Member of the Month: Dustin Pratt, M.D.
Family physician practices full-spectrum medicine in rural Texas
Meet the March Member of the Month, Dustin Pratt, M.D. Dr. Pratt is a family physician in the small rural town of Childress, Texas, halfway between Wichita Falls and Amarillo in the Texas panhandle. He enjoys the diversity of family medicine and practices the full spectrum in his local clinic and hospital, though he worries about the “ever increasing difficulty” to recruit new physicians that appreciate the same breadth and depth of practice.
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HHS proposes one-year delay of ICD-10 deadline
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Monday, April 9, their intention to delay the compliance date for the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, the code set for outpatient diagnosis coding. The new deadline is one year later, Oct. 1, 2014.
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AAFP joins Choosing Wisely campaign to cut use of unnecessary medical interventions
AAFP has joined the ABIM Foundation and eight other medical specialty organizations to launch the Choosing Wisely campaign, which aims to reduce unnecessary medical interventions by encouraging physicians to carefully consider tests and treatments before performing, ordering, or prescribing them. As part of the campaign, AAFP endorsed the top five tests and procedures commonly used in family medicine that are sometimes unnecessary or harmful to patients.
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Family medicine Match rate increases slightly
For the third straight year, family medicine attracted more graduating medical students, but the gains made were smaller than in the past two years. Family medicine residency programs nationwide filled 2,611 positions out of 2,764 positions offered, for a fill rate of 94.5 percent. Thirty-four more family medicine positions were offered nationwide in 2012 than in 2011, and 35 more positions were filled in 2012 than in 2011. Texas family medicine residency programs filled 202 positions out of 210 positions offered for a fill rate of 96.2 percent.
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Health information exchanges take off in Texas
Achieving meaningful use of health information technology relies on the physician’s ability to exchange clinical health data across secure electronic networks. Facilitating this exchange are health information exchanges, or HIEs. Thirteen have been established that will serve the majority of physicians and hospitals in Texas. Subsidies are available for those in the so-called “white space.”
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Save the date for TexMed, May 18-19 in Dallas
Family physician Lewis Foxhall running for re-election to TMA Board
Mark your calendars for the Texas Medical Association’s TexMed 2012, May 18-19, in Dallas, during which the association will hold elections for officers and other representatives. Running for re-election to the TMA Board of Trustees is family physician and TAFP leader Lewis Foxhall, M.D., of Houston. Former Primary Care Coalition chair Gary Floyd, M.D., is running for vice speaker. TAFP encourages TMA members to support these physician leaders by attending TexMed 2012 and casting your vote or attending your county caucus meeting.
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Calling all researchers: Enter TAFP’s annual research poster competition
Show off your research at the 2012 TAFP Student, Resident, and Community Physician Poster Competition, to be held during Annual Session on July 13 at the Austin Convention Center in downtown Austin. The top resident will win a $300 cash prize and up to $1,500 in travel funding to attend a national research conference. The deadline to submit an application and abstract is May 15.
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EDUCATION UPDATE
Now open: Register for TAFP’s Annual Session and Scientific Assembly
Registration for TAFP’s largest symposium, the 63rd Annual Session and Scientific Assembly, is now open. Make plans today to join your family medicine colleagues at the Hilton Austin Hotel and Austin Convention Center July 11-15 for high-quality CME and workshops, business meetings, social events, and more. Go to the Annual Session section of www.tafp.org for more information and to register.
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