 |
 |
|
|
March 10, 2010 
President's Message Dear Colleagues: World Kidney Day (WKD) is a global health awareness campaign designed to inform lawmakers and the public about the prevalence of kidney disease and the importance of improving the lives of the nearly 500 million people who suffer from kidney disease worldwide. ASN leaders will gather in Washington, DC, Thursday, March 11, 2010, to commemorate World Kidney Day by participating in advocacy efforts. Representing over a dozen states, ASN representatives will meet with key members of Congress and their staff to promote kidney disease as a major public health threat and to advocate for ASN's major legislative priorities for 2010:
ASN—along with the American Kidney Fund, Dialysis Patient Citizens, and the National Kidney Foundation—will also host a reception for members of Congress, patient advocates, and kidney professionals. Special guest Grizz Chapman of the NBC show 30 Rock will speak about his experiences with kidney disease. In conjunction with WKD, ASN is promoting to the media a study by Yoshio Hall, MD, and colleagues that addresses kidney failure rates in poor minority adults and non-Hispanic whites. A podcast interview with Dr. Hall is available for download on the ASN website. As World Kidney Day 2010 approaches, please consider how you can encourage change that benefits the kidney community. Whether you are among the representatives traveling to the nation's capital or are highlighting the importance of World Kidney Day in your community or at your workplace, every ASN member should be armed with talking points to make the case for programs that improve treatment. To obtain informational material and talking points that ASN will take to Capitol Hill on World Kidney Day, please visit the fact sheets section of ASN's policy page. Sincerely, 
Sharon Anderson, MD, FASN President, American Society of Nephrology 
Board Review Course & Update Online ASN offers Board Review Course & Update (BRCU) distance learning for continuing medical education (CME). Access the online version of BRCU 2009. Purchase downloadable presentations or view them with streaming video. BRCU is patterned after the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) nephrology examination blueprint. It is the primary preparatory course for ABIM initial certification and maintenance of certification examinations in nephrology and is the premier comprehensive update for the practicing nephrologist. ASN Council Nominations ASN must receive nominations for the 2010 ASN Council election by Friday, April 16, 2010, at 4:00 p.m. EDT. The ASN Council requests that the Society's membership consider nominating individuals who diversify the composition of the council. Nomination submissions must consist of 1) the curriculum vita of the nominated ASN member and 2) a brief nomination letter (1-3 paragraphs). ASN members are encouraged to email nominations to ASN Operations Coordinator Laura McCann at operations@asn-online.org by Friday, April 16, at 4:00 p.m. EDT. ASN will send a ballot, including brief biographical data, to all active members approximately two months prior to ASN Renal Week 2010, which will take place November 16-21 at the Denver Convention Center in Denver, CO. The members of the 2010 ASN Nominating Committee are:
Podcast: CKD and the Urban Poor Poor, minority adults with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease (CKD) are two to four times more likely to progress to kidney failure than non-Hispanic whites. These are the findings from a study published online in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). In this episode of the ASN Kidney News Podcast, Paul Smedberg, ASN Director of Policy and Public Affairs, interviews study author Yoshio Hall, MD, of the Kidney Research Institute at the University of Washington School of Medicine, about this study. Listen/Download ASN Policy Update ASN Selected to Present at Key Medicare Meeting on ESA Utilization ASN was selected to present testimony in a pivotal Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC) Meeting regarding Erythopoiesis Stimulating Agents (ESAs) used to treat anemia related to kidney disease. Wolfgang Winkelmayer, MD, FASN, will present remarks on behalf of the Society at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) later this month. CMS called this meeting to review the available evidence on the use of ESAs to manage anemia in patients who have chronic kidney disease (CKD). The Medicare program currently does not have a national coverage determination for the use of ESAs for anemia in patients who have CKD. ASN will share more information about this meeting and the Society's remarks in the coming weeks. Congress, Obama, Again Delay Drastic Cuts to Medicare Physician Payments Narrowly avoiding a major Medicare physician payment cut, President Obama signed into law the "Temporary Extension Act of 2010," Tuesday March 2, 2010. This law extends through Wednesday, March 31, 2010 the zero percent update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule that was in effect for claims with dates of service Friday, January 1, 2010, through Sunday, February 28. As a result, the law continues to delay a 21 percent rate cut scheduled to go into effect the first day of 2010. Consequently, claims with dates of service Monday, March 1 and later held by Medicare contractors will be released for processing and payment. Fixing the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) is one of ASN's legislative priorities for 2010, and the Society continues to lobby Congress to replace the SGR with a system that predictably and accurately calculates physician payments. ASN will increase advocacy efforts on this front throughout March and will provide updates to members as they become available. NIH-FDA: New Shared Initiative to Fast-track Innovations to the Public A new partnership between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is designed to improve the processes for bringing new drugs and treatments through the approval process. ASN staff attended a briefing at NIH where Director Francis Collins, MD, and FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, announced the initiative, which will work to improve regulatory science, make regulatory considerations part of biomedical research planning, and integrate the latest science into the regulatory review process. In addition, NIH and FDA announced a new Request for Applications, making $6.75 million dollars available over three years for work in regulatory science. The research supported through this initiative should add to the scientific knowledge base by providing new ways to inform the scientific and regulatory community about better approaches to evaluating safety and efficacy in medical product development. NIDDK Meetings on MHY9 and ESRD Patient Survival to Convene in April The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has announced two upcoming NIDDK-sponsored meetings that may be of interest to ASN members:
Both meetings will be held in Bethesda, MD, in mid-April 2010. More information is available on the NIDDK website. ITE Exam for Nephrology Fellows The second annual ASN In-Training Examination (ITE) takes place April 8-9, 2010, at 122 different institutions. Registration increased this year from 689 to 754, which means almost every first- and second-year nephrology fellow in the United States plans to take the test. The ASN ITE consists of 150 multiple-choice questions and will take approximately 6.15 hours to complete. ITE is an internet-based test administered by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) that closely mimics ABIM's initial certifying exam in nephrology. The results of the exam allow nephrology fellowship training program directors (TPDs) to compare their fellows both internally and with all other fellows in the country who took ITE. The test also allows TPDs to identify subject areas that need further attention as well as individual fellows who may need more direction in a certain subject. For fellows, ITE offers an opportunity to assess their knowledge about all areas of nephrology. The exam was created and is maintained and updated by a subgroup of the ASN TPD Executive Committee led by Mitch Rosner, MD, from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Available to any nephrology fellow who is an ASN member, ITE is an annual event. For more information about the exam, please contact ASN Senior Policy Coordinator Susan Owens at sowens@asn-online.org or (202) 416-0668, or visit the ITE Frequently Asked Questions webpage. ASN will mail the ITE results to TPDs approximately six weeks after the test date. RSN HOPEline The Renal Support Network (RSN) provides a toll-free number for patients to speak with peers about kidney disease. ASN members may find it helpful to refer patients with kidney disease to the RSN HOPEline, which connects patients with "another person who has lived successfully with kidney disease and can share their experience." RSN is a nonprofit, patient-focused, patient-run organization that provides non-medical services to those affected by CKD. Available Online Register for ASN Renal WeekEnds 2010. Listen to the latest ASN Kidney News podcasts. Learn more about the ASN Conflict of Interest Initiative. Access the ASN Geriatric Nephrology Curriculum. Download the presentations from the 2009 Renal Week course "Geriatric Nephrology: An Epidemiologic and Clinical Challenge." Purchase compact discs (CDs) of Renal Week sessions (including Educational Symposia and Early Programs) at the ASN Conference Media Center. Purchase Renal Week 2009 In-Depth Nephrology Course syllabus books. Learn more about the ASN response to the crisis in Haiti. Learn more about ASN efforts related to the ESRD Proposed Bundled Payment System. View a list of other kidney-related meetings taking place soon. ASN Publications View the latest ASN research, policy, and education press releases. Visit the ASN Publications Page:
NephSAP Volume 9, Number 2 Hypertension |
|
|
|