The NCAFP Goes to Washington...for the 2022 AAFP Congress of Delegates

CHAPTER AFFAIRS

By Shawn P. Parker, JD, MPA NCAFP General Counsel & Chief of Staff

MEMBERS IN ACTION

NCAFP Goes to Washington…for the AAFP 2022 Congress of Delegates

After a two-year hiatus, your AAFP’s Congress of Delegates (COD) met in-person in Washington DC for an action-packed two- and half-day business meeting. This year’s COD considered a larger slate of topics than usual, with new 2022 resolutions and resolutions held over from the virtual 2021 COD.

As a first timer, I was impressed with the efficiency and effectiveness of the body’s ability to work through such a breadth of important topics. True to the spirit of Family Medicine, your physician representatives were thoughtful, enthusiastic, and respectful in their debate of a diverse range of issues that impact patient access and improve a physician’s ability to deliver quality health care.

North Carolina was well-represented with an esteemed group of attendees including our two voting Delegates, Dr. Chuck Rich (who also chaired the Reference Committee on Health of the Public) and Dr. Rich Lord, and Alternates Delegates Dr. Tameika Howell (who also served on the Reference Committee on Practice Enhancement) and Dr. Tom White; representatives of our Board’s executive committee including President-Elect Dr. Shauna Guthrie and Greg K. Griggs EVP-CEO. Also attending as part of North Carolina's delegation were AAFP board member Dr. Karen Smith; Past AAFP Presidents Dr. Lori Heim, Dr. Jim Jones, and former AAFP Executive Vice-President and an AAFP Past President Dr. Doug Henley; Dr. Conrad Flick, AAFP’s FamMedPac Chair; and active members Dr. Michele Jones, Dr. Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, Dr. Dalia Brahmi, and Dr. Shannon Dowler.

The COD serves as the Academy’s policy-making body. It conducts its work through Reference Committees that consider business (resolutions) items referred to them for recommendation to the COD for further debate and action. Resolutions are primarily submitted through state chapters. The Reference Committees take testimony on the merits of the resolution and recom-

mend any action to the Congress of Delegates, to the COD to Adopt; Not Adopt; Adopt with Substitution (as amended by the Reference Committee); or refer to the AAFP Board of Directors.

This year there were four Reference Committees: (i) on Health of the Public and Science; (ii) on Advocacy; (iii) on Practice Enhancement; and (iv) on Cross Topical Issues which considered and made recommendations on approximately thirty-three resolutions and a host of Board reports. All AAFP members are welcome to participate in hearings of the reference committees or to submit written testimony in regard to a proposed resolution.

A few noteworthy highlights of resolutions that were adopted this year include:

Advocacy

Administrative Burden: The COD referred a resolution to the Board to consider forming an Administrative Burden Task Force to address this high priority of the AAFP and a major issue for family physicians. AAFP continues to work on the issue of administrative burden and will continue to work with chapters

continues on next page

to best address this extraordinarily important issue.

Restrictive Covenants: The COD approved an amended substitute resolution that directed the AAFP to “strengthen its existing policy against restrictive covenants to include noncompete activities that interfere with the physician-patient relationship and patient access to care” and undertake federal advocacy through lawmakers and relevant federal entities “to eliminate noncompete clauses and noncompete activities for family physicians.” Testimony provided supported the notion that restrictive covenants hurt physicians and patients by hindering access, worsening physician shortages, and disrupting physicians’ well-being.

HIPAA Updates: Delegates adopted a measure urging the Academy to advocate for HIPAA changes to allow commonly available real-time audiovisual communication technology to be used for telehealth without the requirement of a Business Associates Agreement with the company that runs the platform.

Cross-Topical Issues

Increasing POCUS CME Opportunities: Delegates adopted a measure that called for the Academy to support more CME on point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) at AAFP-sponsored events. Supporters expressed appreciation for the numerous POCUS-related offerings already available at AAFP events like FMX and the National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students. More such opportunities, they said, could increase the POCUS training workforce.

Global Health: The COD adopted a substitute resolution directing the AAFP to reinstate a dedicated annual Global Health Summit.

Health of the Public and Science

Eat, Sleep, Console: The COD adopted a resolution to update the neonatal drug withdrawal section of the AAFP’s substance use disorders policy to “include patient-centered methods of managing neonatal abstinence syndrome such as the Eat, Sleep, Console approach” and offer education on that approach.

By Thomas R. White, MD

continues on Back Cover

PERSPECTIVE

Looking Back. And Being Grateful

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) 2022 Congress of Delegates (COD) and The Family Medicine Experience, commonly referred to as FMX, in Washington DC.

One evening I exited my hotel to go to dinner, and about a block away, I came upon a statue of Edmund Burke. Not knowing enough about him, I did my research. Burke was a famous member of the British Parliament, a highly respected philosopher and economist, and considered by many to be “The Father of Conservatism.” He actually was an advocate for the American Colonies, arguing in Parliament against unfair taxation. Thus, the statue, I presume.

Reading about Burke, I discovered the following quote: “People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.” That got me thinking about Family Medicine, how we got to where we are, and how important it is that we not forget those who went before us.

A little history. It was after the Second World War that American Medicine moved toward specialization. So-called “general practitioners” were looked down upon. Discrimination, especially in the hospital setting, was common. In time, however, these generalists banded together and fought for their identity, their professional privileges, and their deserved respect in the house of medicine.

Thanks to the efforts of many, Family Medicine became recognized as a specialty in 1969. The American Board of Family Medicine was established in 1970, becoming the first specialty to require periodic re-certification. Originally the American Academy of General Practitioners, it was renamed the American Academy of Family Physicians in 1971. And today, the AAFP is the second largest specialty association in the country.

None of those accomplishments occurred without a fight, without opposition, without amazing leadership. I am reminded of those leaders of Family Medicine who went before us, helping to establish the specialty and organizing it

into what it is today. I will name just a few.

Dr. Gayle Stephens, a general practitioner in Wichita, Kansas, who later established one of the first Family Medicine residency programs at Wichita State University and then served as Chair of the Department of Family Practice at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. His essays on Family Medicine as a “counterculture” uprising were so inspirational to me as a medical student, as it was to many others. Dr Lewis Barnett, who practiced in Woodruff, South Carolina, and later served on the Family Medicine faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and then as Chair at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. My interview with Dr Barnett for a residency position at UVa in 1979 was an emotional, life changing experience. And our own Dr Jim Jones, who practiced in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and went on to develop and chair the Department of Family Medicine at East Carolina in Greenville. Still referred to as “The Godfather of Family Medicine” in North Carolina, Dr Jones has been an inspiration and role model for me, and a mentor for so many of you.

There are many other such forerunners here in North Carolina. Too many to name them all. Dr George Wolff from Greensboro. Dr John Nance in Clinton. Drs Robert Shackelford and Hervy Kornegay of Mt Olive. Dr Ed Shahady, former Chair at UNC. The list goes on and on.

We owe them all our gratitude. Without them, it is almost certain that we Family Physicians of today would have never received the broad training we have enjoyed, the privilege to practice in the hospital – from delivering babies to caring for patients in the intensive care unit – and the respect we have as a specialty in the halls of Congress and in state legislatures across the country.

I am optimistic about Family Medicine going forward. We all know the virtues. We know that the generalist has been the backbone of medicine in this country. That the Family Medicine of today can best deliver what is needed now, and in the future: quality, cost-effectiveness, and relationship-based, patient-centric care.

Family Medicine is the specialty that can save our broken health care system. Of course, as a Direct Primary Care (DPC) physician and advocate, I believe that DPC is part of that solution. An option which our specialty should continue to embrace and support to ensure that better future.

For Family Medicine to be that specialty of the future, I strongly believe we need to remember our past, and those who had this vision. That gives us perspective. It grounds us. It reminds us of our values and the reason we go to work every day. It inspires us to fight for what we believe. Our predecessors did just that. It’s in our blood. Our DNA.

So here we are in 2022. A time for us to remember how we got here. A time for us as Family Physicians to understand that we are standing on second base, but we did not hit a double all by ourselves. A time for us to say thank you. A time for gratitude. A time to embrace our past, as we create a new future.

Edmund Burke stands tall in DC to remind us!

Connecting Family Physician Job Seekers and Employers in North Carolina.

EMPLOYERS:

Target Candidates with Ease

PLACE your job in front of our highly qualified members and job seekers.

SEARCH our resume database of qualified candidates.

MANAGE jobs and applicant activity right on our site.

LIMIT applicants only to those who are qualified.

FILL your jobs more quickly with great talent.

ADVERTISE your open positions in the exclusive Job Flash™ email sent directly to 2,000+ family physicians in North Carolina.

CONTACT Jan Kielec at Jan.Kielec@communitybrands.com or (860) 935-8437 for package and recruitment options.

CONTACT Emily Morenzoni at Emily.morenzoni@communitybrands.com or 860.544.6518 for package and recruitment options.

Visit jobs.ncafp.com to log in or create your account today!

JOBS.NCAFP.COM

PROFESSIONALS:

Take Your Career to the Next Level

POST your resume or anonymous career profile that leads employers to you.

SEARCH and apply to thousands of family physician jobs in North Carolina on the spot by using robust filters.

SET UP efficient job alerts to deliver the latest jobs right to your inbox.

ACCESS career resources, job searching tips and tools.

GAIN insights and detailed data within the family physician profession including salary, job outlook videos, education and more.

REQUEST a free resume critique from an expert writer.

CONTACT NCAFP Career Center’s Customer Service at clientserv@communitybrands.com or (727) 497-6565 for questions and concerns.

@HEADQUARTERS

Academy Adds Finance and Operations Manager to Staff

The NCAFP is excited to announce the addition of Jan Rainy to its headquarters team. Jan joined the NCAFP staff on June 1, 2022, as Manager of Finance and Operations. She focuses on the NCAFP financial and accounting responsibilities. Her years of experience in the accounting department of a manufacturing business and most recently managing the business office of a private school are invaluable to her role.

Jan graduated from NC State University with a degree in Business Management and Economics. She is married and has two grown children. In her free time, she likes spending time with her family, gardening and traveling.

OUTREACH EVENTS & EFFORTS

NCAFP Provides Advocacy Training to MAHEC-Asheville Residents

The NCAFP team, along with NC AHEC Director Hugh Tilson, JD, presented a workshop on advocacy to residents at the MAHEC Family Medicine Residency Program in Asheville this past August.

NCAFP President Dr. Dimitrios (Takie) Hondros discussed the goals of the NCAFP and outlined a few of our activities. NCAFP EVP Greg Griggs, MPA, discussed NCAFP advocacy initiatives and how you can spend 15 minutes a week to make advocacy a habit. NCAFP’s Manager of Workforce Initiatives Perry Price discussed utilizing social media and letters to the editors as key advocacy tools. And Hugh Tilson discussed the importance of getting to know and meeting with elected officials. The residents then broke into small groups to undertake hands on practice on both written and face-to-face advocacy.

During the visit, the group also met with MAHEC CEO Dr. William Hathaway, and AHEC Director Francisco Castelblanco, DNP, RN.

Sights & Scenes

from Chapter Events