Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians E-NEWSLETTER
March 23, 2019

 
UPCOMING:

April 12-14, 2019
Spring Conference
Westin Hotel, Jackson

July 20-24, 2019
Annual Meeting
Baytowne Conference Center, Sandestin, FL

Welcome New Members
Active:
James Cary Bradshaw, DO, Chunky
Rebekah Kollar, MD, Laurel

WCUCOM Students:
Thomas C. Diaz
David Miguel Landry

UMMC Students:
Kelsey Berry
Preston Bell
Shelby Hope
Michael Robbins
Anna Grace Stout
Andrew Van Velsor
Make your Hotel Reservations Now for Sandestin!

Our room block is open! Reserve the hotel room you want now for Annual Meeting, July 20-24. 
Dr. John Vanderloo, District 5 Director


Mississippi Family Physician Journal
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Strouse Headlines Speakers for  Spring Conference
One of the nation's foremost experts on Sickle Cell Disease will headline the MAFP Spring Conference April 12-14.  Dr. John J. Strouse, MD, PhD, is the Primary Investigator for the Strouse Clinic Research Program at the Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Strouse is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

About 60 people are already registered for the Spring Conference April 12-14 at the Westin Jackson.  The conference will kick off with a Friday night Crawfish Boil at the Reservoir with food and games, and CME sessions will be held Saturday and Sunday. The Westin will only hold our room block until April 1, so make reservations now by calling (800) 937-8461.
FM and Other Specialties Champion Policy for Hospice Medical Directors and Patient Care
MAFP wants to thank all of our doctors who made phone calls and/or wrote emails to members of the Senate regarding the MAFP-supported hospice bill that would allow physicians to prescribe pain medicine to hospice patients without a face-to-face visit.  

Thursday, Sen. John Polk and Sen. Dean Kirby held a meeting with MAFP and interested parties on this topic to see if there was an agreement that could be reached on this topic outside of legislation. Both sides of the issue were heard and valid points were made. We were pleased with the outcome of Thursday's meeting, as the parties agreed to the following:
  1. The Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure (MSBML) has rescinded a policy that dealt with a prescription a transferring hospice physician writes while implying that the medical director of a hospice must see a patient;
  2. MSBML has agreed not to take disciplinary action against medical directors who write prescriptions within the usual course of hospice practice and how they have been operating prior to the discussions and confusion on this topic - the exemption from discipline will last as long as there is not a regulation, policy, or law in place; and 
  3. MSBML and all interested parties will begin work on language that addresses the issue with the intention of having a final regulation or policy by the end of June.
MAFP was well-represented at the meeting by Dr. Luke Lampton of Magnolia, Dr. Calvin Washington of Hattiesburg, and Ashley Thompson, Advocacy Director, who conveyed the concerns of the hospice medical directors and patients across Mississippi. They were joined by physician representatives from other specialty groups who were also advocating for this exemption. At this point, the amendment will be removed from SB 2781, and due to the guarantee from the MSBML, doctors will continue to operate as they always have regarding hospice care. This remains in accordance with the national standard of hospice care. 

We look forward to continued work with all interested parties to ensure patients and physicians are protected.  Please let Beth Embry know if you work as a hospice medical director. Finally, a huge thank you from the Academy to Senators Polk and Kirby who have made resolving the issue a priority. 
 
Family Medicine is and remains strong because of the work of our doctors!
Mississippi's Match Day 2019 
Results in 43 New Family Physicians
On Match Day 2019, held March 15, Mississippi had 43 medical school graduates accepted into Family Medicine residency programs across the country. 

Of that number, 24 were graduates of William Carey University COM and 19 were graduates of UMMC. Of the 43, 15 wi ll stay in Mississippi for residency, training at one of the state's four FM residency programs.

Nationally, family medicine had a great day. AAFP reports 3,848 medical students and graduates matched into Family Medicine, 313 more than in 2018. AAFP also said there were 474 more FM residency positions offered this year over last year.

Here are the Match lists provided by Mississippi's two medical schools:

Here are the lists of new interns at Mississippi's four FM residency programs, provided by the programs:
Membership Directory Now Available Online
MAFP has released its 2019 Membership Directory, which is now available online with this password: docs2019

Look up other family physicians or consult the Referral Directory for specialist physicians seeking referrals. Make sure to patronize our advertisers who make the directory possible.

Please feel free to download and save the directory or to print it out for your desk. Spiral-bound directories may be ordered for $75 each from MAFP.

Join the '70 for 70' Club to Honor Our Former Presidents
We applaud the 70 members who have led the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians over the 70 years we have grown as an Academy.  Each of them has taken on the responsibility of leading the state's largest medical specialty association while also managing the duties of a busy medical practice. 
 
We've established the '70 for 70' Club to help celebrate our milestone anniversary, remember our outstanding leaders and help build our Foundation. Help us honor one (or several) of these outstanding physicians by giving a donation to the MAFP Foundation in their name.
 
Here's how it works: MAFP members are invited to donate $70 to the MAFP Foundation in honor of one or more of the 70 former presidents of the MAFP. It takes a minimum of $70 to honor one past president, and donations in multiples of $70 to honor more than one past president. (For example, you may wish to give $140, and you may specify that $70 of your donation is in honor of our 1st president, Dr. Kety, and another $70 is in honor of our 70th president, Dr. Wheat.)

Donors will be recognized by name in the newsletter and other Academy publications. Act now and honor the former president of your choice!

All donations benefit our Foundation's scholarship and educational programs. Send to:
MAFP Foundation
755 Avignon Drive
Ridgeland MS 39157
Say Yes to Telemedicine
Looking for an easy way to improve practice capacity and patient access to care?  Want to generate revenue from time spent on phone calls, e-mail and portal communication? Could you benefit from completing simple acute visits in 2-3 minutes, including documentation of the visit?

Then it's time to look into AAFP Virtual Care, which combines clinical efficiency and convenience with high-quality care. Whether it's answering questions digitally or interactive video visits, you can improve access for patients without creating more time-consuming paperwork for you and your staff.

AAFP Virtual Care will be available by August 2019 and is specifically targeted at small practices with less than 20 physicians.
AAFP Reports Success With Survey
AAFP Executive Vice President Dr. Douglas Henley announced that 568 AAFP members took the recent AMA/Specialty Society RUC online survey. He reported that of 50 total societies participating, AAFP had the highest number of completions.