As medicine undergoes rapid transformation, North American leaders in continuing medical education (CME) have joined together to transform CME itself. Their goal is to see that physicians have the best professional development resources available throughout their careers to translate new research into better patient care.

Noting that many physicians across the country who lead small practices are at a business breaking point, David M. Dale, MD, FACP, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP) testified today before the House Small Business Committee. Dr. Dale emphasized that practices are medicine’s small businesses, where much of their revenue is tied directly to Medicare’s flawed reimbursement rates and formulas.

A poor man's lobbying effort.

Open letter to Chairman Dingell and Ranking Member Barton, Subcommittee Chairman Pallone and Ranking Member Deal, and Chairman Stupak and Ranking Member Shimkus:

A new study examines whether patients seeing physicians participating in a “pay-for-performance” incentive program receive better care than those who saw non-participating physicians. The health plan that was examined reimburses physicians based on the quality of care they provide.

Surgeons are taller and more handsome than physicians, finds a study in this week’s Christmas issue of the BMJ.

Apart from a more complicated medical case, what makes different physicians spend different amounts of time with their patients" Researchers at UC Davis have identified several key doctor- and practice-specific characteristics that affect the length of a patient’s medical appointment, and ultimately with a patient’s satisfaction with the doctor’s visit.

Internal medicine residents had low scores in a test of biostatistics knowledge, and about three-fourths of the residents surveyed indicated they have low confidence in understanding the statistics they encounter in medical literature, according to an article in the September 5 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on medical education.

Four years ago this month, new rules went into effect that restricted the long hours worked by many physicians in training. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have shown that the regulations are associated with somewhat lower death rates in high-risk medical patients in teaching hospitals.