Call for primary care reform from AAFP, A... ( WASHINGTON (June 18 2009) Leaders ...)

Call for primary care reform from AAFP, ACP and AOA

Date:6/18/2009

WASHINGTON (June 18, 2009) Leaders of three national organizations representing nearly a third of a million physicians today visited Capitol Hill offices to express their continued concern for America's patients who do not have access to primary care physicians. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) represent the majority of physicians who care for Medicare patients. The leaders noted that only 17 percent of U.S. medical school graduates in 2008 expressed a preference for a primary care specialty an all-time low at a time when demand for primary care is rapidly increasing.

"Unless Congress takes action very soon to stop this precipitous drain on the numbers of primary care physicians in the United States, health care costs will continue to skyrocket while the quality of overall care will decrease," said Ted Epperly, MD, president of the AAFP. "While sub-specialist care is certainly important to achieving a healthy public, such fragmented care cannot take the place of a primary care physician who can diagnose and treat the vast majority of patients in the office."

The AAFP, ACP and AOA urge Congress to take advantage of this historic opportunity for change and enact health care reforms that:

invest in training more primary care doctors;
implement new payment models to support patient-centered primary care; and
reform and enhance Medicare payments to recruit more physicians into primary care and support those already in practice.

The organizations believe that increased funding for competitive grants for training programs in medical schools and in residency programs extend far beyond the medical schools that receive them. The United States lags behind other countries in its focus on primary care. However, the evidence shows that countries with primary care-based health systems have population health outcomes
'/>"/>

Contact: David Kinsman
dkinsman@acponline.org
202-261-4554
American College of Physicians
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3 4
Related medicine news :

1. Group Health Cooperative Shows Investing in More Primary Care Pays for Itself
2. Group Health Cooperative shows investing in more primary care pays for itself
3. Nottingham Primary Care Division a UK leading center
4. Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative Stakeholders Come to Washington, DC for July Working Meeting
5. T-System Releases 2009 Update for the T System(R) Primary Care Charting System
6. Innovative Oxidative Stress Management Protocol Safely and Effectively Enhances Bodys Primary Antioxidant
7. More Than 9 in 10 Primary Care Physicians Say U.S. Health Care System Should Place Greater Emphasis on Nutrition to Manage Chronic Disease
8. Meditation May Help Put Primary Insomnia to Bed
9. Advances in Medical Technology Identified as a Primary Driver of Increased Costs
10. Smiths Donates $837,000 to Primary Childrens Medical Center in Utah
11. Mayo researchers help discover genetic cause for primary biliary cirrhosis

Post Your Comments:

Call for primary care reform from AAFP, A...( WASHINGTON (June 18 2009) Leaders ...),Health