HHS recently announced a proposed rule that would establish certification programs to test electronic health record, or EHR, systems. The federal proposal calls for the establishment of a temporary certification program that eventually would be replaced by a permanent program. (Source: AAFP Practice Management)

In the wake of legislation that reversed a cut in Medicare physician payments through March 31, AAFP leaders once again fanned out in Washington to deliver their message about the value and importance of primary care and family medicine to the White House and congressional leaders. During a series of meetings with administration officials and lawmakers on March 2-3, AAFP President Lori Heim, M.D., of Vass, N.C.; AAFP President-elect Roland Goertz, M.D., M.B.A., of Waco, Texas; AAFP Board Chair Ted Epperly, M.D., of Boise, Idaho; and AAFP EVP Doug Henley, …

The Senate has passed a one-month extension of the Medicare physician payment rate, thus reversing a 21.2 percent payment reduction that took effect based on the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula on March 1. On March 2, the Senate approved a House-passed bill, H.R. 4691, that provides a 30-day extension for several programs, including the Medicare physician payment rate. President Obama signed the measure into law the same day. (Source: AAFP Government and Medicine)

In an article on the Huffington Post, the FDA is quoted as saying that errors attributed to the use of electronic medical record systems were responsible for dozens of injuries and six patient deaths. This, say critics of EMR, flies in the face of the assumption that adoption of EMR/EHR will improve patient safety and save lives. Some university studies have looked specifically at hospital-based systems and found that some of them had actually caused more adverse drug events than would have been expected, especially since these systems are supposed …

Physicians who are participating Medicare providers should be aware of a glitch in CMS’ system that occurred when some claims did not cross over to supplemental payers automatically, although the provider remittance advice indicated otherwise. (Source: AAFP Practice Management)

The AAFP has issued a Speak Out Action Alert asking Academy members to contact their congressional representatives to urge them to reverse a 21.2 percent reduction in the Medicare physician payment rate called for under the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula. The cut went into effect on March 1. (Source: AAFP Government and Medicine)

The nation’s largest insurance lobby is rolling out initiatives in New Jersey and Ohio to streamline and simplify the insurance filing process by allowing physician offices to log on to one Web portal to carry out a full range of insurance functions. (Source: AAFP Practice Management)

The Senate has failed to pass a short-term payment patch for the Medicare physician payment rate, thus allowing a 21.2 percent payment cut to take effect on March 1 based on the sustainable growth rate, or SGR, formula. But the reduction is not expected to have an immediate effect on physician payments. (Source: AAFP Government and Medicine)

As the White House prepares to hold a bipartisan summit on health care reform on Feb. 25, the AAFP and other primary care physician-led organizations have called on congressional leaders and administration officials to agree on a plan that provides patients with access to high-quality, affordable primary care. (Source: AAFP Government and Medicine)

The AAFP Board of Directors has revised its official policy on retail health clinics to reflect the Academy’s opposition to a growing expansion of scope of services provided by many such clinics. In addition, the Academy has discontinued its practice of entering into formal agreements with retail health clinics that support the AAFP’s desired attributes. (Source: Inside AAFP)