Family physicians increase their practice potential at C. Frank Webber Lectureship

posted 03.18.10

Almost 350 physicians, residents, and students gathered at the Hilton Austin Airport to attend this year’s C. Frank Webber Lectureship and Interim Session on March 4-6, 2010. The busy weekend was filled with an ABFM SAM Group Study Workshop, CME lectures, and TAFP business meetings.

TAFP introduced a SAM Group Study Workshop to this year’s conference on Thursday, providing another forum for diplomates of the American Board of Family Medicine to get credit for the Self Assessment Module portion of their Maintenance of Certification. At the workshop, attendees discussed childhood illnesses and completed the 60-question knowledge assessment portion of the module. Attendees were then eligible to complete the clinical simulation online after the conference.

Friday’s CME topics mirrored the full scope of issues facing practicing family physicians, ranging from lectures on common infectious diseases to bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder, plus a lecture from Bradley Reiner, TAFP’s practice management consultant, on the latest in coding and billing, and an ethics lecture by TMLT’s Mary Angela Meyer, J.D., titled “RAC, CMS, OIG, MAC, CPT, E&M: What Does This All Mean To Me?”.

TAFP hosted the 21st annual Texas Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Students on Saturday, which combined lectures tailored for future family physicians with an interactive resident-led Residency and Procedures fair. Morning lecture topics concentrated on paying off educational debt and the business side of medicine. That afternoon, students and residents switched gears as residency programs from around Texas showed students the full scope of family medicine through hands-on procedure demonstrations. Students practiced simulations of joint injections, ultrasounds, circumcisions, and more.

During TAFP commission, committee, section, and task force meetings, TAFP members discussed topics that touch every aspect of family physicians’ practices, and developed policy that will guide the Academy through the coming years.

At the Commission on Legislative and Public Affairs meeting, TAFP members listened to a presentation on the state budget from Anne Dunkelberg, associate director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities; discussed projections for the 82nd Texas Legislative Session; and bounced questions about political hot topics off TAFP’s lobbying team. Members of the Commission on Annual Session and CME voted to hold a new annual symposium in Dallas-Fort Worth starting in fall 2010 that mirrors the popular Primary Care Summit program in Houston. Primary Care Summit-DFW will replace Doctors in Motion. Members of the Commission on Public Health, Clinical Affairs, and Research discussed the impact of the H1N1 flu on Texas family medicine practices, the addition of cystic fibrosis screening to the newborn screen panel, and nutrition in Texas schools.

The TAFP Board of Directors meeting concluded the weekend when board members heard all of the reports and recommendations from TAFP’s business meetings, and reports from TAFP and AAFP officers and delegates.

Mark your calendars now to join TAFP for next year’s C. Frank Webber Lectureshipat our new home at the Omni Austin Hotel Southpark in Austin on March 11, 2011. Also plan to join TAFP for its largest symposium, the 61st Annual Session and Scientific Assembly, July 21-25, 2010, at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel and Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. In the fall, TAFP will host the 2010 Primary Care Summit-Houston Oct. 29-31, 2010, at the Westin Oaks. Information on the new Primary Care Summit-DFW program is coming soon.