Sorry to have been out of touch for so long.  Here's an update on what has
happended of importance since our last Board meeting:
1. The Board of Directors of the Family Health Foundation, a 501(c)3
incorporated,charitable organization affiliated with the Oklahoma Academy of
Family Physicians has agreed to accept OKPRN (the practice-based
resource/research network) within it.  Bylaws, etc. have yet to be rewritten
to reflect this change. Hopefully, this organizational change will give
OKPRN greater financial flexibility regarding both contributions and
expenditures.  OKPRN will then contract with the Oklahoma Center for Family
Medicine Research for the services required to maintain and grow the network
and to design and carry out projects.  Dr. Paul Preslar has expressed an
interest in taking over directorship of OKPRN at some point if funding could
be made available to cover his time/effort. The OAFP Board of Directors had
no problems with allowing non-OAFP members to join OKPRN.  (They indicated
that such a change would not affect their willingness to continue to support
the network.) I have had very little success in recruiting Native American
clinics into the network though I have made a number of contacts and visits.
However, a number of other practitiers have recently joined.
2. For now at least, it seems prudent to keep the Center as a discreet unit
within the Departments of Family and Preventive Medicine in OKC and the
Department of Family Medicine in Tulsa.  I anticipate that we will
eventually (as funding permits) need to have some additional staff dedicated
to Center activities (budget management, promotions/contracts, and grant
writing).  I have chosen not to approach the Dean or Provost about making
OCFMR a formal/recognized center within the OUHSC.  There hasn't been a
pressing need to so.  The main reason to do so would be to see if we could
negotiate for a larger share of indirect grant funds.  I don't know how
likely that would be to happen, and we might just stir up trouble.
3. As I work on a 5-year business plan for the Center, it seems to me that
one of our most stable sources of ongoing external support is probably going
to come from contracts.  We already have contractual arrangements with the
State Department of Health, the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, and
the Oklahoma State Medical Association.  We anticipate a contract with the
Health Care Authority beginning in July.  A possibility exists for contracts
with the University Physicians Medical Group.
4. We have not yet heard from the NIMH regarding our $2.7 million proposal
to study B-12 deficiency screening in the elderly.  I anticipate some news
by mid July at the latest.  If that grant is not funded, we will have to
regroup and seriously look at how we are going to keep the OKLAHOMA Studies
cohort going.
5. I am trying to get a formal agreement drawn up between the Center and the
Next Century Group, the technology firm that is helping us to develop the
palm computer prevention application.  They are interested in an ongoing
relationship and further development and eventual marketing of the product.
I have met with the OUHSC attorneys, and they have provided a generic
contractual form that NCG is reviewing.
6. We now have PEAs in 11 practices and se have enlisted 13 sites in the
palm immunization project.
7. The night sweats study has been completed and a manuscript is being
prepared for submission to JAMA.  The HEDIS diabetes study has been
completed and a manuscript will be prepared. Data from the first year of the
OKLAHOMA Studies is being analyzed by several different research teams.

I don't think we need to schedule another Board meeting this summer.  If you
disagree, please let me know and we will schedule one.  I suggest we meet
again formally in September.
What about Tuesday, Sept 4 from 4-6 pm?

James W. Mold, MD, MPH
Director, OK Center for Family Medicine Research
405-630-2564 (pager)