Ronald M. Davis, MD
More reforms needed for medical liability system
Last month, Medical Liability Monitor released results of its annual rate survey, which reports the medical insurance rates of the nation's major insurers of physicians. The results are a bit of a mixed bag.
First, some positive news: Medical liability rates appear to be stabilizing for the second consecutive year. According to the survey, nearly 84 percent of company—reported rates held steady or dropped in 2007. Of that 84 percent, 31 percent of rates decreased?almost triple the number of rate reductions in 2005.
Now for the bad news: Premiums in many areas of the country still are at or near all-time highs. For example, premiums in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have nearly tripled since 2000. And in New York, after a 14 percent increase in rates last July, most physicians are paying as much as 80 percent more for their liability insurance than they were in 2002, bringing annual premiums for many specialists to levels in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Read More>>
Please send comments, questions, and replies to amaprez@ama-assn.org.
eVoice®
Jan. 17, 2008
AMA eVoice is your regular update on the most important health care issues and recent AMA activities.
The AMA is committed to communication. We encourage you to help us spread the word by forwarding AMA eVoice to your colleagues.
Your news interests
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Faculty practice physician issues
1) In the Las Vegas Review Journal: UMC allowed to challenge deal
2) In AMNews: Medical schools adjusting to millennial students
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender physician issues
1) In the New York Times: Study finds possible targets for HIV drugs
2) LGBT Cancer Project Web site up and running
Group practice physician issues
1) CME Web conference: Medicare's pay-for-reporting bonus—what's in it for you?
2) In AMNews: Medicare to require physicians to use new identifier numbers on March 1
3) In AMNews: Enrollment drop has United vowing to be nicer
International medical graduate issues
1) Wanted: IMG advisors
2) AMA-IMG Section Governing Council nominations sought
Medical school news
1) Deadline for nominations to three AMA-elected councils has been extended
2) In AMNews: California medical schools customize programs for diverse populations
3) In AMNews: Medical schools tailor educational experiences to millennial students
Medical student issues
1) Apply now for AMA-MSS leadership positions
2) AMA offers health policy opportunities for medical students
3) Mark your calendar for Lobby Day, March 31
4) Save the dates for upcoming AMA-MSS regional meetings
Minority health issues and professional concerns of minority physicians
1) NINDS launches Spanish language Web site
Organized medical staff issues
1) View new webcast on keys to successful implementation of revised Standard MS.1.20
2) Now available: "Physician's guide to medical staff organization bylaws"
3) Printable version of "Principles for strengthening the physician-hospital relationship" available online
4) Share your organization's informed consent forms with AMA-OMSS
5) Private insurers follow Medicare's suit in not paying for "never events"
6) The Joint Commission creates MS.1.20 implementation task force
Resident and fellow issues
1) Get involved on a national level; apply for AMA-sponsored legislative awareness internship
2) In Business Week: A price war in insurance
3) On the AMA Web site: Ethical and legal obligations in the patient-physician relationship
4) Register for the AMA Medical Student/Resident and Fellow Lobby Day
Senior physicians issues
1) Study: Most Medicare patients are not screened for colorectal cancer
Women physician and women's health issues
1) Register now for the AMA National Advocacy Conference
Young physician issues
1) Deadline extended for 2008 AMA-elected council nominations
2) Candidates sought for AMA-YPS representatives to AMA-WPC Governing Council
3) AMA's uninsured campaign goes nationwide
General AMA news:
1) What's behind the "Voice for the Uninsured" campaign?
2) New resource can help physicians prepare their practice for profiling programs
3) Apply by Feb. 1 for up to $10,000 in funding for research about women physicians
4) Free option available for reimbursement of vaccines under Medicare Part D
5) Candidates sought for two AMA Special Group governing councils
6) In the Archives of Ophthalmology: Diets high in lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin E associated with decreased risk of cataracts
Your news interests
Sign up to receive customized AMA eVoice messages.
Faculty practice physician issues
1) In the Las Vegas Review Journal: UMC allowed to challenge deal
The impending merger between UnitedHealth Group and Las Vegas-based Sierra Health Services met another obstacle last week, according to a report in the Las Vegas Review Journal. The county commissioners granted administrators of the county-operated University Medical Center (UMC)—affiliated with the University of Nevada Medical School—permission to take legal and/or administrative measures to halt United's $2.6 billion purchase of Sierra Health. The commission's directive creates a mechanism for interceding in Sierra Health's sale if UMC officials assert that the purchase would translate into lower reimbursements for care. The merger between United and Sierra Health would provide the combined company with more than 800,000 enrollees in Nevada and would allot the new company nearly 100 percent of Nevada's Medicare segment and 95 percent of the state's fully insured health maintenance organization (HMO) market. Such market dominance would give United the power to reduce reimbursements to physicians and hospitals for care and increase premiums on consumers. The United States Department of Justice is nearly at the end of its review of the merger.
2) In AMNews: Medical schools adjusting to millennial students
The millennial generation is a big topic among those who teach medical school as they seek to shape an educational experience that meshes with this group's particular characteristics and learning styles, according to a Jan. 14 article in American Medical News (AMNews). Born between 1982 and 2002, population theorists describe millennials as optimistic, self-confident, collaborative and team-oriented, technologically savvy and interested in improving their communities. Some characteristics, such as their comfort with collaboration, have speeded the adoption of new teaching models. Other forces are driving change, such as technology, with students pressing for wireless Internet access and downloadable lectures.
View the AMNews article.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender physician issues
1) In the New York Times: Study finds possible targets for HIV drugs
It was announced last week that through a new type of genetic screen, researchers at Harvard Medical School identified 273 proteins that AIDS—caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)—needs to survive in human cells, opening up new potential targets for drugs.
View the Jan. 11 New York Times article.
2) LGBT Cancer Project Web site up and running
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Cancer Project is the first national program addressing the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people with cancer and those who are at risk.
The project focuses on educating health care providers, increasing awareness via the Internet and other media, participating in national cancer organizations, advocating for LGBT inclusion in cancer research, and offering information and resources through its Web site for both professionals and LGBT people with cancer.
View the newly-designed Web site.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Group practice physician issues
1) CME Web conference: Medicare's pay-for-reporting bonus—what's in it for you?
On Feb. 21, join your group practice colleagues for a Web conference, which offers continuing medical education (CME) credits for live session participants, to learn more about Medicare's Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). PQRI is a voluntary reporting program sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services with the goal to improve quality through the use of clinical performance measures. Practices that report on the designated set of quality measures can earn a bonus payment of up to 1.5 percent of total allowed charges for covered Medicare physician fee schedule services. This Web conference will detail how to report the required data, either with or without an electronic medical record system.
Learn more and register.
2) In AMNews: Medicare to require physicians to use new identifier numbers on March 1
As of March 1, doctors who bill Medicare electronically must include their National Provider Identifiers (NPIs) on all Medicare claims in addition to any older identifiers they may have been using, according to a Jan. 14 article in American Medical News (AMNews). For most of the past year, the program has allowed physicians to use their older, "legacy" identifiers alone while they obtained new NPIs and made sure the personal information attached to all of the numbers was matching correctly. Some physician organizations worry about more glitches like those already seen in the move to a universal, national identifier system.
View the AMNews article.
3) In AMNews: Enrollment drop has United vowing to be nicer
Faced with waning commercial membership, UnitedHealth Group executives promise to improve its relationship with physicians and patients, according to a Jan. 14 article in American Medical News (AMNews). The number of employer-sponsored and individual memberships dropped by at least 315,000 in 2007. The company attributes the loss, in part, to frayed relations with patients and physicians. At a Dec. 4, 2007, investors' meeting in New York, United pledged that improvements were on the way. Some skeptics maintain that pledge was an empty promise for Wall Street.
View the AMNews article, and read more about the AMA's efforts in the private sector to prevent unfair payor practices.
>>Return to your news interest contents
International medical graduate issues
1) Wanted: IMG advisors
After a successful pilot year, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) is once again seeking the participation of qualified physicians to serve on its IMG Advisors Network (IAN). IAN allow IMGs who are applying for J-1 visas through the Exchange Visitor Sponsorship Program to communicate directly with IMGs who have successfully entered or completed graduate medical education training in the U.S.
If you know any IMGs in residency or recent IMG graduates who would be willing and able to advise U.S.-bound IMGs, direct them to the Web site to learn more about serving as an advisor on the ECFMG IAN.
2) AMA-IMG Section Governing Council nominations sought
The AMA-IMG Section Governing Council is seeking candidates to fill one IMG resident/fellow position and two physician positions for its 2008 election. Nomination applications are due March 7, and candidates will be elected in mid-April by AMA-IMG Section members. All candidates must submit an application, curriculum vitae and high-resolution electronic photo. Endorsements and letters of support from medical associations are optional.
Those interested in the resident/fellow position must apply to the AMA Resident and Fellow Section first. Apply to the section.
Download (Word, 68KB) a nomination form.
Send an e-mail if you have any questions.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Medical school news
(Brought to you by the AMA Section on Medical Schools)
1) Deadline for nominations to three AMA-elected councils has been extended
The deadline for submitting nominations to the 2008 AMA Council on Medical Education, AMA Council on Medical Service, and AMA Council on Science and Public Health has been extended. Nominations are now due Jan. 23.
Send an e-mail to Brenda Vidana with your nominations. Visit the Web site for nomination forms and instructions.
2) In AMNews: California medical schools customize programs for diverse populations
The University of California is initiating new educational tracts geared to producing physician leaders for communities that historically have had poor access to health care. Ten percent of the schools' slots will go to students dedicating their careers to the medically underserved, according to an article in the Jan. 14 issue of American Medical News (AMNews).
View the AMNews article.
3) In AMNews: Medical schools tailor educational experiences to millennial students
The millennial generation's strengths have been described as optimistic, self-confident, collaborative and team-oriented, technology savvy and interested in improving their communities. Medical school educators are trying to shape the educational experiences to mesh with this group's particular characteristics and learning styles, according to an article in the Jan. 14 issue of American Medical News (AMNews).
View the AMNews article.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Medical student issues
1) Apply now for AMA-MSS leadership positions
Are you interested in becoming more involved in the AMA-MSS? If so, apply for one of the various leadership roles in the AMA. The AMA-MSS is accepting applications for student positions on the seven AMA councils, the AMA Foundation Board, and representatives to the AMA Women Physicians Congress, the National Resident Matching Program, the National Board of Medical Examiners and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.
Applications are due Jan. 31.
Download applications for these positions.
Also, current student representatives are listed online. View a current list of representatives and their contact information. Feel free to contact them for more information about their positions.
2) AMA offers health policy opportunities for medical students
The AMA-MSS offers assistance to students seeking to increase their involvement and education in national health policy and in the national legislative activities of organized medicine.
The Government Relations Internship Program (GRIP) is an opportunity for medical student members of the AMA to enhance their medical education through work in health care policy. Students must arrange their own six- to eight-week internships—between June and August—in advance. The deadline to apply for the GRIP is Feb. 15.
The Government Relations Advocacy Fellowship (GRAF) is a yearlong, paid fellowship in the AMA's Washington, D.C., office that offers medical students a unique opportunity to experience firsthand the intersection of organized medicine and the federal government as it relates to advocacy and policymaking. The deadline to apply for this fellowship is Jan. 31.
Learn more about the GRIP.
Learn more about the GRAF.
3) Mark your calendar for Lobby Day, March 31
The AMA's 2008 Medical Student/Resident and Fellow Lobby Day will be held March 31, at the Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C. Lobby Day is an excellent opportunity to increase your awareness of legislative issues affecting medicine, foster relationships with legislators through political involvement and gain real-life education in the practical aspects of physician advocacy. Lobby Day activities include educational sessions on effective advocacy and lobbying techniques, briefings on legislative issues currently before Congress, and a full afternoon on Capitol Hill meeting with legislators and their staff.
The AMA will provide—on a first-come, first-served basis—a limited number of complimentary hotel rooms for AMA members for the night of March 30; however, anyone may attend the events on March 31 at no charge.
Visit the Web site for more information and to register. The registration deadline is Feb. 15.
4) Save the dates for upcoming AMA-MSS regional meetings
AMA-MSS Regions 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 have meetings coming up, and you're invited.
The AMA-MSS Region 1 Meeting, entitled "Health care for the underserved: How will we achieve our goals?" will be held Jan. 18–20 at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Ore. Visit the Web site for more information.
The AMA-MSS Region 2 Meeting, entitled "Perspectives on genetic discrimination," will be held Feb. 29–March 1 at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa. Visit the Web site for more information.
The AMA-MSS Region 5 Meeting, entitled "What can purple do for you?" will be held Feb. 29–March 1 at the West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, W.Va. Visit the Web site for more information.
The AMA-MSS Region 6 Meeting, entitled "Students today, physicians tomorrow: The new face of medicine," will be held Feb. 1–2 at Temple University in Philadelphia. Visit the Web site for more information.
The AMA-MSS Region 7 Meeting, entitled "Becoming a better physician advocate," will be held March 1 at Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center in Long Island, N.Y. Visit the Web site for more information.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Minority health issues and professional concerns of minority physicians
(brought to you by the AMA Minority Affairs Consortium)
1) NINDS launches Spanish language Web site
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched a new Web site in the Spanish language with information on many neurological disorders including stroke, dementia, Parkinson's disease and autism. The Web site also provides information on clinical studies and links to nonprofit organizations that offer assistance on neurological disorders.
View the Web site.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Organized medical staff issues
1) View new webcast on keys to successful implementation of revised Standard MS.1.20
The AMA-OMSS launched a 90-minute webcast on its Web site that addresses how medical staffs can successfully implement the revised Joint Commission Medical Staff Bylaws Standard MS.1.20—and provides an overview of the recently adopted revisions. Compliance with this standard by July 2008 is critical to preserving medical staff self-governance.
AMA members can view the webcast at no charge.
2) Now available: "Physician's guide to medical staff organization bylaws"
Because medical staff bylaws are considered a contract and legally binding in most states, it is extremely important that they are well designed and well written. The fourth edition of the "Physician's guide to medical staff organization bylaws" contains practical guidance on bylaws development, model bylaw language, information on emerging issues and recent trends in medical staff re-engineering. The guide will be especially helpful to medical staffs as they update their bylaws to align with the revised Joint Commission Standard MS.1.20.
AMA members can view (PDF, 995KB) the guide at no charge. Non-AMA members will be able to purchase the guide in the coming weeks.
3) Printable version of "Principles for strengthening the physician-hospital relationship" available online
A printable version of the "Principles for strengthening the physician-hospital relationship," developed by the AMA-OMSS and adopted by the AMA House of Delegates, is now available online.
View (PDF, 90KB) and download this resource. These principles are designed to improve the working relationship between physicians and hospitals, and ultimately foster better patient care and increase patient safety.
Send an e-mail to order a poster of the principles to post in your medical staff lounge.
4) Share your organization's informed consent forms with AMA-OMSS
The AMA-OMSS is working on developing a model "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services compliant" informed consent form, and would like to hear from you.
Please send an e-mail to Courtney Perlino with the informed consent forms your hospital or organization is using.
5) Private insurers follow Medicare's suit in not paying for "never events"
Recent articles in American Medical News (AMNews) and the Wall Street Journal highlight how several private insurers are taking steps to no longer pay for events relating to serious hospital errors, also referred to as "never events."
View the Jan. 7 AMNews article.
View the Jan. 15 Wall Street Journal article.
6) The Joint Commission creates MS.1.20 implementation task force
The Joint Commission established a task force with the charge of examining issues associated with implementing the revised Standard MS.1.20. Members of the task force include AMA-OMSS representatives, AMA members, medical staff and hospital attorneys, and hospital representatives.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Resident and fellow issues
1) Get involved on a national level; apply for AMA-sponsored legislative awareness internship
The AMA is sponsoring a two-week legislative internship program in the spring. Two residents and/or fellows will be selected for this unique opportunity to participate in the political process of organized medicine at the national level. Each resident or fellow will receive a $1,000 stipend to help defray program-related expenses. The deadline for applications is Feb. 15.
Download an application.
2) In Business Week: A price war in insurance
According to the Jan. 4 edition of Business Week, small businesses now have more options as health insurers battle to steal market share from each other. Typically, health insurance for small and mid-size companies have been pricey, but the flatness of the insurance market has motivated insurers to show more flexibility after years of making increases on small corporate companies. Large insurers are battling for more of the fully insured market in which small and midsize companies buy group policies to cover employees.
View the Business Week article.
3) On the AMA Web site: Ethical and legal obligations in the patient-physician relationship
What are the basic ethical and legal obligations related to informed consent, ending the patient-physician relationship, patient confidentiality and the Patriot Act?
The AMA posted information to improve your understanding of these topics on its Web site.
4) Register for the AMA Medical Student/Resident and Fellow Lobby Day
The 2008 AMA Medical Student/Resident and Fellow Lobby Day is scheduled for March 31. Lobby day is an excellent opportunity to increase awareness of legislative issues affecting medicine, foster relationships with legislators through political involvement and gain real-life education in the practical aspects of physician advocacy. Lobby Day activities include educational sessions on effective advocacy and lobbying techniques, briefings on legislative issues currently before Congress, and a full afternoon on Capitol Hill meeting with legislators and their staffs.
The AMA will provide—on a first-come, first-served basis—a limited number of complimentary hotel rooms for AMA members for the night of March 30; however, anyone may attend the events on March 31 at no charge.
Learn more and register. The registration deadline is Feb. 15.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Senior Physicians issues
1) Study: Most Medicare patients are not screened for colorectal cancer
A recent study from a Dec. 10 article in HealthDay shows that Americans on Medicare do not receive regular colorectal screenings, even though the service is free. Since Medicare began offering colorectal cancer screenings, the percentage of Medicare members screened has actually fallen to 25.4 percent from 29.2 percent.
View the HealthDay article.
A Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study, published Dec. 20, 2006, finds that "since Medicare began paying for colon-cancer screenings, more patients' tumors are being diagnosed at an early, more curable stage."
View the JAMA article.
Also reported on MedPage Today, an assessment shows that "patients who had been screened in the past were significantly more likely to be screened again (35.7 percent versus 21.2 percent for others, P<0.001)." These "findings are consistent with previous analyses in Medicare populations."
View the MedPage Today article.
Learn more about colorectal cancer awareness.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Women physician and women's health issues
(brought to you by the AMA Women Physicians Congress)
1) Register now for the AMA National Advocacy Conference
Make your voice heard at the AMA National Advocacy Conference, April 1–2, at the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel in Washington, D.C. Attendees will learn from insiders about the political climate surrounding medicine's priority issues on Capitol Hill and how to communicate effectively with lawmakers and the media. Following these sessions, participants will meet with members of Congress and their staffs.
Other events surrounding the conference include the Dr. Nathan Davis Awards for Outstanding Government Service program, the AMA Foundation Excellence in Medicine Awards Dinner, and the AMA Alliance Capitol Conference—Winter Session.
Learn more and register.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Young physician issues
1) Deadline extended for 2008 AMA-elected council nominations
The AMA Board of Trustees is seeking additional nominations for three AMA-elected councils—the AMA Council on Medical Education, the AMA Council on Medical Service and the AMA Council on Science and Public Health.
The deadline for nominations has been extended to Jan. 23. Please send an e-mail to Brenda Vidana with your nominations.
Visit the Web site for nomination forms and instructions.
2) Candidates sought for AMA-YPS representatives to AMA-WPC Governing Council
The AMA-YPS Governing Council is currently soliciting nominations for the AMA-YPS seat on the AMA Women Physicians Congress (WPC) Governing Council.
Interested young physicians must submit a nomination form to the AMA-YPS by Feb. 15. Download (PDF, 14KB) a nomination form.
The AMA-YPS Governing Council will then select two nominees to compete in the AMA-WPC's online election this spring. The AMA-YPS representative will serve a two-year term beginning at the close of the AMA Annual Meeting in June.
Learn more about the AMA-WPC Governing Council election and two at-large positions which will also be elected in the spring.
3) AMA's uninsured campaign goes nationwide
The AMA has kicked off the second phase of its "Voice for the Uninsured" campaign by running television and print ads intended to make covering the uninsured a top priority in the upcoming presidential election. The AMA also plans to reach out to voters through healthy lifestyle events, mobile billboards, MySpace and Facebook profiles and a music tour.
"By November, millions of Americans will have heard the AMA's concern that one in seven of us is uninsured, and they will have heard our call to voters to cast their ballots with the issue of the uninsured in mind," said AMA Trustee Samantha L. Rosman, MD.
Learn more about the campaign.
>>Return to your news interest contents
General AMA news
1) What's behind the "Voice for the Uninsured" campaign?
The AMA's "Voice for the Uninsured" campaign centers on a sound proposal for expanding health insurance coverage and choice that has three main components:
- Helping people buy health insurance through tax credits or vouchers.
- Individual choice of health insurance.
- Fair rules of the game-regulating markets and protecting high-risk patients.
The AMA has published new materials that explain the proposal in a concise and easy-to-understand way. These materials also address several topics related to the plan, such as "Strategies to address rising health care costs," "Illustration of how tax credits or vouchers would affect households," and "Administrative costs of health care coverage."
Download these resources. To obtain printed copies of the materials or to get answers to questions about the proposal, call the AMA Division of Socioeconomic Policy Development at (312) 464–4985.
>>Return to your general news contents
2) New resource can help physicians prepare their practice for profiling programs
To help physicians brace their practice for profiling programs used by many health insurers, the AMA has developed, "Physician profiling: How to prepare your practice." This resource, a follow-up to a separate AMA-produced resource, "How to challenge your ‘profile' or placement in a tiered or narrow network," offers five steps that encompass the basic elements of the physician profiling process, such as contract language, program metrics, data, coding and patient education.
Download (PDF, 69KB) this new resource.
>>Return to your general news contents
3) Apply by Feb. 1 for up to $10,000 in funding for research about women physicians
How does gender affect the way physicians approach their career decisions? Do "family-friendly" policies make a difference in attracting productive physicians to your practice? And is gender equality the norm in the medical profession today?
These questions and others must all be answered to evaluate the impact women have on the medical work force and to understand 21st century medicine. Which is why, in just a few weeks, the AMA will gather all research proposals for the 2008 Joan F. Giambalvo Memorial Scholarship Fund and award researchers up to $10,000 to further explore issues concerning women physicians.
The fund was established by the AMA Women Physicians Congress to advance the progress of women in the medical profession and strengthen the AMA's ability to identify and address the needs of women physicians and medical students. If you are currently researching or planning research in women physician's professional work/practice issues, apply for scholarship funding by Feb. 1.
Last year's recipients, Patricia Turner, MD, and Ethan Jewett, are researching factors surrounding childbearing for women in surgical specialties and the barriers that keep inactive physicians from returning to practice after an extended leave.
Learn more and download an application.
>>Return to your general news contents
4) Free option available for reimbursement of vaccines under Medicare Part D
Last year, the AMA reaffirmed policy to pursue adequate reimbursement for vaccines and their administration from all public and private payers. With that, the AMA is letting members know about a new online opportunity for physicians to access real-time claims processing for in-office distribution of Medicare Part D vaccines, for which administration fees recently moved from Part B to Part D.
Through eDispense™ Vaccine Manager, a Web portal produced by Dispensing Solutions Inc., physicians and approved staff members can provide patients with medications quickly and safely at the point of care. Available at no cost to physicians, Vaccine Manager verifies patient eligibility, submits the vaccine and administration fee claim electronically, and communicates patient financial responsibility, such as the co-pay and deductible, and provider reimbursement.
Enrollment with eDispense includes a network agreement that allows Vaccine Manager to contract with Part D payers on behalf of the enrolled physicians. Reimbursement for the vaccine and administration fee is paid to Vaccine Manager, which is then passed through to participating physicians. Vaccine Manager is paid a processing fee by the Part D payer.
Enroll with eDispense, or learn more about this new opportunity.
For questions about enrollment and claims processing, call (866) 522–3386.
>>Return to your general news contents
5) Candidates sought for two AMA Special Group governing councils
The AMA Minority Affairs Consortium (MAC) and Women Physicians Congress (WPC) provide a voice for minority and women physicians within the AMA on advocacy and policy development. One way you can strengthen this voice is by joining the AMA-MAC or AMA-WPC Governing Councils.
The AMA seeks nominations for key leadership positions on both the AMA-MAC and AMA-WPC Governing Councils; members will be elected or appointed this spring.
Two elected positions and three appointed positions are open for nomination on the AMA-MAC Governing Council:
- One elected delegate—This governing council member is the voice of the AMA-MAC in the AMA House of Delegates and will be elected by the AMA-MAC membership to serve a three-year term to begin in June.
- One elected at-large member—This at-large member will be elected by the AMA-MAC membership to serve a two-year term to begin in June.
- Three appointed representatives—Representatives from the National Medical Association, AMA Resident and Fellow Section, and AMA Medical Student Section will be appointed by these respective groups.
Five elected positions, including three section representative positions, are open for nomination on the AMA-WPC Governing Council:
- Two elected at-large members—Two governing council members will be elected by the AMA-WPC membership to serve a two-year term to begin in June.
- Three elected AMA section representatives—Representatives from the AMA Medical Student Section, AMA Resident and Fellow Section and AMA Young Physician Section will be elected by the AMA-WPC membership at large. Nominations should be submitted through the respective sections only.
The nomination deadline is Feb. 15. (Please note that AMA sections may have earlier deadlines.) Electronic photos and statements of interest are required.
Apply for the AMA-MAC Governing Council at-large and delegate positions.
Apply for the AMA-WPC Governing Council at-large positions.
Visit the AMA-MSS, AMA-RFS, or AMA-YPS Web sites, respectively, to submit nominations for the AMA-MSS, AMA-RFS or AMA-YPS representative positions on the AMA-MAC and AMA-WPC Governing Councils. All nominations must be submitted through the respective section's Web site.
>>Return to your general news contents
6) In the Archives of Ophthalmology: Diets high in lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin E associated with decreased risk of cataracts
Women who have higher dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin—compounds found in yellow or dark, leafy vegetables—as well as more vitamin E from food and supplements appear to have a lower risk for developing cataracts, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)/Archives journals.
Preview the study.
>>Return to your general news contents
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