NEWS
AMA Delegate Report
A Virtual Reality
Joseph B . Selby , MD Delegate and Chair
The interim meeting of the American Medical Association ( AMA ) became the Special Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates and was scheduled to meet in November 2020 . The special meeting was held virtually November 13-17 , 2020 . Two virtual platforms were utilized : one to attend the House of Delegates business sessions dealing with resolutions and reports and a second that allowed for secure and confidential voting for registered delegates or their alternate . The West Virginia delegation consisted of myself and Hoyt Burdick , MD , as delegates . The alternate delegates were Jim Felsen , MD ; Brad Henry , MD ; and Brad Hall , MD , our current West Virginia State Medical Association ( WVSMA ) president . At any point in time during voting there could only be two members of our delegation signed in , so it was essential that we stayed in touch with one another by group text or cell phone .
The conference room at the WVSMA office was set up as a command center from which I participated in the virtual House of Delegates business meeting and from where my votes were cast . The remainder of the delegation partici pated from home or work . Danny Scalise and Heather Nelson were present Saturday , Sunday , Monday , and Tuesday for technical assistance and information support .
The virtual platforms worked quite well . One was able to see and hear testimony on reports and resolutions . Voting was secure , and results were immediate . There were at least two issues that were decided by one vote .
The items for consideration as business went through a rigorous process to determine the immediate and essential nature of the resolution so as to limit the volume as the virtual format could not accommodate a large volume in the time allotted . There was a process for appeal and an extraction mechanism that allowed reconsideration of the resolution committee decision . Ultimately a vote by the registered delegates determined if an item would be discussed .
What follows is a list of the reference committees and a brief description of highlights . A detailed report from each reference committee and the actions approved are available on the AMA member website .
CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
CEJA Report 1 , Descriptive Behavior and Discrimination by Patients . Disrespectful and prejudiced language or conduct on the part of either patients or physicians can undermine the patient-physician relationship . Trust can be established only when there is mutual respect . Physicians should terminate the patient-physician relationship only when the patient will not modify disrespectful , derogatory , or prejudiced behavior that is within the patients ’ control in keeping with ethics guidance . Patients should be made aware that they are able to seek care from another source if they persist in opposing treatment from the physician assigned .
CEJA Report 2 , Routine Immunization of Physicians . Policy in this report establishes that physicians have an ethical responsibility to encourage patients to accept immunizations when the patient can do so safely . Physicians also have responsibility to accept immunization absent a recognized medical contraindication or when a specific vaccine would pose a significant risk to the physician ’ s patient .
Resolution 005 , Racism as a Public Health Threat . The AMA encourages the development , implementation , and evaluation of undergraduate , graduate , and continuing medical education programs and curricula that engender greater understanding of the causes , influence , and effects of systemic , cultural , institutional , and interpersonal racism .
REFERENCE COMMITTEE A , COUNCIL ON MEDICAL SERVICE
Council on Medical Service Report 1 : Options to Maximize Coverage under the AMA Proposal for Reform . The AMA supports that a public option to expand health insurance coverage must meet a series of standards proposed . The public option should be made available to uninsured individuals who fall into the coverage gap in states that do not expand Medicaid at no or nominal cost .
REFERENCE COMMITTEE B , LEGISLATION
Policy was adopted to address the growing concern that postemployment non-competes can be problematic for employed physicians and the patient-physician relationship . The AMA is directed to assist state medical associations , national medical specialties , and physician members as they navigate the maze of restrictive covenant policy at the state level .
12 • www . wvsma . org