March
28, 2005
Bioterrorism Education
Thanks to Don Thompson for
agreeing to represent ACPM on a HRSA-sponsored panel
that will examine medical education around bioterrorism
preparedness.
March 23, 2005
Peripheral Arterial Disease
Thanks to
Clyde Schechter for reviewing on behalf of the
College the draft Recommendation Statement, “Peripheral
Arterial Disease,” developed by the United States
Preventive Services Task Force. Dr. Schechter is an Associate Professor of Family
Medicine & Community Health at Albert Einstein College
of Medicine. He is boarded-certified in Preventive
Medicine and Internal Medicine.
March 17,
2005
U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force Meeting
ACPM staff attended the
first day of a two-day meeting of the U.S. Preventive
Services Task Force (USPSTF) held at the Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality in Bethesda, Maryland.
The morning was devoted to orienting new members to the
Task Force, including explanation of the process for
selecting topics, synthesizing the evidence, and
formulating recommendations.
Discussion and debate
arose about the clarity and appropriateness of the “A,
B, C, D, I” recommendation grading system used by the
Task Force. Among the concerns raised were the
following: (1.) The medical community regards the
grading system as more formulaic and less subject to
judgement than it really is. (2.) If a clinical service
receives an I grade, should clinicians who have already
been performing that service stop? (3.) Should the Task
Force convey subcategories of I grades in the language
of I recommendations to reflect that some I’s, given a
little more evidence of harm, would have been D’s and
other I’s, given a little more evidence of benefit,
would have been C’s. Although there was much debate
about this last issue, all members agreed that they did
not want to leave the I grade as an unqualified
category.
In the afternoon, the
workgroup on speech and language delay screening for
children announced and explained its determination of an
I recommendation. The Task Force approved the I grade
but sent the recommendation back for changes in its
language.
Topics the Task Force has
selected for full systematic review are: screening for
hearing impairment in the elderly, screening for vision
impairment in the elderly, lead screening in children
and pregnant women, injury prevention/MVA prevention in
all ages, and screening for iron deficiency anemia.
Topics to be briefly updated are: thyroid cancer
screening, bacterial vaginosis screening, Chlamydia
screening, and skin cancer screening.
March 11, 2005
AMA LGBT
Advisory Committee
Thank you to Christopher Armstrong for agreeing
to serve on the AMA's Advisory Committee on Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Physicians.
March 8, 2005
International Trade and Health
ACPM thanks Steve Herrin for advancing public
health interests through his collaborative work with the
Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health to
promote public health representation on international
trade advisory committees.
March 2, 2005
Campaign for Public Health Meeting
ACPM staff attended this
meeting of the Campaign for Public Health, an
organization formed less than a year ago with the
long-term goal of significantly increasing support and
funding for CDC. The purpose of the meeting was to
introduce Members of the Georgia Congressional
delegation to the public health advocacy community
leadership and to discuss CDC’s short- and long-term
funding needs. Senator Johnny Isakson and Congressman
Sanford Bishop, both of Georgia, spoke briefly about
CDC’s role in Georgia and the nation and expressed
support for increasing its funding through public and
private means. Discussion focused on increasing
financial support for CDC’s infrastructure and physical
facilities, particularly through contributions from the
business community.
