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December
ASPHO E-News
President's
Message
Happy
holidays and happy New Year from
ASPHO, fellow members! My wife
has pulled out the decorations,
and the house is looking quite festive-if
even a bit more cluttered. Registration
is now open for the annual meeting
in April in Montreal. Please continue
to submit your abstracts and be
sure to tell your fellows (if they
are not reading this, as I am sure
they are) to submit for the Young
Investigator awards. I have been
diligently working on my French:
coc au vin, vin rouge, vin blanc,
bière, moules marinière,
moules St. Jacque, cassoulet,
and Bœuf bourguignon.
I think I am ready!
Dr.
Kathy Sakamoto presented the case
this month. As usual with the hematology
cases, I was clueless but learned
a lot. Check it out!
This
eNews announces some practical ideas
that might be of help:
1.
The Practice Management eGroup is
taking questions regarding billing
and coding issues. I have found
them very informative (our practice
managers will tell you I have a
steep learning curve, however).
Thanks to the folks that are active
in the group, helping us all!
2.
The Resource Committee has developed
a policy for posting protocols to
the eNews and online. I think this
will be particularly helpful for
understanding protocols that are
not associated with the Children's
Oncology Group, especially hematology
protocols. The policy has just begun,
but you should keep a look out for
protocols in which your patients
might participate.
The
slate for the upcoming election
is complete and listed in the newsletter.
The link to the ballot will be e-mailed
to you in a separate post. I could
not be happier with the candidates!
I want to personally thank them
for running, and I want to tell
the world that with talent like
this, ASPHO will only continue to
get better and better. And, to that
point, be sure to sign up for one
of the many active committees in
ASPHO. We need your help, and the
work is rewarding (and fun!).
The
Resource Committee has developed
a policy for posting protocols to
the eNews and online. I think this
will be particularly helpful for
understanding protocols that are
not associated with the Children's
Oncology Group, especially hematology
protocols. The policy has just begun,
but you should keep a look out for
protocols in which your patients
might participate. If you would
like to advertise your clinical
trial on the ASPHO website and in
eNews, please e-mail jstone@connect2amc.com.
So,
au revoir for now; we will
see you in Montreal!
Holcombe
To
read the last quiz, click
here.
Case
Quiz
Kathleen
M. Sakamoto, MD PhD, Mattel Children’s
Hospital UCLA
An
18-year-old WF with a history of
Senior-Løken syndrome (characterized
by retinitis pigmentosa and polycystic
kidney disease) received a living
related renal transplant 17
years ago and has been treated with
immunosuppressive drugs, including
prednisone, cellcept, and cyclosporine.
She has had migraines in the past;
however, 2 days prior to admission,
she complained of a worsening left-sided
headache, dizziness, right-arm and
-leg tingling and numbness, and
slurred speech. Upon physical examination,
she had a right facial droop. She
was also hypertensive with episodes
of disorientation and emesis. The
patient was transferred to the intensive
care unit, and magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) of her head showed
multiple enhancing masses involving
all lobes of the cerebrum, the corpus
callosum, and ependyma of the occipital
horns of the lateral ventricles.
Some of the lesions had ring enhancement
with surrounding edema and occasional
hemorrhages (Figure 1).
Figure
1. Head MRI results with T2 Image
on left and T1 Image on right (used
with permission)
The
differential diagnosis includes
1.
infection (fungal, bacterial, viral)
2.
stroke
3.
malignancy
4.
posterior reversible encephalopathy
syndrome (PRES),
secondary
to cyclosporine.
Based
on the history and MRI, in what
order would you rank these?
A. 4, 3, 1, 2
B. 1, 4, 3, 2
C. 3, 1, 4, 2
D. 1, 3, 2, 4
Please
click
here to enter your answer and
see correct answer and discussion.
Registration
Now Open for the Annual Meeting
Registration
is now open for the 23rd Annual
Meeting, to be held April 7–10,
2010, at the Fairmont The Queen
Elizabeth Hotel in Montréal,
Quebec, Canada. Current research
data on causes, diagnosis, and management
of blood diseases and cancer in
children will be presented and applied
to clinical practice. This
meeting offers an excellent opportunity
to network and collaborate with
fellow subspecialists in pediatric
hematology/oncology.
The
2010 meeting will feature
- an
expanded Young Investigator program
- seven
new workshops
- in-depth
symposia on cancer survivorship
and sickle cell disease research
in the 21st century
- Presidential
Symposium on Medical Education
focusing on effective methods
of teaching adult learners
- two
author-attended poster sessions
- original
science abstract platform sessions
- a
workshop addressing career development
and diversity issues in pediatric
hematology/oncology
- a
special session on maintenance
of certification
- an
exhibition of products and services
from more than 40 exhibiting companies.
Montréal
is the second largest city in Canada
and is an easy destination for travel.
The city is known as a cultural
center and is home to many theaters
and exhibits. For more information,
visit www.tourisme-montreal.org/.
Be
sure to make your reservations soon!
And
remember to make sure your passport
is current.
Fairmont
The Queen Elizabeth
900 Rene-Levesque West
Montréal, Quebéc
Canada H3B 4A5
Rate: $189 CAD single/double
Cutoff date: March 8, 2010
Reservations: 800/441-1414
https://resweb.passkey.com/go/asph
Time-Limited
Eligibility for Initial Certification
Examinations: New Policy from the
ABP
In
June 2009 the American Board of
Pediatrics (ABP) established a new
policy that places a time limit
on acceptance for a certifying examination
in general pediatrics and its subspecialties.
Candidates will no longer have an
unlimited time to become certified.
The ABP established the policy to
ensure the public that individuals
accepted for examination still possess
the competencies verified at the
completion of training.
General
Pediatrics
Beginning in 2014, the ABP will
require applicants to have completed
the training required for initial
certification in general pediatrics
within the past 7 years (e.g., 2007
or later for examinations administered
in 2014). If the required training
was not successfully completed within
the past 7 years, the applicant
must complete an additional period
of accredited training to apply
for certification.
New
applicants and re-registrants for
the general pediatrics certifying
examination who have completed residency
training prior to the 7-year limit
must satisfactorily complete a minimum
of 1 year of additional residency
training that offers a breadth of
general pediatrics experience to
ensure the ability to practice unsupervised.
This training must be completed
in a program accredited by the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education
(ACGME) in the United States, or
by the Royal College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) in
Canada. The program director who
supervises this training must provide
the ABP with the specifics of the
planned training, but has the latitude
to start the trainee at a more junior
level, thus requiring more than
1 year of residency. At the conclusion
of training, the program director
must verify satisfactory completion
of the required training. Following
the satisfactory completion of the
required general pediatrics training,
the candidate will have 7 years
to become certified. When applying
or reapplying for certification,
the applicant must meet the requirements
for acceptance in effect at that
time.
Pediatric
Subspecialties
Beginning in 2014, the ABP will
require applicants to complete training
required for initial certification
in the pediatric subspecialties
within the past 7 years (e.g., 2007
or later for examinations administered
in 2014). If the required training
was not successfully completed within
the past 7 years, the applicant
must complete an additional period
of accredited training to apply
for certification.
New
applicants and re-registrants for
subspecialty certification who have
completed fellowship (or were approved
on the basis of practice) prior
to the 7-year time limit must satisfactorily
complete a minimum of 1 year of
broad-based clinical subspecialty
training in a program accredited
by ACGME in the United States or
the RCPSC in Canada. This training
must be in the discipline in which
certification is sought. The required
clinical training must be as specified
in the ACGME requirements for the
subspecialty fellowship. The program
director who supervises this training
must verify satisfactory completion
of the required clinical subspecialty
training. Following the satisfactory
completion of the required clinical
subspecialty training, the candidate
will have 7 years to become certified.
When applying or reapplying for
certification, the applicant must
meet the requirements for acceptance
in effect at that time.
Advancing
Rare Disease Research: The Intersection
of Patient Registries, Biospecimen
Repositories, and Clinical Data
The
Office of Rare Diseases Research,
National Institute of Health, is
sponsoring a workshop titled “Advancing
Rare Disease Research: The Intersection
of Patient Registries, Biospecimen
Repositories, and Clinical Data,”
which will be held at the Doubletree
Bethesda Hotel in Bethesda, MD,
January 11–12, 2010.
The
workshop objective is to discuss
the development of an infrastructure
for an Internet-based platform with
common data elements utilizing a
federated rare disease registry
able to incorporate
- existing
rare disease registries
- patient
organizations with no registry
looking to establish one
- patients
with no affiliation with a support
group looking to belong to a registry.
The
expected outcomes of the workshop
are to gain acceptance for a federated
rare disease patient registry and
to encourage participation in creating
this patient registry from as many
curators of patient registries and
other stakeholders as possible.
Participating stakeholders will
discuss harmonizing standardized
common data elements, vocabulary,
and open source software to enable
the exchange of data and information
to facilitate research collaborations.
The purpose of this effort is to
establish a rare disease registry
to benefit the rare disease patient
and research communities.
A
link to the draft agenda is available
at the bottom of the registration
page (www.rarediseases.info.nih.gov/patient_registries_workshop/addcontact.aspx).
For
additional information, please contact
Yaffa Rubinstein (ORDR) at rubinsty@mail.nih.gov
or 301/402-4338.
Sign
language interpreters will be provided.
Individuals with disabilities who
need reasonable accommodation to
participate in this event should
contact Yaffa Rubinstein (ORDR)
at rubinsty@mail.nih.gov
or 301/402-4338 or the Federal Relay
(800/877-8339).
Texas
Children's Cancer Center Clinical
Trials eNewsletter
Dr.
David Poplack, director of Texas
Children's Cancer Center, invites
you to explore the most recent issue
of the Clinical Trials eNewsletter—an
electronic publication featuring
the latest advancements in disease-specific
treatment protocols. Click
here to view the latest issue
of the Texas Children's Cancer Center
Clinical Trials eNewsletter featuring
brain tumors, and sign
up to receive future issues.
Call
for Paper and Poster Abstracts
The
Program Committee invites the submission
of abstracts for papers and posters
to be presented at the 23rd Annual
Meeting, April 7–10, 2010,
in Montréal.
The
submittal system will remain open
until January 11, 2010 (the deadline
will not be extended). The system
will close at 11:59 pm PT on January
11, 2010, and additional submissions
will not be accepted. For more information,
visit www.aspho.org.
Call
for YI Award Submissions
The
ASPHO
Young Investigator Award ($1,000)
was established in 1989 to formally
recognize excellence in research
in pediatric hematology/oncology.
The
Young
Investigator Travel Stipend Award
($500) has been established to provide
funding for deserving young investigators
to attend the ASPHO annual meeting
to present their work.
These
awards will be presented at the
2010 Annual Meeting in Montréal,
April 7–10, 2010. Submissions
are due by January 11, 2010 (the
deadline will not be extended),
and can be completed on the ASPHO
Web site.
Have
a Coding or Reimbursement Question?
Use ASPHO's Practice Management
eGroup!
ASPHO
encourages members who may have
questions or suggestions about coding
and reimbursement issues to post
a message to the Practice Management
eGroup. More than 100 members now
participate in the Practice Management
discussion group and share information,
questions, and resources through
the eGroup.
If
you haven’t yet connected
with any ASPHO eGroups, you can
check them out at connecting.aspho.org.
After you log in with your ASPHO
username and password, click on
“eGroups” in the navigation
and follow the links and directions
to join this online eGroup.
Do
you need help with your username
and password? Just call us at 847/375-4716
and we’ll be happy to assist
you.
Did
You Know?
The top three most-viewed library
items in our Resource Library are
- Coagulation.
Laboratory medicine practice guidelines:
evidence-based practice for point-of-care
testing
Posted
on June 12, 2009, by Jeffrey Hord,
MD
Viewed:
193 times
- Career
Pathways Handout
Posted
on July 23, 2009, by George Buchanan,
MD
Viewed:
104 times
- Influenza
Management Guidelines 2009–2010
Posted
on August 26, 2009, by Roger Berkow,
MD
Viewed:
44 times
Thanks
to Drs. Hord, Buchanan, and Berkow
who contributed these valuable resources
for members to use!
The
library also includes links to more
than 40 guidelines, as well as sample
documentation forms and fellowship
resources. ASPHO members have recently
searched the libraries for information
on career development, hemophilia/coagulation,
and getting published.
If
you have any resources to contribute
to these or any other topic, please
add them to the library.
Need
help uploading a resource? Please
call or e-mail the Web site administrator,
Jennifer Stone , at 847/375-4876
or jstone@connect2amc.com.
ASPHO
2010 Election Slate
The
slate for the 2010 ASPHO election
has been finalized. The candidates
are
Vice
President
Naomi
Luban, MD
Kim Ritchey, MD
Trustees
at Large (Two open trustee positions)
Denise
Adams, MD
Amy Billett, MD
Roshni Kulkarni,
MD
Stephan Grupp,
MD PhD
Nominating
Committee (Two open nominating committee
positions)
Renuka
Gera, MD
Allison King,
MD MPH
Patrick Leavey,
MD
Cindy Schwartz,
MD
Ballots
(with information about each candidate)
will be distributed by e-mail the
week of January 4.
Update
Your Contact Information
The
2010 membership directory will be
published and distributed this spring.
To ensure that the new directory
provides the most accurate information
available, we ask for your assistance
in updating your records.
Please
take a moment to review and update
your personal profile online by
accessing the Members
Only page. After logging in,
click “Edit Your Profile”
to make changes.
If
you need a Web ID, password reminder,
or have any questions about the
directory, please contact Member
Services at info@aspho.org
or 847/375-4716.
Thank
you for your help.
Call
for ASPHO Committee Volunteers
ASPHO
encourages members to participate
on committees. Committee members
are appointed for staggered 3-year
terms, and new committee members
are appointed annually.
Appointments
for 2010 will be made in the coming
weeks to allow committees to meet
with a full complement of members
at the annual meeting in Montréal.
Some committees conduct business
by e-mail, phone, and occasional
conference calls during the year.
Committee assignments can be scheduled
around professional obligations.
For
more information or to volunteer
for an appointment, please contact
Jennifer Stone at jstone@connect2amc.com.
Online
Review Course Now Available Through
the ASPHO Web Site
Affordable,
convenient, and available when you
need it, the ASPHO Online Review
Course in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
is a great way to prepare
either for your initial ABP Certification
Exam or for Part III of the ABP
Maintenance of Certification program.
Experts in the field presented 22
1-hour-long lectures, featuring
synchronized audio and slides. After
registering, you can log on as many
times as you choose. CME credit
is available for each lecture section
you successfully complete. The online
course also includes more than 200
sample test questions.
The
course represents the audio and
PowerPoint lectures as delivered
by faculty of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Review Course, held February 6–8,
2009, in Dallas, TX.
Special
Bonus! The Online Review Course
also includes two slide review sessions
on peripheral blood and bone marrow
morphology! ASPHO Members pay only
$750 for unlimited access. Nonmembers
pay $1,150.
For
more information, visit the ASPHO
Web site at www.aspho.org.
ASPHO
Would Like to Welcome Our Newest
Members!
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