The 1999 Congress of Delegates for the AAFP assembled on Tuesday, September 13, 1999, with great anticipation for the work at hand, but with even greater apprehension for the weather outside. Hurricane Floyd had been slowly progressing across the Caribbean and was approaching central Florida. If it continued its current course for another day, the eye would cross dangerously near Orlando. We went to bed Tuesday night truly concerned about safety issues. By Wednesday morning, the storm had taken a rather sharp turn to the north and it was apparent for us, it would be only a tropical storm. Because many of the speakers and our members could not get into Orlando because of the storm, (the Orlando Airport closed for the first time in its history), the entire CME program for Wednesday, September 14 was cancelled. By Thursday, however, blue skies prevailed and the CME conference proceeded as scheduled.

The Congress opened with reports from our officers about the state of the Academy. "We are strong financially, politically, and most importantly, philosophically," state Board Chair Neil Brooks, MD. He went on to conclude, "We are at all times and all programs dedicated to do the right thing for the right reason at the right time." The academy continues to grown with over 86,000 total members and nearly 50,000 full dues-paying members. There are now 475 Family Practice Residency Programs in the United States. The academy also now has a significant presence in the AMA House of Delegates; with nine delegates, three more than any National Society.

By the year 2000 this is expected to expand to 17 delegates and with state delegates that are AAFP members we will comprise fully one-seventh of the total voting members.

Our President, Lanny Copeland, MD, was recently invited to the White House to address the President and Secretary of Health about health care issues. It is a significant honor that our academy was singled out for their input on these matters.

A multitude of resolutions (approximately 75) were considered by reference committees and then eventually by the full Congress. The following is just a sampling of the more controversial or interesting issues.

Board Recertification

Significant debate was held concerning the idea of extending the interval of board recertification to ten years. After debate the strong majority favored keeping recertification at the present seven-year cycle, and exploring ways to make the testing process more "user friendly."

National Collective Negotiation Unit

The AAFP continues to study the need for a National Collective Negotiation Unit for employed physicians. There was significant debate on this issue, however the strong majority disapproved of the recent AMA action. There was, however, a sense that we must be active in monitoring the issue.

Gun Control

There was passionate debate that the academy should take a strong stand about handgun violence, led mainly by the student and resident delegation. After prolonged debate we agreed on resolves concerning waiting period, trigger locks, and other methods to decrease handgun violence.

Tobacco Addiction

The Congress approved a resolution supporting health insurance coverage of evidence based approaches for FDA Approved pharmacotherapy for the treatment of smoking cessation and nicotine withdrawal; and supported physician reimbursement for tobacco cessation treatment.

Rural Health Care

The Congress approved a resolution urging Congress to correct budget inequities for rural hospitals and health care systems in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

Hospitalists

The Congress passed a resolution supporting freedom for patients to choose their family practice physician to provide hospital inpatient care, for which their physician has demonstrated competency; and that their physician be appropriately compensated.

Physician Extenders

The Congress resolved that the AAFP and State Chapters oppose legislation allowing non-physician groups to further advance the scope of their practice without appropriate physician supervision.

E&M Guidelines

The Congress resolved that the AAFP work to insure that the evaluation and management guidelines are used as an educational tool rather than a punitive instrument; and that fraud and abuse charges will only be used in cases where the intent to defraud is clear.

Pharmaceutical Research

The Congress adopted a policy that it is unethical for physicians to enroll patients in pharmaceutical research without receiving informed consent and first fully disclosing Conflict of Interest and any payment to the physician.

It was officially announced that Dr. Robert Graham would retire as our Chief Executive Officer when his replacement can be found. Dr. Graham has served the academy for 15 years and all who have met him have always been impressed with his abilities. He will be missed.

The highlight of the Congress was the campaigning for and election of our new officers. The speeches and debates were quite interesting. We elected Dr. Richard Roberts from Wisconsin as our new President-Elect; and Dr. Michael Fleming from Louisiana as our new speaker. Carolyn Lopez, MD from Illinois is our new Vice-Speaker, and our new board members are Karla Birkholz, MD from Arizona, Frank D. Dibbles, MD from New Hampshire, and Daniel VanDurme, MD from Florida.