Tomorrow, July 24, 12-2 pm ET, MAFP members will convene virtually for the 2021 Annual Meeting and Awards Celebration. This is an opportunity to have your voice heard on policy and initiatives of your Academy, and to celebrate family medicine colleagues. There is still time to register! See the MAFP News and Member News sections below for details.

CMS Releases 2022 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule

On July 13, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Quality Payment Program (QPP) proposed rule. Included are updates to payment rates for physicians, expansion of telehealth coverage, clarification of evaluation and management (E/M) policies, and policies governing the QPP’s 2022 performance year, among other provisions. CMS is accepting comments on the proposed rule until Sept. 13.

In an effort to improve patient access to treatment for substance use disorder, the Health Resources and Services Administration recently launched a new program that will pay federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics for employing family physicians and other clinicians who have recently obtained clearance to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder. Eligible clinicians must have obtained a DATA 2000 waiver (X-waiver) on or after Jan. 1, 2019.

On Saturday, July 24, registrants of our year-long “Stay on Course: Your Ticket to Family Medicine CME” on-demand webinar package will receive the link to access the 12 webinars that are approved for 13 CME credits. To earn credits, attendees must complete a survey after watching each webinar between July 24, 2021, and July 17, 2022. MAFP staff will then report members’ credit(s) earned to AAFP and email them a CME certificate for their records. There is still time to register to access these clinical and practice management webinars, several of which meet the state of Michigan’s medical licensure training requirement in the areas of ethics, human trafficking, and pain and symptom management.

Eleven organizations have generously sponsored MAFP's "Stay on Course" package of on-demand webinars. Please thank them for their support and click the links to learn more about the products and services of these organizations and how they might benefit you, your practice, and your patients.

During the MAFP Annual Meeting of the membership on July 24, 12-2 pm, members in attendance will elect new leadership for the 2021-2022 program year. The slate of board candidates includes:

Also during the MAFP Annual Meeting on July 24, members in attendance will review, discuss, and vote on six proposed resolutions:

On July 19, MAFP hosted a media roundtable in partnership with the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principles Association to urge parents to get their children up to date on vaccinations before in-person learning resumes for the new school year. The roundtable, featuring MAFP President Dr. Mark Hamed and Board Member Dr. Tina Tanner, garnered a tremendous amount of statewide media coverage—16 news articles/interviews reached 11.9 million people—which is compiled on MAFP's online Media Center.

Family Medicine Foundation of Michigan’s Professional Development Committee is accepting presentation proposals for the 2022 Michigan Family Medicine Conference & Expo, being held in-person at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, July 7-10. Proposals are due by Nov. 1.

We look forward to celebrating this year’s “Academy” award winners during tomorrow’s (July 24 beginning at approximately 2 pm ET) virtual Awards Celebration. Join us by registering at mafp.com/events/MAFP-Annual-Meeting-Registration-2021.

AAFP Chair Gary LeRoy, MD, FAAFP will confer the AAFP Degree of Fellow to 11 family physicians tomorrow, July 24, during the MAFP Annual Meeting taking place at 12-2 pm ET. The Degree of Fellow (FAAFP) recognizes AAFP members who have distinguished themselves among their colleagues, as well as in their communities, by their service to family medicine, their advancement of healthcare to the American people, and their professional development through medical education and research.

Michigan State University College of Human Medicine fourth-year student, Deja Rice, was presented with a TIP award that will help fund her research on the impact of social determinants of health. More specifically, Deja is studying “the process in which training resident physicians can better identify social determinants of health in primary care settings and connect patients living with chronic conditions to community resources.”

Oluwaferanmi Okanlami, MD is among five family physician recipients of the National Minority Quality Forum’s 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health Award for 2021. Now in its sixth year, the award recognizes 40 minority health leaders under the age of 40 who have been leading the charge to better patient outcomes and build sustainable healthy communities. Dr. Okanlami is an assistant professor in the Departments of Family Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Urology at Michigan Medicine. He is also interim director of services for students with disabilities and director of adaptive sports and fitness in the Division of Student at University of Michigan.

Do you have news to share about yourself, your practice, or a colleague? Email info@mafp.com.

MAFP is gearing up for AAFP’s National Conference and Student and Resident Congress sessions and wants to hear from resident and student members! Do you have an issue/area of concern that you would like introduced as a resolution for consideration by the Student or Resident Congress? Resolutions that are passed by the Congresses have the potential to impact AAFP policy and initiatives. Click here to email your ideas to your 2021 Michigan Delegation:

MAFP has once-again transitioned its traditional Friday-night Michigan reception at Shark Bar in downtown Kansas City to a pre-conference virtual reception and kick off through Zoom. Bring your own beverage and food to enjoy as you mix and mingle with fellow MAFP members on July 28, 6:30-7:30 pm ET. Learn about Academy initiatives that can enhance your family medicine journey, facilitate making connections and developing mentors, and helping advance your career. There will be time for a live Q&A. Register today and spread the word to your colleagues!

Now in its eight year, Family Medicine Foundation of Michigan’s Future of Family Medicine Student Conference will be held virtually on Saturday, Oct. 9. Thank you to CMU Medical Education Partners for co-hosting the conference! The cost is just $25 for access to:

Due to its cost-savings for students and flexibility in scheduling interviews, AAFP and four other family medicine organizations are urging residency programs to “strongly consider conducting virtual interviews and virtual visits for all applicants” during the 2021-2022 Match cycle. AAFP’s vice president of the Division of Medical Education and past MAFP president, Dr. Karen Mitchell, said, “The driving factor behind this recommendation is the belief that what happened with virtual interviews improved equity in the application process. Having another year of data would be useful to see if that’s true.” Under consideration is separate deadlines for students and programs to submit their rank order lists.

This past spring, the Michigan Senate unanimously passed legislation that reforms the prior authorization process to ensure patients can get the treatment and medications they need, when they need them. Senate Bill 247 is now awaiting consideration in the House. Please contact your state representative and urge him/her to vote YES on SB 247 this fall. Please also ask your patients to contact their representative using this action alert.

Join the Academy’s Key Contacts Advocacy Network to Ensure the Future of Family Medicine

Legislators and policymakers need to hear from family physicians, whose unique perspectives and expertise are invaluable resources in the fight for family medicine. AAFP’s Key Contact program provides everything needed to create and leverage opportunities to educate elected officials on the issues that most affect family physicians' practices, patients, and communities. More specifically, key contacts:

Watch this short video about AAFP’s Key Contacts program for more information. Already have a working relationship with a member of Congress? Note it here and join Key Contacts today. For more information, please contact Heather Cutler, AAFP’s senior manager of political affairs & member engagement.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days, allowing the federal government to, among other things, issue emergency use authorizations for vaccines and use funds to address the pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its Interim Clinical Considerations for use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Authorized in the U.S. Among the changes is a new section on considerations for use of vaccines in people with a history of myocarditis or pericarditis and new information for counseling patients on the occurrence of these conditions following COVID-19 vaccination.

Physicians who received federal relief payments through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act exceeding $10,000 in aggregate during the first payment period (April 10-June 30, 2020) are required to report, by Sept. 30, how they used the funds between July 1, 2021, an Sept. 30, 2021. Physicians must use the Provider Relief Fund reporting portal to enter the data. Failure to report could result in having to repay the funds.

Between July 1 and July 14, more than 100 cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been reported in 25 Michigan counties. This represents a 569% increases from referrals from the same period in 2020 and a 161% increase from referrals from the same period in 2019.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is accepting nominations for appointments to the Health IT Advisory Committee. This national committee provides recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on policies, standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria relating to the implementation of health IT infrastructure that advances the electronic access, exchange, and use of health information. Nominations are due by Aug. 24.

Visit the 2022 ICD-10-CM webpage for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 diagnosis code information, including: Conversion table (ZIP), Code descriptions in tabular order (ZIP), Addendum (ZIP), Code tables, tabular, and index (ZIP), and Coding guidelines (PDF). These codes are to be used for discharges and patient encounters on or after Oct. 1, 2021-Sept. 30, 2022.

Available to Academy members only is the recording of the webinar, “Demystifying the 2021 Office Visit E/M Guidelines,” originally aired by AAFP on June 22. While the new guidelines were meant to reduce burden and streamline documentation, there has been confusion surrounding real-world application. This webinar provides an overview of the 2021 office visit E/M guidelines and offers clarity on common issues and questions.

AAFP now offers a new member-exclusive activity in the Physician Well-being CME series that aims to help family physicians overcome feelings of inadequacy that persist despite overwhelming evidence of success. Often caused by chronic self-doubt and an inability to internalize one’s own accomplishments, imposter syndrome is nearly twice as likely to affect those who identify as female compared to male and more likely to affect individuals who are Black, Hispanic, Native American, or multiracial compared with those who are white or Asian.

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ “Stay Well” program is offering free webinars focused on supporting mental wellness and strengthening resilience. Topics include music for mindfulness, meditation 101, yoga, and more.

As part of its work to make it easier for family physicians to review and share clinical guidelines, AAFP has launched a new COPD webpage within the under-renovation Clinical Recommendations section of aafp.org. The webpage houses the latest educational materials, toolkits, peer-reviewed journal articles, CME products, and more.

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