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Readers were nearly equally split about whether John Kerry’s medical malpractice reform plan will lead to lower costs for physicians.
 

A word from President Michael Blaiss, M.D.

Notes from the Academy Meeting

As I fly back to Memphis on board Northwest Flight 272 from San Francisco, I wanted to update you on activities from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Meeting. You might think as College President that there would not be much for me to do at the Academy meeting, but nothing could be farther from the truth. I was involved in many important events that have an impact on our membership.

First, there was the meeting of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology’s Maintenance of Certificate (MOC) Task Force. The stakeholder organizations, one being the College, were updated on the continued development of MOC for the allergists. MOC is presently being phased in.

As of January 2004, all diplomats of the ABAI with time-limited certificates must obtain and keep records of 75 hours of Allergy/Immunology CME during each three-year period from the their last certification or recertification. Approved CME can be obtained from CME offered by the ACAAI, AAAAI, A/I section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Clinical Immunology Society, and American Thoracic Society.

In 2005, a patient and peer physician feedback process to assess practice performance will begin. Also in 2005, both the certification and recertification examinations will be conducted yearly. The MOC Task Force next will be convening at the College meeting in Boston. Dennis Ledford, M.D., chair of the MOC Task Force, John Yunginger, M.D., and Lynn Des Prez are to be congratulated for all their hard work in this endeavor. If you need further information, visit the ABAI website at www. abai.org.

The joint leadership of the College and Academy met Saturday morning. We discussed our present partnership activities and developed several new ones. One new initiative is the addition of a College-nominated A/I training program director to the Academy’s TPD Committee. Richard Weber, M.D., from National Jewish Hospital in Denver was recently elected to this post. This step will help strengthen the ties between the College and Academy in working together to ensure the future of our training programs. Through the Acorn Project, the College is committed to funding new A/I fellows.

We discussed the issue of OTC status of nasal corticosteroids and beta agonists and feel strongly that neither is in the best interest of our patients. We will continue to follow this issue closely and will be proactive in getting out the word about inappropriateness for either class to be switched from prescription to OTC.

Two other important projects of the College/Academy are the Managed Care Report Card and Certification/Recertification Course. The Managed Care Report Card under the leadership of Brad Chipps, M.D., and Stan Goldstein, M.D., has developed a benchmark to assess allergy coverage from managed care organizations. It is now being piloted in Chicago and hopefully will be rolled out for the rest of the country. Starting in 2005, the College and Academy will combine their Certification/Recertification Reviews into one course. It is being developed by Richard Weber, M.D., from the College and Richard Lockey, M.D., from the Academy. The 2005 course is scheduled for April 14-17 at the Renaissance Hotel in Chicago.

Another issue discussed during the joint leadership meeting was the development of a task force to examine changes in the manner in which the National Council of Quality Assurance surveys managed care organizations on the use of appropriate medications for asthma patients. Both the College and the Academy believe the questions used are flawed, as shown in a recent study commissioned by the College, and need to be altered. Both the College and the Academy believe that closer ties are needed with our lay organizations, such as Mothers of Asthmatics, Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America, and Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. We voted to have a strategic retreat with these groups to look at ways we can work together to get the word out about atopic disorders.

On Sunday morning, the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology met. Many issues were discussed about which you will be getting information in upcoming JCAAI newsletters. I do want to mention one voted on at the meeting. It was decided to poll the membership of the College and Academy to determine if the JCAAI should remain a separate entity or be a joint committee of the College and Academy. There are many issues both for and against changing the status. You will be given this information to make an informed decision, which will help guide the leadership of both organizations in deciding whether to keep the JCAAI as it is or to change it.

I had several committee meetings of the World Allergy Organization during my San Francisco stay. The next WAO meeting will be June 26-July 1, 2005, in Munich, Germany, in conjunction with the European Academy of Allergy and Immunology Meeting. In the past, you received the Allergy Clinical Immunology International/Journal of the WAO through the College or Academy. Now, if you want to get this journal, it will be on an individual subscription. You will receive information in the mail about subscribing to it shortly. Give it your consideration. Allen Kaplan, M.D., has done a superb job as editor increasing the stature of this journal. The WAO continues to grow and spread the word about allergy worldwide, and the College will remain an active partner with it.

Lastly, I wanted to congratulate the Academy for an outstanding meeting and especially want to thank Lanny Rosenwasser, M.D., the outgoing president. I can’t say enough about the close working relationship that Lanny had with PastPresident Bill Berger, M.D., and me. Through his leadership, the ties between the College and Academy have grown stronger. I look forward to working with Mike Schatz, M.D., the new Academy president. I wish him great success. Cooperation between the two allergy organizations will continue to harvest wonderful benefits for our memberships and improve the specialty.

Michael S. Blaiss, M.D.

Come to Poland this summer for education and rejuvenation
The ACAAI – in partnership with the Polish Society of Allergology – is giving you the opportunity to experience Poland this summer and earn CME credits at a jointly sponsored conference, Return to Ancestral Lands: Allergy Update in Poland, July 31 to Aug. 3, 2004, in Krakow.

May 15 is the deadline for early registration. Program information and registration forms mailed to members are available online at: www.pta.med.pl/krakow2004/index.php.

The scientific program entails state-of-the-art lectures on the latest developments in allergic and non-allergic disease management. The European Academy of Allergology and Immunology and the American Association of Certified Allergists are developing and sponsoring two of the scientific sessions. A series of practical Allergy Workshops will be offered to junior members.

Program chairs are William E. Berger, M.D., M.B.A., immediate past-president of ACAAI, and Marek L. Kowalski, M.D., Ph.D., president of the Polish Society of Allergology. The Scientific Committee includes Michael S. Blaiss, M.D., Pawel Gorski, M.D., Bobby Q. Lanier, M.D., Ryszard Kurzawa, M.D., Andrzej Szceklik, M.D., and Myron J. Zitt, M.D.

In addition to the CME program, the meeting provides ample opportunities to experience the culturally diverse and beautiful city of Krakow through social events and optional tours. First-class accommodations are at the new deluxe five-star Sheraton Krakow hotel on the banks of the Vistula River near Krakow’s Old Town Center and the magnificent Wawel Castle.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and the Polish Society of Allergy. The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The ACAAI designates this educational activity for a maximum of 18.5 category 1 credits toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actively spent in the educational activity.


Be part of a win-win program through Tithe-a-Talk
You can enhance the contribution you make to the medical community by assigning an honorarium from a pharmaceutical-sponsored talk to the ACAAI “Tithe-a-Talk” program.

Tithe-a-Talk is a win-win program that allows:

• Allergists to make a donation of time that turns into help for others without getting the honoraria reported as taxable income to them;

• Companies to demonstrate their good will with a charitable contribution or matching gift to the Foundation of the ACAAI in partnership with College members.

The “Tithe-a-Talk” Contribution Form makes it easy for you to donate honoraria from an upcoming speaking engagement. Simply complete the form and present it to the association/company that is sponsoring your talk.

For more information about the ACAAI “Tithe-a-Talk” program or to request a contribution form, e-mail rickslawny@acaai.org.

Allergy Practice Tip 6: Low-tech contact tool
Advice from The Patient-Centered Allergy Practice
Need a simple tool for intra-practice communication? Try text-messaging pagers. Their prices are dropping and they are relatively easy to operate.

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.

Watch your mailbox for the April 2004 issue of The Patient-Centered Allergy Practice Update, our newsletter filled with management help. Call 800-251-4920 or e-mail info@physicianspractice.com if you need an extra copy.