This summer, we took a road trip to visit members in rural northwest and southwest Colorado. We wanted to know more about concerns family physicians in more remote areas may have. Not surprisingly, they share some of the same concerns held by our urban and suburban members; administrative burden and a lack of payment parity
By Riley Stanton, CAFP Communications and Marketing Intern It was a productive 2019 legislative session, with 462 new bills passed into law. Three of these bills passed into law were CAFP-led. This legislation will invest more money into primary care, offer communication and resolution programs for patients and physicians when an unexpected health outcome occurs,
By Riley Stanton, CAFP Communication and Marketing Intern The ballots are in, and the votes are tallied, and we are excited to announce the new board members joining the CAFP. We will have a new member joining us this year and some current board members participating in new positions. Jen Feng, MD, Denver Dr. Feng
By Madison Dillon, CAFP Policy Intern Thank you to all the physicians who made a difference in Colorado during 2018! Your dedication and volunteerism made a meaningful impact this past year. Let’s look back at some of your accomplishments. Fifty-three CAFP physicians participated in our Doctor of the Day program, bringing healthcare to over 30
As proclaimed by Governor Hickenlooper, October 2018 is Family Health Month in Colorado. Each year the state proclaims October as Family Health Month in recognition of family medicine’s work on behalf of patients and valuable role in the health care system. The CAFP continues to have a strong presence at the Colorado Legislature, and the
Colorado voters legalized the use of recreational marijuana on November 6, 2012. In the almost six years since, policy makers and citizens alike have been carefully watching to see what consequences might arise. Most seem to agree the “great experiment” has been a mix of successes and failures. One issue of high priority to family
Turn on the TV, go online, pick up a newspaper, it’s not hard to see that healthcare and health policy are hot and contentious topics. The endless debate can leave healthcare providers wondering: how can I possibly make a difference? How can we add the voice of experience and reason to all the noise? Primary
By Stephanie Gold, MD The Primary Care Investment Strategy The CAFP is pursuing a Primary Care Investment Strategy (PCIS) with the aims of: 1) accurately measuring how much is being spent on primary care in Colorado 2) increasing spending on primary care to a target of 15% of total health care spending 3) requiring increasing
By Michael J. Pramenko, MD Stop the press. Public and private payers take note. Primary Care in the United States is undervalued. Surely, and sarcastically speaking, primary care providers are shocked by this news. In medicine and public policy, we like to believe that we follow the evidence and let facts guide the implementation of
by Gina Carr, MD Despite the knowledge that societies with a better primary care orientation have better outcomes as well as increased efficiency and better perceptions of patient experience of care, we are not yet routinely incentivizing primary care providers (PCPs) and services. Why is the societal value of reduced mortality rates, reduced rates of