About this newsletter
The ACP Advocate is an e-newsletter, edited by the College's Washington, DC governmental affairs division, created to provide you, our members, with succinct news about public policy issues affecting internal medicine and patient care. To learn more about ACP's Advocacy and to access the ACP Advocate archives, go to www.acponline.org/advocacy. |
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Welcome to The ACP Advocate
It was great seeing so many of you at last week’s very successful IM ’14 meeting in Orlando. Thank you for letting me know how we’re doing on the various parts of the ACP government affairs and public policy program.
A new policy paper from ACP, Reducing Firearm-Related Injuries and Deaths in the U.S., was accepted by the College’s Board of Regents early in the week and released publicly Thursday morning. The paper offered nine strategies to address the societal, health care, and regulatory barriers to reducing firearms-related violence, injuries, and deaths in the U.S. It was published the same day in Annals of Internal Medicine, the ACP peer-reviewed medical journal. Read all about the paper and recommendations in today’s first story.
Another ACP policy paper, Medical Liability Reform: Innovative Solutions for a New Health Care System, was released at a press briefing on Thursday afternoon. The paper is a very positive contribution to the debate on reforming our flawed liability system. The second article in today's issue lets you know all about the paper and the recommendations that resulted
Our final story today brings you information on how CMS has followed through on its promise to release Medicare physician payment data, placing a massive database on its website that allows access to nearly all payments made in 2012. A CMS data dump on April 9 revealed information for more than 880,000 health care professionals in all 50 states who collectively received $77 billion in payments in 2012. I urge you to read about how ACP plans to work with CMS to improve future releases and to help the public understand the nuances of information.
Until our next issue, for more coverage of what's happening in Washington take a look at my award-winning blog, The ACP Advocate Blog by Bob Doherty. You can also follow me on Twitter @BobDohertyACP.
As always, please send your feedback and suggestions on this newsletter to: TheACPAdvocate@acponline.org.
Yours truly,
Bob Doherty
Senior Vice President
Governmental Affairs and Public Policy
American College of Physicians |
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In focus
Celebrating ACP's New Brand
At Internal Medicine 2014 in Orlando, the College unveiled a new logo and tagline: “Leading Internal Medicine, Improving Lives.” Dr. Steven Weinbereger, MD, FACP, executive vice president and CEO, introduced the new branding at the general session. He noted that the “new logo presents us in a contemporary, vibrant style, while maintaining a link to our rich history by incorporating the traditional element of the lamp of knowledge…our new tagline speaks to the accomplishments of our members as well as to ACP’s role in the field of internal medicine.”
The College also released a short video which describes the transition to the new branding in more detail. A press release of the event, as well as a link to the video, can be found here
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Seeking Participation in an Exciting New Streamlined MGMA 2014 Cost Survey
ACP and Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) are working together to provide physicians an opportunity to participate in an exciting new streamlined MGMA 2014 Cost Survey. Your participation in this influential survey will make a difference to your ACP peers and the industry. Historically, internal medicine and small practices have been under-represented, and your participation can help to ensure that reliable benchmarks can be provided. The survey deadline is April 18. |
Become an Advocate for Internal Medicine
Join ACP’s Advocates for Internal Medicine Network (AIMn). You’ll find updates about the latest legislation affecting internists and be able to help contribute to ACP’s continued success on Capitol Hill. In addition, the program will provide you with legislative alerts designed to help you easily email or call your members of Congress to let them hear about the issues important to you and other internal medicine physicians. |
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