By Tom Blue, Executive Director, AAPP

Today, a clear October Saturday, he flew his six-seat Piper Mirage to the Hanover Airport, a tiny air strip on the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia to take my family and me on an excursion.

My hope for the day had been to fly over Virginia’s Northern Neck to look down from the sky on our house on the shore of the Potomac River. Dr. Kihm added a slight twist to the mission that produced a day I’ll never forget.

Every month for the last 14 years, Dr. Kihm has flown his plane to a small patch of earth on North Carolina’s Outer Banks called Ocracoke Island. It’s a place he loves – not for its vacation amenities, but for its tight-knit community of some 400 people he is called to serve.

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The AAPP’s growth in 2010 has pushed the organization to the point at which it needs to expand its reach and accessibility to members to ensure that every member in every state is well served.

To enable this, we are enlisting a delegate from each state. If you’re interested in serving as your state delegate, please let us know.

Here’s what the job entails…

As your state delegate, you are in charge of ensuring that the AAPP members in your state are heard and well served by the Academy. What do they need from the AAPP? What are they happy or unhappy with? What do they need to learn in order to be more successful?

Second, you will be the champion for the AAPP in your state charged with growing its membership and outreach. Carry the message of private medicine to the residents in your state, and connect with the private physicians who are not yet AAPP members and invite their participation.

In exchange for your efforts, you will have a voice in the direction of the Academy and its expanding offerings to members. You will be given a free premium listing and designated as a state delegate on your profile on the AAPP directory. You may also attend ALL AAPP EVENTS FREE for as long as you serve in this capacity.

If you are interested in serving as your state delegate, please contact Shelly Banyay at 877.746.7301 or sbanyay@aapp.org.

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By James J. Eischen, Jr., Esq.

Electronic communication can saves lives, or do great harm. This was illustrated in the Friday, December 3, 2010, edition of the Los Angeles Times. One story reported that California prisons are unable to effectively block the illegal flow of cell phones to prisoners. Charles Manson was among those convicts recently caught with a cellphone, and it added thirty (30) days to his prison sentence. Another story reported that a high school basketball coach used a smart phone application/tutorial on CPR recently purchased for $1.99 (the app provides real-time instructions on CPR) to resuscitate a
player who collapsed during practice when his heart stopped beating. One story speaks to
the impossibility of stopping the inevitable, and the other places an exclamation point on
electronic media’s potential to save lives.

By James J. Eischen, Jr., Esq.

Electronic communication can saves lives, or do great harm. This was illustrated in the Friday, December 3, 2010, edition of the Los Angeles Times. One story reported that California prisons are unable to effectively block the illegal flow of cell phones to prisoners. Charles Manson was among those convicts recently caught with a cellphone, and it added thirty (30) days to his prison sentence. Another story reported that a high school basketball coach used a smart phone application/tutorial on CPR recently purchased for $1.99 (the app provides real-time instructions on CPR) to resuscitate a
player who collapsed during practice when his heart stopped beating. One story speaks to
the impossibility of stopping the inevitable, and the other places an exclamation point on
electronic media’s potential to save lives.ith the changes necessary? 

For those who can stay, we are planning additional learning opportunities for Sunday the 30^th, including an ultrasound training workshop conducted by SonoSite.

Watch for more information on this kick-off event in the next few weeks. As was the case last year, space in this facility is limited, so please reserve your spot as soon as you can either online at aapp.org or by contacting Shelly Banyay at 877.746.7301 or sbanyay@aapp.org.

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By John T. Kihm, MD, FACP

Background: Personal physicians encounter difficulties caring for their hospitalized patients in the era of hospitalist medicine (1).   Such difficulties are commonplace, and lead to declining personal physician involvement during a critical time for patients.  Is it worth the trouble for office-based physicians to bother to see their hospitalized patients?  Do patients wish for their personal physicians to care for them in the hospital? 

Objective: Assess patients’ wishes for their personal physician to care for them in a hospitalist-staffed hospital.

[READ FULL ARTICLE]

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For months, members have been clamoring for an online forum to communicate with one another, ask questions, and voice opinions. Because its functionality and controls are rich, and our group is growing, we have decided to use the American Academy of Private Physicians group on LinkedIn.com as our member forum.

If you don’t yet have a LinkedIn account, please establish one (it’s free). It will create visibility for you and your practice in this enormous online community, and it will enable you to join the AAPP group.

This group is for members only, and dialogue will be closely monitored to ensure that the group is not misused. If you have questions about how to join, please contact Shelly Banyay at 877.746.7301 or sbanyay@aapp.org.

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