so far it seems to be o k

James W. Mold wrote:
>
> 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)