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January 19, 2005 |
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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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Top
Stories |
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Regulatory Updates |
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Distance Learning |
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Association
News |
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Fellows-in-Training |
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Calendar |
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Archive |
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FIT Archive |
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Readers responding were almost equally divided about whether
the potential decrease in workforce will affect the
viability of the specialty — 52 percent said “yes” and 48
percent said “no.” |
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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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JANUARY
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
Web site
JUNE
World Allergy Congress
June 26 – July 1, Munich, Germany
Link
ONGOING
World Allergy Organization Society Meetings
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Sponsored
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Top
Stories |
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New U.S. guidelines: Control asthma during pregnancy
Pregnant women should keep their asthma under control,
according to the National Asthma Education and Prevention
Program, which recently released new U.S. guidelines for
controlling asthma during pregnancy. While asthma drugs may
affect the developing baby, the panel issuing the guidelines
says, they pose less of a risk than the breathing problems
caused by asthma. The guidelines say that albuterol should be
kept on hand. The guidelines were published in the January issue
of the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.
Bronchodilator responsiveness may help
pediatric asthma diagnosis
About half of wheezing children who take a positive
bronchodilator responsiveness test will have a negative
response; however, children with wheeze are more likely than
those without wheeze to have a positive response, according to a
study in Thorax. Scientists at Royal London Hospital in
the United Kingdom looked at the diagnostic accuracy of
bronchodilator responsiveness testing for asthma in children
from 5 and 9 years old, getting spirometric measurements in 142
children, 58 of whom who were wheezing, before and after 400 mcg
inhaled salbutamol. The wheezing children had considerably lower
percentage predicted baseline FEV1 measurements and
significantly greater bronchodilator responsiveness at baseline,
compared with controls.
Rhinitis increases healthcare resource
use among asthmatic kids
Children with both asthma and allergic rhinitis rack up more
asthma drug expenses and are hospitalized more often than
children with asthma alone, according to a study in
Pediatrics. Scientists at Merck and Co. in Whitehouse
Station, N.J., analyzed data from 9,522 asthmatic children,
1,879 of whom had allergic rhinitis in the United Kingdom.
During the 12 months the study included, the group with rhinitis
averaged 4.4 general practitioner visits and had a
hospitalization rate of 1.4 percent. The asthma-only group
averaged 3.4 visits with a 0.5 percent hospitalization rate.
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 A
word from President Myron Zitt, M.D.
A survey conducted in August 2004 indicated that ACAAI
members sought more detailed, specialty-specific
information on how to improve the management of their
allergy practices. The survey also showed overwhelmingly
high support for The Patient-Centered Allergy Practice
as a means of obtaining that information.
This complimentary CME series on practice management
endorsed by the ACAAI and supported by an educational
grant from the sanofi-aventis Group, is being offered to
College members for the third consecutive year.
ACAAI members have found great value in The
Patient-Centered Allergy Practice. Over 80 percent of
survey respondents said the newsletters helped them
improve their allergy practice operations. Most important,
83 percent believed that improving office management
resulted in improved patient care.
Based on member feedback, it is evident that the 2004
Patient-Centered Allergy Practice has literally
touched thousands of allergists. As a result of your
survey responses, this year’s program will be expanding
its offerings. The 2005 components will include:
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Newsletters — Six
bimonthly newsletters will feature how-to articles and
tips for improved allergy practice management. This
year, each newsletter will focus on a separate
practice management issue, such as “Technology.”
The subscriber will benefit from our new “Practice of
Focus” series by following the physicians and staff of
a single allergy practice as they work through
different areas of practice management under the
guidance and supervision of our very own
Patient-Centered Allergy Practice management
consultants. The reader will learn how practice
members, through improvement of operations, dedicate
themselves to improving patient care!
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Audioconferences —
Our four, 60-minute audioconferences educate
physicians and administrators on operating a more
patient-centered allergy practice. Audioconferences
will allow participants to focus in-depth on
particular topics in allergy practice management.
Physicians and their staff members will be able to
join in live from the convenience of their own offices
by dialing a toll-free number, or they can access an
archived version via phone up to three months after
the live program.
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2005 Audioconference
Schedule |
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Scheduling for Better Patient Access in Allergy,
April 19, 2005, noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time |
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Improving Allergist-Patient Communication,
June 21, 2005, noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time |
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Top 10 Tech Tips for Allergists, Aug. 23,
2005, noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time |
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Real World Ethics for Allergists, Oct. 18,
2005, noon to 1 p.m. Eastern time |
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Practice Management Web
Site — Because many ACAAI members are Internet
savvy, 72 percent of survey respondents asked for an
online component of the practice management program.
Now you can visit
www.PatientCenteredAllergyPractice.com to access
electronic versions of The Patient-Centered Allergy
Practice: White Paper as well as archived issues
of past newsletters and audioconferences.
Members also can visit this Web site for the new
practice management case study series, where
individual topics in allergy practice management are
addressed. The participant can test his or her
understanding of various aspects of practice
management by choosing from the available Web options
and working through each case study. Truly, this
should be an ideal venue for learners to improve their
office operation and with it, the delivery of patient
care.
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Symposia for
Fellows-in-Training —According to a 2003 survey by
Merritt, Hawkins & Associates, only 2 percent of
senior medical students feel prepared to manage the
business of an allergy practice. The
Patient-Centered Allergy Practice group has
researched this issue and will be conducting sessions
on starting or joining an allergy practice during a
one-day practice management conference that is being
planned for Fellows-in-Training and Young Physicians
at our 2005 Annual Meeting. Those who are interested
in attending this free presentation in Anaheim should
visit the Web site for more information. |
To register for The
Patient-Centered Allergy Practice, or to get more
information about this program, please call (800) 251-4920
or e-mail
info@physicianspractice.com. You can also visit
www.PatientCenteredAllergyPractice.com.
With the feedback from members and the help of our
sanofi-aventis sponsored Patient Centered Allergy Practice
Program, when it comes to practice management, “nobody
does it better” than the ACAAI allergist.
Sincerely,
Myron Zitt, M.D. |
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Regulatory Updates |
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States now look to Europe for inexpensive drugs
Now that the Canadian government is considering cutting
exports of prescription drugs to the United States, individual
states are beginning to look to Europe for drug deals. Illinois,
Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin have all launched initiatives to
help residents get cheaper drugs from countries such as Ireland
and the United Kingdom, even if one country stops exporting.
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Association
News |
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ABAI
Recertification Exam applications due Jan. 31;
Certification applications not due until April 1
The ACAAI eNews and ACAAI News reported an
incorrect deadline for the ABAI Certification Exam
applications. The Exams and application deadlines are as
follows:
• Recertification Exam: Oct. 17-21, 2005 (applications due
Jan. 31, 2005)
• Certification Exam: Oct. 10-14, 2005 (applications due April
1, 2005)
Applications can be obtained from the American Board of
Allergy & Immunology,
510 Walnut Street, Suite 1701, Philadelphia, PA 19106-3699;
phone: (215) 592-9411;
fax: (215) 592-9411; e-mail:
abai@abai.org;
Web site:
www.abai.org.
Registration filled for Board/Recert Course
Registration is filled to capacity for the ACAAI/AAAAI
Conjoint Committee Board/Recertification Review Course, April
14-17, 2005. If you have not yet registered for the course and
would like to be placed on a waiting list, e-mail Dianne Kubis
at
diannekubis@acaai.org.
Annals Online gets a makeover
Beginning with the January publication, the Annals of
Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Web site will have a new
look. Once the new site is activated, College members and
other subscribers will receive an e-mail notice to re-register
for access to Annals Online.
The new Internet site is loaded with additional features,
including a better search engine, new online pay-for-view
service, multi-server protection against downtime and the
ability to electronically post other materials.
Allergy Practice Tip: Better
Office Space Planning
Advice from The Patient-Centered Allergy Practice
Atlanta-based architect Dick Haines urges allergists to think
of their offices as “an integrated series of events,” not just
as bricks and mortar or exam rooms and waiting areas.
Haines, a specialist in medical-facility planning and design
for more than 20 years, says most allergists understand the
relationship between space and productivity. However, they
tend to think first of how many exam rooms they need instead
of the universe of activities — administrative tasks, record
retrieval, registration, patient check-in and check-out, etc.
— that also take place in a medical office.
For example, an allergy practice typically experiences a
steady flow of patient appointments during the day, plus
bursts of patients dropping by the shot clinic in the early
morning or late afternoon. Failure to consider the unique ebb
and flow of scheduled and unscheduled patients in an allergy
practice can produce harried staff, crowded waiting rooms,
upset patients, and frustrated allergists.
These tips are created by The Patient-Centered Allergy
Practice, a CME series on practice management is provided
by Physicians Practice, endorsed by ACAAI and supported by an
educational grant from sanofi-aventis.
To register or to get more information about this program,
please call (800) 251-4920, e-mail
info@physicianspractice.com, or visit
www.PatientCenteredAllergyPractice.com.
 In Memoriam: Prof. Romain Pauwels
scholar, scientist, teacher and physician
With great sadness, we announce that Prof. Romain A. Pauwels,
M.D., Ph.D., Belgium, died on Jan. 3, 2005.
Prof. Pauwels was director of the Division of Respiratory
Diseases at University Hospital in Ghent, Belgium. He was
Member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium and held
positions in several scientific societies and initiatives.
As Executive Committee chairman, he oversaw the development
and dissemination of the Global Initiative for Obstructive
Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines, providing a science base for
COPD management worldwide, and he also had a leadership role
in the creation of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA)
guidelines. Both GINA and GOLD are collaborations between the
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the World Health
Organization.
He was President of the Belgian Society of Allergology and
Clinical Immunology and of the Belgian Society of Pneumology.
Prof. Pauwels’ research interests were mainly the pathogenesis
and pharmacology of asthma and COPD. He has published more
than 400 publications related to different aspects of
pulmonary diseases. He will be greatly missed. |
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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.
To refer to a previous Board Review Corner, click the “Archive”
link in the left column.
Immunology Review Corner: Chapter 35 of the 6th edition
of Middleton’s Allergy Principles and Practice, edited by
N. Franklin Adkinson, et al. Review questions were written by
fellows-in-training Drs. Thao Tran, Karla Lowe and Todd Levin.
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Copyright
© 2005 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. All
rights reserved.
E-newsletter services provided by the medical editors at Ascend
Media, LLC.
Do you have news, responses or opinions to share with us? Please
e-mail the association office at
enews@acaai.org.
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