News
Definitions for Accreditation
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education has updated its criteria for programs like ACMEC to comply with in order to retain accreditation.Buried in the text are some definitions we thought you might find interesting. You will find these definitions creeping into policy development and likely legislation. If you would like to know reference sources to these definitions, we'd be glad to share. The primary source is available at www.ahrg.gov.
Competence: Knowing how to do something is a combination of knowledge, skills, and performance, the ability to apply knowledge, skills and judgment in practice. The simultaneous integration of knowledge, skills and attitudes required for performance in a designated role and setting.
Competency: An underlying characteristic causally related to effective or superior performance in a job.
Performance: What one actually does, in practice. Performance is based on one's competence but is modified by system factors and the circumstances.
Professional Practice Gap: The difference between actual and ideal performance and/or patient outcomes.
In patient care, the quality gap is "the difference between present treatment success rates and those thought to be achievable using best practice guidelines."
As CME content goes beyond issues of direct patient care the ACCME is using professional practice gap to refer to a quality gap in areas that include but also can go beyond patient care (e.g., systems' base practice, informatics, leadership and administration).
Scope of Practice: The range or breadth of a physician's actions, procedures, and processes.
(…those health care services a physician or other health care practitioner is authorized to perform by virtue of professional license, registration, or certification."
"Scope of practice: Definition of the rules, the regulations, and the boundaries within which a fully qualified practitioner, with substantial and appropriate training, knowledge, and experience may practice in a field of medicine or surgery, or other specifically defined field. Such practice is also governed by requirements for continuing education and professional accountability."
Upcoming Conferences
ACMS Winter Clinics - February 16-19, 2007 - Sun Valley
Idaho Perinatal Winter Conference - February 22-23, 2007 - Boise
Idaho Society of Anesthesiologists - March 2-4, 2007 - Sun Valley
Idaho Cardiology Conference - March 9-10, 2007 - Tamarack
Idaho Academy of Physician Assistants Conference - April 12-14, 2007 - Sun Valley
Idaho Academy of Family Physicians Conference - May 17-19, 2007 - Boise
Idaho Comprehensive Cancer Conference - May 30, 2007 - Boise
Idaho Medical Association Meeting - July 20-22, 2007 - Coeur d'Alene
Idaho Orthopaedic Society & Idaho Hand Society - September 2007 - McCall
Anderson Center - Wednesday, 8:00 a.m.
Mercy Medical Center - Wednesday, 12:30 p.m. - Winter Room
Centennial Room - Friday, 8:00 a.m.
CHEERS (Children's Hospital Education Enrichment Review)
MEMBERSHIP: The following members were approved at our January board meeting:
Upcoming Events:
March 2007
April 2007
Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in people over 50 years of age. Roughly one in three people will be affected by the age of 75 and now that life expectancy in many countries is more than 75 this has become one of the leading causes of morbidity. It occurs in two forms, dry (atrophic) and wet (neovasular or exudative). About 90% of patients with early AMD have the dry form. The wet form can cause rapid distortion and loss of central vision and most patients with AMD who are legally blind have the neovascular or wet form. Recently the FDA has approved ranibizumab (lucentis) for treatment of the wet form. This drug, a derivative of bevacizumab (avastin), a treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer, inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor thought to be an important cause in the angiogenic process. This randomized double-blind two year trial with 716 patients used the active drug or sham injections on a monthly basis into the affected eye. After twelve months the average patient gained more than one line of visual acuity on a standardized eye chart whereas those receiving sham injections lost more than two lines. The cost of the drug is substantial at over $2000.00 per dose and no one is real sure how long it has to be used. An accompanying editorial calls for comparing this drug with its predecessor bevacizumab which costs about a tenth as much as is being used off label by some ophthalmologists for this condition. This is exciting news for ophthalmologists treating this dreaded common condition and I'm sure further studies will delineate the length of treatment and hopefully bring the cost of the drug down. (N Engl J Med October 355; 14: 1419-1420, 1493-1494)
Salmonellosis causes approximately 15,000 hospitalizations and 400 deaths annually in the United States. The majority of human infections occur after ingestion of contaminated foods but contact with animals such as reptiles, amphibians, chicks, ducklings, and kittens has been reported. Now a large outbreak has been reported from contamination with pet hamsters. The strain was multi-drug resistant probably facilitated by the widespread use of prophylactic antimicrobials within the "pocket pet" industry. Physicians should consider pet rodents a potential source of salmonellosis and those who have them as pets should be aware that rodents can shed salmonella and their handling may be potentially a health risk. Careful hand washing with soap and water and care of the cages and bedding is important to prevent this potentially serious disease. (N Engl J Med January 356;1: 21-28)
John J. Mohr, M.D.
St. Luke's Regional Medical Center - Wednesday 8am, Anderson Center
Mercy Medical Center - Wednesday 12:30pm
VA Medical Center - Thursday 8am, AW Horsley Learning Ctr.
St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center - Friday 8am, Centennial Room
Tumor Boards
1st, 2nd, 4th, Thursday, 8 a.m., Anderson Center - Ada -2
Provisional Members: Alex Bormann, M.D.; Hilary Warren, M.D.; Frederick Foss, M.D.; Brent Nelson, D.O.; James Torres, M.D.;
Stephen Martinez, M.D.; Mark Michaud, M.D.
Feb. 16-19, 2007 - 48th Annual ACMS Winter Clinics, Sun Valley Resort.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
2 Asthma Immunotherapy, Joe Callanan, MD
7 Update on Parkinson's: Treatment In Early and Moderate Two Advance Disease, James Langston, MD
14 Hematuria, Jared Heiner, MD
16 Ophthalmologic Management in MS, Jeffrey Bennett, MD
21 Update on Cystic Fibrosis, Perry Brown, MD
30 Critical Care Case Conference, Pulmonary Fellow
4 The Epidemic of Female Knee Injuries, Kevin Shea, MD
11 Clinical Effects of Muscle Breakdown, Douglas Paddon-Jones, PhD
18 Coagulation Therapy, Mervyn Sahud, MD
27 Critical Care Case Conference
7 Treating the Diseases of Obesity: The 21st Century, Chris Oakley, MD
14 Circadian Biology & Shift Work: Can We Fool Mother Nature, Paul Carvalho, MD
21 Psychiatric Problems from Our Current Wars: Epidemiology & Presentations, Larry Dewey, MD
28 Legislative Update, Robert Seehusen
7 Treating the Diseases of Obesity: The 21st Century, Chris Oakley, MD
14 Circadian Biology & Shift Work: Can We Fool Mother Nature, Paul Carvalho, MD
21 Psychiatric Problems from Our Current Wars: Epidemiology & Presentations, Larry Dewey, MD
28 Legislative Update, Robert Seehusen
8 Hepatitis C, Emmett Keeke, MD
15 Psychiatric Problems from Our Current Wars: Epidemiology & Presentations, Larry Dewey, MD
22 Myths & Barriers to Use of Opiod Analgesics in Pain Management, Joe Ineck, PharmD
1 Management of Low Back Pain, Bruce Andersen, MD
9 Drug-Drug Interactions, Roger Hefflinger, PharmD
16 Obesity: An American Epidemic, Kelly Cushing, MD
23 Critical Care Case Conference, Pulmonary Fellow
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