Re: Revisiting AAFP and Coke

[Guest guest]

You said, “We debase ourselves when we follow a

path that appears to put our wallet before our ethics.”

I

would argue that according to Dr. Freedhoff’s research on

familydoctor.org, your statement is not strong enough. The AAFP did sell

out it ethics for money (appearance=reality). The problem is when you sell out

your ethical principles, everything you do and say becomes suspect. How can any

of the highly produced videos be trusted? Is there good research behind what is

said or is the message written by the marketing gurus at some large multinational

conglomerate and how do we now separate out the two. Now that the site is brought

to us by Coke, it has become tainted beyond repair—no matter how slick

the production.

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of L. Gordon

Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 10:43 AM

To: -yahoogroups.com

-yahoogroups.com

Subject: Revisiting AAFP and Coke

I ran across an interesting post and found in addition an easy to read and

informative blog:

http://www.weightymatters.ca/

Dr Freedhoff has been keeping an eye on the AAFP-Coke relationship and

reviewing the results.

I post today to express my increasing dismay with the choices made by my

specialty society. In these troubled times for primary care we must stand

together for our profession and our selection of primary care as specialty.

Ours is a noble profession granted rights and vested with responsibilities

beyond most other human endeavor. We debase ourselves when we follow a path

that appears to put our wallet before our ethics.

I am reasonably certain that the AAFP would never have considered the

relationship had they not been financially pressed but this was an unfortunate

solution.

Gordon

[Guest guest]

I think we all have to renew by July evey year, don't we? They send us our dues reminders beginning in December, then every few weeks after that. I did hear from the president of the AAFP explaining the coke move (probably a version of what is on the website) and I wrote her back again telling her that her explanation wasn't good enough for me. I bet when a bunch of docs don't renew come July they will start to notice. It seems they would pay more attention when docs actually write them or call to tell them why they are not renewing their memberships.

Lonna

I just read this in the 12/18 Medical Economics:

AAFP-Coke pact draws fire

Dec 18, 2009By: Jr.Medical Economics

The Coca-Cola Co.'s reported "six-figure" grant for a consumer health website operated by the American Academy of Family Physicians drew protest in November from physicians and public health experts.

The AAFP announced in October its partnership between the beverage company and FamilyDoctor.org, a website offering health information. The funding will be used "to develop consumer education content on beverages and sweeteners," according to the AAFP.

In the following weeks, the Harvard School of Public Health criticized the pact and doctors cancelled their AAFP membership due to the organization's alignment with a company which they view as a contributor to the nation's obesity crisis.

Ouch!

I use the website fairly often. I find good information on it. But I have to say that the advertising really bothers me. I remember thinking to myself at one point in time that if I had to watch that jiggling belly one more time I was going to scream.

Yes, we could lose our patient ed. I actually, do not understand why it is so expensive to run a website. But, finding the “right†people to get money from is difficult. And, we members complain all the time about the cost of membership, could we really take on doubling our membership fee to cover these costs if advertising is removed? I don’t have the answers either. Only questions. And I haven’t seen any of the ads or educational pieces yet that Coke is paying for. I went online after the first and only found outdated message from our president Dr. Epperly, and explanations about the collaboration between AAFP and Coke. And am waiting to see what they do.

Kathy Saradarian, MD

Branchville, NJ

www.qualityfamilypr actice.com

Solo 4/03, Practicing since 9/90

Practice Partner 5/03

Low staffing

From: Practiceimprovement 1yahoogroups (DOT) com [mailto:Practiceimprovement 1yahoogroups (DOT) com] On Behalf Of Ben BrewerSent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 2:12

PMTo: Practiceimprovement 1yahoogroups (DOT) comSubject: RE: [Practiceimprovemen t1] Revisiting AAFP and Coke

Rather than sell out and take the $600,000. AAFP should have scaled back or shut down the website. I would venture to say there's nothing there that couldn't be sourced elsewhere.. They've been pretty good at selling us out - to Minute Clinics, to Coke, to the RUC committee, to the dubious reform proposals that squeeze soloists and small groups out.

Ben

-- PATIENTS,please remember email may not be entirely secure and that Email is part of the medical record and is placed into the chart ( be careful what you say!)Email is best used for appointment making and brief questionsEmail replies can be expected within 24 hours-Please CALL if the matter is more urgent . MD ph fax impcenter.org

[Guest guest]

I like the blog that Gordon linked in his email.  

I saw one of these for the first time this weekend and this blog has a

full review of it.  It looks like a nice alternative to a snowblower:

http://www.weightymatters.ca/2009/12/amazing-snowovel-updated-review.html

R. Pierce MD

Rockport, Maine

www.midcoastmedicine.com

 

Hey CIndy

 I sent back my  membership invoice with a brief note on it- no reply

/wouldn;'t expect one

 I have a letter but although it has gotten typed and  probably maybe

the  typos fixed, and into an envelope  which is not yet licked shut,

as I  keep revising  but  I hope to mail it soon.

On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 3:16 PM, <magnetdoctorcomcast (DOT) net>

wrote:

 

I really think it would be a waste of time.  did you get

any response to your letter of dropping your membership?  I'd be

surprised if it even rated a form letter.  They don't care about

soloists, and they are showing us that in what the support, and don't

in health care reform.

 

Cote'

RE: Revisiting AAFP

and Coke

 

Rather than sell out and take the

$600,000.  AAFP should have scaled back or shut down the website.  I

would venture to say there's nothing there that couldn't be sourced

elsewhere..  They've been pretty good at selling us out -  to Minute

Clinics, to Coke, to the RUC committee, to the dubious reform proposals

that squeeze soloists and small groups out. 

 

Ben

 

 

 

 

--

PATIENTS,please remember email may not be entirely secure and that

Email is part of the medical  record and is placed into the chart ( be

careful what you say!)

Email is best used for appointment making and  brief  questions

Email replies can be expected within 24 hours-Please CALL  if the

 matter is more urgent .

    MD

   

   

ph   fax

impcenter.org

--

PATIENTS,please remember email may not be entirely secure and that

Email is part of the medical  record and is placed into the chart ( be

careful what you say!)

Email is best used for appointment making and  brief  questions

Email replies can be expected within 24 hours-Please CALL  if the

 matter is more urgent .

    MD

   

   

ph   fax

impcenter.org

[Guest guest]

now wait  looks to me like he pushes it  forward . the shovel thing picks up the snow, and then ,  he rolls it forwrad more  and the shovel thing come s up and the snow hits him in the face. You saw a real one of  these?

CAllme after you have used it PiIerce You go first. I have my red hardware store shovel and my roof rake,,,

I like the blog that Gordon linked in his email.  

I saw one of these for the first time this weekend and this blog has a

full review of it.  It looks like a nice alternative to a snowblower:

http://www.weightymatters.ca/2009/12/amazing-snowovel-updated-review.html

R. Pierce MD

Rockport, Maine

www.midcoastmedicine.com

 

Hey CIndy

 I sent back my  membership invoice with a brief note on it- no reply

/wouldn;'t expect one

 I have a letter but although it has gotten typed and  probably maybe

the  typos fixed, and into an envelope  which is not yet licked shut,

as I  keep revising  but  I hope to mail it soon.

On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 3:16 PM,

wrote:

 

I really think it would be a waste of time.  did you get

any response to your letter of dropping your membership?  I'd be

surprised if it even rated a form letter.  They don't care about

soloists, and they are showing us that in what the support, and don't

in health care reform.

 

Cote'

RE: Revisiting AAFP

and Coke

 

Rather than sell out and take the

$600,000.  AAFP should have scaled back or shut down the website.  I

would venture to say there's nothing there that couldn't be sourced

elsewhere..  They've been pretty good at selling us out -  to Minute

Clinics, to Coke, to the RUC committee, to the dubious reform proposals

that squeeze soloists and small groups out. 

 

Ben

 

 

 

 

--

PATIENTS,please remember email may not be entirely secure and that

Email is part of the medical  record and is placed into the chart ( be

careful what you say!)

Email is best used for appointment making and  brief  questions

Email replies can be expected within 24 hours-Please CALL  if the

 matter is more urgent .

    MD

   

   

ph   fax

impcenter.org

--

PATIENTS,please remember email may not be entirely secure and that

Email is part of the medical  record and is placed into the chart ( be

careful what you say!)

Email is best used for appointment making and  brief  questions

Email replies can be expected within 24 hours-Please CALL  if the

 matter is more urgent .

    MD

   

   

ph   fax

impcenter.org

-- PATIENTS,please remember email may not be entirely secure and that Email is part of the medical  record and is placed into the chart ( be careful what you say!)Email is best used for appointment making and  brief  questions

Email replies can be expected within 24 hours-Please CALL  if the  matter is more urgent .     MD         ph   fax

impcenter.org

[Guest guest]

Reminds me of the bicycle lawn mower.now wait looks to me like he pushes it forward . the shovel thing picks up the snow, and then , he rolls it forwrad more and the shovel thing come s up and the snow hits him in the face. You saw a real one of these?CAllme after you have used it PiIerce You go first. I have my red hardware store shovel and my roof rake,,,On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 4:05 PM, Pierce <bpiercemidcoastmedicine> wrote:I like the blog that Gordon linked in his email. I saw one of these for the first time this weekend and this blog has a full review of it. It looks like a nice alternative to a snowblower:http://www.weightymatters.ca/2009/12/amazing-snowovel-updated-review.html<moz-screenshot.png> R. Pierce MD

Rockport, Maine

www.midcoastmedicine.com

Hey CIndy I sent back my membership invoice with a brief note on it- no reply /wouldn;'t expect one I have a letter but although it has gotten typed and probably maybe the typos fixed, and into an envelope which is not yet licked shut, as I keep revising but I hope to mail it soon.On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 3:16 PM, <magnetdoctorcomcast (DOT) net> wrote: I really think it would be a waste of time. did you get any response to your letter of dropping your membership? I'd be surprised if it even rated a form letter. They don't care about soloists, and they are showing us that in what the support, and don't in health care reform. Cote' RE: Revisiting AAFP and Coke Rather than sell out and take the $600,000. AAFP should have scaled back or shut down the website. I would venture to say there's nothing there that couldn't be sourced elsewhere.. They've been pretty good at selling us out - to Minute Clinics, to Coke, to the RUC committee, to the dubious reform proposals that squeeze soloists and small groups out. Ben -- PATIENTS,please remember email may not be entirely secure and that Email is part of the medical record and is placed into the chart ( be careful what you say!)Email is best used for appointment making and brief questionsEmail replies can be expected within 24 hours-Please CALL if the matter is more urgent . MD ph fax impcenter.org-- PATIENTS,please remember email may not be entirely secure and that Email is part of the medical record and is placed into the chart ( be careful what you say!)Email is best used for appointment making and brief questionsEmail replies can be expected within 24 hours-Please CALL if the matter is more urgent . MD ph fax impcenter.org-- PATIENTS,please remember email may not be entirely secure and that Email is part of the medical record and is placed into the chart ( be careful what you say!)Email is best used for appointment making and brief questionsEmail replies can be expected within 24 hours-Please CALL if the matter is more urgent . MD ph fax impcenter.org

[Guest guest]

Hey I've got a really great idea. They could actually pay attention to the many disenfrancised members who feel they are so out of touch with, drop their membership dues a little bit to show understanding for inflation verses stagnate fees, and probably get a good thousand or two members to return and increase at least a good part of the lost revenue that way. And then they could allow advertising of a medical nature geared to FP's on the professional side of the website to pick up the rest. Now at least that would be honest, some what ethical and realistic, and good natured members could understand and go along with all that... Perhaps even ask better off member to make a "contribution" to support certain extras.... Just a thought.

To: Sent: Tue, January 5, 2010 2:11:54 PMSubject: RE: Revisiting AAFP and Coke

Rather than sell out and take the $600,000. AAFP should have scaled back or shut down the website. I would venture to say there's nothing there that couldn't be sourced elsewhere.. They've been pretty good at selling us out - to Minute Clinics, to Coke, to the RUC committee, to the dubious reform proposals that squeeze soloists and small groups out.

Ben

[Guest guest]

Gordon:

Thanks for this - have been wondering about where the AAFP was going with this

partnership.

It's a dream at this point but ideally there would be a functioning Academy of

Primary Care representing the currently fragmented but ultimately convergent

interests of family docs, pediatricians, and general internists. The three

groups are powerless in their current isolation.

The problem is we doctors think of ourselves in terms of board certification

categories rather than our functional roles with patients. I don't even call

myself a family doctor to my patients, as they have no idea what that means -

when I say I'm a " primary care physician " they get it. In contrast, when I call

myself a primary care physician to doctors I sense they assume that means I'm

not board certified in anything as there's no American Board of Primary Care.

It's a silo mentality that diminishes primary care's role in our system.

As for the AAFP, I can't figure out exactly why I'm still a member. I don't

have the time to focus all that much on their corporate alliances, but I just

wonder what the benefits of membership are at this point. The on-line CME is

convenient...but that can't be enough to justify membership. The " legislative

effort " stuff seems to be a perpetual fight to change the Sustainable Growth

Rate formula for Medicare. As noble as that band-aid might be, I'm more

interested in groups working for real reform of the system. The AAFP doesn't

seem to qualify at this point.

>

> I ran across an interesting post and found in addition an easy to read and

informative blog:

> http://www.weightymatters.ca/

> Dr Freedhoff has been keeping an eye on the AAFP-Coke relationship and

reviewing the results.

>

> I post today to express my increasing dismay with the choices made by my

specialty society. In these troubled times for primary care we must stand

together for our profession and our selection of primary care as specialty.

Ours is a noble profession granted rights and vested with responsibilities

beyond most other human endeavor. We debase ourselves when we follow a path

that appears to put our wallet before our ethics.

>

> I am reasonably certain that the AAFP would never have considered the

relationship had they not been financially pressed but this was an unfortunate

solution.

> Gordon

>

[Guest guest]

Hmm.. well maybe it's not the same for everyone then.

Ouch!

I use the website fairly often. I find good information on it. But I have to say that the advertising really bothers me. I remember thinking to myself at one point in time that if I had to watch that jiggling belly one more time I was going to scream.

Yes, we could lose our patient ed. I actually, do not understand why it is so expensive to run a website. But, finding the “right†people to get money from is difficult. And, we members complain all the time about the cost of membership, could we really take on doubling our membership fee to cover these costs if advertising is removed? I don’t have the answers either. Only questions. And I haven’t seen any of the ads or educational pieces yet that Coke is paying for. I went online after the first and only found outdated message from our president Dr. Epperly, and explanations about the collaboration between AAFP and Coke. And am waiting to see what they do.

Kathy Saradarian, MD

Branchville, NJ

www.qualityfamilypr actice.com

Solo 4/03, Practicing since 9/90

Practice Partner 5/03

Low staffing

From: Practiceimprovement 1yahoogroups (DOT) com [mailto:Practiceimprovement 1yahoogroups (DOT) com] On Behalf Of Ben BrewerSent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 2:12 PMTo: Practiceimprovement 1yahoogroups (DOT) comSubject: RE: [Practiceimprovemen t1] Revisiting AAFP and Coke

Rather than sell out and take the $600,000. AAFP should have scaled back or shut down the website. I would venture to say there's nothing there that couldn't be sourced elsewhere.. They've been pretty good at selling us out - to Minute Clinics, to Coke, to the RUC committee, to the dubious reform proposals that squeeze soloists and small groups out.

Ben

-- PATIENTS,please remember email may not be entirely secure and that Email is part of the medical record and is placed into the chart ( be careful what you say!)Email is best used for appointment making and brief questionsEmail replies can be expected within 24 hours-Please CALL if the matter is more urgent . MD ph fax impcenter.org