” questions and slide sets, and all are accompanied by links to selected resources cited in the video and an opportunity for ACP members and Annals subscribers to earn free CME credit.

Some of the real world cases discussed include:

  • A Pain in the Back
  • Green Urine?!
  • Hyperglycemia—Am I a Control Freak?
  • Perioperative Risk Assessment—Can You Get it Right?

Annals for iPad

Annals of Internal Medicine iPad edition gives iPad users the ability to:

  • Read current Annals issues and articles
  • Access 12 months of Annals issues offline, including In the Clinic and ACP Journal Club
  • Browse specialty and topic collections
  • Save, annotate and share articles
  • Watch videos and listen to audio summaries and readings
  • View CME quizzes and link to MKSAP® questions and other ACP resources
  • Search Annals archives

The Annals iPad app is free to download through iTunes, and selected articles are free to all users. ACP members and individual subscribers to Annals will have access to all content as part of their membership or subscription.

www.annals.org

ACP Smart Medicine

Clinical content that is current, concise, and easy to search

This year, ACP launched ACP Smart Medicine, a web-based clinical decision support tool, developed specifically for internal medicine physicians. It contains 500 modules that provide guidance and information on a broad range of diseases and conditions.

Integrated with content from Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP JournalWise, and ACP’s clinical practice guidelines, the clinical recommendations in ACP Smart Medicine are evidence-based and information is continually updated. Content is organized according to the following point-of-care categories:

  • Prevention
  • Screening
  • Diagnosis
  • Therapy
  • Patient Education
  • Consultation
  • Follow-up

The online platform automatically adjusts to desktops, smartphones, and tablets. ACP Smart Medicine offers CME credit, and it is available as a free benefit to ACP members and can be purchased by non-members.

MKSAP®

MKSAP® 16

The 16th edition of ACP's highly popular and widely used Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program (MKSAP®) is available in both print and digital format and features 1200 multiple-choice questions covering general internal medicine and 10 internal medicine subspecialties. MKSAP 17 (Part A) will be released in July 2015.

MKSAP® 16 Digital

Available in 11 sections, MKSAP® 16 Digital includes helpful key points, algorithms, tables, and figures that improve learning efficiency. The digital version can be accessed from an iPad or other tablet, computer, or smartphone and features links that enable users to access content quickly and easily. Users can search for specific content in the 11 topic areas, the questions, or both simultaneously.

CME & MOC

ACP offers a variety of Maintenance of Certification (MOC) resources to help physicians earn both CME credit and ABIM MOC points through the same educational program. Resources include MKSAP® 16, the Internal Medicine meeting, practice assessment tools, and online CME programs.

All ACP MOC modules are free or included in the price of the product/meeting, with the exception of live courses to complete ABIM modules.

This year, ACP added four new resources that qualify for ABIM MOC credit:

  • Online High Value Care Cases These free cases teach you how to eliminate unnecessary costs while improving patient outcomes. (13 MOC points for medical knowledge and patient safety credit)
  • ACP Clinical Shorts These concise videos, each less than 15 minutes long, deliver highly focused answers to challenging clinical situations. Complete the related question modules and click to submit. (up to 28 MOC points for medical knowledge)
  • Annals Virtual Patients Online interactive cases that mirror real patient care decisions and their consequences. As you care for virtual patients, each decision will lead you down a distinct path directed by your own choices. (up to 26 MOC points for medical knowledge)
  • ACP Practice Assessment Tools for Dementia, Low Back Pain, and Obesity These free, web-based practice assessment tools offer an easy data entry tool for you to complete a Practice Assessment activity at your own pace in one of the clinical areas. Enter baseline data, view custom data charts, create an action plan and report your follow-up data. (each topic is eligible for 20 MOC points for Practice Assessment)

ACP Board Prep Curriculum

The ACP Board Prep Curriculum is a collection of online slide sets that help residency programs prepare the next generation of internists to pass the ABIM certification exam. Developed by ACP and reviewed by generalists and subspecialists to ensure quality, this innovative program combines academic excellence with the flexibility of a program that is available On Demand.

A Comprehensive, Flexible Program

  • 46 interactive one-hour presentations covering the topics on the ABIM certification exam blueprint
  • More than 2,300 slides, requiring little preparation time by presenters
  • More than 230 case studies with interactive questions

ACP Flashcards App

Internists can now refresh their knowledge gained during ACP's internal medicine board review (IMBR) and MOC exam prep courses with a new, FREE app and mobile site. Available for iPhone, iPad, and Android, the ACP Flashcards App features more than 200 flashcards across 16 categories. Users can mark flashcards correct or incorrect and create custom sets of cards to facilitate focused study. Users can also access a mobile web version by logging in with their ACP username and password. Purchasers of ACP's IMBR or MOC exam prep recordings from Playback Now can enter their Playback Now username and password for access.

ACP Internal Medicine 2014

ACP's annual scientific meeting, Internal Medicine 2014, held in Orlando, Florida, April 10-12, featured more than 200 scientific sessions and drew more than 8,000 attendees, including 6,000 physicians.

Elisabeth Rosenthal, MD, a New York Times senior writer, delivered the keynote address at the Opening Ceremony. She spoke on the topic, “Price: A Side Effect Doctors Can’t Ignore.”

20th-Anniversary of Doctor’s Dilemma

Forty teams of medical residents from around the world competed in this year’s 20th-anniversary of Doctor’s Dilemma the popular interactive game also known as Medical Jeopardy. Doctor’s Dilemma began in 1994 when the Governor of ACP’s Florida Chapter invited two fellow Governors, from Alabama and Georgia, to a competition of the Southern States. Since then, the name has been trademarked, the size of the competition has swelled to include 40 teams, and the event has become one of the most popular events at Internal Medicine. This year’s winner, Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, will keep the coveted “Osler Cup” until the next competition scheduled for ACP’s Internal Medicine 2015 in Boston.

Make plans now to attend Internal Medicine 2015 in Boston, April 30 – May 2, 2015.ACP will be celebrating its 100-year anniversary!

Publications

ACP Internist, ACP Hospitalist

ACP’s award-winning publications keep readers informed and up to date with all of the latest information vital to internal medicine and hospital medicine. The articles featured in these publications cover breaking news, provide clinical and policy updates, and offer in-depth analysis of issues that affect patient care and physician satisfaction.

This year, ACP publications won three awards from the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors, an association that recognizes excellence in healthcare reporting and writing:

  1. ACP Internist won a Gold for Best Single Issue: Newsletter for July/August 2013 (online at www.acpinternist.org/archives/2013/07/).
  2. ACP Internist won a Bronze for Best Newsletter overall.
  3. ACP Hospitalist won a Bronze for Best Cover Illustration (see image to right) for its July 2013 issue.

Book Release: On Being a Doctor, volume 4

On Being a Doctor, volume 4, is the latest collection of prose and poetry that vividly captures the feelings and experiences of doctors and patients.

The fourth edition of On Being a Doctor is a softcover book compiled from pieces originally published in Annals of Internal Medicine between 2007 and 2013. The book is a collection of more than 100 stories, essays, and poems in nine sections ranging from "Those Who Are Our Patients" and "Balancing the Personal and the Professional" to "The Doctor Becomes a Patient" and "Death and Dying."

On Being a Doctor, volume 4, is edited by Annals of Internal Medicine Editor-in-Chief Christine Laine, MD, MPH, FACP, and Annals of Internal Medicine Associate Editor Michael LaCombe, MD, MACP.

Providing recommendations and evidence-based resources to help clinicians stay current and navigate complex clinical issues

Clinical Guidelines

Clinical Guidelines

ACP’s evidence-based clinical guidelines help clinicians stay up to date with patient care. Our newest guidelines include:

  • Treatment for Anemia in Patients with Heart Disease (December 2013, Annals of Internal Medicine)Read AbstractRead Patient Summary
  • Screening, Monitoring, and Treatment of Stage 1 to 3 Chronic Kidney Disease: A Clinical Practice Guideline (October 2013, Annals of Internal Medicine)Read AbstractRead Patient Summary
  • Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults: A Clinical Practice Guideline (October 2013, Annals of Internal Medicine)Read AbstractWatch Video

High Value Care

ACP continues to expand its High Value Care initiative, a hybrid of clinical, educational, and public policy recommendations and resources aimed at providing the best possible care to patients while simultaneously eliminating unnecessary costs to the health care system. ACP's High Value Care programs are designed to help physicians, health care professionals, medical students, and patients understand the benefits, harms, and costs of tests and treatment options for common clinical issues.

High Value Care Curriculum for Educators, Residents, and Students

http://hvc.acponline.org/curriculum.html

ACP released a new version of its High Value Care Curriculum, the instructional program jointly developed by ACP and the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine to train physicians to be good stewards of limited healthcare resources.

The original 10-hour program, released in July 2012, has been updated and condensed into a 6-hour program. The new version includes multimedia content and a toolbox for program directors so they can measure curricular impact and individual resident performance in high value care.

Online High Value Care Cases

http://hvc.acponline.org/cases

A series of free online High Value Care cases and questions are available to help clinicians weigh the benefits, harms, and costs of tests and treatment options for common conditions in order to improve health and eliminate waste.

Each of the five topics can be completed in 30 to 60 minutes on desktops, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. The cases offer free online CME and may fulfill risk management/patient safety CME required by some states. They have also been approved by ABIM for 13 MOC medical knowledge points and patient safety credit.

HVC Coordination Toolkit

ACP’s High Value Care Coordination Toolkit offers resources to facilitate effective, patient-centered communication between primary care and subspecialist doctors. The toolkit, developed by ACP’s Council of Subspecialty Societies (CSS) and patient advocacy groups, includes five components to help ensure effective, high value engagement between primary care and subspecialist practices

  • a checklist for a referral to a subspecialist practice
  • a checklist for a subspecialist’s response to a referral request
  • pertinent data sets to include in a referral
  • care coordination agreement templates between primary care and subspecialty practices
  • recommendations to physicians on preparing a patient for a referral

High Value Care Clinical Recommendations

ACP's Clinical Guidelines and Recommendations, which include High Value Care advice for clinicians based on the best available evidence, help physicians and patients understand the benefits, harms, and costs of interventions.

ACP’s Choosing Wisely Communication Module

ACP’s High Value Care initiative and Choosing Wisely share two important priorities—helping physicians provide the best possible care to their patients and reducing unnecessary costs to the health care system. (Choosing Wisely is an initiative of the ABIM Foundation, in partnership with Consumer Reports, in which medical specialty societies identify tests or procedures in their specialties that are overused, and whose necessity should be questioned and discussed by physicians and patients.) ACP partnered with Choosing Wisely to develop a set of interactive skill-building modules to enhance physician communication. Evidence shows that patient-doctor communication is perhaps the most significant component of a patient's visit.

To learn more about ACP’s High Value Care initiative and to access other helpful and FREE materials, go to http://hvc.acponline.org/

Ethics & Professionalism

ACP develops policy on issues relating to clinical ethics and professionalism, and provides valuable resources to help physicians maintain ethical standards and navigate difficult clinical situations.

This year, the Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee published three case studies on Medscape and updated and renewed availability of CME credit on a number of others.

Case Studies:

  • Preventive Health Screening, Ethics, and the Cognitively Impaired Patient
  • When an Aging Colleague Seems Impaired
  • Resident Duty Hours: To Hand Over or Gloss Over?

Spanish Translation, ACP’s Ethics Manual, Sixth Edition

ACP’s Ethics Manual, Sixth Edition, is the foundation of College ethics policy, addressing challenging real world ethical dilemmas that confront physicians, patients, medical educators, and researchers.

View the text of the Spanish translation
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Advocacy & Public Policy

Giving voice and guidance to the issues that affect the practice and future of internal medicine

The goal of ACP’s advocacy efforts—including policy development, meetings on Capitol Hill, and effective collaboration with other allied organizations—is to achieve socially and fiscally responsible healthcare reform measures that increase access to care, improve the practice environment, and enable clinicians to provide high quality care.

Passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) represented a monumental achievement toward helping the nation’s uninsured, and ACP has worked diligently to help physicians and their patients understand the new marketplace and to assure effective implementation of the law. The College made significant contributions to other legislative initiatives, including advocating for a comprehensive Medicare payment reform bill that would permanently repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, helping to establish Medicare reimbursement to physicians for their work outside of face-to-face visits, and increasing Medicaid payments to physicians.

ACP is committed to drafting policies and papers addressing complex issues that affect patients and are important to internists.

2014: A Look Ahead in Advocacy

While much has been accomplished, a lot of issues remain on ACP’s radar, including:

  • Permanent Repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)
  • Extending Medicaid Pay Parity
  • Ensuring Successful Implementation of Key Components of the ACA
  • Supporting Vital Health Programs through Appropriations
  • Advancing Medical Liability Reforms
  • Addressing Administrative Complexities
  • Extending the Primary Care Incentive Program
Detailed review of these advocacy efforts

ACP’s Leadership Day

ACP's Leadership Day is an annual two-day event held in the nation's capital that provides ACP members a unique opportunity to experience grassroots advocacy training, attend in-depth issue briefings, and meet with their senatorial and congressional representatives. This year 350 physicians and medical students from almost every state came to Washington to increase the visibility of internal medicine issues and share with lawmakers how policy affects their practices and their patients.

State of the Nation’s Health Care Briefing

ACP's 2014 State of the Nation's Health Care report, "Progress, Challenges and Opportunities: Next Steps on Reducing Barriers to Access, Reforming Physician Payments," presented ACP’s recommendations for building on the progress being made by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Offering practice-support tools to enhance the efficiency, quality, and delivery of care

Physician & Practice Timeline

ACP’s Physician & Practice Timeline helps physicians stay on top of important dates and track deadlines for a variety of regulatory, payment, educational, and delivery system changes and requirements.

The Timeline provides a helpful at-a-glance summary of upcoming important dates related to the Value-Based Payment Modifier (VBPM), the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), Meaningful Use, ICD-10, the Sunshine Act, transitional care management codes, and Maintenance of Certification (MOC).

ACP Practice Advisor

ACP Practice Advisor helps physicians analyze the workflow of their clinical teams and office staff, and improve their ability to provide efficient, coordinated care to patients.

  • In the past year, six new primary care modules have been added (Patient Centered Laboratory Excellence, CLIA-Waived Lab Testing, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gout, and Substance Abuse) and six for specialty care aligned with the NCQA Patient-Centered Specialty Practice Recognition program. New Primary Care ModulesSpecialty Care Recognition
  • In addition, ABIM MOC credit for practice performance is currently available for five modules, with more planned. Practice Advisor MOC
  • Now Available: A new category within ACP Practice Advisor allows interested practices to access free modules.
  • Spread the word: ACP Practice Advisor is FREE to internal medicine residency training programs! Contact practiceadvisor@acponline.org for additional information.

ACP Quality Improvement

ACP Quality Connect

ACP Quality Connect programs allow physicians and their healthcare teams to implement quality improvement (QI) with help from ACP QI experts. Through virtual presentations and coaching calls, staff can guide participants in using online QI tools and registries. Data for PQRS submission can be uploaded from paper charts or EHRs. Current projects include:

  1. Adult Immunization
  2. Diabetes and PQRS
  3. Cardiovascular Risk
  4. Diabetes Care

ACP Practice Assessment Tools

Using these free, web-based practice-assessment products, physicians can earn both CME credit and ABIM MOC Practice Assessment points. Currently, an assessment tool for Low Back Pain is available that helps clinicians identify, target, and implement high value care treatment of patients with low back pain.

Near Miss Registry

ACP facilitated the nationwide expansion of the Near Miss Registry, a program developed by the ACP New York Chapter. The Near Miss Registry offers educational resources and programs for residency programs and hospitals to identify safety risks and reduce medical errors, using a confidential and secure survey tool linked to educational and quality improvement resources.

AmericanEHR Partners

To assist physicians with the selection and implementation of electronic health records (EHR), ACP and Cientis Technologies developed AmericanEHR Partners. In collaboration with over 15 other medical societies, AmericanEHR Partners is a free, web-based resource that provides an unbiased view of all available EHR systems.

This year, AmericanEHR Partners released over three years’ worth of EHR feedback that clinicians submitted outlining firsthand experiences with certified EHR systems. AmericanEHR.com also introduced new community features, including the ability for verified physicians and EHR vendors to interact and openly discuss the challenges of implementing EHRs.

Medical Laboratory Evaluation

ACP’s Medical Laboratory Evaluation (MLE) program provides reliable, user-friendly proficiency testing services at substantial cost savings for laboratories that perform diagnostic testing where blood and bodily fluids are drawn. To improve quality patient care and ensure accurate diagnostic results, MLE offers technical and educational tools to assess, monitor, and improve the quality of laboratory testing.

ACP Genesis Registry

In collaboration with CECity, ACP developed ACP Genesis Registry, a quality reporting service to help physicians meet Meaningful Use requirements and improve patient care.

ACP Genesis Registry will accept data from athenaClinicals initially—and other EHRs in the future—and provide participating practices with continuous feedback reports presented through online performance monitors. Each monitor offers practices a user-friendly view of their performance results compared to national benchmarks, benchmarks established by ACP, as well as peer comparators, and a custom analysis of their measure gaps.

ICD-10

On October 1, 2015, the ICD-10 codes will replace ICD-9 for reporting medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures. In an effort to help practices transition as smoothly as possible, ACP offers a wide variety of free tools and resources to help clinicians understand, train for, and implement ICD-10.

ACP also reviewed and assembled a list of many ICD-10 resources and partnered with content developers to make the following products available at discounted rates for ACP members:

  • Ready10 - This one-stop solution has everything physicians need to get started and make the transition easier.
  • ICD-10 Documentation Training for Physicians – This video course developed by AAPC teaches ICD-10-CM documentation requirements at the physician level.
  • ICD-10 Books – There is a member discount available for these books reviewed and recommended by ACP.

Joining other stakeholders in efforts to promote the value of internal medicine, improve patient care, and achieve better health for the population

International Relationships

ACP International Chapters

ACP's total international membership now exceeds 11,000, which represents an increase of almost eight percent from one year ago. Currently, there are 15 international chapters in Brazil, Canada (six chapters), Central America, Chile, Colombia, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and ACP’s newest chapter in Southeast Asia that includes the countries of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore.

India

ACP’s collaboration with physicians in India has led to a series of well-attended lectures presented by members of ACP’s Board of Regents. In September 2013, a lecture series led by Dr. Tanveer Mir included 14 lectures at nine institutions in three cities over five days. Another series of lectures, led by Dr. Molly Cooke, was held in March 2014. Plans are currently underway for ACP’s First National Conference to be held in New Delhi, September 5-6, 2014. Incorporating prominent faculty from both the U.S. and India, the meeting’s theme will be “The Burden of Non-communicable Diseases.”

ACP’s International Fellowship Exchange Program (IFEP)

ACP’s IFEP is an exciting opportunity for early and mid-career internists from outside the United States and Canada to participate in a one-month observership to enhance their expertise in prevention, diagnosis, and/or management of clinical issues affecting Women’s Health. This year, ACP’s International Council selected three outstanding fellows from Chile, India, and Saudi Arabia.

Center for Patient Partnership in Healthcare

ACP’s Center for Patient Partnership in Healthcare (CPPH) supports partnerships among clinicians, patients, and their families through shared decision-making, engagement, and education. The CPPH provides a number of tools and resources to support patient education, including disease self-management guides, videos, and brochures.  Additionally, the CPPH works closely with patient advocacy partners at the national level to promote policies related to patient engagement and patient-centered care. 

New patient education materials released this year:

  1. Live Better with Rheumatoid Arthritis(2014) – a patient guide
  2. Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency: A Patient’s Guide(2014) DVD/guidebook
  3. Relief in Sight: Coping with Long-Lasting Pain(2014) DVD/guidebook
  4. Irritable Bowel Syndrome HEALTH TiPS(November 2013)

Second Annual Patient Empowerment Expo

ACP, in partnership with Consumer Reports, held its second annual patient health fair, “Your Health: Fact, Not Fiction - A Patient Empowerment Expo,” in Orlando, Florida. The expo provided a forum for patients to learn from medical and consumer experts about how to get the most from their healthcare dollar.

Participants received free BMI screenings and had opportunities to interact with physicians to discuss the value of medical screenings, necessary and unnecessary medical tests, and tips on living a long and healthy life.

Program sessions included:

  • High Value Care from the Patient’s Perspective
  • Searching Online for High Quality Healthcare Information
  • 5 Medication Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
  • How to Live (And Want) to be 100!
  • Getting the Best Value for Your Healthcare Dollar
  • Screening Tests: the Best and the Worst

Team-Based Care

ACP is committed to communicating and collaborating with healthcare stakeholders who impact the quality of primary care.

One of the highlights of ACP’s collaboration efforts this year was the second meeting of the Internal Medicine Subspecialty Society Leadership Summit. The focus of the summit was a report on the High Value Care Coordination (HVCC) project, an effort coordinated by a workgroup comprised of 18 representatives from the Council of Subspecialty Societies (CSS). The workgroup’s objective, identified during the 2012 summit, was to develop resources for care paths and guidelines for collaboration between subspecialists and generalists for patients with complex problems commonly seen in practice. The result was the creation of ACP’s High Value Care Coordination Toolkit. The toolkit provides several resources to facilitate effective, patient-centered communication between primary care and subspecialist physicians.

ACP also published a position paper, "Principles Supporting Dynamic Clinical Care Teams," in Annals of Internal Medicine, and actively pursued opportunities to collaborate with other groups of clinicians, including the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). As a result, ACP helped the AASLD develop a free, online CME course to help physicians screen for liver diseases, and the AANP has expressed interest in how ACP resources like ACP Smart Medicine and High Value Care (HVC) might benefit the nurse practitioner community.

Connecting with Members

Connecting with peers and keeping up-to-date is easy with online communication forums and mobile platforms.

Special interest groups

http://http://acpsigs.ning.com/

ACP offers members access to online communities in which physicians share experiences, questions, and creative solutions with like-minded peers. Separate discussion groups focus on such topics and audiences as maintenance of certification, hospital medicine, small practices, work/life balance, Accountable Care Organizations/new practice models, emerging technologies, physician educators, and many more.

Social media

ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine are using social media more than ever to connect with members and communicate information relevant to internal medicine. ACP members are encouraged to join the online conversations and connect with other members on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn.

ACP on the Go

Mobile versions of Annals and MKSAP make it easy for members to stay informed and connected to all of the latest news and clinical updates. New apps for Annals iPad edition, MKSAP 16 Digital, and ACP's Clinical Guidelines are now available.

  1. 1Message from the Executive Vice President

    1. 1.1 Letter from the EVP
    2. 1.2 EVP Video
  2. 2Celebrating ACP and Internal Medicine

    1. 2.1 A New Look for ACP
    2. 2.2 Defining IM
    3. 2.3 Recognizing Excellence
  3. 3Knowledge

    1. 3.1 Annals of Internal Medicine
    2. 3.2 ACP Smart Medicine
    3. 3.3 MKSAP
    4. 3.4 CME & MOC
    5. 3.5 Internal Medicine 2014
    6. 3.6 Publications
  4. 4Setting Clinical Standards

    1. 4.1 Clinical Guidelines
    2. 4.2 High Value Care
    3. 4.3 Ethics & Professionalism
  1. 5Advocacy and Public Policy

    1. 5.1 Advocacy & Public Policy
  2. 6Practice Support

    1. 6.1 Physician & Practice Timeline
    2. 6.2 ACP Practice Advisor
    3. 6.3 ACP Quality Improvement
    4. 6.4 AmericanEHR Partners
    5. 6.5 MLE
    6. 6.6 ACP Genesis Registry
    7. 6.7 ICD-10
  3. 7Collaboration

    1. 7.1 International Relationships
    2. 7.2 Center for Patient Partnership in Healthcare
    3. 7.3 Team-Based Care
    4. 7.4 Connecting with Members