U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Update - Opportunity for Public Comment

Behavioral Counseling Interventions to Promote a Healthful Diet and Physical Activity


The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is inviting public comment on its draft recommendation statement on behavioral counseling interventions to promote a healthful diet and physical activity for cardiovascular disease prevention in adults. This draft recommendation is an update of the USPSTF 2002 recommendation on behavioral counseling in primary care to promote physical activity and a partial update of its 2003 recommendation on behavioral counseling in primary care to promote a healthy diet.( the part of the recommendation that dealt with counseling patients at risk of cardiovascular disease was not updated at this time. )

To provide comments, please go to http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/tfcomment.htm. The opportunity to comment on this draft recommendations statement is available until March 22, 2011.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is working to make its recommendations clearer and more useful. This is part of its ongoing effort to keep its work and methods clear to the public it serves. The USPSTF is a national, independent panel of medical experts that makes recommendations, based on scientific evidence, to primary care doctors and other health care providers about which clinical preventive services they should offer their patients.

Physician comment sought on proposed Joint Commission Primary Care Home Requirements

The Joint Commission (TJC) is developing a Primary Care Home (PCH) designation as an optional add-on to its Ambulatory Care Accreditation Program. As part of this process, TJC has released for review Proposed Standards outlining requirements with which ambulatory care centers seeking PCH designation must comply.


A preliminary analysis suggests that the Proposed Standards are not entirely congruent with AMA policy on the patient-centered medical home as adopted by the AMA House of Delegates. In particular, the Proposed Standards do not appear to require that the PCH be led by a physician.

All physicians are encouraged to review the Proposed Standards and respond to TJC by completing a short survey on the TJC Web site. Physicians may also submit general comments to TJC via the Web site. The deadline to complete the survey or submit comments is March 14.

http://www.jointcommission.org/standards_information/field_reviews.aspx?StandardsFieldReviewId=4ebBa9OiwpyfXwx3k3wI39cTCPh7XyqNM%2fvSme1yjzg%3d

Following the Money, Doctors Ration Care

New York Times
Business Day
Following the Money, Doctors Ration Care
By TYLER COWEN

Published: December 11, 2010

Doctors are already rationing health care and are likely to further discriminate based on whether a patient has private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.

OMED: Local alliances vital for sucessful medical missions

This article link comes from the DO Magazine online. Dr. Tooke-Rawlins spoke at the AOCOPM/AOA Annual Convention in October about the responsible way to plan for medical missions work abroad. The article demonstrates the need to understand the local and national health regulations & policies of the country(-ies) you may choose to "help" with your volunteer work.

Hope for Quick Definative Diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injuries

In case you haven't seen this report in USA Today, it offers hopeful news for our service men/women as well as athletes and accident victims.

HHS Requests Comments on the National Health Care Quality Strategy & Plan

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking public input in the development of a National Health Care Quality Strategy & Plan. The Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (the Affordable Care Act) calls on HHS to establish a National Quality Strategy, including a comprehensive strategic plan and the identification of priorities to improve the delivery of health care services, patient health outcomes, and population health.


To provide feedback, HHS's requests that you provide comments on the webpage (link below). Alternatively, you may submit comments electronically to national_quality_strategy@hhs.gov . Written comments may also be submitted and should be addressed to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Attention: Nancy Wilson - Room 3216, 540 Gaither Road, Rockville, MD 20850 or faxed to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Attention: Nancy Wilson at (301) 427-1210.

All comments should be received no later than 5 p.m. on October 15, 2010.

Read the complete HHS report at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/reports/quality/nhcqsap.html .

Letter to the Nation's New Medical Students

The Dean of Stanford University Medical School posted: "This week we were asked by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Blumenthal, MD to distribute the letter that follows to first year medical students." Please click here and scroll down for the letter.