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, YouTube counter COVID-19 misinformation
ACP is partnering with YouTube to create new educational content to help combat health misinformation about the COVID-19 virus, vaccination, and treatments. The videos will focus on communication strategies for clinicians as well as providing proactive, trusted information in the clinicians' voice.
ACP will provide resources in English and Spanish for physicians on how to assess and address medical misinformation through a series of videos to proactively share evidence-based strategies to offer credible information about vaccines for clinicians and the public. In addition, ACP is developing video content for the public to answer their questions about vaccines with trusted information from physicians. The videos will also highlight the challenges around misinformation and focus on where to go for credible medical information.
More on COVID-19 myths and misinformation is available in this issue.
ACP calls for policies to strengthen veterans' health care
In a recent policy paper titled “Health Care for Our Nation's Veterans,” ACP said that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is a crucial part of our nation's health care system but faces many challenges, including an aging infrastructure, implementing a new electronic health records system, and achieving access and care continuity with non-VHA clinicians.
The paper makes a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening and preserving the system for future veterans. Lawmakers must ensure adequate funding to provide timely and high-quality health care services and to sustain the VHA's health professions education, emergency preparedness, and research programs, the paper said. Among other recommendations, the paper noted that the VHA should provide full coverage for higher-income veterans without service-connected disabilities, that cost-sharing for high-value services should be reduced or eliminated, and that the VHA must work to identify and eliminate unnecessary administrative tasks that contribute to clinician burnout. The paper was published Oct. 5 by Annals of Internal Medicine.
ACP, partner organizations release new ‘Women in Medicine’ supplement
ACP has partnered with the Women's Wellness Through Equity and Leadership (WEL) consortium on a new “Women in Medicine” supplement, which was published in the September issue of Pediatrics. The supplement is a multispecialty collection of articles based on the work of the WEL program, which was founded by ACP and five other medical associations. It explores challenges to improving gender equity and offers strategies for advancing women in medicine.
The articles address the following points:
- explaining the history and benefits of a diverse workforce,
- advancing women to leadership positions through individual actions and institutional reform,
- building inclusive work environments,
- using metrics to promote equitable work environments, and
- supporting advancement and retention of women physicians.
Susan Hingle, MD, MACP, former Chair of the ACP Board of Regents, served as a guest editor for the supplement.
ICYMI: Highlights from ACP Internist Weekly
- Adding an antihypertensive to existing regimens associated with greater blood pressure reduction than maximizing dose, with caveats in adherence. A retrospective study of older veterans with hypertension found that while adding a medication reduced systolic blood pressure by an extra point, patients who received a dose increase instead of a new drug were more likely to maintain the regimen. The results were published by Annals of Internal Medicine on Oct. 5 and were summarized in the Oct. 5 ACP Internist Weekly.
- NKF-ASN task force issues final report on use of race in diagnosing kidney disease. Effective immediately in the U.S., estimated glomerular filtration rate should be calculated with an updated equation that does not include a race modifier for Black patients, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) said. The report was published Sept. 23 in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and the American Journal of Kidney Diseases and was summarized in the Sept. 28 ACP Internist Weekly.
ACP Internist Weekly is an e-newsletter published every Tuesday and available online. Subscribe online.
