AGS Announcements

Launch of AGS' International Ambassador Program Followed by Dr. Jeff Halter's Visit With Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology
To strengthen AGS' relationships with international geriatrics societies, the Society launched the new AGS Ambassador Program last month, during the 2009 Annual Scientific Meeting. The program, developed by past presidents of AGS and the AGS International Activities Special Interest Group, now counts 23 member-Ambassadors to 38 societies around the world.

Taking a next step, Dr. Jeff Halter, past AGS president and the Society's Ambassador to Spain, visited the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (SSGG) in Madrid earlier this month. Dr. Halter met with SSGG President Dr. Peter Gregory Gil, Past President Dr. Ribera Casado, and Drs. Jose Manuel and Javier Ortiz Alonso.

Drs. Gil and Halter are now collaborating on an editorial for the Spanish Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology. And Dr. Ribera plans to publish an interview with Dr. Halter in the Spanish Society's newsletter

"The [SEGG leaders] were very receptive to the concept of collaboration with AGS and have kindly invited me back for a workshop on diabetes in February," said Dr. Halter, Chief of the Geriatric Medicine Division at the University of Michigan.

As the Ambassador Program evolves, AGS plans to encourage AGS members to host international faculty members in return.

To learn more about the AGS Ambassador Program and how to get involved, visit MyAGS and click on the Get Involved Tab.

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What's Up in Washington

Got A Minute? Top Health Policy News Picks
AGS staff and public policy advisors continue to keep an eye out for top healthcare policy stories that our members should read. This week we recommend the following picks about: a new Kaiser Family Foundation Web page that offers, among other things, information about healthcare reform and interactive tools for comparing reform proposals; how projected steep increases in the number of uninsured Americans are helping spur reform efforts in Congress; and a new 10-fold increase in the number of federal agents and prosecutors targeting Medicare fraud.

Kaiser Family Foundation Launches a Health Reform Gateway Page With New Resources on the 2009 Debate

Soaring costs raise stakes for healthcare revamp

Medicare fraud targeted in Houston, other cities

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CMS Approves Geriatric Psychiatry Specialty Identification Code
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry's (AAGP) request for a separate geriatric psychiatry specialty identification code.

The AAGP has long advocated for a separate specialty identification code for geriatric psychiatrists that would enable CMS to distinguish Medicare billing for services provided by these specialists from billing for services provided by non-geriatric psychiatrists.

"In this manner, data can be collected - and the work effort and practice expenses of geriatric psychiatrists can be identified," the AAGP notes, pointing out that there is currently no way for CMS to distinguish geriatric psychiatrists from other psychiatrists in the Medicare claims database.

The association first requested a separate code in April 2007 and, in subsequent meetings and conference calls with CMS, demonstrated that having access to information about beneficiaries treated by geriatric psychiatrists -- including diagnoses, treatments, and utilization of services -- would greatly enhance efforts to improve the quality and outcomes of care.

The change, which will require adjustments to CMS' enrollment and claims processing systems, will be implemented in April 2010.

The American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry is a national association representing and serving its members and the field of geriatric psychiatry. AAGP's mission is to enhance the knowledge base and standard of practice in geriatric psychiatry through education and research and to advocate for meeting the mental health needs of older Americans.

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Member News

CNN's "Black Bag and Blackberry In Hand, This Doc Makes House Calls," features the Washington DC-based Medical House Call Program that George Taler, MD, and Eric DeJonge, MD, cofounded and operate with two other doctors, three nurse practitioners, three social workers, an office nurse and four support staffers. The practice now sees more than 600 patients in their homes in the D.C. area. The CNN story follows Dr. DeJong as he visits "mostly the elderly who either can' t get to a hospital or are so ill that moving them would prove life-threatening." It notes the decline in house calls – beginning in the '30s and continuing through the ’90s -- that coincided with improvements in medical technology and increasingly onerous Medicare billing and paperwork requirements, and it reports on Medicare changes that, a decade ago, made it easier for physicians to get reimbursed for house calls.  The "Independence at Home" bill, legislation that was reintroduced last week, could potentially make it less expensive for physicians to do house calls, CNN notes. 

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Things We Like

PawPawMail and Other Email Systems and Devices Designed for Older Adults and Caregivers
A variety of innovative and truly easy-to-use email systems, applications and devices designed with seniors in mind is making electronic communication easier for older adults and their caregivers, The New York Times reports.

The electronics market now includes systems that simplify email, voice-activated programs and oversized keypads for those with arthritis and vision problems, and devices that allow those without computers to get email via fax line, according to the Times' "Easier E-Mail for the Older Generation."

PawPawMail -- a simplified system that's free of logins, flashing advertisements and other distractions -- is particularly noteworthy, writes reporter Anne C. Roark. The system is designed for two users -- the older adult and his or her caregiver.

"PawPawMail is built entirely around the idea of two users," explains developer Jackson Hughes, who created the system for and named it after his grandfather. "The senior user who actually uses the e-mail account, and the caretaker/manager who helps set the senior up, gets his or her address book going, and screens mail from unknown sources to prevent contact from all the ridiculous number of scams that are directed at seniors."

When considering retirement communities, and long-term care facilities, it's a good idea to ask about the availability of email and related technology, notes Roark, whose story includes a link to the Aging in Place Technology Watch blog, at www.ageinplacetech.com.

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AGS Annual Meeting News

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Upcoming Deadlines

Apply Now to Attend 6th Annual AGS/NIA/Hartford Bedside-to-Bench Conference: "Inflammation and Nutrient Metabolism," Deadline for Travel Grant Applications is July 15
Applications to attend "Inflammation and Nutrient Metabolism" -- the sixth Bedside-to-Bench research conference sponsored by the American Geriatrics Society, the National Institute on Aging, and the John A. Hartford Foundation -- are now being accepted. The conference is slated for September 9-11, at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel & Conference Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

The 2 ½ day conference will focus on the interrelationship between nutrient metabolism and inflammation in older adults. Older people who become protein-energy undernourished are at high risk for adverse clinical outcomes, but nutrition support often fails to prevent or reverse these adverse outcomes. The reasons for the ineffectiveness of nutrition support are not understood. Presenters will discuss findings from research concerning disease models, normal aging and inflammation, and inflammation and micro-nutrients/macro-nutrients. The conference will also explore current limitations and future directions.

The number of participants in the conference will be limited to promote interaction and small group work. To be eligible to attend, faculty and research fellows must have at least 1-2 years of research experience in a related field; hold an MD or PhD degree; and have an academic appointment as a research fellow, instructor, or faculty member in the United States. Women, minorities and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

As many as 20 travel awards for faculty and research fellows will be made. These awards will cover the conference registration fee, hotel, meals and per diem for the 2 ½ day conference, up to $550 for airfare and ground transportation.

To apply for a travel grant, please email an NIH-formatted biographical sketch and a brief statement (no more than 250 words) to Anne Marie Evriviades at aevriviades@americangeriatrics.org. Please note the subject of your email: "2009 Bedside-to-Bench Travel Grant Application" and provide your name, affiliation, address and ethnicity. Your brief statement should summarize your prior research training, research accomplishments related to the subject of the conference, career plans and goals for attending the conference. The deadline for applying for a travel grant is July 15.
Travel grant recipients will be notified by August 3.

For more information please contact Ms. Evriviades at 212-308-1414 or aevriviades@americangeriatrics.org.

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