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January 3, 2008
eVoice®
Jan. 3, 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
Sign up to receive customized AMA eVoice messages.
International medical graduate issues
1) Start planning for the AMA-IMG Section Governing Council election
Medical school news
1) AMA-SMS Governing Council seeks nominees
2) Become a membership outreach recruiter
3) In AMNews: Physicians falling short on professionalism
Medical student issues
1) AMA offers health policy opportunities for medical students
2) Apply now for AMA-MSS leadership positions
3) Save the dates for upcoming AMA-MSS regional meetings
4) Stay updated on legislative affairs
Minority health issues and professional concerns of minority physicians
1) AMA-MAC Governing Council seeks candidates
2) Grants available to free clinics that help the uninsured; apply by Jan. 14
Organized medical staff issues
1) Make your voice heard on key issues affecting medical staffs
2) 2007 AMA-OMSS Interim Assembly Meeting summary PowerPoint now available
Resident and fellow issues
1) Become a resident representative on the AMA-IMG Section Governing Council
2) CDC: Nearly 1 in 5 adults can't afford health care
Women physician and women's health issues
1) Candidates sought for AMA-WPC Governing Council positions
2) AMA-WPC disposition of actions online
Young physician issues
1) Reminder: Nominations to AMA-elected councils due Jan. 7
2) Applications sought for Joan F. Giambalvo Scholarship Fund
3) AMA offers Web-based course in disaster preparedness
4) Young physician advocates, mark your calendars
General AMA news:
1) Deadline extended for Medicare participation decision
2) Ethics in brief: Lethal injection and the Supreme Court
3) Did you receive a Medicare satisfaction survey?
4) Help the uninsured; apply for AMA Foundation grants before Jan. 14
5) On Sermo: Experiences with "Good Samaritan" care
6) In JAMA: Use of opioids to treat pain in emergency departments on the rise, but racial differences in opioid use still exist
Your news interests
Sign up to receive customized AMA eVoice messages.
International medical graduate issues
1) Start planning for the AMA-IMG Section Governing Council election
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 by March 7, and candidates will elected in mid-April by AMA-IMG members. All candidates must complete an application, submit a current curriculum vitae and provide an 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 for instructions on applying for the resident/fellow position.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Medical school news
(Brought to you by the AMA Section on Medical Schools)
1) AMA-SMS Governing Council seeks nominees
Applications are due May 5 for several positions on the 2008–2009 AMA-SMS Governing Council—chair-elect, three members-at-large, delegate and alternate delegate. Elections will be held at the June AMA-SMS meeting.
Learn more about these leadership positions and download an application form.
2) Become a membership outreach recruiter
Many new members join the AMA because of a personal recommendation from a colleague, so the AMA needs you to share your voice by becoming a physician outreach recruiter. No one is more essential or uniquely qualified than you, a physician, to help enroll new AMA members and get the AMA message out to your colleagues and peers. Your involvement is essential to the future of AMA membership and organized medicine.
AMA members can visit the Web site to sign up to become a recruiter, or call Alyce Christensen at (312) 464–5324 with questions.
3) In AMNews: Physicians falling short on professionalism
Results of a national survey on professionalism in medicine, reported in the Dec. 4 Annals of Internal Medicine, found widespread acceptance of ethical standards. However, the survey found that physicians did not live up to those ideals in practice. The findings show that great progress has been made in spreading new norms of medical professionalism, but more needs to be done to reduce the legal and cultural impediments that often dissuade physicians from doing the right thing, according to an article in the Dec. 24/31 issue of American Medical News (AMNews).
View the AMNews article.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Medical student issues
1) 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.
2) 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, 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.
3) Save the dates for upcoming AMA-MSS regional meetings
AMA-MSS Regions 1, 2, 4 and 6 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. Register by Dec. 22 by sending an e-mail with your name, school, phone and time of arrival/departure.
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 4 Meeting, entitled "Managing the health care team to achieve better patient care," will be held Jan. 11–12 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala. 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, Pa. Visit the Web site for more information and to register by Jan. 6.
*The AMA will provide $1,000 for regional meetings if the 60-day deadline requirement (one meeting per region per school year) is met. Visit the Web site for more information. Visit the Web site for a list of states in each region.
4) Stay updated on legislative affairs
With a number of volatile issues being addressed in Congress, and with the AMA Student, Resident and Fellow Lobby Day set for March 31, the AMA-MSS Committee on Legislation and Advocacy (COLA) has been working around the clock to keep students up to date on current legislative affairs.
Recently, COLA published educational presentations and issue briefs on the 20/220 pathway, medical liability reform, health information technology and the Medicare physician payment issue. These materials can provide chapters with resources to inform their members and encourage them to take action. They also are an excellent way for students to become familiar with some of the issues that will be addressed at Lobby Day.
Learn more about what COLA is doing to keep students updated, and access published presentations and issue briefs.
>>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) AMA-MAC Governing Council seeks candidates
The AMA-MAC is seeking candidates for a pair of AMA-MAC Governing Council positions to be elected this spring: an AMA-MAC delegate to the AMA House of Delegates, and an at-large member. AMA-MAC members are encouraged to apply online beginning Jan. 10 and until Feb. 15. Also, appointments for new representatives from the National Medical Association, the AMA Resident and Fellow Section and the AMA Medical Student Section are being solicited from those respective groups.
Learn more (PDF, 84KB) about these and other leadership opportunities.
2) Grants available to free clinics that help the uninsured; apply by Jan. 14
The AMA Foundation is accepting applications for its 2008 Healthy Communities/Healthy America program, an initiative that awards $10,000 to $25,000 grants to physician-led free clinics that provide direct care to the underserved and uninsured.
Grants will be awarded to existing free clinics that request funds for specific projects and demonstrate excellence in providing affordable medical services, physician volunteerism, resourcefulness and leveraging abilities. Federally qualified health centers and referral networks that coordinate care but do not provide direct care themselves are ineligible to apply.
Completing a letter of inquiry is the first step in the grant process. To be considered for a grant, letters of inquiry are due by Jan. 14.
Learn more about the Healthy Communities/Healthy America program.
Download (PDF, 42KB) instructions for the letter of inquiry process.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Organized medical staff issues
1) Make your voice heard on key issues affecting medical staffs
Now is the time to make your voice heard and share your experience concerning key issues affecting medical staffs across the country.
AMA members can access the AMA-OMSS online message board and provide feedback and thoughts on the following issues:
- Protection of medical staff members' personal proprietary information
- Medical staff criminal background checks
- Joint Commission Standard MS.1.20
All AMA-OMSS representatives were sent an invitation via e-mail in August to participate in the newly launched AMA-OMSS online message board, and new representatives were sent an invitation in December. The subject of the e-mail was either "Invitation to Join the American Medical Association Discussion Facility's Collaboration Workspace" or "You have been added to the Organized Medical Staff Section (OMSS) Workspace."
If you did not receive an invitation, please send an e-mail to Courtney Perlino and your invitation will be re-sent to you.
2) 2007 AMA-OMSS Interim Assembly Meeting summary PowerPoint now available
The AMA-OMSS has developed a new tool through which AMA-OMSS representatives can communicate with their medical staffs and medical societies about policy and education activities from the 2007 AMA-OMSS Interim Assembly Meeting. This meeting summary PowerPoint serves as the foundation for reports that AMA-OMSS representatives make following the 2007 Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.
Please send an an e-mail to Courtney Perlino to receive the PowerPoint. Don't forget that the disposition of actions, meeting summary and highlighted reports from the 2007 AMA-OMSS Interim Assembly Meeting are also available. Access them.
Access faculty presentations and handouts of the AMA-OMSS educational programs.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Resident and fellow issues
1) Become a resident representative on the AMA-IMG Section Governing Council
Advocate for your colleagues as a resident representative of the AMA International Medical Graduate (IMG) Section Governing Council. The resident representative serves as a voting member of the IMG Governing Council, which represents and advocates for IMGs within the AMA. The AMA-RFS Governing Council nominates candidates to run in the IMG election, which is conducted on the AMA Web site. The deadline to apply for this two-year term is Feb. 26.
Download an application.
2) CDC: Nearly 1 in 5 adults can't afford health care
According to a new report released by the Centers for Disease control (CDC), nearly 20 percent of adults cannot afford their medical needs, including insurance, prescription drugs, eyeglasses, mental health and dental care. "This report shows that access to health care is still an issue where we need improvement," CDC director Julie Gerberding, MD, said in a statement.
View the report.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Women physician and women's health issues
(brought to you by the AMA Women Physicians Congress)
1) Candidates sought for AMA-WPC Governing Council positions
The AMA-WPC is seeking candidates for AMA-WPC Governing Council positions to be elected this spring: three section representatives—one each from the AMA Medical Student Section, the AMA Resident and Fellow Section and the AMA Young Physician Section—and two at-large members.
All female members of the AMA are encouraged to apply for these positions—through the AMA-WPC Web site for the at-large positions and through the respective sections for the other positions—beginning Jan. 10 and through Feb. 15.
Learn more about these and other leadership opportunities, and apply.
2) AMA-WPC disposition of actions online
The AMA House of Delegates (HOD) convened Nov. 11–13 in Honolulu for its 2007 Interim Meeting, and the AMA-WPC played an active role in policy items considered by the HOD.
View the AMA-WPC disposition of actions.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Young physician issues
1) Reminder: Nominations to AMA-elected councils due Jan. 7
The deadline for submitting nominations to AMA-elected councils for 2008 is Jan. 7. Please submit your nominations via e-mail to Brenda Vidana as soon as possible.
Visit the Web site for nomination forms and instructions. The AMA-elected councils are:
- AMA Council on Constitution and Bylaws
- AMA Council on Medical Education
- AMA Council on Medical Service
- AMA Council on Science and Public Health
2) Applications sought for Joan F. Giambalvo Scholarship Fund
Physicians interested in applying for the 2008 Joan F. Giambalvo Scholarship Fund must do so by Feb. 1. The AMA Women Physicians Congress (WPC) established this scholarship with the goal of advancing the progress of women in the medical profession and strengthening the AMA's ability to identify and address the needs and interests of women physicians and medical students.
Learn more and download an application.
3) AMA offers Web-based course in disaster preparedness
Physicians now have an easier way to ensure they're ready to serve as a first responder to any public health emergency. The AMA Center for Public Health Preparedness and Disaster Response is offering an online version of its nationally recognized Core Disaster Life Support® course, making it possible to access this critical training when and where it's convenient.
A four-hour, all-hazards program developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the program is designed to increase emergency responders' awareness of basic skills, competencies, knowledge and resources that are critical for a coordinated and effective local emergency response effort.
Send an e-mail or call Suraj Madoori at (312) 464–4074 to get login instructions for the course.
4) Young physician advocates, mark your calendars
Join hundreds of physicians and the AMA in Washington, D.C., from April 1–2 for the 2008 National Advocacy Conference. This is the premier opportunity for young physicians to talk to members of Congress and their staffs about key issues and to advocate for patients, the medical profession and the future of medicine.
Learn more and register.
>>Return to your news interest contents
General AMA news
1) Deadline extended for Medicare participation decision
With the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 now signed into law, physicians have until Feb. 15 to make changes to their 2008 participation status in the Medicare program. The law postpones for six months the 10.1 percent cut in the Medicare conversion factor and instead provides for a 0.5 percent increase from Jan. 1 through June 30. But the conversion factor adjustment is not the only change affecting 2008 Medicare payment rates. Payment changes will vary by service, specialty and location based on several other factors. With a 10 percent payment cut looming in the middle of the year, the 2008 Medicare participation decision is more complicated than it was previously, particularly because your decision is binding for the entire year. The AMA has posted on its Web site updated information about the various Medicare participation options and how the new law may affect your practice.
Read (PDF, 56KB) detailed information about Medicare participation options.
Learn (PDF, 40KB) how the new law may affect your practice.
>>Return to your general news contents
2) Ethics in brief: Lethal injection and the Supreme Court
On Jan. 7, the Supreme Court of the United States is scheduled to hear oral arguments in Baze v. Rees, in which an inmate is challenging Kentucky's method of lethal injection by arguing that it creates a substantial risk of unnecessary pain.
The court's decision will determine whether lethal injection—in Kentucky and nationally—complies with the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Many view the case as crucial to the future of capital punishment in this country.
The court won't actually address one aspect of lethal injection that's made headlines recently: physician participation in capital punishment. A decision that lethal injection is constitutional, however, could create more pressure to involve physicians in the process of execution.
Under well-established ethical guidelines, physicians are prohibited from taking action that may further an execution, either directly or indirectly. This ethical prohibition also bars physicians from providing advice during the development of a lethal injection protocol about whether an inmate will or will not feel pain; such advice could lead to changes in the method of lethal injection to permit its continued use. By advising about the likelihood of pain, physicians would be assisting in capital punishment, an action their role as healer will not tolerate.
For more about AMA policy on physician participation in capital punishment, see AMA policy E-2.06 (PDF, 37KB) or preview a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on this topic.
>>Return to your general news contents
3) Did you receive a Medicare satisfaction survey?
This month the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched its third Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey (MCPSS)—an effort aimed at measuring physicians' and other providers' satisfaction with Medicare fee-for-service contractors. CMS has randomly selected a combined 35,000 physicians and providers to complete the survey. The survey's focus is on physician communications, inquiries to contractors, claims processing, appeals, enrollment, medical review, and audit and reimbursement. The results will be used to improve Medicare contractor operations.
If you were one of the physicians selected to participate in the MCPSS, you should have received a survey notification packet in the mail during the first week of January. Please take the time to complete the survey if you have not already done so.
Visit the Web site for additional information about the MCPSS and to view results from the 2007 survey.
>>Return to your general news contents
4) Help the uninsured; apply for AMA Foundation grants before Jan. 14
This summer, the AMA Foundation will award up to 20 grants of $10,000 to $25,000 to physician-led free clinics across the country. In its second year, the 2008 Healthy Communities/Healthy America program continues to support these clinics which provide direct care to the underserved and uninsured population.
Grants will be awarded to existing free clinics that request funds for specific projects and demonstrate excellence in providing affordable medical services, physician volunteerism, resourcefulness and leveraging abilities. Federally-qualified health centers and referral networks that coordinate care but do not provide direct care themselves are ineligible to apply.
Last year, the AMA Foundation awarded more than $200,000 in Healthy Communities/Healthy America grants to 10 free clinics across the country. To help fund the program, Pfizer Inc. gave the AMA Foundation a major gift of $500,000 at the end of last year.
Learn more and apply. Submit your application before it's too late. Applications will be accepted through Jan. 14.
Visit the Web site (PDF, 42KB) for application instructions.
>>Return to your general news contents
5) On Sermo: Experiences with "Good Samaritan" care
Have you ever found yourself in a department store, on an airplane, or at a public place or event where someone is in need of emergency medical care? And are you aware of laws that protect physicians who render care to strangers who need spur-of-the-moment medical attention?
In his AMA eVoice column on Dec. 13, 2007, AMA President Ronald M. Davis, MD, highlighted his experiences during an in-flight medical emergency. Since then, many physicians on Sermo have shared their own experiences and weighed in about the legal and ethical issues surrounding Good Samaritan care.
Join the discussion.
Read Dr. Davis' original column and learn more about Good Samaritan laws in each state.
>>Return to your general news contents
6) In JAMA: Use of opioids to treat pain in emergency departments on the rise, but racial differences in opioid use still exist
In the last 15 years, use of opioid medications to treat patients with pain-related emergency department visits has improved although white patients were more likely to receive opioids than patients of a different race/ethnicity, according to a study in the Jan. 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Preview the study.
>>Return to your general news contents
Feedback
If you have specific comments on this edition of AMA eVoice, simply reply to this message. For more general feedback on AMA eVoice, send an e-mail to evoice@ama-assn.org and alert the editor of your comments and concerns. Do you have general questions about the AMA? Call the AMA Unified Service Center at (800) 262-3211.
Thank you for your AMA membership! The AMA's strength comes from its numbers. That strength grows when our membership increases — please urge your fellow physicians and medical students to join our cause by calling (800) 262–3211 or visiting the AMA Web site.
Content provided by: Member Publications