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March 25, 2009 |
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Welcome to ACAAI eNews - a bi-weekly aggregated news
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MARCH
First Middle East-Asia Allergy Asthma Immunology Congress
ACAAI Collaborating Partner
March 26-29, Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 4 341 5663
Email
Link
MAY
2009 Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Society of Georgia Meeting
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
May 1-3, Pine Mountain, Ga.
Contact: Leslie Morris
Tel: 770-534-0534
Email
Atopy Patch Testing in Food Allergy
New York Allergy & Asthma Society
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
May 13, New York, N.Y.
Contact: Robert M. Klein, MD
Tel: 973-773-7400
Email
JULY
CSAAI’s 17th Annual Meeting
A Midsummer Night’s Wheeze
July 10-12, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Contact: David Arriola
Tel: 323-442-2546
Email
27th Annual Asthma Allergy Conference
Pending ACAAI Joint Sponsorship
July 29 - Aug. 1, Aspen, Colo.
Contact: Jill Hibbeln
Tel: 303-520-7660
Email
ONGOING
World
Allergy Organization Society Meetings
ACAAI
CME JOINT SPONSORSHIP ACCREDITATION
Contact: Mary Campbell
Tel: 847-427-1200
Email
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Top
Stories |
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Eczema cases dramatically increasing in England
Eczema diagnoses rose more than 40 percent in five years, according to a study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh studied general practitioners’ records from more than 9 million patients from 2001 to 2005 to assess the prevalence of eczema. The data showed that by 2005 about one in nine people in England had been affected by eczema at some point, a 42-percent increase from 2001. Over the study’s five-year period, general practitioners wrote 13.7 million prescriptions for eczema. The highest rate of eczema was among boys aged between five and nine years old.
NIAID to distribute stimulus funds for research
As a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has received additional $1.12 billion and is ready to award hundreds of high-quality, peer-reviewed grants during the next three months to stimulate research and create jobs. NIAID will spend approximately 75 percent of its ARRA funds on unsolicited grants. This new infusion of money also will give rise to several important new programs as researchers are challenged to seek funding for innovative ideas.
Black male children at high risk for food allergies
Black male children are about four times as likely to have food allergies as the rest of the population, according to a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health that was presented recently at the AAAAI meeting in Washington, D.C. For the survey, researchers took blood samples and tested them for levels of immune responses associated with clinical food allergy. They then analyzed the results, from 8,203 subjects 1 to 85 years old who had sensitivity to egg, milk, peanuts, and shrimp. Based on their analysis, the researchers estimated that 2.55 percent of the general population has food allergies, most often to shrimp and peanuts. Blacks, males, and children, especially black male children, were found to have highest levels of immune responses associated with clinical food allergy, according to the authors.
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A message from ACAAI President Richard G. Gower, M.D., FACAAI
On March 12, members of the ACAAI, AAAAI and JCAAI Boards met with their congressional representatives, senators and staff on Capitol Hill to discuss important health care reform issues. Arranged by our joint lobbying group, Capitol Associates, the day began with a legislative briefing.
I was accompanied by my wife, Jan, president-elect of the ACAAI Alliance and a special education teacher. We met with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Kristin Garesche, senior legislative assistant; Stephanie Arnold, legislative aide, office of Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.); and Mark Lozzi, health legislative assistant, office of Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). The topics I discussed included:
- Fixing Medicare physician payments: Without Congressional intervention this year, physicians will face a 20 percent Medicare payment cut in 2010. These cuts are unsustainable for many physicians. The ACAAI, AAAAI, and JCAAI recommend the following actions:
- Negate the proposed 20 percent Medicare physician payment cut for 2010 and provide a 1.1 percent pay increase as supported by the Medicare Payment advisory Commission.
- Reform and permanently fix the SGR formula.
- Remove physician-administered drugs from the target calculations.
- Fully test and evaluate ideas before changing the entire system.
- Alternative Medicare payment options for physicians: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is testing a variety of different payment options for changing both provider and patient behavior to improve the quality of care in a more cost-effective manner. Those under consideration include the “medical home,” bundled payments, “gainsharing” and “pay for performance.” While many of these proposals show promise for accomplishing these objectives in certain settings, they have not been fully tested, and may be unworkable and harmful to quality, cost-effective care in non-institutional or outpatient settings.
- Allergist/immunologist workforce issues: Although the demand for allergists will increase 35 percent by 2020, the supply of allergists is expected to decline. There are only 73 A/I accredited training programs in the country with about 348 A/I residents/fellows. To keep pace with the growing demand and address the shortage, A/I training programs will need to increase the number of A/I specialists trained by an additional 120 per year. Increased federal funding is needed to avert a crisis in the treatment of allergy and asthma.
I also discussed and handed out a copy of research published by the College, Asthma Management and the Allergist: Better Outcomes at Lower Cost, showing that aggressive management of asthma by a specialist improves outcomes for patients, lowers overall treatment costs for payers, and reduces the indirect costs to society.
We also discussed the parallels of pay-for-performance proposals in both medicine and education. The most qualified, capable physicians often have the most complicated, non-compliant patients, whose recoveries are not necessarily assured. Similarly, the most challenging students are often assigned to the most gifted teachers. These students may progress, but not to the levels mandated by No Child Left Behind. In a pay-for-performance scenario, the best physicians and teachers could be penalized, resulting in physicians and teachers declining to work with these difficult populations.
Good relationships are built with legislators over time. Rep. McMorris Rogers and Garesche, Arnold and Lozzi have met with me twice a year for the past several years. This opportunity for face-to-face dialogue about health care reform has been invaluable.
This is a critical time in our country for health care reform, and we must do it right. I believe it is very important to convey the insight of physicians about health care issues to legislators.
Materials for your use on all of the topics I’ve mentioned are available on the Legislative Relations section of the College Web site. I encourage you to become involved by establishing contacts with legislators so that proper reforms are embraced and all patients have access to quality care.
ACAAI President-Elect Sami Bahna, M.D., Dr.P.H., FACAAI, (right) discussed the same issues with Rep. John Fleming, M.D. (R-La.) and his assistant on health issues. Dr. Fleming is a family medicine specialist who was recently elected to represent northwest Louisiana. Dr. Bahna also met with Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and her legal correspondent, and then with the legislative assistant to Sen. David Vitter (R-La.).
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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.
COLA conferences attract nearly 9,000 hits as podcasts
The College’s Allergy Conferences Online (COLA) are reaching larger audiences through podcasts on iTunes (5,810 hits as of March 6) and the host Web site (nearly 3,000 hits). The following programs were the most popular:
- iTunes downloads: Asthma Action Plans (118), Bronchial Provocation (114), Steroid Resistant Asthma (102), The Red Eye (536), Anaphylaxis (106), and Immunotherapy (Wednesday, Linda Cox, M.D., FACAAI – 316).
- Online viewings: Asthma Action Plans (184), The Red Eye (117), Immunotherapy Prescriptions (116), Patient with Hives (111), and, Vaccines and Autism (111).
The free Web-based interactive series of live and archived conferences are complementary and are not sponsored by industry. To access the conferences, go to the College member Web site to the Distance Learning menu and click COLA. You will see a calendar that lists scheduled programs and instructions for how to join them. CME is available through Children’s Mercy Hospital for those who participate in the live presentation.
Podcasts of previous COLA programs are available on the Web site, or you can subscribe for free to the video podcasts through iTunes. Download iTunes from www.apple.com and, once installed, go to podcasts. Search for “allergy” and subscribe to the Allergy Conferences Online podcast.
If you have suggestions for additional COLA content or formats, or if you wish to participate in COLA, notify the COLA oversight committee via email: MikeSlawny@acaai.org.
“Thrive Allergy Expo” to be April 18-19 in Chicago
The first allergy and gluten-free consumer expo in North America, “Thrive Allergy Expo,” will be held Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, at McCormick Place in Chicago.
The expo will feature information for consumers about the latest products and services for food, respiratory, skin and environmental allergies, and intolerances. Thrive’s mission is to have people with allergies and gluten intolerance come to one place to be informed, live better and thrive.
As the College’s representative on the Expo’s Advisory Board, James L. Sublett, M.D., FACAAI, assisted in developing criteria for the Thrive Allergy Expo’s Marketplace Forum. Other members on the College’s advisory group are Sami L. Bahna, M.D., Dr.P.H., FACAAI; Stanley M. Fineman, M.D., M.B.A., FACAAI; and Michael B. Foggs, M.D., FACAAI.
“The Marketplace will provide patients with a wealth of information under one roof on allergic diseases, including celiac disease, gluten intolerance, asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema and contact dermatitis,” said Dr. Sublett. “This Expo will be the first of its kind in the U.S., and I encourage College members to promote the Expo to their patients.”
For more information or to buy tickets, visit the Expo Web site.
Annual Meeting vodcasts and Webcasts available
The College is offering complimentary vodcasts of 2008 ACAAI Annual Meeting scientific sessions Webcasts for viewing or downloading from the ACAAI Web site Distance Learning page.
The first 30-minute vodcasts contain the slides and audio from the Thursday half-day conferences, Tracking Oral Immunotherapy: Should We Begin the Slit Express and Dermatology and Your Practice. Future vodcasts will feature selected sessions from the Literature Review Course and the named lectures. This convenient service is sponsored by an educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline.
Three scientific symposia are captured as Webcasts and offer complimentary CME credit to those who did not receive credit from attending the Seattle meeting:
- “Update in Hereditary Angioedema: A Disease in Rapid Evolution” – Supported by an educational grant from Dyax Corporation
- “Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT) for Allergic Rhinitis: The Latest Evidence” – Supported by an educational grant from Schering-Plough
- “Advances in Hereditary Angioedema Treatment: Considerations, Criteria and the New Therapy Options for Treatment and Prevention of HAE Attacks” – Supported by an educational grant from Viro Pharma
“Hot Topics in Allergy” airs daily on ReachMD XM Satellite Radio
The “Hot Topics in Allergy” series airing daily, exclusively on the ReachMD XM Satellite Radio (Channel 160), is created in partnership with ACAAI.
Program hosts are Todd A. Mahr, M.D., FACAAI, and Ketan K. Sheth, M.D., M.B.A. New and upcoming topics — available via live streaming, OnDemand listening and downloadable podcasts — include the following:
- Immunity and Autism (3/23) – Santiago E. Martinez, M.D., FACAAI
- Chronic Cough in Adults (3/30) – Jason E. Knuffman, M.D.
- Under-served Asthma Communities (4/6) – Michael B. Foggs, M.D., FACAAI
ReachMD offers breaking medical news, roundtable discussions, medical education and other unique programming 24/7 to more than 250,000 weekly listeners. Listen at XM160 or online with promo code: ACAAI.
Check out the ACAAI Allergist Buyers Guide
The College created the ACAAI Allergist Buyers Guide – the first product marketplace representing the field of allergy-immunology — to provide you with a fast and easy way to search for industry resources online. Your online searches will easily locate products and services unique to allergy-immunology without the clutter of a general Internet search engine, so you can quickly find and research those hard-to-locate items. The fully searchable site features listings of companies — including ACAAI Annual Meeting exhibitors — grouped into business segments, such as clinical support services, medical equipment, practice management and pharmaceuticals.
EHR users — CCHIT needs your help!
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) is seeking to compile a catalog of case histories of physicians who have implemented EHRs. They want to hear from practices large and small, in both urban and rural geographies, who have made tangible improvements to their practices in both patient care and practice management by adopting EHRs. If you use EHRs and think they have improved your patient care and/or practice, please contact John Morrissey, Communications Manager, CCHIT at jmorrissey@cchit.org. Following review and editing, the case study will be returned for final approval by the practice. A contact e-mail and phone number for the profiled practice must be included with submission.
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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.
AMA participates in White House summit on health care
AMA President Nancy H. Nielsen, M.D., Ph.D., represented the nation’s physicians and the AMA during a health care reform summit hosted by President Barack Obama March 5 at the White House. The AMA applauded the president’s effort to tackle this issue.
Later in the day, Dr. Nielsen appeared as part of a panel on the lead segment of NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. The panel focused on health system reform and the health care reform summit held at the White House.
Advocacy against “red flags” rule ongoing
The AMA continues to express opposition to applying the “red flags” rule to physicians and recently received a response from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding this matter. The rules require creditors—broadly interpreted by FTC staff to include physicians who accept payment after a rendered service—to establish programs that can detect, prevent and mitigate medical identity theft.
In February, the AMA and 99 state medical and national specialty societies sent a letter to the FTC stressing that physicians are not creditors. They also urged the FTC to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act by issuing a new rule that provides an opportunity for physicians to comment.
In response, the FTC continues to assert that physicians who regularly bill their patients for services rendered, including copayments and coinsurance, are considered creditors and must develop and implement written identity theft prevention programs for their practices by May 1 to be in compliance with the "red flags" rule.
AMA resource can help doctors combat inappropriate health insurer claim denials
Physicians and their practices’ staff members can learn about appealing erroneous payment reductions and denials by using the AMA resource “How to appeal inappropriate health insurer claim denials.” A product of the AMA’s Practice Management Center, this resource includes tips to assist physicians in identifying and appealing inappropriate health insurer claim denials.
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Fellows-in-Training |
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Have any questions, suggestions or comments? Feel free to contact your regional or national FIT representatives listed on the Fellows-in-Training page of the College Web site.
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 49 of Pediatric Allergy: Principles & Practices, edited by Donald Y.M. Leung, et al. Review questions were written by Jennifer W. Mbuthia, M.D., Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
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