Public Health

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IQIP: New Immunization Quality Improvement Program

Immunization Quality Improvement for Providers (IQIP) is the new Quality Improvement (QI) program from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that replaced the Assessment, Feedback, Incentive, eXchange (AFIX) program.  In 1995, the Senate instructed CDC to “ensure that all states/awardees receiving immunization infrastructure/operational grant funds conduct annual provider assessments in all public-sector clinics…

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CDC Updates on Wuhan Coronavirus

The CDC has created an information hub for doctors and other health care professionals to be informed about the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, designated 2019-nCoV. There is limited information available so far about the virus, its symptoms, and specific treatment. The information hub has information on risk assessment, laboratory and clinical information, and…

The Family Physician’s Role in Adolescent Health Care: Sexuality and Maintaining Confidentiality

By Riley Stanton, CAFP Communications and Marketing Intern Family physicians have the unique opportunity to see their patients grow from infancy to adulthood. During that transition, there is a tricky period in adolescence when these patients who once relied entirely on their parents begin to make their own decisions, and that includes decisions about their…

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Opioid Manufacturers Offer Financial Settlements to Avoid Court

By Riley Stanton, CAFP Communications and Marketing Intern The manufacturers of opioid painkillers aggressively marketed their products in the 1990s, exaggerating the benefits and downplaying the risks, while simultaneously lobbying lawmakers to make it easier for patients to receive the drugs. Even as the rise in addictions, overdoses, and opioid-related deaths became apparent, the top…

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2019 Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in Colorado’s Children

In Midst of Nationwide Outbreaks, Colorado’s Immunization Rates Lag, Cost of Preventable Disease Remains High Despite a recent nationwide outbreak of measles resulting in the highest number of cases in nearly 30 years and a growing Hepatitis A outbreak in Colorado, Colorado’s vaccination rates continue to lag, according to an independent report released September 9…

Stop & Imagine
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An Update on CAFPF’s Youth Marijuana Prevention Program

By Riley Stanton, CAFP Communications and Marketing Intern Between November 2018 and May 2019, the Colorado Academy of Family Physicians Foundation (CAFPF) conducted the first presentations done as part of the pilot of Stop & Imagine: Preventing Marijuana Use in Colorado Youth, a program developed by and housed within the CAFPF. The fourth and fifth-grade…

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Pharmacy “Gag Clauses” Eliminated, Allowing Full Disclosure of Prescription Prices at Pharmacies

By Sarah Martinez, CAFP Policy and Advocacy Intern Last April, Colorado passed HB18-1284 Disclosure of Prescription Costs at Pharmacies, enacting the “Patient Drug Costs Savings Act”. Before this legislation, insurance carriers and their Prescription Benefit Managers in Colorado could maintain contracts with pharmacies that included “Gag Clauses”. These were legal agreements that threatened to punish…

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Opioid Epidemic: Congress Takes a Swing, Passes Bipartisan Legislative Package

By Sarah Martinez, CAFP Policy & Advocacy Intern In October, the U.S. Senate passed the final version of H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act. This act is a bipartisan bill package that aims to combat the opioid crisis. The President signed the bill…

New Youth Marijuana Prevention Program Developed by CAFP Prepares to Launch
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New Youth Marijuana Prevention Program Developed by CAFP Prepares to Launch

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…

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All Kids Deserve a Healthy Start, and Many Get it With CHIP

For decades, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or Child Health Plan Plus (CHP +) in Colorado, has provided a viable path to ensuring that children in thousands of working families have access to quality affordable health care. The program serves families that make too much to qualify for Medicaid and too little to afford…