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Dec. 17, 2008 |
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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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Conferences
On Line Allergy Initiative (COLA)
2008 ACAAI/AAAAI Certification/Maintenance of Certification Board Review Course
2007 ACAAI Annual Meeting Podcasts and Vodcasts
2007 ACAAI Annual Meeting CME Symposium
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Periodicals |
Annals of Allergy, Asthma and
Immunology
Current issue
AllergyWatch
Current issue
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JANUARY 2009
Michigan Asthma and Allergy Society
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Jan. 7, Novi, Mich.
Contact: Gina Gibson
Tel: 517-336-5709
Email
NYAAS: Severe Combined Immunodeficiency - A Molecular Paradigm
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Jan. 14, New York, N.Y.
Contact: Dr. Robert M. Klein
Tel: 973-773-7400
Email
SWAF, EAC, TAAIS Combined Meeting on Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Jan. 14, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Contact: Ginny Loiselle
Tel: 713-723-3796
Email
Western Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
Jan. 25, Wailea, Maui, Hawaii
Contact: Karol Anderson
Tel: 503-533-7156
Email
MARCH
2009 AAAAI Annual Meeting
March 13-17, Washington, D.C.
Tel: 888-869-0189 (US/Canada)
Tel: 415-979-2277 (International/Local)
Email
Link
First Middle East-Asia Allergy Asthma Immunology Congress
ACAAI Collaborating Partner
March 26-29, Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 341 5663
Email
Link
ONGOING
World
Allergy Organization Society Meetings
ACAAI
CME JOINT SPONSORSHIP ACCREDITATION
Contact: Mary Campbell
Tel: 847-427-1200
Email
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Sponsored By
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Top
Stories |
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FDA
panel divided on LABAs; backs combo drugs
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recently split on the
benefits and risks of long-acting beta-agonists, but supported products that
combine LABAs with inhaled corticosteroids for some asthma patients. The panel
supported the use of combination drugs Advair and Symbicort for both adults and
children but said the benefits of Foradil and Serevent didn't outweigh their
risks as currently approved. Several panel members said the labels for Foradil
and Serevent should be rewritten to make it clear to patients and doctors that
the products should be used in addition to inhaled corticosteroids and not
alone. The FDA called the panel of outside medical experts to discuss the drugs
during a two-day meeting and to resolve agency differences about whether the
drugs should continue to be marketed as asthma treatments due to ongoing
concerns that the drugs increase the risk of asthma-related side effects. The
College, the AAAAI and the American Academy of Pediatrics agreed that all four
of the drugs should remain available as asthma treatments.
C-Section delivery may increase child's asthma risk
Children
born by Caesarean section are at increased risk for asthma, according to study
in Thorax. Swiss researchers at Universitats-Kinderlinik in Zurich, conducted a
long-term study of the respiratory health of nearly 3,000 infants. At age 8,
12.4 percent of the children had been diagnosed with asthma and prescribed
inhaled steroids. Overall, only 8.5 percent of the children had been born by
Caesarean section, but they were nearly 80 percent more likely to have been
diagnosed with asthma and prescribed inhaled steroids than the children
delivered vaginally.
There's more to diagnosing allergic disease than just
diagnostic testing
A positive allergy test result only indicates allergen sensitization, not
necessarily clinical allergy, emphasizes a report in the Annals of Allergy,
Asthma & Immunology , by the ACAAI/AAAAI Specific IgE Test Task
Force. An allergy evaluation should be based on patient history directed by "a
health care professional with sufficient understanding of allergy diagnostic
testing," who would know which tests to order, how to interpret results and how
to use results to develop an appropriate therapeutic treatment plan, according
to the authors.
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A message from Michael B. Foggs, M.D, FACAAI,
Chair of the Committee on
Managed Care and Health Plans
 Although our numbers are small, as
allergists-immunologists we provide a great service to the public by preventing
aggravation and escalation of allergic and immunologic disorders that plague
society. One of these disorders is asthma. It is the leading atopic disorder
affecting health care utilization, work and school absences, physical activity
impairment, morbidity, and mortality. Allergists have led the way in improving
asthma outcomes. As allergists, we have learned how to stem the tide of the
burden of asthma in the face of escalating asthma prevalence, especially in
children.
In light of the recent launch of the College's marketing campaign, the College
updated its publication, Asthma Management and the Allergist: Better Outcomes
at Lower Cost. Known as the "Blue Book," it offers health plan purchasers,
managed care organization decision makers, insurance executives, pharmacy
benefits managers, primary care specialists, and patients an opportunity to
better appreciate how allergists' cost-effect approach to asthma disease
management is highly effective in reducing resource utilization for asthma.
In addition to improving our patients' quality of life, our adherence to
evidence-based and consensus asthma guidelines has resulted in less absenteeism
from the classroom and workplace for our asthma patients. We have thereby
conserved limited resources during these difficult economic times. Moreover,
our management of patients with asthma has generated substantial savings by
decreasing the frequency of emergency department visits and hospitalizations
for the treatment of asthma exacerbations. This document, which is accessible
as a pdf file via the College's Web site
, does not
criticize the care rendered by our colleagues in primary care, but instead
highlights how our approach to managing asthma results in superior asthma
outcomes by implementing a consistent evidence-based approach to asthma
management. It includes annotated references that make it very user-friendly
for the reader.
It is gratifying to see tangible evidence substantiating the fact that we help
our asthma patients in meaningful and unique ways that are highlighted in the
Blue Book - which re-establishes the assertion that we, as allergists, possess
special knowledge about asthma. Our success can be ascribed not only to our
application of optimal asthma medical regimen and our use of step-wise care
recommended by the NHLBI/NAEPP Expert Panel Report 3: Asthma Guidelines for the
Diagnosis and Management of Asthma, but also to our emphasis on the
implementation of appropriate environmental control measures and the use of
immunotherapy and biological agents for treatment of asthma in properly
selected patients - all of which collectively contribute to the consistent
benefits that we provide for our asthma patients.
The Blue Book catalogues recent studies documenting these consistent benefits
realized by asthma patients treated by allergists. These benefits include:
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Improved quality of life and increased patient satisfaction
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Fewer missed days for work or school
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Fewer sick care office visits
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Fewer emergency department visits
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Fewer hospitalizations and shorter hospital stays
Our hope is that the health care industry, the media and the public at large
develop a greater appreciation for the expertise that we provide as clinicians
who apply the evidence-based principles of allergy and immunology in assessing
and managing our asthma patients. As allergists-immunologists we can be proud
of the value we offer to our asthma patients and their families as demonstrated
by the data contained in the updated version of the Blue Book.
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Association
News |
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Join the College's campaign to help people
Find an Allergist, Find Relief
All ACAAI member-allergists have an opportunity to be part of the largest, most
expansive public education and advocacy campaign about the benefits of seeing
an allergist.
Allergy and asthma sufferers need you, but may not know about you. That's the
reason for the coordinated national and local strategies to spread the word
about allergists. You can be part of this mobilization by joining the Allergy
and Asthma Relief Team.
All Relief Team members receive a "toolkit" for spreading the word in their
communities and for marketing their own practices. The toolkit includes:
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patient education brochures
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advertising templates
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a window cling featuring the new allergist logo
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community and media tips
Join the estimated 500 ACAAI members who have already joined the Relief Team.
Visit www.AllergyAndAsthmaRelief.org/order
to register and receive your free toolkit.
College collaborates on international
conference in Dubai
 The College is a collaborating partner on The First Middle East-Asia Allergy
Asthma Immunology Congress, New Horizons in Allergy, Asthma & Immunology,
March 26-29 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Emerging Societies Program (ESP), a joint initiative of the WAO and the
ACAAI, will conduct an Emerging Societies Meeting and the First WAO Allergy
Training School (WATS) in conjunction with the Dubai Congress.
"While allergy was once considered a disease of the Western world, today there
is rising incidence globally indicating that the burden of disease in the near
future is likely to multiply with huge socio-economic impact, making it a major
public health issue," said co-organizer Ruby Pawankar, M.D., Ph.D, Tokyo,
member of the ACAAI International Committee and International Distinguished
Fellow of the College.
"This makes it important for us not only to understand the recent advances in
the science of allergic diseases, but also commonalities and the diversities in
the etiology, epidemiology and the disease patterns that exist in different
parts of the world," she said.
The College's speakers are President Richard G. Gower, M.D., FACAAI;
President-Elect Sami L. Bahna, M.D., Dr.P.H., FACAAI; Immediate Past President
Jay M. Portnoy, M.D., FACAAI; Past President William K. Dolen, M.D., FACAAI;
Past President Daniel Ein, M.D., FACAAI; International Committee, Middle East
& Africa Portfolio Chair Talal M. Nsouli, M.D., FACAAI (Honorary).
The host city, Dubai, with its central location in the Middle East, is an
exciting locale for this meeting with its incredibly rapid-paced development as
a cultural and international business hub, as well its attractive tourist
appeal. Dubai offers attendees its timeless tranquility of the desert,
record-breaking modernization and innovative architectural marvels.
For more information, visit the Congress Web site or e-mail
MEAAAIC2009@mci-group.com.
Call for Acorn grant applications
The ACAAI Board of Regents continued the Acorn Project, funding up to three
fellowships at institutions whose allergy/immunology training programs are
experiencing financial difficulties.
The Acorn grants are intended for ACGME-accredited training programs in dire financial need. Up to three grants may be offered to support the salaries of fellows-in-training for 2 years of training at $50,000 each. Grants will be provided for the period July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2012. The deadline for receipt of completed applications and materials is Feb. 2, 2009. For applications, visit the Application Forms page on the ACAAI member Web site.
If you have any questions, please contact Dianne Kubis in the ACAAI executive
office at (847) 427-1200 or e-mail DianneKubis@acaai.org.
Register for the 2009 MOC exam and ACAAI/AAAAI Online
Review Course
Registration for the 2009 Maintenance of Certification (MOC) examination is
open from Dec. 15, 2008, through Jan. 31, 2009. Regulatory agencies, health
maintenance organizations and the community require reassurance and
documentation of continual professional development and education by
physicians. MOC is a professional response to the need for public
accountability and transparency, assessing physicians using the Six Core
Competencies as defined by American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
For those who wish to be certified by the American
Board of Allergy and Immunology (ABAI), the 2008-2009 ACAAI/AAAAI
Certification/Maintenance of Certification Online Board Review Course is
available for purchase. By registering now, you gain unlimited access to the
course recordings through Oct. 31, 2009, which allows you to begin studying at
your pace, on your own schedule.
"Hot Topics in Allergy" airs daily on ReachMD XM
Satellite Radio
The "Hot Topics in Allergy"
series - airing exclusively on
the ReachMD XM Satellite Radio (Channel 160) - is created in partnership with
the College. ReachMD is available via live streaming,
OnDemand listening and downloadable podcasts.
New programs, with hosts Todd A. Mahr, M.D., FACAAI, and Ketan K. Sheth, M.D.,
include the following topics:
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Rise of food allergies in American Children (12/22/08) - Amy Branum, MSPH
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Expanding Spectrum of Immunoglobulin Therapy (12/29/08) - Stanley M. Fineman,
M.D., MBA, FACAAI
Truly one of kind, ReachMD offers breaking medical news, roundtable
discussions, medical education and other unique programming 24 hours a day to
more than 250,000 weekly listeners. This innovative radio channel debuted in
the spring of 2007 on the XM satellite network with the College among its first
partners.
For a limited time, as a special benefit of your ACAAI membership, you can get
free access to ReachMD XM radio channel 160 - a $23.99 value - giving you the
ability to listen to this outstanding medical content live online or download
the interviews as podcasts. To redeem your free member benefit, go to
www.reachmd.com and click on the "Redeem Promotion Code." Enter the code ACAAI
and submit.
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AMA Corner
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Welcome to the AMA Corner
prepared by Alnoor A. Malick, M.D., FACAAI, ACAAI Delegate to the AMA House of
Delegates, to keep you abreast of important AMA news and developments affecting
allergy-immunology.
New resource details Medicare's e-prescribing
incentive program
With the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Electronic Prescribing
Incentive Program scheduled to begin next month, many physicians are preparing
for a transition from paper and faxed prescriptions to a computer-based
electronic generation, transmission and filling of a prescription. To help with
inquiries that may arise, the AMA created "Understanding the basics of
Medicare's electronic prescribing incentive program." This new guide covers the
fundamental basics of the program, including topics such as what the program
is, incentive amounts for using the program, eligibility criteria to receive
incentive payments and reporting, and system requirements.
Medicare publishes billing edits to reduce payment
errors
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced its
decision to publish most of the edits used in its Medically Unlikely Edit (MUE)
program to improve accuracy of claims payments, a decision the AMA has long
advocated. The MUE program - implemented Jan. 1, 2007, and updated quarterly -
was established to reduce payment errors for Medicare Part B claims. The latest
program update, released Oct. 1, contains edits for about 9,700 Healthcare
Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS)/Current Procedural Terminology (CPT)
codes that have been assigned unit values for MUEs. Claims processing
contractors use these edits to ensure that providers and suppliers do not
report excessive services.
AMA Physician Data Restriction Program
available to all physicians
The AMA launched its Physician Data Restriction Program (PDRP), which offers
physicians choice and control in how their prescribing data are made available
to pharmaceutical sales representatives. It is available to all physicians, and
to date nearly 17,000 have chosen to protect their prescribing information
through the PDRP.
AMA critiques article on uncompensated
care to the uninsured
A new policy research perspective from the AMA questions estimates of the
amount of physician-provided uncompensated care that appear in a recent Health
Affairs article.
The article - "Medical Care for the Uninsured: Who Pays for it and How Will
Spending Change Under Universal Coverage?" - states that in 2008 the hospital
sector will provide $35 billion in uncompensated care to the uninsured,
followed by $14.6 billion from community providers and $7.8 billion from
private, office-based physicians. In contrast, the AMA suggests that physicians
will provide $48.9 billion in uncompensated care in 2008, split about equally
between charity care - about half of which will go to the uninsured-and bad
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Fellows-in-Training |
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Board Review Corner
Welcome to the Board Review Corner prepared by Jennifer W. Mbuthia, M.D., and
Christopher R. Martin, M.D., Senior and Junior Representatives of ACAAI's
fellows-in-training (FITs) to the Board of Regents. The Board Review Corner is
an opportunity to help hone your Board preparedness.
To refer to a previous Board Review Corner, click the "FIT Archive" link in the
left column.
Review Questions: Chapter 42 of Pediatric Allergy: Principles
& Practices, edited by Donald Y.M. Leung, et al. Review questions
were written by Jennifer W. Mbuthia, M.D., and Christopher R. Martin, M.D.,
Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
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