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December 22, 2004 |
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Welcome to ACAAI eNews — a bi-weekly aggregated news service
from the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. To be
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Eighty-eight percent of readers responding said the College
should take a stand against continued regulation, such as
the Standards for Commercial Support |
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Does the MOC process adequately measure a
physician's competence to provide quality patient
care?
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Distance Learning |
From the 2003 ACAAI ANNUAL MEETING
Nov. 7-12, 2003, New Orleans
• Two Symposia Online
Link
• Plenary Sessions CD-ROM and DVD
Link
• XI International Food Allergy Symposium,
General Sessions & Symposia
Audio CD & Audio Tape
Link
From the 2002 ACAAI ANNUAL MEETING
Nov. 15-20, San Antonio
• Five Symposia Online
Link
E-mail:
k.knauer@UHHS.com
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Calendar |
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• DISTANCE LEARNING
From the 2003 ACAAI ANNUAL MEETING
Nov. 7-12, 2003, New Orleans
• Two Symposia Online
Link
• Plenary Sessions CD-ROM and DVD
Link
• XI International Food Allergy Symposium
General Sessions and Symposia
Audio CD and audio tape
Link
From the 2002 ACAAI Annual Meeting
Nov. 15-20, 2002, San Antonio
• Five Symposia Online
Link
JANUARY
Conference on Sleep Disorders in Infancy and Childhood
Jan. 13-15, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Tel.: 760-773-4594
Fax: 760-773-4513
E-mail
Link
Western Society of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology 43rd
Annual Scientific Session
Jan. 23-27, Princeville, Hawaii
Jointly Sponsored by ACAAI
Tel: 623-266-9148
E-mail
MARCH
AAAAI Annual Meeting
March 18-22, San Antonio, Tex.
Tel: 414-272-6071
E-mail
Link
APRIL
ACAAI/AAAAI Conjoint Certification/Recertification Board
Review Course
April 14-17, Chicago
Tel: 847-427-1200
E-mail
Link
ONGOING
World Allergy Organization Society Meetings
New Concepts in IgE-Mediated Asthma Disease Management
Immunology Educational Institute of New England
Jointly Sponsored by ACAAI
Sept. 29 through Dec.16
One-day programs held in cities throughout the United States
E-mail
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Sponsored
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Top
Stories |
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Mental distress correlates with unhealthy habits in adult
asthmatics
Frequent mental distress is associated with unhealthy
behaviors among adults with asthma, which can increase the risk
of asthma attacks, says a study in Chest. Researchers
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta
looked at data from 15,080 adults with asthma in the Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance System, which includes information from
surveys of non-institutionalized adults living in the United
States. Nearly 19 percent of the adults with asthma also had
frequent mental distress, (self reported at least 14 of the past
30 days). Prevalence of frequent mental distress among subjects
without asthma was just 9.3 percent. Among the asthma group,
frequent mental distress upped their odds of smoking and being
physically inactive by 90 and 70 percent, respectively.
Ayurvedic herbs linked to heavy metal
contamination
Ayurvedic herbal medicine products may be contaminated with
heavy metals, according to a study in JAMA. Investigators
from Osher Institute at Harvard Medical School in Boston
identified all stores that sold Ayurvedic herbal medicine
products within 20 miles of Boston City Hall, and between April
25 and Oct. 24, 2003, visited each store, purchasing the
products. Of the 70 products they purchased, 14 contained heavy
metals: 13 contained lead, six mercury, and six arsenic. At the
doses recommended by the manufacturers, each of the 14 products
could result in heavy metal intakes above published regulatory
standards.
Waning U.K. asthma admissions possibly
due to better inhaler use
Childhood asthma admissions in the United Kingdom are
declining, and the trend may be due to better preventive inhaler
use, says a report in Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Researchers from Pinderfields General Hospital in Wakefield
examined wheeze and asthma admission trends as well as preventer
inhaler (steroids or cromoglycate with or without
bronchodilator) prescription trends in England during the 1990s.
Hospitalization of children for asthma and wheeze declined
overall since 1990. Between 1994 and 1998, the percentage of
children diagnosed with asthma that were prescribed a prevention
inhaler increased from 49.4 percent to 68 percent of children
birth to 4 years old and from 68.2 percent to 73.5 percent of
children 5 to 14 years old. |
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word from President Myron Zitt, M.D.
Transition from old methodology to MOC
The ACAAI is one of the sponsoring specialty societies
of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology (ABAI).
It is most supportive of the Board’s efforts to
transition from the old methodology of Recertification
to a process called Maintenance of Certification (MOC),
which is designed to document that Allergy/Immunology
(AI) specialists maintain the necessary competencies to
provide quality patient care.
Diplomates who wish to maintain certification, just as
those seeking their initial time-limited certificates
will, among other things, be asked to take and pass a
proctored examination. Imagine the consternation of
those planning the Annual ACAAI meeting, as well as
those expecting to take the upcoming examination, to
find that it was scheduled within one week after the
2005 College meeting in Anaheim, Calif. Potentially this
could have an adverse effect not only on the meeting,
but also on the preparation time for examinees.
At our Boston meeting in November, the Young Physicians
Committee of the ACAAI implored the Board of Regents to
request that the ABAI change the examination date.
Because test sites had already been contracted, a time
change was difficult. However, I am pleased to report
that the ABAI has graciously agreed to move the
recertifying examination to Oct. 17-21, 2005, and the
certifying examination to Oct. 10-14, 2005. The ABAI
will maintain its sole right to schedule examination
dates, but will maintain a policy of not scheduling
future dates that directly overlap with meetings of its
sponsoring medical societies.
Although the window of opportunity to take the Final
Examination is now limited to five days, the ABAI will
investigate expanding this window to improve scheduling
flexibility.Let
me take this opportunity to briefly discuss the four
components of MOC. Applicants with time-limited
certificates will be asked to satisfy the following MOC
requirements within a 10-year certification cycle.
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1. Professional Standing |
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a) Documentation of State Licensure
b) Letters from two physicians verifying applicant’s
AI specialty status |
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2. Lifelong Learning &
Self-Assessment |
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a) CME credits in AI (75 hours over each 3-year period)
Self Assessment
b) Self Assessment: PART I -Home Study Examination
(150-item, open-book) must complete within 10 weeks of
Part II proctored exam and achieve 80-percent pass rate. |
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3. Cognitive Expertise |
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a) Proctored 200-item, four-hour
computerized
examination, given once a year during a week-long
window at multiple locations in United States. |
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4. Evaluation of
Performance in Practice |
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a) Complete PAPPA (Patient and
Physician Peer Performance in Assessment) Module:
Feedback from at least 25 Practice patients and 10 peer
physicians regarding the diplomate’s profession-alism,
communication skills and patient care. (Implemented for
2005)
b) Complete one PIM (Practice Improvement Module)
designed to evaluate practice performance. Each PIM can
be composed of patient surveys, chart
reviews, practice system-based reviews and planning
methods. (To be implemented for 2007.) |
At present, the development of PIMs will be a challenge,
requiring financial and staff support as well as
physician expertise and creativity. The ACAAI and AAAAI,
as ABAI sponsors, plan to establish a committee,
including one ABAI director to develop PIMs. The first
of these will address asthma.
In our present system of health care in the United
States, for better or worse, Boards will be subjecting
physicians in all specialties to rigorous methods of
documentation of professional standing, lifelong
learning and self assessment, cognitive expertise and
evaluation of performance in practice. The ability of
the ACAAI and the ABAI to resolve a conflict in
examination dates is an example of the spirit of mutual
cooperation that has characterized, and will continue to
characterize, our interaction. Through a joint effort of
the College, Academy and ABAI we hope to build a
Maintenance of Certification Process that will, in a
fair and user-friendly manner, assess physician
competence and satisfy National Board requirements.
Once again, nobody does it better than the allergist.
Wishing you a very happy and healthy holiday season,
Myron Zitt, M.D. |
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Association
News |
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Register now, save money
for the Board/Recertification Review Course
Registration fees go up $50 on Jan. 1 for the ACAAI/AAAAI
Conjoint Committee Board/Recertification Review Course,
April 14-17, 2005, at the Renaissance Hotel in Chicago. The
course is co-sponsored by the AAAAI and the ACAAI.
The intensive Literature Review Course will give you the
winning edge – whether you’re preparing for the ABAI exam,
Recertification, or simply strengthening your skills.
Developed by outstanding faculty members, this three and
one-half day course covers the major concepts included in
the written exam, and includes a comprehensive syllabus. The
text for the course will be the current ABAI Course Outline.
Questions from each speaker will be included in the
syllabus. The questions and answers will be covered during
the review. This will have registrants identify areas of
strengths and weaknesses.
The ACAAI is accredited by the Accreditation Council for
Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical
education for physicians. The ACAAI takes responsibility for
the content, quality and scientific integrity of this CME
activity.
ACAAI designates this education activity for a maximum of
20.5 category 1 credits toward the AMA Physician’s
Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those
credits that he/she actually spent in the activity.
Register
online today!
Applications for ABAI Examination due by Jan. 31
The American Board of Allergy and Immunology has scheduled
its examination for certification Oct. 10-14, 2005, and
recertification, rescheduled for Oct. 17-21, 2005. Deadline
for applications is Jan. 31, 2005. Applications can be
obtained from:
American Board of Allergy & Immunology
510 Walnut Street, Suite 1701
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3699
215-592-9411
Fax: 215-592-9411
E-mail: abai@abai.org
Web Site: www.abai.org
Allergy Practice Tip 26:
Think ahead
Advice from The Patient-Centered Allergy Practice
If older physicians in your practice may be considering
retirement, be sure you have expectations set in writing
now. Consider how you will handle call, malpractice costs
and scheduling if they cut back hours.
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.
The latest issue of The Patient-Centered Allergy Practice
Update is in the mail. Watch your mailbox, call 800-251-4920
or e-mail info@physicianspractice.com for a copy.
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Fellows-in-Training |
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Welcome to the Board Review Corner prepared by Thao Ngoc Tran,
M.D., a representative of ACAAI’s fellows-in-training (FITs) to
the Board of Regents. The Board Review Corner is your chance to
test your Board preparedness.
Please join us in reviewing the clinical topics of allergy and
immunology. Our text is the 6th edition of Middleton’s Allergy
Principles and Practice, edited by N. Franklin Adkinson, et al.
To refer to a previous Board Review Corner, click the "Archive"
link in the left column.
Immunology Review Corner: Chapter 33 of the 6th edition of
Middleton's Allergy Principles and Practice, edited
by N. Franklin Adkinson, et al.
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