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March 27, 2008
eVoice®
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) JAMA’s “Author in the room” series features comparison on weight loss strategies
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender physician issues
1) Canadian study finds sexual orientation affects health care use
Group practice physician issues
1) In AMNews: Physicians face April 1 deadline for Medicaid’s tamper-proof Rx pads
International medical graduate issues
1) Start planning for AMA-IMG Section Annual Meeting activities in June
2) Ensure your AMA membership is current
Medical school news
1) Save the date: AMA-SMS June meeting
2) Call for 2008 Annual Meeting resolutions
3) In AMNews: Students lose empathy for patients during medical school
4) New Commonwealth Fund chartbook on racial and ethnic disparities
Medical student issues
1) Apply now for AMA-MSS convention committees
2) Get involved in Cover the Uninsured Week, April 27–May 3
3) Mark your calendars: 2008 AMA-MSS Annual Assembly Meeting deadlines
4) Learn more about the Committee to Evaluate the USMLE Program
5) Mark your calendar: American Physician Scientists Association Annual Meeting, April 25–27
6) March issue of Virtual Mentor covers medicine and personhood
Minority health issues and professional concerns of minority physicians
1) Appointments and candidates for AMA-MAC Governing Council election announced
2) Online video focuses on treating elderly and minority patients with chronic illnesses
Organized medical staff issues
1) 2008 AMA-OMSS Annual Assembly Meeting registration now live
2) Just launched: New webcast on investigating health information transformation
3) View webcast on revised Joint Commission Standard MS.1.20
4) Check out most recent webcast on economic credentialing
5) Webcast explores future of health care
6) AMA-OMSS gearing up for its 2008–2010 governing council election
7) Now available: “Physician’s guide to medical staff organization bylaws”
8) Printable version of “Principles for strengthening the physician-hospital relationship” available online
Resident and fellow issues
1) AMA-RFS accepting applications for its 2008–2009 governing council
2) Match results show growing interest in family medicine
3) Just launched: New webcast on investigating health information transformation
4) In the Los Angeles Times: Doctors and sleep deprivation
Senior physicians issues
1) Cardiovascular screening covered under Medicare preventive services
Women physician and women's health issues
1) Candidates for AMA-WPC Governing Council election announced
2) In AMNews: Sleep times drop during work week
Young physician issues
1) AMA-YPS accepting nominations for its governing council
2) 2008 Community Service Award nominations due May 1
3) Interested in submitting a resolution to the AMA-YPS?
4) AMA-OMSS webcasts now available
General AMA news:
1) AMA National Advocacy Conference to convene next week
2) New AMA resources answer physicians’ questions about HIT donations
3) AMA disaster journal makes national headlines
4) Testimony concludes in key economic credentialing case
5) Ethics in Brief: National Healthcare Decisions Day
6) In JAMA: Preterm birth associated with diminished long-term survival, reproduction
Your news interests
Sign up to receive customized AMA eVoice messages.
Faculty practice physician issues
1) JAMA’s “Author in the room” series features comparison on weight loss strategies
Join the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in presenting April’s “Author in the Room” series, featuring Laura P. Svetkey, MD, author of “Comparison of strategies for sustaining weight loss: The weight loss maintenance randomized controlled trial.” The teleconference is scheduled for 2–3 p.m. EST April 16. To help launch this collaboration between IHI and JAMA, both IHI’s Donald Berwick, MD, and JAMA Editor Catherine D. DeAngelis, MD, co-authored a JAMA editorial.
Preview the JAMA editorial.
Sign up in advance for the teleconference.
Preview “Comparison of strategies for sustaining weight loss: The weight loss maintenance randomized controlled trial” by Dr. Svetkey.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender physician issues
1) Canadian study finds sexual orientation affects health care use
A new study published by the Canadian government in Health Reports found that the use of health care services and self-assessment of health status differ depending on sexual orientation.
The study, which surveyed more than 135,000 Canadians, showed that gay, lesbian and bisexual people have unique health care needs, particularly for mental health, having a primary care provider and overall health.
A few of the study’s key findings include:
- About 17 percent of bisexual women had contact with social workers or counselors, nearly three times the proportion of 6 percent among heterosexual women.
- Less than two-thirds of lesbians reported having had a Pap test within three years of the survey, well below the more than three-quarters of heterosexual and bisexual women who had done so.
- Twelve percent of bisexual men and 16 percent of bisexual women reported fair or poor health, versus 8 percent of men and women in the heterosexual population who reported the same health status.
View (PDF, 947KB) the full report.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Group practice physician issues
1) In AMNews: Physicians face April 1 deadline for Medicaid’s tamper-proof Rx pads
Beginning April 1, physicians are required to write Medicaid prescriptions on tamper-resistant prescription (Rx) pads. Written prescriptions must have at least one feature to prevent unauthorized copying, erasure or modification, or counterfeiting. The law, adopted by Congress as part of a military spending act in May 2007, does not apply to electronic, faxed or phoned prescriptions. Stakeholder organizations have worked closely with the AMA in the last few months to clarify the law’s requirements.
Physician practices that print their prescriptions on plain blank paper through electronic medical records might have the most difficulty meeting the April 1 deadline, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have allowed these practices an extension date of Oct. 1 to incorporate the security features.
View the recommended Rx pad features and additional information on the topic in the March 24 issue of American Medical News (AMNews).
>>Return to your news interest contents
International medical graduate issues
1) Start planning for AMA-IMG Section Annual Meeting activities in June
The AMA-IMG Section has numerous ways for you to be involved in its annual meeting in June. Mark your calendars and send in your registration form to attend the AMA-IMG Section annual congress, caucus/candidates forum, desserts reception and leadership development session that will be held June 13–16 at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in Chicago.
Download (Word, 94KB) a registration form.
Make your voice heard on important IMG issues by sending in your AMA-IMG Section resolutions for the 2008 Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates by May 8.
Visit the Web site for guidelines on writing resolutions.
2) Ensure your AMA membership is current
Make sure you take part in the AMA-IMG Section Governing Council elections in mid-April by renewing your AMA membership or joining the AMA today. Only IMGs who are currently AMA members can take part in the upcoming AMA-IMG Section elections.
Join or renew today.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Medical school news
(Brought to you by the AMA Section on Medical Schools)
1) Save the date: AMA-SMS June meeting
The next AMA-SMS meeting will be held June 13–15 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. This meeting will provide medical education colleagues an opportunity to network, help develop AMA policy, discuss issues affecting medical education and elect the next AMA-SMS Governing Council.
On June 13, the AMA-SMS will hold a joint educational session with the AMA Medical Student Section on recommendations from the comprehensive review of the United States Medical Licensing Examination and implications for licensure. The section will also hold a joint educational program with the AMA Councils on Medical Education and Science and Public Health on the challenges facing faculty, featuring speaker Darrell Kirch, MD, president of the Association of American Medical Colleges. On June 14, the AMA-SMS will present a panel on teaching teamwork and its impact on patient care. An open forum session will include discussions on competencies in geriatric medicine for medical students, advancing the use of performance measures in medical education and mini-presentations on innovations in faculty development.
Visit the Web site for meeting details.
2) Call for 2008 Annual Meeting resolutions
The AMA-SMS Resolutions Subcommittee is seeking ideas and/or actual language for resolutions that address areas of importance to academic physicians. These ideas will be considered at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in June. Resolutions are due April 21.
Send an e-mail to Jackie Drake if you have questions or a proposed resolution.
3) In AMNews: Students lose empathy for patients during medical school
In a recent study of medical students at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, it was reported that empathy significantly decreased during medical education. Communication experts said the study underscores other research on the value of empathy in the physician-patient relationship, according to an article in the March 24/31 issue of American Medical News (AMNews).
View the AMNews article.
4) New Commonwealth Fund chartbook on racial and ethnic disparities
Research continues to show that minorities in the U.S. are in poorer health, have more difficulty accessing health care and are more likely to receive lower quality care. The Commonwealth Fund has published a new collection of charts to serve as a valuable resource for understanding disparities and creating viable solutions.
View (PDF, 715KB) the chartbook.
View the Commonwealth Fund’s 2007 annual report.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Medical student issues
1) Apply now for AMA-MSS convention committees
Are you interested in becoming more involved in the AMA-MSS? If so, we encourage you to apply for one of the various AMA-MSS convention committees which serve to expedite the conduct of business at each meeting of the AMA-MSS Assembly. Positions are available on the AMA-MSS Community Service Project Committee, the AMA-MSS Logistics and Resources Committee, the AMA-MSS Reference Committee, the AMA-MSS Hospitality Committee and many more.
Apply for these convention committees that will serve at the 2008 AMA-MSS Annual Assembly Meeting in Chicago. Applications are due April 2. The Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates will be held June 12–14 in Chicago.
2) Get involved in Cover the Uninsured Week, April 27–May 3
As part of Cover the Uninsured Week (CTUW), April 27–May 3, medical students at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University have planned a weeklong series of events focusing on the uninsured and underserved. The week will kick off with a multi-location health fair, addressing chronic disease screening and education for the uninsured and medically underserved. Other events planned for the week include a lecture on the issue of the uninsured and suggestions for reform as well as a State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) enrollment fair at a local middle school. Send an e-mail to Barbara Onyia for more information about this event.
What is your chapter doing for CTUW? The AMA-MSS has many resources to help you plan a great event. Learn how to get involved and plan an event for your chapter.
3) Mark your calendars: 2008 AMA-MSS Annual Assembly Meeting deadlines
The 2008 AMA-MSS Annual Assembly Meeting will be held June 12–14 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The AMA-MSS will also hold its annual medical specialty showcase, where physicians from specialty societies represented in the AMA House of Delegates will provide comprehensive information on medical specialties before entering the residency selection process.
Stay tuned for more information on educational sessions, featured speakers and the AMA-MSS National Service Project, “Covering the uninsured and protecting access to care.”
Please keep the following AMA-MSS Annual Assembly Meeting deadlines in mind:
- Meeting ideas submission form due April 1
- Convention Committee applications due April 2
- Resolutions due April 25
- Chapter of the Year Award applications due April 30
- Meeting registration due May 8
- Governing Council position applications due May 18
Visit the Web site for more information and meeting applications.
4) Learn more about the Committee to Evaluate the USMLE Program
AMA-MSS members are appointed to serve as liaisons to AMA councils and various organizations and groups who work closely with the AMA.
Peter Ragusa, a student at the University of Minnesota Medical School and an AMA-MSS alternate delegate, is the current AMA student representative on the Committee to Evaluate the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Program (CEUP). In 2004, USMLE began a process for comprehensive review of the USMLE program. As a result, the CEUP was formed. After exhaustive information gathering and deliberation phases, whereby CEUP received broad stakeholder input, the committee is set to release its preliminary recommendations sometime in the next month.
Send an e-mail to Peter Ragusa for more information on CEUP.
Read more about CEUP’s current activities.
5) Mark your calendar: American Physician Scientists Association Annual Meeting, April 25–27
The American Physician Scientists Association (APSA) invites medical students to attend its fourth annual meeting, April 25–27, at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago. The meeting will provide a unique opportunity for research-oriented medical students to interact with their peers and leading physician-scientists from across the world. Renowned speakers include National Institutes of Health directors, National Academy of Science members, National Institutes of Medicine members and leaders from industry and public/global health. Activities include workshops on career development issues, a residency director luncheon, panel discussions with residents and fellows and mentorship breakfasts.
Learn more and register.
6) March issue of Virtual Mentor covers medicine and personhood
The physician must always treat the patient under the current standard of care, even though the problem may not appear to have a physical basis. Symptoms like angina often have a mental genesis, as demonstrated in patients with recurrent anxiety. Even so, physical symptoms necessitate physical examination upon each presentation. Writing off a patient as “crying wolf” is ethically inappropriate and dangerous to the patient’s health. The physician must focus on his or her true goal—to alleviate patient physical and mental suffering, even in the face of a seemingly nonphysical ailment.
This dilemma is one of many discussed in the March issue of Virtual Mentor, the AMA’s online ethics journal, which explores the relationship between the mind, body and brain and the connections between them. Questions such as “Are all humans persons?”, “When does personhood begin and when does it end?” and “Is one view of personhood enshrined by scientific medicine?” are all central to medical practice and discussed in this issue.
Read this month’s issue as well as past issues of Virtual Mentor. Check back in April for the next issue on medical care for U.S. immigrants.
>>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) Appointments and candidates for AMA-MAC Governing Council election announced
The AMA-MAC is pleased to announce candidates and appointments for its election taking place by electronic ballot April 14–May 14. Candidate profiles will be available online starting the first week of the election. Only MAC members of the AMA are eligible to vote in the election and will receive a postcard early April with online voting instructions and a passcode.
Send an e-mail to Wilda Knox with questions.
View the list of candidates and appointments.
Visit the Web site to renew your membership or join the AMA today.
2) Online video focuses on treating elderly and minority patients with chronic illnesses
In the United States, 33 million Americans are living with one or more chronic conditions, and that number is expected to grow to more than 171 million by 2030. Some populations—including elderly and minority patients—often face greater challenges when managing these conditions, such as language barriers, cultural differences and lower health literacy levels, which places them at a higher risk for infection.
To help doctors help patients gain self-management skills and take an active role in improving their health care, the AMA has released a new online program, “Self-management strategies for vulnerable populations,” as part of the Educating Physicians on Controversies and Challenges in Health series. This program presents self-management—the patient’s ability to monitor and respond to his or her chronic condition—as a key strategy for improving the health of patients with chronic conditions, and demonstrates how physicians can promote and support self-management among patients.
View this free video and others in the series. You can also learn more about how to earn continuing medical education credit through previously released episodes of this series.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Organized medical staff issues
1) 2008 AMA-OMSS Annual Assembly Meeting registration now live
The 2008 AMA-OMSS Annual Assembly Meeting will be held June 12–14 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Register online today.
2) Just launched: New webcast on investigating health information transformation
In light of the current national enthusiasm for electronic health records (EHR), the AMA-OMSS created a webcast that will help physicians identify their individual electronic record requirements. This webcast analyzes the strengths and possible pitfalls of current electronic history and physical designs and functionality, as well as offering potential remedies for identified problems. It also provides measures and benchmarks for evaluating a system’s ability to meet medical practice needs for quality care, compliance, usability, efficiency, data integrity and productivity. Finally, it provides a protocol and assesses the realistic manpower needs for the EHR transformation.
AMA members can view the webcast at no charge.
3) View webcast on revised Joint Commission Standard MS.1.20
The AMA-OMSS launched a new webcast on revised Standard MS.1.20 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 2009 is critical to preserving medical staff self-governance.
AMA members can view the webcast at no charge.
4) Check out most recent webcast on economic credentialing
Learn how to implement strategies to address the potential implementation of economic credentialing with the newest webcast from the AMA-OMSS. In addition, this webcast assists medical staffs in understanding legal issues involving economic credentialing policies and accessing physician/hospital rights and remedies and developing other methods for addressing physician/hospital disputes.
AMA members can view the webcast at no charge.
5) Webcast explores future of health care
What is the fundamental driving force affecting value in health care? A new webcast launched by the AMA-OMSS discusses and defines this question by exploring trends in their component parts (cost, access, quality and security of benefits) and describes future scenarios for health care, examining the implications for all health care stakeholders, including hospitals, physicians and local communities.
AMA members can view the webcast at no charge.
6) AMA-OMSS gearing up for its 2008–2010 governing council election
Interested in holding a leadership position within the AMA-OMSS? The AMA-OMSS Governing Council election for the 2008–2010 term will be held at the 2008 AMA-OMSS Annual Assembly Meeting in June.
Download an application. Applications are due May 14 to the attention of Kathleen Cole. Send an e-mail to Kathleen Cole or a fax to (312) 464-5845 with your application in order to be included in the online version of the 2008 AMA-OMSS Annual Assembly Meeting handbook. The online handbook will be available May 22; hard copies will be passed out at the meeting.
Visit the Web site for more information on AMA-OMSS Governing Council leadership opportunities and responsibilities.
7) Now available: “Physician’s guide to medical staff organization bylaws”
Because medical staff bylaws are considered a contract and are 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, 996KB) the guide at no charge. Non-AMA members will be able to purchase the guide in the coming weeks.
8) 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.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Resident and fellow issues
1) AMA-RFS accepting applications for its 2008–2009 governing council
The AMA-RFS will be electing the following governing council positions at its annual assembly meeting June 12–14 in Chicago:
- Vice chair
- Speaker
- Vice speaker
- Delegate
- Alternate delegate
- Membership and outreach officer
The AMA-RFS Governing Council directs the programs and activities of the section and holds meetings four times a year—in March, June, August and November. Applications must be received by the deadline to be included in the AMA-RFS Assembly handbook.
Visit the Web site for more information and an application. The deadline for applications is May 15.
2) Match results show growing interest in family medicine
2008 Match results showed an increase from 2007 in the number of medical students who chose family medicine residencies, resulting in a 91 percent fill rate of family medicine residency positions and setting a 10-year record. Thirty more family residency positions were offered this year, totaling 2,636—which was the first increase since 1998. This is a promising trend as the U.S. faces increasing shortages in primary care physicians, but there is more work that needs to be done to address the still-growing national shortage.
Learn more about medical students’ increasing interest in family medicine in an American Academy of Family Physicians article.
3) Just launched: New webcast on investigating health information transformation
Facing current national enthusiasm for electronic health records (EHR), the AMA Organized Medical Staff Section created a webcast that will help physicians identify their individual electronic record requirements. This webcast analyzes the strengths and possible pitfalls of current electronic history and physical designs and functionality, as well as offering potential remedies for identified problems. It also provides measures and benchmarks for evaluating a system’s ability to meet medical practice needs for quality care, compliance, usability, efficiency, data integrity and productivity. Finally, it provides a protocol and assesses the realistic manpower needs for the EHR transformation.
AMA members can view the webcast at no charge.
4) In the Los Angeles Times: Doctors and sleep deprivation
Although sleep is recognized as important to health, many physicians are sleep-deprived, especially residents that work long shifts. The medical profession seems more sensitive to sleep needs of residents with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education 80-hour work limits, but some studies suggest this limit has little effect. Many physicians stop short of saying how much sleep is needed until quantitative methods of measuring fatigue are developed.
Read the March 24 article from the Los Angeles Times.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Senior Physicians issues
1) Cardiovascular screening covered under Medicare preventive services
High levels of cholesterol can increase your risk for heart disease and stroke.
Did you know Medicare covers cardiovascular screenings that check your cholesterol and other blood fat (lipid) levels? These screening tests reveal whether or not you have high cholesterol, enabling you to make lifestyle changes (like changing your diet) to lower your cholesterol and stay healthy. Medicare covers these tests every five years.
Learn more about this and other preventive services covered under Medicare.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Women physician and women's health issues
(brought to you by the AMA Women Physicians Congress)
1) Candidates for AMA-WPC Governing Council election announced
The AMA-WPC is pleased to announce candidates for its AMA-WPC Governing Council election. View a listing of the candidates. Candidates’ profiles will be available for viewing online starting the week of the election. The election will take place by electronic ballot April 14–May 14.
AMA-WPC members will receive a postcard in early April with online voting instructions and a passcode. Please note that AMA membership is required to vote in this election.
Send an e-mail to Wilda Knox with questions.
2) In AMNews: Sleep times drop during work week
America’s inability to get enough sleep is taking its toll, according to a March 24/31 article in American Medical News (AMNews).
Visit the Web site to find out why many sleep experts worry that insufficient sleep trends could hurt people’s health.
Visit the Web site for information and resources on life balance for physicians.
>>Return to your news interest contents
Young physician issues
1) AMA-YPS accepting nominations for its governing council
The AMA-YPS is currently accepting nominations for the following leadership positions on its governing council:
- Chair-elect, who will serve a three-year term: one year as chair-elect, one year as chair, and one year as immediate past chair
- Speaker, who will be elected to a one-year term in 2008 (beginning in June 2009, the speaker will be elected to a two-year term)
- Delegate, who will represent the AMA-YPS in the AMA House of Delegates for a two-year term
Download (Word, 73KB) a nomination form. Nomination forms received by April 14 will be available for viewing on the AMA-YPS Web site beginning April 15. After this date, nominations will be posted to the Web site as they are received by AMA-YPS staff.
Nominations will be accepted by fax or e-mail to the AMA-YPS until June 2, but after this date, nominations will only be accepted from the floor at the AMA-YPS Annual Assembly Meeting on June 13.
All terms of office will begin at the close of the 2008 Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.
Learn more about AMA-YPS Governing Council positions and duties.
2) 2008 Community Service Award nominations due May 1
Through its annual Community Service Award, the AMA-YPS strives to not only recognize excellence in community service activities carried out by young physicians but to also encourage similar efforts by other doctors. Nomination forms for the 2008 Community Service Award are due May 1. Award recipients will be selected by the AMA-YPS Governing Council and honored for their work during the AMA-YPS Annual Assembly Meeting June 13.
Learn more and download an award nomination form.
3) Interested in submitting a resolution to the AMA-YPS?
Now is the time to begin drafting resolutions to be considered by the AMA-YPS at its annual assembly meeting June 13. Resolutions must be faxed to (312) 464-5845 or e-mailed by May 2. Delegates can submit resolutions either as individuals or on behalf of a state or specialty society.
Learn more about how to submit a resolution to AMA-YPS. Send an e-mail to Jane Ascroft if you have questions or need assistance with a resolution.
4) AMA-OMSS webcasts now available
The AMA Organized Medical Staff Section recently launched a series of webcasts based on educational programs offered at the 2007 Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates. The following webcasts can be viewed by AMA members at no charge:
- “Physician and patient advocacy: Keys to the successful implementation of the new Joint Commission Medical Staff Bylaws Standard MS.1.20”; learn more and view this webcast.
- “The future of health care: The quest for value for all Americans”; learn more and view this webcast.
- “Economic credentialing: What medical staff leaders need to know”; learn more and view this webcast.
- “Investigating health information transformation: Strategies for successful EHR selection and implementation”; learn more and view this webcast.
>>Return to your news interest contents
General AMA news
1) AMA National Advocacy Conference to convene next week
On April 1–2, hundreds of physicians and medical students will gather in Washington, D.C., for the 2008 AMA National Advocacy Conference. Participants will get an insider’s view of the political climate on Capitol Hill and the latest on medicine’s legislative priorities. As part of the conference, members of the AMA and AMA Alliance will shine a spotlight on an issue that affects both patients and the medical community: Medicare payment reform. Together, the groups will rally April 2 at Capitol Hill’s Upper Senate Park to show support for the Save Medicare Act of 2008 (S. 2785). The bill would avert steep cuts in Medicare physician payments that are set to take effect July 1.
On March 31, the AMA Foundation will host its Excellence in Medicine Awards dinner, and the AMA Alliance will hold its Capitol Conference—Winter Session for physicians’ spouses and their families.
Learn more about the National Advocacy Conference.
>>Return to your general news contents
2) New AMA resources answer physicians’ questions about HIT donations
Physicians who are considering the implementation of health information technology (HIT) into their practices almost always cite cost at the top of their list of concerns. But since 2006, Stark law exceptions and the Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbors have enabled physician practices to adopt electronic prescribing and electronic health records technology through donations from hospitals, health systems and health plans. These donations, although helpful in alleviating the costly transition to HIT, still raise many questions, such as “Does the donated system have appropriate functionality for my practice?” and “Does the technology meet my practice needs?”
The AMA strongly urges physicians to proceed with caution when accepting HIT donations. That’s why the AMA has developed resources to assist physicians in deciding whether or not acceptance is the correct choice for their practice, as well as questions to consider upon their proposal. The guide, “Health information technology: A guide for physicians,” and flier, “Health information technology donations: What physicians should know,” cover the consequences of accepting a donation, what to look for in a contract with the donating organization, the readiness of the practice to successfully adopt HIT and the allowances included in the Stark law exceptions and Anti-Kickback Statute safe harbors.
View and download these resources at no charge.
In May, the AMA will host a Web conference on this topic. Stay tuned to future issues of AMA eVoice for more information about this upcoming program.
>>Return to your general news contents
3) AMA disaster journal makes national headlines
In a March 13 Wall Street Journal Health Blog entry entitled “When thousands can’t breathe, who gets a ventilator?” Jacob Goldstein writes, “There may someday come a flu pandemic so horrible that the number of Americans in respiratory failure will far exceed the number of mechanical ventilators needed to keep them alive. What do we do then? The state of New York has taken a crack at the answer.”
Goldstein is referring to New York’s newly developed model guidelines for ventilator allocation in disasters that were published in this month’s issue of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.
The model guidelines were also covered in the March 25 issue of the New York Times, which stated that “…doctors and hospitals would have no choice but to start taking some people off the machines so that others could live. Removal ‘is absolutely the crux of the problem,’ said a lead author of the study, Dr. Tia Powell, who has spent much of her career studying medical ethics.”
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness is the first peer-reviewed journal of its kind, and is published by the AMA in association with Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
View the Wall Street Journal Health Blog.
View the New York Times article.
View the March issue of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.
View a copy of New York’s guidelines.
>>Return to your general news contents
4) Testimony concludes in key economic credentialing case
The outcome of a recently concluded trial in Little Rock, Ark., could have broad implications for physicians with respect to economic credentialing policies used by hospitals.
The Litigation Center of the AMA and state medical societies is among the plaintiffs in Little Rock Cardiology Clinic v. Baptist Health, a closely watched case that challenges the policy used by the largest hospital system in Arkansas. The policy prevents physicians who have an interest in a specialty hospital, which Baptist claims is a competitor, from having privileges at Baptist.
The AMA, the Arkansas Medical Society and many other physician groups strongly oppose economic credentialing because decisions about a doctor’s hospital privileges should be made based on his or her qualifications and competencies, not on economic matters unrelated to patient care. During the nine-day bench trial, Baptist’s chief executive officer made headlines by admitting on the stand that the primary purpose of his company’s policy was to protect Baptist’s finances by preventing competition. Several witnesses, including Baptist's own witnesses, testified that the policy would or could interfere with the patient-physician relationship.
Among the plaintiff’s witnesses was Regina Benjamin, MD, chair-elect of the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, who testified that the policy is unjust because it assumes physicians will act unethically, is overly broad and provides no due process or appeal rights to the physician. A decision by Judge Collins Kilgore is expected later this spring.
In addition to its direct participation in the case, the AMA Litigation Center has provided financial assistance to the cardiologists for their legal costs.
In related news, the AMA Litigation Center was featured this week in Medical Economics. Read the article.
>>Return to your general news contents
5) Ethics in Brief: National Healthcare Decisions Day
Thinking and talking about end-of-life issues can be difficult for all involved, as most people, including physicians, do not like to think about their own mortality. But as the population ages and technologies for sustaining life continue to evolve, discussions about what kind of care individuals want at the end of life become increasingly important.
Because they’re so intimately involved in the decisions that patients make about end-of-life issues, physicians must be knowledgeable about patients’ options for expressing their preferences through advance directives and surrogate decision makers (durable power of attorney for health care). They should be prepared to talk with patients about their goals for care at the end of life, the kinds of treatment decisions that they and their families may face and, if they lose decision-making capacity, whom they would want to make decisions on their behalf. Physicians should encourage patients to document their treatment preferences or appoint a health care proxy in the event that a health decision must be made when the patient is unable to make it.
This year, April 16 has been recognized as National Healthcare Decisions Day. The AMA and many other national and regional medical and legal organizations have joined together to promote the benefits of advance planning. With the national focus on health care planning, physicians should take this opportunity to discuss with their patients how, why and when these decisions should be made.
Visit the Web site (PDF, 44KB) for ethical guidelines on advance planning and surrogate decision makers.
Visit the Web site for more information on National Healthcare Decisions Day.
View the Senate Joint Resolution supporting National Healthcare Decisions Day.
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6) In JAMA: Preterm birth associated with diminished long-term survival, reproduction
An analysis of births in Norway found that people born preterm had an increased risk of death throughout childhood and lower rates of reproduction in adulthood compared to people born at term, according to a study in the March 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In an accompanying editorial, the authors comment on the findings of this study.
View the study.
Preview the editorial on this topic.
View the JAMA report on this study.
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