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Most readers, 94 percent, say the allergy community should oppose OTC albuterol, as it is dangerous for patients to use without physician care.
 

A word from Vice President William Dolen, M.D.

The ACAAI and the Information Age
One can’t call Eric Caplan, M.D., an "idiot savant," because he is no idiot. Yet Eric, a second-year allergy fellow at the Medical College of Georgia, did the seemingly impossible last year.

For many years, the allergy section has had the luxury of dictating new and return patient notes at no charge. However, in May, we were notified that as of July 1, we would have to pay for dictation services out of our own clinical income — which in medical schools is already pretty meager.

While the rest of us were whining, Eric did something about it. Having no previous programming experience, he wrote a database that saves patient demographic information, captures information about visits, and prints great-looking chart notes. It even graphs lung function over time. At the same time, our information services people were evaluating Tablet PCs and gave me (an inveterate Mac user) one to play with — allowing me to view the abyss up close and personal.

From there, we set up a wireless network and convinced the information services people to put the database tables on a secure Oracle server that gets backed up every hour. Now, faculty, fellows, residents and students can type and print notes anywhere on campus, and the tablet can even handle handwriting recognition and voice input (though it's still faster for me to type). Moreover, we estimate that Eric’s work has already saved us about $12,000 in transcription costs.

Yes, folks, this is the information age. Our institution has a plan in place for adopting Electronic Medical Record (EMR) technology, with all its potential benefits and all its horrendous dangers. Out in private practice, those with multiple offices long for the day when the records of a patient can be viewed from any office location, and office-based EMRs have become a reality. However, this is only one aspect of medical information technology relevant to the practicing allergist.

Some years ago the Board, guided by Bob Miles, M.D., made a substantial investment in an exceptionally risky venture — a company called Medem. The initial goals of Medem (http://www.medem.com) were simple enough: to provide reliable patient information from the country's medical societies, and to provide Web sites for society members. The ACAAI is proud to be a founding society, along with the AMA, the ophthalmologists (AAO), pediatricians (AAP), ob-gyns (ACOG), psychiatrists (APA), and plastic surgeons (ASPS). Now, there are 45 specialty and state medical societies, and more than 90,000 physicians enrolled.

Medem's associates include health plans (that link to physician practice Web sites) and professional liability carriers. Alan Leahigh from the ACAAI office has taken an active role in developing Medem's eRisk Guidelines (http://www.medem.com/phy/phy_reducerisk.cfm) which have helped define the "legal rules, ethical guidelines and professional etiquette" involved with online communication between healthcare providers and patients.

Even more than that, Medem has implemented an online Secure Messaging service, and Online Consultation — which can generate practice income from online physician-patient encounters. ACAAI board member Allen Meadows is the College's expert on Online Consultation. Allen also is working with Medem to help develop online disease management and compliance programs. A program is already up and running for diabetes patients. There's no question that Medem has seen some tough times (like all medical dot-coms), but it seems likely that income from this and other Medem ventures may keep Medem up and running indefinitely. So, if you don't have a Medem Web site yet, now is the time to build one.

The ACAAI has been very involved in information technology, perhaps beginning with the basic computer literacy workshops in the 1980s (thanks to Stu Rusnak and David Hopper), and progressing over the years. The current chair of the computers and technology committee, Chuck Jaffe, M.D., is one of the country's foremost experts on EMR and other types of medical software. You can bet that the ACAAI’s educational programs on the use of technology in the allergist’s office will continue to evolve under his leadership.

William K. Dolen, M.D.

Post and search employment opportunities through Job Source
The ACAAI Job Source is a service for College members to post and search employment opportunities in the field of allergy, asthma and immunology.

The ACAAI Job Source works very much like classified ads in a newspaper, except it is interactive and immediately available:

• Job candidates can access the ACAAI Job Source at no cost to search employment opportunities and to post their resumes for advertised positions.

• Employers can purchase ads for their available positions. They do this by credit card, invoice or purchase order online through the purchase of blocks of "units" that can be used flexibly. One unit equals one job posting for one day.

The power of the ACAAI Job Source is amplified through HEALTHeCAREERS, an integrated network of online job banks operated by other national health professional associations. This enables employers, such as hospitals, medical centers and health care companies, to enter through any participating association's Web site and list positions that can be accessed by ACAAI members, and College members can access listings in other health fields through the ACAAI Job Source portal.

Other organizations participating in the network include:
• American Society of General Surgeons
• American College of Preventive Medicine
• American College of Physician Executives
• American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• American Gastroenterological Association
• American Psychiatric Association
• American Academy of Physician Assistants
• American Psychiatric Nurses Association
• American Dietetic Association
• American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
• American College of Chest Physicians
• American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Click here to access the new ACAAI Job Source.

Allergy Practice Tip 3: Color you smart
Advice from The Patient-Centered Allergy Practice
Print your own coloring book for children to draw on while they wait. Put your logo on the cover, and let kids take it home with them. It’s a simple and inexpensive marketing tool.

These tips are drawn from site visits in practices nationwide, conducted as part of The Patient-Centered Allergy Practice, a CME Series in Practice Management, supported through an unrestricted educational grant from Aventis Pharmaceuticals and endorsed by the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Look for the February 2004 issue of The Patient-Centered Allergy Practice Update, our newsletter filled with management advice, in your mailbox this month. Call 800-781-2211, ext. 102, or e-mail info@physicianspractice.com for a free extra copy.

Who’s moving and shaking in allergy-immunology?
Appointed to a national leadership position in allergy-immunology? Authored a new book? Won a prestigious award? Now you can submit such notable achievements and read about those of your peers in ACAAI eNews.

• The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced that Noel R. Rose, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pathology, molecular microbiology and immunology and director of the Center for Autoimmune Disease Research at Johns Hopkins University, has been named chair of the NIH Autoimmune Diseases Coordinating Committee (ADCC). Dr. Rose will be serving in this capacity under a joint agreement between the NIAID and Johns Hopkins University.

• Alan Wanderer, M.D., Bozeman, Mont., is the author of a new book, Hives: The Road to Diagnosis & Treatment of Urticaria. The book contains answers to common questions posed by patients and a workbook for patients to complete, such as a relevant and thorough history questionnaire. Using a numeric algorithm, the answers to the questionnaire connect to discussions on potential diagnosis, laboratory recommendations and therapies. Key sections can be reproduced for use with multiple patients. The book is featured on the publisher’s site, www.ansonpublishing.com, and may be purchased through the publisher, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble.

• In addition to the allergists-immunologists featured previously, Jacqueline Pongracic, M.D., and Raoul Wolf, M.D., are the pediatric allergists-immunologists listed in Top Doctors: Chicago Metro Area. The list of doctors most highly regarded by their peers was compiled by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd.

Please send notices for “Who’s Moving and Shaking” news to joannfaber@acaai.org.