Kansas City Academy of Family Physicians

                 Did you know that in the U.S. alone, 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their lives? Countless more individuals are affected by sub-clinical disordered eating behaviors and attitudes. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, mortality rates among those suffering from eating disorders are around 4-5%.                 The negative health impacts of disordered eating patterns are profound, and some may be lifelong. Disordered eating can lead to osteoporosis, muscle loss, tooth decay and heart failure. Additionally, eating disorders are often accompanied by substance abuse, depression and other mental health diseases.                 Due to the multi-faceted treatment challenges that accomp...

March 24 th was World TB Day, this commemorated the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced the cause of tuberculosis (TB).  He was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of mycobacterium tuberculosis, proving TB disease is caused by a microbe and not by heredity as was previously believed.  TB is an ancient disease; evidence of the disease is seen in skeletal remains more than 8,000 years old. Tuberculosis is spread in the air; it is not easy to catch and usually requires repeat exposures to cause disease in others.  Most cases of active TB infect the lungs, but it can infect other parts of the body like the lymph nodes, spine, or brain.  The good news is that TB is both preventable and curable.   When a person breaths the TB bacteria into their body the immune system often stops the infection from spreading.    This person will have a positive TB test result, but will not feel sick.  They do not have any symptoms of disease, a...

The thyroid gland is a small, butterfly-shaped gland located in the base of the neck just below the Adam's apple and above the collarbone.  Your thyroid gland makes hormones that help control the function of many of your body’s organs, including your heart, brain, liver, kidneys, and skin. Making sure that your thyroid gland is healthy is important to your body’s overall well-being. Most people are unaware of this organ’s vital functions until there is a problem, and only then do they truly become aware of its value.  It is estimated that over 30 million Americans have a thyroid condition, including many who may not know they have a thyroid problem or who have been misdiagnosed.   The most common thyroid conditions include: ·          Hyperthyroidism – This develops when the body is exposed to excessive amounts of thyroid hormone. This disorder occurs in almost one percent of all Americans and affects women five to ...

by Greg Markway, MD This is the first article contributed a member physician in lieu of our yearly printed newspaper supplement, dealing with the topic of direct patient care. Thank you, Dr Markway! The evolution of the practice of family medicine is occurring on many different formats. At the basis of all of these changes is the recognition that the most important part of family medicine is the patient-physician relationship. These changes are being driven in some measure by the patients’ sense of loss of that integral part of their medical care. Too many times in recent years the forms of practice are driven by governmental, insurance and EHR (Electronic Health Record) dictates. All of these are examples of the economic pressures that physicians face to continue to keep their practices economically viable. The result of these pressures is that physicians have increased the volume of patients seen on a daily basis thereby extremely limiting the amount of time they able to spend w...

The Kansas City Academy of Family Physicians has, for years, published an annual spread in our local newspaper to highlight Family Medicine and family physicians in our local community. You can view our October 2014 supplement  here . As medicine and technology evolve, we decided to feature our member physicians' articles in this new venue. This blog will cover topics as varied as the scope of Family Medicine itself. At a recent meeting, the KCAFP board voted to support HealthyKC's "Tobacco 21" policy recommendation, supporting local ordinances that raise the legal age for purchase and sale of tobacco products to 21 for Greater Kansas City. Unfortunately, nearly one in five high school seniors in the Kansas City area use tobacco, and most lifelong smokers begin before the age of 21. Such policies have been shown to decrease high school tobacco use by 50%. HealthyKC's Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Action Team includes KCAFP board member Dr. Don Potts. 11/...