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In observance of America’s Independence Day, AOA offices will be closed on Friday, July 3. We will re-open at regular business hours on Monday, July 6. I wish every member of the osteopathic family a safe, celebratory holiday weekend in honor of America’s brave struggle for independence and the resounding freedom we enjoy today.

In a major victory for physician payment reform, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as part of its 2010 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule, announced on 7/1/09 that it has removed the costs of physician-administered drugs from the Medicare physician payment formula. The AOA has recommended this course of action since 2002. This is a major policy achievement and signals the Obama Administration’s commitment to enacting long-term physician payment formula reforms. See also the policy notes below for another potential payment victory!

Another advocacy victory occurred this week regarding a May Consumer Reports article about lower-back pain that did not mention DOs or osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) as an option for care. In response to letters from the AOA and other supporters of osteopathic medicine, the magazine has added a section on osteopathic medicine to its health Web site, ConsumerReportsHealth.org. The magazine also now provides information about OMT on the site's hands-on care page (available to subscribers only). In addition, a blog post dated June 29 mentions how the magazine received compelling letters from osteopathic family members regarding the use of OMT after the article was published. Thank you all for your help in expanding osteopathic recognition and public awareness! 

Personality types have been reported to affect performance among allopathic medical students and dental students on standardized examinations, according to a study published in the June 2009 issue of JAOA—The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. Lead study author Donald J. Sefcik, DO, MBA, and coauthors explore the relationship of personality types and COMLEX-USA Level 1 scores among osteopathic medical students, ultimately suggesting that personality profiling may help improve academic performance. Read more about this study on the JAOA Web site.

AOA member Paul Ehrmann, DO, attracted media attention recently after his children's health program received an award from the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan. Crain’s Detroit Business published an article on 5/31/09 regarding Dr. Ehrmann’s Children's Health Initiative Program, extolling the program for providing information and resources on good nutrition, effective physical education, and positive lifestyle modification for elementary school children ages 8-12 and their parents. In other great DO news, Mark R. Henschke, DO, PharmD, MMM, was selected by the Consumers’ Research Council of America as one of “America’s Top Physicians.” Dr. Henschke is being listed in the “Guide to America’s Top Physicians” 2009 Edition, along with many other DOs. Look up your colleagues online.

This morning, the Trust for America's Health, of which the AOA is a member, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will release the sixth annual edition of "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009."  According to the report, adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in any state in the past year.  The percentage of obese and overweight children is at or above 30% in 30 states.  For the fifth year in a row, Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity (32.5%); Colorado had the lowest rate (18.9%).  The full report contains rankings of state obesity rates for adults and children and a review of federal and state policies to help reduce or prevent obesity.  Note: The report is available online at http://www.healthyamericans.org and http://www.rwjf.org. 
 

Did you know…that using plants in medical practice dates back at least to AD 50, when the Roman Doctor Pedanuis Dioscordis wrote De Materia Medica? This early medical guide became the basis for using plants and herbs as medicines, a practice which is still around today.

The 6/29/09 Chicago Tribune reported that the nation’s primary care physician shortage likely will worsen if more people are insured; to meet expected demand in 2020, the US will need 40,000 more family physicians, which is a 39% increase over the number we had in 2006.

Health Leaders reported on 7/1/09 that CMS has proposed a change to its 2010 Physician Fee Schedule that would lower many radiology service reimbursements by up to 30%, using some of the money saved through this reduction to increase primary care reimbursements by 8%.

Wal-Mart announced on 6/30/09 that it has joined forces with the Service Employees International Union, which represents 2 million employees, to support a the idea of mandating large employers to provide health insurance to their workers, according to the 7/1/09 New York Times.

The AOA Bureau on Federal Health Programs (BOFHP) and the Joint Committee on Quality and Reimbursement (JCQR) convened a joint conference call last evening under the leadership of AOA past President Marcelino Oliva, DO, BOFHP Chair, and AOA Trustee Ray E. Stowers, DO, JCQR Chair. This meeting was called to develop a response to the US House of Representatives’ Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees’ Tri-Committee Reform Discussion Draft of health care reform legislation. In addition, the AOA Certification Fee Task Force also held a teleconference on 6/30/09, led by its Chair, AOA Trustee Robert S. Juhasz, DO, to discuss their presentation to the AOA House of Delegates later this month.

I concluded my visit in our Nation’s Capital today at the AOA Department of Government Relations offices, meeting with executive staff of the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC). Our respective organizations met to discuss strategic planning issues and tactics to promote the patient centered medical home model for care in all health system reform proposals. Strategic pathways to help accomplish this goal and governance issues were also discussed and agendas for upcoming PCPCC Board, Key Stakeholders, and Consumer Advocacy Group meetings, all taking place later this month, were also finalized.

The AOA’s July 2009 Health for the Whole Family (HFWF) article, “Eye Strain at Work: See the Signs,” is now available for download on the AOA Daily Reports Blog. This article, which was developed with input from Lee Shettle, DO, an osteopathic ophthalmologist in Largo, FL, educates patients on how to recognize, prevent, and ease computer eye strain. To sign up for the Health for the Whole Family series and receive customizable versions of health articles like this one to send to your local papers or place in practice newsletters and patient reception areas, email pr@osteopathic.org.

The AOA Grassroots Osteopathic Advocacy Link (GOAL) distributed an Advocacy Action Alert on 6/30/09 urging DOs to tell the FDA not to interfere with doctors’ medical practices. This Alert responds to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent considerations of Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) for certain opioid drugs, which could potentially restrict the use of these drugs, used to manage pain. The AOA is concerned about the detrimental impact such a policy could have on the quality of patient care and believes that pain management prescribing should be the province of the patient-physician relationship, not the FDA. To contact the FDA about this issue, click this link.

The American Osteopathic Foundation (AOF) has released financial statements for the twelve-month fiscal period ending 5/31/09. During FY 2009, the AOF total cash and investments of $8,504,017 decreased by $3,012,186, while net assets of $8,816,494 decreased by $3,138,478. These losses result from the economic recession, but were mitigated by the AOF’s fiscal governance policies. During FY 2009, the S&P was down 32.57% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 30.45%. The market value of the Foundation’s investments as of 5/31/09 was $8,058,901, a one-month increase of 6.87% or $518,190 since 4/30/09.

Did you know…that the AOA belongs to the National Quality Forum? This membership association was established to develop and implement a national strategy for health care quality measurement and reporting. Since health care quality has a significant impact on patient outcomes, workforce productivity, and health care costs, NQF was created as a mechanism to bring about national change.