The last few months have seen a tremendous upheaval in our society, from the COVID-19 pandemic to, more recently, a mass movement to demand action in response to police brutality toward people of color. We as doctors are not immune from this upheaval. I am so proud of how all of you have responded to…
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve replaced our annual Family Medicine Advocacy Summit with our first-ever remote “Week of Action,” beginning Monday, June 1, to advocate for family medicine in Congress. How family medicine responds to the COVID-19 pandemic will shape primary care and our health care system for years to come, and it’s crucial…
New guidelines for the childhood immunization schedule have been released. The changes provide updates that have proven to be safe and effective at preventing specific diseases at various stages of a child’s development. The approved schedules include recommended vaccinations from birth through 18 years as well as recommended catch-up schedules for children four months to…
This post is part of a new series CAFP is hosting, which will be highlighting and amplifying the voices of family physicians as they adapt to continuing their vital work of safeguarding communities under extremely difficult circumstances. This first piece is from Kajsa Harris, MD, who was a former president of CAFP. The COVID-19 pandemic…
While Colorado and the world focus on the spread of the coronavirus, this year’s influenza season is proving especially bad for children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 166 pediatric flu deaths nationally, the highest number seen since recently with the exception of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. In Colorado, pediatric flu deaths…
This is a story from the Spring 2020 Issue of our magazine, written by Glenn Kotz, MD, and Jarrid Rollins, LCSW. Few things are as frustrating as when a chronic pain sufferer comes into the office for an early refill on their main medication. The negotiation over how much medication to refill needs to be…
The Spring 2020 issue of Colorado Family Physician is out. Inside, we profile the 2020 CAFP Award winners — Alan-Michael Vargas, MD (Family Physician of the Year), Kieth Dickerson, MD (Teacher of the Year), and Daniel Dyer, MD (Resident of the Year). Their stories, philosophies of medicine, and their unique approach to public service are worth…
The office of Governor Polis has provided some updates and information about the state’s pandemic response. We have lightly edited this information for the benefit of our members. Quick Links to Stay Up to Date Governor’s Facebook Page covid19.colorado.gov Topline Update As of 4/1/20, Colorado has 3,342 cases and 620 hospitalizations out of 18,645 completed…
The CAFP recently issued a formal letter to governor Polis, where we in part urged him to issue a statewide stay-at-home order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (we also urged him to take additional actions to safeguard the healthcare workforce through better communications and a greater effort to secure PPE). We are asking for…
CAFP member Fred Grover, Jr., MD, FAAFP, a Family Medicine Physician in the Denver metro area, recently faced a difficult situation: an employee in his office tested positive for COVID-19. He tells his story below: [The employee] had a fever with cough eight days ago and could not get tested till last Wednesday. I am…
Also known as Colorado’s immunization registry, the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS) is a confidential, population-based, secure computerized system that collects and consolidates individual-level vaccination and exemption data for Coloradans of all ages from a variety of sources. Approximately 190 pediatric clinics currently report immunization data to CIIS. For this issue of the American Academy…
We know that this is an extremely busy time for family doctors. While we were excited about our 2020 Annual Summit, with a great program planned with brilliant speakers, we made the difficult decision to cancel the summit this year. We made this decision based on a consideration for the safety of our members, and…