AAFP Issues Final Recommendation on Screening, Counseling for Alcohol Misuse
The AAFP has updated its recommendations regarding screening and behavioral counseling interventions in primary care to reduce alcohol misuse. The Academy now recommends that family physicians and other health professionals screen all adults 18 and older for alcohol misuse and provide individuals engaged in risky or hazardous drinking with brief behavioral counseling to reduce alcohol misuse. The recommendation also states that, although the Academy recognizes the avoidance of alcohol products by adolescents aged 12-17 years is desirable, the effectiveness of physician advice and counseling in this area is uncertain. (Sour...
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - June 19, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

Free Webinar Helps Physicians Better Care for Patients With Asthma
(Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - June 11, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

Free Webinar Helps Physicians Better Care for Patients With Asthma
Family physicians, always on the hunt for better ways to manage the care of their patients with asthma, have an opportunity to learn more on the topic from two physician experts who will co-host a free webinar, The Patient Journey: Implementing Excellence in Asthma Care, on tap for Monday , June 17, from 1-2 p.m. CDT. Webinar co-host Len Fromer, M.D., is an assistant clinical professor of family medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and serves as the executive medical director of Group Practice Forum, an independent network of physician group experts and education pro...
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - June 11, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

AAFP, NIDA Offer Educational Program on Addiction
In cooperation with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the AAFP is offering family physicians a new perspective on drug abuse and addiction, as well as tools to help physicians care for patients and families who are dealing with these issues. Composed, in part, of video recorded live during the 2012 AAFP Scientific Assembly in Philadelphia, the Addiction Performance Project was designed by NIDA to help break down the stigma associated with addiction and help doctors and other health professionals better identify and help drug-abusing patients, particularly in primary care settings. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - June 11, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

Drugs Used to Treat Alzheimer's Disease May Reduce MI Risk, Study Finds
According to a Swedish study published recently in the European Heart Journal, use of cholinesterase inhibitors to treat subjects diagnosed with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease was associated with a reduced risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and death. The observational study, which drew data from a cohort of more than 7,000 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia or Alzheimer's mixed dementia and enrolled in the Swedish Dementia Registry, was based on the premise that the medications' anti-inflammatory properties and, perhaps, vagotonic side effects, could play a role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disea...
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - June 10, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

Drugs Used to Treat Alzheimer's Disease May Reduce MI Risk, Study Finds
According to a Swedish study published recently in the European Heart Journal (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - June 10, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

Data Show Sunscreen Slows Skin Aging, Reduces Cancer Risk
For years, sunscreen and antioxidants have been advocated to prevent skin aging, but to date, there has been no scientific evidence to back up such claims other than studies on hairless mice and one 35-patient trial of patients with a history of skin cancer that evaluated sunscreen's effect on histologic skin aging. Now, new research in the June 3 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - June 4, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

Neonatal Bone Anomalies Prompt FDA Warning About Off-label Use of Magnesium Sulfate
According to a safety announcement from the FDA, administering magnesium sulfate injection to stop preterm labor in pregnant women -- an off-label use of the drug -- for longer than five-seven days may lead to low calcium levels and bone problems in the developing fetus, including osteopenia and fractures. The agency also noted that the shortest duration of treatment that can result in harm to an infant is not known at this time. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - May 31, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

New Use of LABAs, LAAs Boosts Cardiovascular Risk in Older Patients With COPD
According to a Canadian study published May 20 in JAMA Internal Medicine (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - May 29, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

As Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Continues, WHO, CDC Urge Heightened Vigilance
As of May 22, 43 laboratory-confirmed cases -- 21 of which have proved fatal -- of novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection had been reported to the World Health Organization. According to a recent update from the CDC, which is closely monitoring the outbreak, 31 of the nCoV cases were reported in Saudi Arabia, along with a handful of others from Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere. Other cases -- three in the United Kingdom, two in France and one in Germany -- were reported in Europe. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - May 23, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

DTaP Vaccine Supplies Will Be Limited for Summer 2013
For the second consecutive summer, the CDC is issuing guidance on immunizing children during an ongoing shortage of certain combination vaccines. According to a notice on the CDC website, Sanofi Pasteur's diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis adsorbed, inactivated poliovirus and Haemophilus influenzae (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - May 22, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

H7N9 Case Numbers Stalled, But Pandemic Potential Remains
Despite the fact that since May 7, no new human cases of avian influenza A (H7N9) infection have been reported in China -- the only country affected by the deadly virus to date -- the CDC continues to encourage medical professionals in the United States to maintain a high level of alert and be prepared for the virus because its global pandemic potential still is unknown. The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, reported that as of May 15, 131 lab-confirmed cases have been reported, including 36 deaths. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - May 16, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

AUA Recommends Against Routine Prostate Cancer Screening
In a significant about-face, the American Urological Association (AUA) recently published clinical guidance that recommends against performing all routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer, as well as all screening in men older than 70, men younger than 40 and average-risk men ages 40-54. Doug Campos-Outcalt, M.D., M.P.A., of Phoenix, the AAFP liaison to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), said the move brings the AUA much more in line with AAFP and USPSTF recommendations against performing PSA screening in asymptomatic men regardless of age. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - May 15, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news

AAFP Disagrees With Justice Department Blockade of OTC Access to Plan B One-Step
The AAFP has weighed in on the legal battle regarding emergency contraception now playing out in the nation's courts. In a prepared statement issued May 6, Academy Board Chair Glen Stream, M.D., M.B.I., of Spokane, Wash., disagreed with the U.S. Department of Justice's May 1 appeal of a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to remove the age restriction on OTC access to the single-dose levonorgestrel tablets marketed as Plan B One-Step. (Source: AAFP Health of the Public)
Source: AAFP Health of the Public - May 8, 2013 Category: Primary Care Source Type: news