Blue Cross Physician Ratings Gaining an Audience Started just eight months ago, the provider ratings on the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) website now receive tens of thousands of hits each month. About 23 percent of the 171,000 monthly hits on the “Doctor Finder” tool click through to view the “Quality of Care” ratings for each physician and other types of providers. Jane Ehrhardt

Medication Compliance Key to Controlling Asthma Many asthma patients don’t take their medication as prescribed, making them more vulnerable to asthma triggers and severe symptoms that can require hospitalization and may even cause death. Kathy Hagood

Immunomodulators: Retraining the Immune System in Allergic Asthmatics “We know asthma is heterogeneous. There’s not just one disease causing it,” says Weily Soong, MD, of the Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center. But for around 60 to 70 percent of asthma sufferers, the cause stems from allergies. Jane Ehrhardt

UAB Building National Database of Treatment Response to Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) has set forth on the first step to determining which rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatments would work best on a patient. “When a patient asks, ‘What drug is best for me?’, we don’t normally have an answer, except to say we’ll try some and see what works best for you,” says S. Louis Bridges Jr., MD, PhD, director of the UAB Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. Jane Ehrhardt

UAB Remains at Forefront of Cancer Technology with New Radiation Center When the new Hazelrig-Salter Radiation Oncology Center opens this month, UAB cancer patients will be able to take advantage of some of the most advanced cancer treatment facilities available. The 50,000-square-foot radiation treatment space will replace the facilities currently located on the first two floors of the current Wallace Tumor Center and will be connected by an overhead walkway to UAB Hospital across 18th street near Sixth Avenue. There will be a separate area in the new building for the state’s pediatric cancer patients, most of whom – including all from Children’s Hospital – receive their radiation treatment at UAB. Ann B. DeBellis

Studies Show Link between Vitamin D Deficiency and Cancer Historically, health care professionals have valued Vitamin D mainly for its relation to bone health. Recently however, there has been growth in substantial scientific evidence that supports the role of Vitamin D in the prevention of cancer. Ann B. DeBellis

Tiny Microscope Offers Big Hope A new technology is providing physicians a way to diagnose hard-to-find cancers in the early stages, and offers patients hope for survival as a result of earlier detection. UAB gastroenterologists have one of only a few of the systems that are currently available worldwide. Ann B. DeBellis

A Football Champion In the Medical Field Internist Steven Kulback, MD is a team player. The lessons of dedication, hard work and discipline he learned from Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama have led to a successful medical career. After playing defensive tackle for Clarksville High School in Tennessee, he played for the Crimson Tide from 1971-1975, including the 1973 National Championship season. “I still have my ring,” he says, smiling. CATHY DELOZIER

CMS Delays Implementation of PECOS Enrollment Policy The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced during a recent open-door forum that it is delaying the requirement for providers to be enrolled in the Internet-based Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (or PECOS) until January 3, 2011. Prior to the announcement, the new enrollment policy had been slated to take effect on April 5th of this year. Judd Harwood and Michel Marcoux