wyoming american college of physicians january 2012 … · the swan regional meeting of september...

WYOMING AMERICAN COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS JANUARY 2012

Wyoming

www.acponline.org/about_ACP/chapters/WY/

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Chapter Excellence Award

Internal Medicine 2012 ~ LA

SWAN Regional Meeting

ACP Annual Meeting News

Fall Board of Governors Mtg

Become an ACP Fellow

ACP Key Contact Program

Change of Executive Director

New Governor in April

WYOMING CHAPTER GETS EXCELLENCE AWARD

The Wyoming Chapter of the American College of Physi-cians was again given the Chapter Excellence Award for 2011. This is the second year in a row we have received this award. The basic criteria, all of which must be accom-plished, are: submitting an Annual Report, your Governor using the Governors Information Center, having a Gover-nor’s Advisory Council, putting out at least two newsletters a year, holding a scientific meeting once a year, being in-volved in recruiting new members, being involved in politi-cal advocacy, and your Governor attending at least one of the two Board of Governors meetings a year.

Seven out of twelve optional criteria must be accomplished as well. Examples are: having two or more active Chapter Committees, working to advance Members to Fellowship, having an awards program, submitting for an Evergreen Award, and having a young physician member of the Gov-ernor’s Advisory Council. n

INTERNAL MEDICINE 2012 ~ NEW ORLEANS

The annual national meeting of the ACP, Internal Medicine 2012, will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana April 19-21. There will be numerous day long pre-courses and during the meeting itself there will be myriad talks having to do with Cardiology all the way to Rheumatology. To get more information and to download a meeting brochure, go to http://www.acponline.org/meetings/ n


THE SWAN REGIONAL MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 2011The 1st ever SWAN Regional Scientific Meeting was held in Jackson, Wyoming on September 1 and 2, 2011. There were 68 people attending the meeting which was held at the Snow King Resort in Jackson. The meeting itself was excellent as was the food and the scenery, of course. Topics covered included a talk updating us on the treatment of Hepatitis C, recent advances in the treatment of gout, pearls and time-saving tools regarding preventive care medicine, the latest information about healthcare reform from Bob Doherty, how to create safe transfers between

hospitals and nursing homes, arthropod borne infectious disease, HIV prevention and treatment, caring for rheumatoid arthritis by an internist, and transforming a resident clinic into a patient centered medical home. All were highlighted by a keynote address on neural ethics by Faith Fitzgerald,MD, MACP.

The scientific information was timely and up-to-date, the company was excellent, the scenery was gorgeous, and everyone had a good time. Having another regional meeting in 4 years is already being discussed. n

Save the Date

Wyoming Medical Society

2012 WMS Annual MeetingThe Premiere Educational Showcase and Vendor Expo for Wyoming Physicians

2012wmssavethedate postcard.indd 1 10/13/11 9:39 AM

June 8-10, 2012

SET ASIDE JUNE 8-10, 2012 AT JACKSON LAKE LODGE

The 2012 WyomingACP Scientific Meeting will be held at Jackson Lake Lodge with the Wyoming Medical Society Annual meeting. Planning is underway now. Michael Barr, M.D., FACP will be coming from the national ACP office to speak about Patient Centered Medical Homes. We will also have John Scott, MD, from the University of Washington, to

speak about the ECHO Project. The ECHO Project is a research project which provides free access to specialists via teleconference regarding the treatment of HCV, HIV, chronic pain , and addictions. Finally, we plan on having a Self-evaluation Process (S E P) module but the topic has not yet been decided upon. n

At the SWAN Regional Meeting:Dr. Michael Tracy, Dr. Marty Elbogen, Dr. Ian Hunter

Dr. Faith Fitzgerald and the SWA Governors with Kris Rahm. Dr. Tom TApe (NE), Dr. Bob Bundtzen (AK), Dr. Rick Holm (SD) and Dr. Eric Wedell (WY)

Pictures courtesy of Doug Rahm



THE FALL 2011 BOARD OF GOVERNORS MEETING ~ SAN ANTONIO, TX

The fall Board of Governors Meeting, held in San Antonio, Texas, was attended by both Dr. Wedell, Governor, and Dr. Bush, Governor-Elect. Seminars and talks attended included Using ACP Programs, Products and Services to Improve Office Based Practice; all about Accountable Care Organizations; and a talk on Fiscal Posterity and Health Reform by Bob Doherty. Resolutions passed and sent on to

the Board of Regents included requesting chapter input regarding National Quality Initiatives; developing programs to retrain previously active physicians; providing educational programs and specific guidelines for outpatient pain management; and encouraging assessment and further research regarding the use of Electronic Health Records in medical practice. n

YOU CAN BECOME A FELLOW OF THE ACP

There are many of you who are ACP Members of the Wyoming Chapter who are well qualified for Fellowship. To become a Fellow you must be a Board Certified internist and have been a Member of the ACP for two years. You need two letters from Fellows supporting your application for Fellowship. The most time consuming part of the application process is you need to put together a CV which demonstrates that you have been active in a combination of teaching, learning, hospital

committee work, community service or working for the ACP (one, several or all of these). For specific information about advancing to Fellowship go to http://www.acponline.org/membership/fellowship/.

That is it! It is not difficult. Contact me, Eric Wedell,MD, at [email protected], if you have any questions or concerns. n

ACP KEY CONTACT PROGRAM AND THE SGR

On December 23, 2011 Congress passed, and President Obama signed into law, legislation putting off the 27.4 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians which would have resulted from Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. But, it is only put off until the end of February. We need to advocate for a more permanent fix to the problem than 2 months or even one year. You can help by

joining the ACP Key Contact Program at http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/key_contacts/.

For a primer on the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) Go here. If you are interested in quickly available arguments in favor of repealing the SGR, go to Top Ten Reasons to Repeal the SGR. n


WYOMING CHANGES EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

As of January 1, 2012 Sheila Bush, Executive Director of the Wyoming Medical Society, became the Executive Director of the Wyoming Chapter of the American College of Physicians. The reasons for the change are less expense for the Wyoming Chapter and a hope that Sheila will be able to raise more revenue for our Chapter. Please welcome Sheila as our

new Executive Director. Sheila can be reached, of course, at 307-635-2424.

We greatly regret ending the services of Kris Rahm. She is very skilled and knowledgeable and has been a wonderful help over the past 4 years. n


NEW GOVERNOR TAKING OVER IN APRIL

Dr. Wedell’s term as Governor of the Wyoming Chapter of the American College of Physicians will be completed at the end of Internal Medicine 2012 which will be on or about April 21, 2012. Dr. Jim Bush takes over at that time. Dr. Bush is currently the Medical Director for Medicaid here in Wyoming, and is involved

in Rural Health and other medical programs for the Department of Health. He will be our Governor for the next 4 years. He can be reached at [email protected] or his phone which is (307) 777-7245 . Please welcome him and give him all the assistance you can to grow and promote the Wyoming Chapter. n


wyoming american college of physicians january 2012 … · the swan regional meeting of september...

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