Conferences Previews & Wrap-Ups

ACP Internal Medicine 2012 Preview

The American College of Physicians’ (ACP) Internal Medicine 2012 will be held April 19 to 21 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Conference highlights include an array of clinical skill activities, hospital medicine educational sessions, networking opportunities, and several planned special events.

With more than 7,000 attendees expected, the conference provides industry-supported symposia, CME credit opportunities, educational sessions, and an exhibit hall featuring representatives from the areas of diagnostics, medical equipment, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, electronic medical records, and IT.

Attendees can access the latest information on topics such as diabetes, hypertension, noncoronary emergency cardiac events, deep vein thrombosis, and fall risk management.

The ACP’s Job Placement Center offers physicians a venue for looking into career opportunities through informational materials and job postings.

AGS Annual Scientific Meeting Preview

The American Geriatrics Society will host geriatricians from around the country in Seattle from May 3 to 5. This year’s theme for the annual scientific meeting is “Patient Safety and Quality, What Geriatrics Has to Offer.”

The conference will present information on clinical care, research on aging, and the latest models of care delivery. State-of-the-art educational sessions and research presentations will provide physicians, nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, and long term care providers an opportunity to update their knowledge and hone their skills.

Workshops, symposia, and meet-the-expert sessions present educational opportunities on various topics including fall prevention in hospitals, CPT coding, managing behavioral manifestations of dementia, safety screening for older drivers, clinical management of multiple morbidities, drug therapies in Alzheimer’s disease, and effective care transitions.

The venue offers networking opportunities along with a unique environment for the exchange of information and ideas with colleagues.

AMDA Conference Wrap-Up

Heavy Attendance Marks Care Transition Session

Medication discrepancies resulting from communication lapses and disconnects during care transitions often cause problems for frail elder patients. During the session “Optimizing Medication Reconciliation During Care Transitions,” Kenneth Boockvar, MD, discussed several small studies documenting the value of detailed medication reconciliation to identify discrepancies and prevent adverse drug events.

“We should routinely get medication information from multiple sources. Only with multiple sources being compared to each other do we get a gold standard and approach the truth,” he told the standing-room-only crowd.

Joseph Ouslander, MD, detailed INTERACT, or Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers, designed to improve early identification, evaluation, and management of acute changes of condition, improve communication and documentation, and facilitate proactive advance care planning. “This is a clear area where we can improve care and reduce costs at the same time,” he said.

Additional Highlights

AMDA President Karyn Leible, MD, CMD, presented Noel DeBacker, MD, CMD, with the 2012 Medical Director of the Year Award. DeBacker, medical director for two communities in the Chicago area, said, “One of the most gratifying things in my career is witnessing the ascendency of our profession. AMDA has been a guiding light and will be even more important in the times to come.” The award recognizes individuals whose vision, passion, leadership, knowledge, and commitment succeed in taking patient care to exceptional levels of quality, excellence, and innovation in the facilities for which they serve as medical director.

Robert Wicks, PsyD, presented recommendations for stress management and finding joy and personal satisfaction in a fast-changing healthcare environment. He noted, “Everyone who helps others should be concerned about self-care and resiliency,” adding that physicians frequently ignore their own needs. “For every physician suffering from acute or secondary stress, there are many more on the edge of burnout.”

Interactive workshops offered a series of case-based, team-based sessions focusing on hot topics in the long term care community. Workshops included sessions on pain management; managing challenging cases in long term care; and billing and coding in long term care.

Exhibit Hall

The Exhibit Hall opened with a welcome reception. Attendees were particularly motivated by the new Stop By—Give Back! program through which participating exhibitors donated $1 for every person who visited the exhibit to the AMDA Foundation Futures Program, which exposes residents and fellows to the long term care field.

Also new to the exhibit hall, attendees had the chance to participate in a speed mentoring session. Experts were on hand for the three 20-minute sessions that highlighted the following topics: “Getting to Win-Win: Creating Effective Medical Director Contracts”; “Infusing IDC (Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration) in Long Term Care”; and “Charting the Course: Electronic Medical Records in Long Term Care.”