Latest updates on ACP's priorities, initiatives
ACP Spotlight offers readers a look at ACP's current top priorities and initiatives, as well as highlights from our e-newsletter, ACP Internist Weekly.
ACP releases policies related to COVID-19 vaccination, mitigation
On Jan. 12, ACP made recommendations about the provision, distribution, and payment of COVID-19 vaccines that address the role of physicians as vaccinators, the importance of communication and collaboration among physicians and other vaccinators to ensure patient safety and continuity of care, information technology issues, and reimbursement and billing. .
Another policy statement, released on Jan. 13, said that authorities may appropriately require the wearing of masks by the public in community settings as part of a comprehensive public health strategy to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19. Both policies were approved Jan. 11 by the Executive Committee of the Board of Regents.
ACP addresses disparities, discrimination in health care
More needs to be done to understand and address disparities and discrimination in U.S. health and health care, ACP stated in a policy paper.
The paper was published Jan. 12 by Annals of Internal Medicine and includes recommendations that U.S. policymakers address disparities to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care for all. Clinicians and medical students also have a role in using patient-centered and culturally appropriate approaches to create a trusted health care system, according to the paper. ACP further proposed specific policy recommendations to address the issue in education and the health care workforce, for specific populations, and in criminal justice practices in a related series of three position papers published on ACPOnline.org. More information and links to all four papers are online.
Ethics, professionalism, and the physician social media influencer
A new ethics case study from ACP, “Ethics, Professionalism, and the Physician Social Media Influencer,” looks at the role of physicians in society, trust in the medical profession, and conflicts of interest related to social media use. The case study is available on Medscape and can be accessed at ACP's website. A login is required, and CME credit and MOC points are available. More information about ethics and professionalism activities from ACP is available.
BOR actions on BOG resolutions available
A summary of Board of Regents (BOR) actions on Board of Governors (BOG) resolutions debated at the November 2020 BOR remote meeting is online. Resolutions initiated by ACP members and endorsed by a chapter council and the BOG become ACP policy when adopted by the BOR.
Governor-elect Designee election results announced
The Executive Committee of the Board of Governors is pleased to announce the Governor-elect Designees representing the Class of 2026. They will start their terms as Governors-elect after the Annual Business Meeting on May 1, 2021, and take office as Governors in April 2022.
ICYMI: Highlights from ACP Internist Weekly
- Discussions of firearm safety uncommon in the health care setting. Researchers used data from the 2019 National Firearms Survey to estimate the proportion of adults in gun-owning households who have discussed firearm safety with a clinician, as well as to characterize these encounters. Of 4,011 participating adults, 7.5% said they had ever discussed firearm safety with a clinician. Among other findings, almost half of this group said they had discussed locking all firearms at their most recent visit. The survey results were published Dec. 22, 2020, by Annals of Internal Medicine and summarized in the Dec. 22, 2020, ACP Internist Weekly.
- Updated asthma guideline offers management recommendations. The National Asthma Education and Prevention Program focused on intermittent inhaled corticosteroids, add-on long-acting muscarinic antagonists, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, indoor allergen mitigation, immunotherapy, and bronchial thermoplasty. One notable change from the program's 2007 guideline was a recommendation for either daily low-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) plus as-needed short-acting beta-agonist (SABA) therapy or as-needed concomitant ICS and SABA therapy for mild persistent asthma. The update was published Dec. 3, 2020, by JAMA and summarized in the Dec. 8, 2020, ACP Internist Weekly.
ACP Internist Weekly is an e-newsletter published every Tuesday and available online. Subscribe online.
