February 2008 - Posts

The Business of Health Care
February 29, 2008 1:54 PM by Stephen Cornell

Washingon Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein's column today deals with competition— or the lack of it —in the field of radiation therapy in Northern Virginia. Not content to have the lion's share of the hospital market in Northern Virginia, with Read More...

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New PA Niche: Handwashing Spy
February 29, 2008 11:57 AM by Stephen Cornell

According to a widely published Associated Press article, the University of Michigan is using PAs as spies . In U-Michigan's hospital halls, physician assistants are assigned to spy to tell if fellow workers wash hands both when entering and exiting patient Read More...

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PA Co-Authors Article for AAFP
February 28, 2008 12:11 PM by Stephen Cornell

U.S. Army PA Patricia Mistretta is the second author of an article about female sexual dysfunction that was published in the March 1 issue of American Family Physician . (Frank JE, Mistretta P, Will J. Diagnosis and treatment of female sexual dysfunction. Read More...

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PA Karen Bass Elected Speaker of the California General Assembly
February 28, 2008 10:10 AM by Stephen Cornell

PA Karen Bass will be the next speaker of California's General Assembly. The Los Angeles Times published a long story about it today. Bass will be the second woman to hold the post and the first African-American woman. A community activist and physician's Read More...

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PA Provides Medical Care in Iraq
February 27, 2008 4:52 PM by Stephen Cornell

U.S. News and World Report featured U.S. Army PA Yuri Rivera in an article about the lack of health care for civilians in Iraq. A report last year from the Iraqi government found that 70 percent of critically wounded people brought to Iraqi hospitals Read More...

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10-Year PA Recertification Cycle?
February 27, 2008 2:38 PM by Stephen Cornell

It seems as though Pennsylvania PA Bernie Stuetz's effort to increase the length PA recertification cycle to 10 years is gaining momemtum. Stuetz wrote " A Plan to Revise PA Recertification " for ADVANCE in 2006 and introduced a related resolution at Read More...

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Emory PA Students Organize Charity Run
February 26, 2008 3:27 PM by Stephen Cornell

Emory University's PA Class of 2009 will hold a charity 5K run on April 12 to benefit three Atlanta-area charities. A portion of The Fun Run funds will benefit the Henry W. Grady Health System Foundation which is a nonprofit organization that leverages Read More...

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Annual AAPA Census
February 26, 2008 1:26 PM by Stephen Cornell

The 2008 AAPA census form is live online! Please fill it out because the annual census report provides months of PA blog material. Also, because "the data is the world's primary source of information on the PA profession," according to the academy. Link Read More...

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'Why Not NPs and PAs?'
February 25, 2008 4:03 PM by Stephen Cornell

Physician Howard Spiro, who is the editor of The Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine , argues that current model of physician education is outdated. The coming of “evidence-based medicine,” which is the sifting of research and clinical reports to Read More...

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AAPA EVP Starts Today
February 25, 2008 12:49 PM by Stephen Cornell

New American Academy of Physician Assistants executive vice president and CEO Bill Leinweber officially joins the academy today. The AAPA's Adventures in Lobbying event is also taking place today and tomorrow. With the 2nd session of the 110th Congress Read More...

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GMR (Google Medical Record)?
February 22, 2008 2:43 PM by Stephen Cornell

Google is poised to test a medical record storage service . Cleveland Clinic patients will be involved in the test. The pilot project announced yesterday will involve 1,500 to 10,000 patients at the Cleveland Clinic who agreed to an electronic transfer Read More...

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New Mid-Level Provider?
February 22, 2008 10:52 AM by Stephen Cornell

A bill in the Minnesota legislature would create the Advanced Dental Hygiene Practitioner (ADHP) . There's a hearing on the bill scheduled for Feb. 25. The Advanced Dental Hygiene Practitioner model was developed in response to the Surgeon General's call Read More...

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First NP Postgraduate Residency
February 21, 2008 3:17 PM by Stephen Cornell

ADVANCE for Nurse Practitioners reported on the first postgraduate residency program for NPs in its February issue. The country's first postgraduate NP residency program began last fall, after several years of planning. Margaret Flinter, NP, first began Read More...

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American College of Clinicians Announcement
February 21, 2008 3:04 PM by Stephen Cornell

The American College of Clinicians issued a press release today about direct-to-consumer advertising. The American College of Clinicians (ACC) an organization that advocates for the nurse practitioner and physician assistant professions is pleased to Read More...

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Sharon Luke Name Mount Union College PA Program Director
February 20, 2008 6:06 PM by Stephen Cornell

Mount Union College announced today that physician assistant Sharon Luke will be the director of its new PA program. “This is an exciting time for us at Mount Union College,” said Giese. “Not only are we planning for this innovative program that allows Read More...

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International PA Experiences
February 20, 2008 5:33 PM by Stephen Cornell

The Medical Journal of Australia reports on the PA concept in Canada and Scotland . Several Australian groups, including public and private health providers in Queensland, the University of Queensland (Centre for Military and Veterans’ Health and the Read More...

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ACP Supports Research of Medical Marijuana
February 19, 2008 9:27 AM by Stephen Cornell

The American College of Physicians has issued a policy paper in support of research into the therapeutic role of marijuana . Marijuana has been smoked for its medicinal properties for centuries. Preclinical, clinical, and anecdotal reports suggest numerous Read More...

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Genomics and PAs
February 18, 2008 5:23 PM by Stephen Cornell

Physician Assistant Education Association director at large Constance Goldgar wrote about PAs and genetics in the February issue of PAEA Networker . For those members who were fortunate enough to be able to attend the plenary session given by Dr. Francis Read More...

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AAPA Candidate Bios
February 18, 2008 2:35 PM by Stephen Cornell

Bios for the six candidates for the AAPA board of directors are posted online at www.aapa.org/members/toolbox/08candidates/08candidates.html . AAPA membership is required to access this section of the academy's Web site. Read More...

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UPDATE: PAs, MDs and Turf
February 15, 2008 3:08 PM by Michael Gerchufsky

Here’s an update to my post earlier this week about the turf battle at the center of an ugly article in last Sunday’s New York Post. In that article, a surgeon at Mercy Medical Center on Long Island made some inflammatory statements about PAs. An article Read More...

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AAPA News Talks to the President of The Joint Commission
February 14, 2008 8:10 PM by Stephen Cornell

The Feb. 15 issue of AAPA News is online, and the top story is an interview with Mark R. Chassin, MD, who is the new president of The Joint Commission. On January 1, Mark R. Chassin, M.D., took over as president of The Joint Commission (formerly Joint Read More...

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PA-to-Physician Bridge, Continued
February 14, 2008 8:05 PM by Stephen Cornell

This has been by far the hottest topic on our Web site for a month, but because of the blog format it is somewhat hidden. Here's the original blog post from Jan. 22 and a link to the many, many comments. Continue debate ... *** Is Now the Time to Discuss Read More...

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Compounded Hormones
February 13, 2008 3:30 PM by Stephen Cornell

There's a big battle brewing over compounded hormones. Stung by a crackdown on unproven claims about the safety and effectiveness of medications made by pharmacies to treat menopause, supporters of the drugs have launched a lobbying campaign aimed at Read More...

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New Mexico PA Bill Passes
February 13, 2008 11:44 AM by Stephen Cornell

In New Mexico, a bill that would expand the scope of PA practice is on its way to Gov. Bill Richardson. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Nathan Cote, D-Las Cruces, would allow physician assistants to direct the use of a prescription device, help assess functional Read More...

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Blue Cross Request Riles Some Health Care Providers
February 12, 2008 7:04 PM by Stephen Cornell

Blue Cross of California has asked physicians to "look for conditions it can use to cancel their new patients' medical coverage," according to the Los Angeles Times . Many physicians were not happy about the request. "We're outraged that they are asking Read More...

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New Ohio PA Program
February 12, 2008 1:52 PM by Stephen Cornell

Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, announced the development of its new PA program in a press release. For the first time in nearly a century, Mount Union College plans to offer master’s level coursework. Approved by the Mount Union faculty and Board Read More...

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PAs, MDs and Turf
February 11, 2008 1:20 PM by Michael Gerchufsky

Sounds like a turf battle is at the center of an ugly article in Sunday’s New York Post. Despite the botched headline, “MD’s aide is eyed in 3 hosp deaths,” the article itself got most of the details correct about the PA profession. Unfortunately, the Read More...

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Homeless Heidi Returns to the South Pole
February 8, 2008 5:30 PM by Stephen Cornell

PA Heidi Lim returned to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station this week. Tuesday morning we boarded the C-17 right on time with no such luck of getting any weather delays to strand us in Christchurch. Besides five of us heading to Pole, there were a Read More...

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PA Foundation 5K Fun Run
February 8, 2008 1:34 PM by Stephen Cornell

Registration is open for the Physician Assistant Foundation’s 5K Fun Run at the annual conference in San Antonio. Help Team ADVANCE raise money for a great cause. Join hundreds of PAs and run or walk in the Annual 5K Fun Walk/Run in San Antonio, Texas, Read More...

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AAPA Works With White House
February 7, 2008 3:49 PM by Stephen Cornell

The AAPA is one of 11 organizations working with the White House National Drug Control Policy Office in an effort to educate parents about prescription drug abuse by teenagers . The campaign ran an ad during the Super Bowl. (Washington, D.C.)—The White Read More...

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Advisor Wrong About PAs
February 6, 2008 4:47 PM by Stephen Cornell

I would expect a health careers advisor to know more about PAs . “Up till about a couple years go you could actually get a bachelor’s degree in physician assistant and be considered a practicing physician assistant,” said Bryan Lewis, adjunct biology Read More...

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AAPA San Antonio Housing Watch
February 6, 2008 3:05 PM by Stephen Cornell

AAPA conference hotels are beginning to sell out . 1. Crowne Plaza 2. Grand Hyatt 3. Hilton Palacio del Rio 4. Holiday Inn Riverwalk 5. Homewood Suites — SOLD OUT 6. Hyatt on Riverwalk 7. La Mansion del Rio 8. LaQuinta 9. Marriott Rivercenter — Co-headquarters Read More...

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Tribute to Tammy Ream
February 6, 2008 10:13 AM by Stephen Cornell

The Texas Academy of PAs has a tribute to Tammy Ream on its Web site. Ream, a faculty member at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center PA program and the president-elect of TAPA, died in late January. PAs in Texas are grieving the loss of TAPA Read More...

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'Expand the role of physician assistants'
February 5, 2008 3:21 PM by Stephen Cornell

The Philadelphia Inquirer published a letter to the editor today from Pennsylvania PA Bernie Stuetz. I applaud The Inquirer for sharing the positive aspects of Gov. Rendell's Rx for Pennsylvania and urging action on this bill from the legislature ("Out Read More...

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Oklahoma Rural PA of the Year
February 5, 2008 1:04 PM by Stephen Cornell

The Oklahoma Academy of PAs honored Martin Kubier as its Rural PA of the Year a few months ago. Kubier's local newspaper, the Ada Evening News recently published a nice article about him. STRATFORD — Martin Kubier, P.A., and manager of the Medical Center Read More...

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Are PAs in Favor of the Clinical Doctorate?
February 4, 2008 1:53 PM by Stephen Cornell

According to the results of ADVANCE 's informal Web poll, PAs have surprisingly positive feelings about PA-specific clinical doctorate degrees. In addition to this poll, feedback I have received has been overwhelmingly positive. I would have expected Read More...

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PA Public Awareness
February 1, 2008 3:21 PM by Stephen Cornell

Incoming AAPA executive vice president Bill Leinweber (he starts at the academy on Feb. 25) seems open to the possibility of a PA public awareness campaign. This excerpt is from the Jan. 30 issue of AAPA News . Leinweber sees increasing public awareness Read More...

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No PAEA Presentations at AAPA
February 1, 2008 12:05 PM by Stephen Cornell

There will be no PAEA educational presentations at the AAPA conference in San Antonio in May. PAEA will not present educational sessions at the the AAPA's 36th Annual PA Conference in San Antonio, May 24-29, 2008. An insufficient number of proposals was Read More...

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Rough Week for PA News
February 1, 2008 11:46 AM by Stephen Cornell

A Michigan PA and former PA educator was convicted of criminal sexual conduct . A Pennsylvania PA was sentenced for sexual assault . A Texas PA has been sentenced to 9 1/2 years in prison in Mexico for sexual crimes . Read More...

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