News and Updates from ACP National

February 2025

call for 2025 resolutions

Writing a resolution provides ACP members with an opportunity to shape policy and empower change on a particular issue or topic that concerns them. Participating in the resolutions process allows you to engage with NYACP in policy development.

Not sure how to begin drafting a resolution? Researching the College's position on an issue is the best place to start. The ACP Board of Governors Resolutions Guide for ACP Members is available to download and will help. The Guide provides a short overview of the process essentials and highlights critical ACP online resources you must use.

Once drafted, members must submit their resolution to NYACP for review and approval before it can be forwarded to ACP national for action.  If effecting change interests you, the deadline for submitting new resolutions, to be heard at the Fall 2025 Board of Governors Meeting, is March 28, 2025.

If you have good idea, send it to NYACP in the form of a resolution through the Chapter’s online submission process!

ACP Announces the Release of the New ACP MKSAP

ACP is excited to announce the release of ACP MKSAP, (Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program), a new subscription-based, all-digital edition of our comprehensive learning program. MKSAP has been the most trusted resource in continuous learning for internal medicine physicians and residents for nearly 60 years. That tradition continues with ACP MKSAP.

Developed by nearly 400 physician clinical editors, question writers, and peer reviewers who are active in clinical practice and expert leaders in medical education, ACP’s psychometrically validated question bank uses evidence-based question-writing principles to challenge clinical reasoning and reinforce learning. Learners can select a 1-year or 3-year subscription and will receive regularly updated content and new questions added annually.  

ACP MKSAP subscribers can meet their goals with numerous learning innovations on a modern interface, including:

• Nearly 2,000 unique multiple-choice questions, mapped to the ABIM blueprint and linked to related syllabus content
• 16 evidence-based syllabus subspecialty content areas with hundreds of embedded images, tables, and algorithms
• Multiple question formats: traditional self-assessment, board-prep-focused Quick Qs, and Virtual Dx image-based questions
• Multimedia enhancements, including clinical shorts, ultrasound scans, animated whiteboards, and explainer videos
• Board-simulation features, including a time-lapsed question indicator, option strike-through, and highlighting
• 1,000+ adaptive learning digital flashcards  
• Unlimited custom quizzes plus LKA and ABIM Certification Exam quiz templates
• Personalized Learning Plan to organize study goals and access extension learning resources
• IM-ITE® Feedback feature to help build a personalized Learning Plan  
• The Board Exam Topic Guide, featuring a convenient digitized ABIM blueprint linked to corresponding ACP MKSAP material
• Digitized Board Basics, with study-ready content summaries, easily searchable and perfect for supplemental board prep or LKA open-book support.
• The CORE (Confirmation of Relevant Education)TM  assessment, which challenges you with additional questions and rewards you with opportunities to earn achievement badges and a CORE certificate to document your learning (launching April 2025)

Visit https://www.acponline.org/featured-products/acp-mksap for more information and to order.

Statement from Leading Physician Groups on Announcement to Withdraw U.S. from the World Health Organization

The statement below is issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, American Osteopathic Association and American Psychiatric Association:

“The recent announcement to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) will limit our ability to collaborate and coordinate on public health issues that impact individuals and their families here and around the globe. As leading medical organizations representing more than 600,000 physicians in the United States, we share the goal of safe, healthy, and disease-free patients and communities. Remaining part of the WHO is one way we can ensure our nation’s success in achieving this goal for all the patients we care for.

“For more than 70 years, the WHO has played a leading a role in protecting, supporting, and promoting public health in the United States and around the world. Withdrawing from the WHO will hamper our country’s ability to predict and respond to major public health emergencies and limit access, communication and information sharing to a global network of health professionals.

“We urge Congress to reject the administration’s proposal to withdraw from the WHO and ensure the United States can continue to have a seat at the table where critical public health decisions are being made.”

Help Promote Action Alert Urging Congress to Prioritize Health Care Issues

As a new Congress convenes, ACP is asking ACP members to urge their members of Congress to prioritize health care and pass legislation that addresses Medicare physician payment cuts, extends telehealth flexibilities long-term, and reforms the prior authorization process.  

Urge Congress to Prioritize Health Care Issues
As a new Congress convenes, ACP is asking ACP members to urge their members of Congress to prioritize health care and pass legislation that addresses Medicare physician payment cuts, extends telehealth flexibilities long-term, and reforms the prior authorization process.

Background

The last Congress failed to pass legislation that would have addressed these issues in an end-of-year package. As a result, a 2.8 percent cut to physician Medicare payments went into effect on January 1, 2025, and a number of bipartisan health care policies were not finalized, including prior authorization reform and a long-term extension of telehealth coverage flexibilities. We need your help to get these critical issues resolved.

The 2.8 percent cut to Medicare physician payment that went into effect on January 1, is the result of complex budgetary rules and systemic flaws within the physician fee schedule (PFS). This is the fifth straight year that the final PFS rule includes an across-the-board cut to payment rates for physicians and other clinicians. Congress has passed legislation over the past four years to mitigate portions of these cuts, and needs to act again to stop the current cut.

Last year, ACP supported the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act, which would protect patients from unnecessary delays in care and reduce administrative burden on physicians by streamlining the prior authorization approval processes in Medicare Advantage. The legislation had bipartisan support with 231 cosponsors in the House and 59 cosponsors in the Senate. ACP supports a re-introduction of the Improving Senior’s Timely Access to Care Act in the current Congress and its inclusion in any new package of health care legislation.

ACP has also supported a long-term extension of telehealth flexibilities that included the removal of geographic restrictions, expansion of originating sites required for telehealth visits, audio-only telehealth access and that allows for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) to continue providing telehealth service. In the government-funding continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress last month, these telehealth flexibilities were extended but only until March 2025 when the resolution expires. Congress will need to act again to extend these flexibilities.

Action Requested

Please send an email message to your members of Congress expressing the need to prioritize these important health care issues. A sample letter has been provided for you that can be personalized. Simply click on the “Take Action” link below, follow the prompts, and submit your letters electronically.

Act now!

Please contact Shuan Tomlinson at stomlinson@acponline.org with any questions about this campaign. Thank you for your continued advocacy.

Internal Medicine Physicians Stress the Importance of Vaccines and Evidence-Based Public Health Policies

Statement attributable to:
Isaac O. Opole, MBChB, PhD, MACP
President, American College of Physicians

PHILADELPHIA November 15, 2024 – Incidences of vaccine preventable diseases are increasing in the United States. Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that as of the beginning of November, five times as many cases of pertussis (whooping cough) have been reported as there were at the same time last year. We have also already seen 16 outbreaks of measles across the country in 2024, as compared to only four in all of 2023. As internal medicine physicians on the front lines of patient care, we understand what needs to be done to mitigate the spread of preventable diseases. Vaccines are vital to our ability to prevent diseases that threaten public health. They help prevent the spread of disease, protect against hospitalization, and can protect against long-term health issues, especially for those who are most vulnerable to serious complications. The American College of Physicians (ACP) remains concerned about the spread of disinformation and misinformation regarding vaccination and treatment, and strongly supports using the best-possible evidence to guide medical care and public health policies.

It is critical that policymakers and government officials understand the importance of vaccines, evidence-based medicine, and other ways that our public health infrastructure protects all of us. A sufficient public health system is essential to preventing illness and promoting health in society, assuring that our patients can live healthy lives, and helping to safeguard the health of everyone in our country. As the ACP discussed in our recent policy paper on strengthening the public health infrastructure, the federal government should protect and strengthen the public health infrastructure for the well-being of all Americans.

NEW Career and Professional Development Program – ACP Physician Peer Coaching

Available exclusively to ACP members, the ACP Physician Peer Coaching Program offers the opportunity to connect with experienced physician coaches who understand the unique challenges internal medicine physicians face. Coaches help you navigate the next stage of your personal and career development journeys with confidence and achieve meaningful change.  

Choose from several coaching options designed to meet your unique needs:  
 
Available Coaching Services:  

• ACP Physician Peer Coach Training Program–$4,000
  Become an ACP-trained Physician Peer Coach. You will learn evidence-based, validated coaching skills from leading expert, Kerri Palamara MD, MACP, while supporting your own professional development and helping your peers at the same time. Fully-trained coaches are then eligible to be hired to coach for national ACP programs.  
   
• 1-hr Individual Coaching Sessions–$275/session
  Get personalized, one-on-one support tailored to help you achieve your career and professional goals.  
   
• 1-hr Group Coaching Sessions –$110/session
  Engage in a focused, supportive group session on a variety of career and professional development topics, including: Navigating Career Transitions; Re-imagine Your Future; Identify Your Strengths; and How to Silence Your Inner Critic.
   
• Group Coaching: 6-month Bundle–$400 for four 1-hr sessions
  Get on-going coaching support over 6 months that includes 4 group coaching sessions to support your professional development journey.

Lost Access to Your Member Benefits? Renew Today!

Missing something? Renew your ACP membership today to access the tools, knowledge, and connections that will empower you to embrace the ever-changing landscape in medicine. Don’t miss out on hundreds of hours of learning opportunities, complementary subscriptions to Annals of Internal Medicine and DynaMedexTM, professional development resources, and tools to support your well-being. Additionally, you’ll grow your professional network as you connect with a global community of colleagues committed to supporting internal medicine physicians worldwide. 

Renew your membership today to access all your member-exclusive benefits.