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Dec. 30, 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)
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2008 ACAAI/AAAAI Certification/Maintenance of Certification Board Review Course
2007 ACAAI Annual Meeting Podcasts and Vodcasts
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Annals of Allergy, Asthma and
Immunology
Current issue
AllergyWatch
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JANUARY
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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CDC: Tamiflu may not be effective against flu this year
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently alerted doctors that oseltamivir (Tamiflu) may not be effective against all cases of the flu this year. Early tests showed that 49 of 50 samples of this season’s main flu virus, H1N1, were resistant to oseltamivir. The samples were collected from Hawaii, Texas, and 10 other states. Most parts of the country have not reported widespread flu. It is still unclear which strain will end up dominating in the coming months, according to the CDC, which reports the flu vaccine is well-matched against the circulating strains.
Some cough and cold medicine overdoses deliberate, study says
Some children who received fatal doses of cough or cold medicines may have been intentionally overmedicated, according to a study in Annals of Emergency Medicine, which analyzed children who have died from medication overdoses. An independent panel of eight experts from various areas of the United States analyzed 189 cases involving children under age 12 that were gathered from five sources. Using explicit definitions to assess the causal relationship between drug ingestion and death, the panel identified several contributing factors: Age younger than 2 years, use of the medication for sedation, use in a daycare setting, use of two medicines with the same ingredient, failure to use a measuring device, product misidentification, and use of a nonprescription product intended for adult use.
Survey: Many US children still exposed to secondhand smoke
More than 40 percent of US children are still being exposed to secondhand smoke on a weekly basis, according to a survey recently released by the American Legacy Foundation, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and researchers from Mississippi State University. The survey, the Social Climate Survey of Tobacco, also revealed that 75 percent of US households forbid smoking within the home or vehicle, but among parents who smoke, 53.5 percent forbid smoking at home and 22.5 percent forbid smoking in the vehicle. Approximately 8 percent of the parents reported that their children had been exposed to secondhand smoke within an indoor public venue within the past seven days.
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A message from ACAAI President Richard G. Gower, M.D., FACAAI, and William W. Storms, M.D., FACAAI
 | | Richard G. Gower, M.D., FACAAI |
 | | William W. Storms, M.D., FACAAI
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Report on NAEPP Committee Meeting in Washington, D.C., Dec. 11
by Dr. Williams Storms, ACAAI Representative to the NAEPP
With the advent of the new asthma guidelines about a year ago, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) commissioned the Guidelines Implementation Panel (GIP), headed by Kevin Weiss, M.D., to focus on implementation of the guidelines. At this year’s NAEPP meeting, the GIP panel gave its formal report on the primary educational messages that should be promoted to physicians, patients, the public, etc.
The GIP report distilled the asthma guidelines into six messages:
- The importance of the use of inhaled steroids for persistent asthma
- The importance of asthma control from the patient and physician perspective and the importance of monitoring asthma control on a regular basis
- All asthma patients should have a written asthma action plan
- All asthma patients should have asthma check-up visits to monitor disease severity and assess medication changes
- At the initial visit, asthma severity should be assessed and treatment prescribed based on that severity
- Allergen and irritant control is a very important part of asthma care
The GIP report suggests that these messages be delivered to everyone who “touches” asthma: Physicians, patients, nurses, schools, school nurses, athletic trainers, etc.
The NAEPP encourages professional organizations, such as the College, to promote these six messages to all audiences within their reach. The College soon will be discussing various ways that these messages can be promoted at both national and local levels. At the local level, College members might include the messages in their public relations and educational campaigns.
The asthma guidelines and the GIP key messages are important to allergists, not only for keeping up-to-date with current practices, but also for their local public education and promotional campaigns.
Stay tuned for further updates and announcements of College activities.
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Association
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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 invites its Fellows to apply for leadership roles
The College invites applications for the 2009-2010 positions of vice president and treasurer, and for a position on its Board of Regents for 2009-2012.
All interested Fellows are encouraged to complete a questionnaire and submit it with a cover letter and curriculum vitae to the College office no later than Feb. 15.
“The application process provides everyone with the opportunity to express his or her interest in being on the Board of Regents or becoming an officer,” said ACAAI Past President and Nominating Committee Chair Daniel Ein, M.D., FACAAI. “The questionnaire allows the Nominating Committee to evaluate each candidate’s potential fairly.”
“Fellows with a track record of excellent service on College committees or who are substantially involved in other College activities are given the highest priority. We strongly encourage qualified individuals who previously applied to consider applying again,” he said.
Candidates for the positions of president-elect, treasurer and vice president must have previously served a three-year term on the ACAAI Board of Regents.
Applications will be enclosed with the upcoming issue of ACAAI News and are available on the College Web site.
"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 ACAAI. 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., M.B.A., include the following topics:
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Chronic Cough in Pediatrics (1/5) – Alan B. Goldsobel, M.D., FACAAI
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What's New in Allergy Diagnostic Testing? (1/12) – I. Leonard Bernstein, M.D., FACAAI (Emeritus)
ReachMD offers breaking medical news, roundtable discussions, medical education and other unique programming 24 hours a day to more than 250,000 weekly listeners. It is available via live streaming, OnDemand listening and downloadable podcasts.
College collaborates on conference and training 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 World Allergy Organization (WAO) and ACAAI, will conduct an Emerging Societies meeting and the WAO Allergy Training School (WATS) in conjunction with the Dubai congress.
“WAO assists emerging societies in various regions in advancing excellence in clinical care, and also with the promotion and development of the specialty of allergy,” said ACAAI Past President Myron J. Zitt, M.D., FACAAI, co-chair of the ESP/WATS Committee and ACAAI’s representative on the WAO Board of Directors. “The ESP also enables the WAO leadership to learn more about the challenges faced in countries where the specialty of allergy is either non-existent, or is developing, and how we can best assist these efforts.”
With its rich scientific program and internationally renowned faculty, the congress presents a valuable and unique opportunity for attendees to update their knowledge, advance their skills, and interact with colleagues, regional leaders and world experts in the field. The host city, Dubai, is an exciting locale for this meeting, with its incredibly rapid-paced development as a cultural and international business hub, as well its tourist appeal.
For more information, visit the Congress Web site or e-mail MEAAAIC2009@mci-group.com.
Anne Muñoz-Furlong recognized for founding FAAN
Ms. Anne Muñoz-Furlong, MPH, founder and CEO of Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN), announced her retirement, effective Jan. 21. Muñoz-Furlong founded FAAN in 1991 after her daughter was diagnosed with food allergies.
FAAN appoints Julie Brasher new CEO
Julia Brasher has been selected as FAAN’s new CEO, and she will be starting at FAAN Jan. 21.
“We believe she has the long list of talents we set out to find,” said Muñoz-Furlong. “Julia brings to FAAN experience and respect from the allergy community, people in government agencies, and researchers. She has an extensive knowledge of anaphylaxis.”
For the past six years, as senior director of marketing at Dey Phamaceutical, Brasher led the marketing team and strategic planning for all Dey products, including EpiPen. She holds a Ph.D. in medical sociology and a master’s of business administration. Brasher has written several scientific papers and held research and faculty appointments in private research institutes and universities.
FAAN currently has 30,000 members who work to increase public awareness, provide education, advocate, and advance research on behalf of the 12 million Americans with food allergies. She also founded the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Alliance, made up of lay organizations in nine countries, which works to implement public policy changes on universal issues, such as food labeling and the availability of epinephrine.
“Patients with food allergies and clinicians have received great benefit from Ms. Munoz-Furlong’s interest and expertise in food allergy and her devotion to patient advocacy,” said ACAAI President Richard Gower, MD.
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AMA Corner
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Welcome to the AMA Corner, prepared by Alnoor A. Malick, M.D., FACAAI, the College’s Delegate to the AMA House of Delegates. AMA Corner helps keep you abreast of important AMA news and developments impacting allergy-immunology.
Learn what information payers make available to physicians
As part of its ongoing “Heal the Claims Process” campaign, the AMA encourages payers to provide full transparency with respect to fee schedules, medical payment policies, and other information necessary to maximize efficiency. Making this information available is a step toward improving the efficiency of the claims process, and it helps reduce physician practices’ costs of ensuring accurate payment of claims to the campaign’s ultimate goal of 1 percent of revenue.
Many health insurers allow contracted physicians to access a variety of information on the insurers Web sites. This information includes, but is not limited to, contracted fee schedules and payment policies. As part of its National Health Insurer Report Card, the AMA examined the Web sites of seven commercial payers and Medicare to determine which payers made their payment polices, contracted fee schedules, and claim edits available to physicians on the Web sites. Visit http://www.ama-assn.org/go/healthatclaim and click on “Payer Web sites: Contracted fees and payment policies” to access this information.
NCOIL model act paves way for favorable
state regulation of rental network PPO market
As part of an ongoing advocacy campaign to promote fair physician contracting and payment practices, the AMA has been encouraging the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL), which consists of state legislators who handle insurance issues, to adopt model legislation regulating the rental network preferred-provider organization (PPO) market. After three years of advocacy, NCOIL adopted the Rental Network Contract Arrangements Model Act, enabling physicians to identify illegitimate discounts and authorizing them to deny their discounts to noncomplying entities. Visit http://www.ncoil.org to view an NCOIL news release as well as the final model.
AMA campaign aims to help Americans
get healthier one step at a time
New resources as part of the AMA’s Healthier Life Steps campaign are now available to help people live a healthy lifestyle at little or no cost. Launched in October, the campaign can help all Americans reduce risky health behaviors and show them how to work with their physician to meet health goals.
“Eating healthy, exercising and eliminating unhealthy behaviors like smoking and excessive or risky drinking can seem like daunting tasks if you try to tackle everything at once,” said AMA President-elect J. James Rohack, M.D. “Incorporating small changes into everyday life, like cutting 100 calories per day and getting 30 minutes of moderate exercise, can make the process of getting healthier more manageable.”
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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 43 of Pediatric Allergy: Principles & Practices, edited by Donald Y.M. Leung, et al. Review questions were written by Nathanael Brady, D.O., University Hospitals, Cleveland, and Jennifer W. Mbuthia, M.D., Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
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