Resident Spotlight: Josh Herring, DO
I chose family medicine because it offers a vast array of possible future career paths that is not necessarily available to other specialties.
The Shoes I Wear
Walking in these shoes to fill so many roles teaches me compassion and reminds me of how important empathy is in my position as an osteopathic physician—especially during a pandemic, when tensions can be even higher than normal.
How to Exercise Safely During COVID-19 and Why It Matters
The coronavirus will not go away immediately. Therefore, preventive medicine needs to adapt. Physicians and all health professionals need to consider the benefits of physical activity for their personal health, and for the health of the public. During our COVID-19 existence, exercise is not only good for maintaining physical health, but it is a critical component of maintaining mental fitness.
Notorious RBG
I look forward to the day when the number of female leaders at our medical schools and in our professional organizations will be too numerous to count and will no longer be a statistic to track—when our communities are represented by women equally in the legislature, when C-suites are filled with women and when all people, regardless of gender or race, are treated equitably based on skills and ability to contribute.
Resident Spotlight: Zaheera Lukman, DO
I chose family medicine because I saw the impact that preventive medicine can make on one’s life at a very personal level. I also love creating connections with people and family medicine provides wonderful continuity of care. Helping people to be champions of their own health care journey has been a true honor.
A Source of Constant Support
It’s been a difficult year, to say the least. The pandemic has had a lasting effect on every aspect of our lives. How we work and live has changed—perhaps indefinitely. ACOFP has been a source of constant support during these months, and I am extremely grateful for my ACOFP family for helping me through these difficult times.
Telehealth Across State Lines During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Patients are adapting to the new care delivery paradigm, and studies show very high telehealth satisfaction rates. Telehealth quickly has become a key feature in our health care delivery system, but current health care requirements are struggling to keep pace, particularly as they relate to state licensure.
Improving Your Coding for Value-Based Plans with HCC
Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) is the risk-adjustment methodology for Medicare used by all Medicare Advantage plans. HCCs stratify patient risk and predict the costs for capitated payments. This is because patients with only minor health conditions are expected to have averaged medical costs in the near future. Those who have multiple chronic complex conditions are expected to have higher costs due to increased utilization.
The Importance of Certification
Osteopathic medicine has faced countless threats over nearly 150 years of existence. To ensure osteopathic family medicine remains a viable profession for decades and centuries to come, ACOFP members must come together as a community to encourage residents and medical students to pursue osteopathic certification through AOBFP.
Proud DO
I am a proud DO physician! I chose to go to an osteopathic school because of the tenets of osteopathy and the additional skills that I could provide my patients with OMT. As an osteopathic family physician, I will continue to serve my patients with the highest quality of care that I can without hesitation. I will continue to serve alongside both DO and MD physicians in ALL specialties and know that they will be providing excellent patient care because that’s just what we do!
Changing the Dialogue on the DO Profession
I have only heard about the history of DOs fighting to maintain independent licensing in the state of California or being able to gain rounding privileges at traditional allopathic hospitals. I have never been denied the ability to provide holistic care to a patient because I have DO after my name instead of MD. That is why seeing such misinformation about our profession being spread through Twitter, Facebook and mainstream media seems both surreal and archaic at the same time.
National Primary Care Week
NPCW aims to engage students across the health care system through special programming and communications. NPCW activities are an opportunity for student groups to help others learn about, experience and spread awareness of primary care’s pivotal role in health care. A few ACOFP members shared videos about why they chose family medicine.
Why I’m Choosing the AOBFP EEIC Exam for Board Certification
Taking the AOBFP board certification supports and maintains distinction of the osteopathic profession. By supporting the AOBFP, we are endorsing advocacy for and protection of the distinct elements of the osteopathic profession. With taking the OMT practical in addition to the written exam, one will be “safe” from the possibility that OMT reimbursement in the future will be only to those who are board certified in the practice.
Resident Spotlight: Ian Singer, DO, JD
I analogize family medicine to a “Swiss army knife” as it is the only medical field that requires a knowledge, skill and humanism to effectively care for a vast array of issues affecting patients of all ages and genders in both hospital and ambulatory settings.
PFS Proposed Rule Series, Part 3: Changes to Supervision Rules
This is the last installment in our three-part series covering physician-focused proposals in recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed regulations. In this edition, we will discuss two proposals in the Calendar Year (CY) 2021 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule. These proposals are relevant for physicians practicing in outpatient hospital settings who receive Medicare payments.
PFS Proposed Rule Series, Part 2: Updates to Evaluation and Management Services
Through its CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule, CMS proposes to implement several sweeping changes to the current framework and reimbursement for evaluation and management (E/M) CPT codes. These changes originally were finalized in the CY 2020 PFS final rule.
