The Kansas Academy of Family Physicians welcomes you to the new and improved KAFP website!  We hope you will enjoy a better online presence that communicates our vision and mission to serve you and keep you informed and connected. The website name remains the same – be sure and bookmark it at www.kafponline.org to keep up with CME opportunities and Academy events.

Looking for articles from past issues of KAFP Weekly?  Those have been archived at KAFP offices, let us know what we can help you find by contacting Marina Spexarth at mspexarth@kafponline.org.

The new website is funded by a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation. We hope you enjoy it!

The time has come to report your 2017 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and begin collecting your data for 2018.

The CMS portal is now open and will accept 2017 MIPS data until March 31, 2018. You must submit data by the March 31 deadline to avoid a negative 4 percent Medicare Part B payment adjustment in 2019.

Additionally, you should plan to begin collecting quality data for the 2018 performance period beginning in January. The AAFP offers a variety of resources to help you navigate the MIPS path, including the new 2018 MIPS Playbook.

The 2018 KAFP Annual Meeting has been planned and accreditation has been awarded by the American Academy of Family Physicians:

This Live activity, 2018 KAFP Annual Meeting, with a beginning date of 06/14/2018, has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 15.75 Prescribed credit(s) by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. 

Mark your calendars

2018 Annual Meeting: 70 Years Caring for Kansans
June 14-16, 2018
Overland Park Marriott, Overland Park, KS

In addition, KAFP will offer a KSA Pre-Session on June 13.

Don’t let your patients New Year’s resolutions go by the wayside… help your patients make a tobacco quit attempt in 2018. It often takes 7 to 9 quit attempts before successfully overcoming tobacco and the majority of patients indicate that a healthcare provider’s advice to quit is a strong motivator in taking the first step. This season, encourage your patients to quit.

If you are interested in the latest tobacco training and resources for your practice, please contact Kim Neufeld at 316-425-5607 or kneufeld@kafponline.org. Additional online resources include:

The Center for the History of Family Medicine (CHFM) is proud to announce its eighth annual Fellowship in the History of Family Medicine. Now renamed the Sandra L. Panther Fellowship in the History of Family Medicine in honor of former AAFP Foundation executive director Sandra L. “Sandy” Panther, interested family physicians, residents, students, other health professionals, historians, scholars, educators, scientists and others are invited to apply.

Complete fellowship rules, application forms, and instructions are available online through the Center’s website

The successful applicant will be awarded a fellowship grant in an amount of up to $2,000 to support travel, lodging and incidental expenses relating to research on a project of their choosing dealing with any aspect of the history of General Practice, Family Practice, or Family Medicine in the United States. The fellowship will be awarded directly to the individual applicant and not to the institution where he or she may be employed.

The deadline to apply is by 5:00 p.m., Saturday, March 31, 2018. All applications will be reviewed in April, with the fellowship award announced by May 31, 2018.