NEWS
AMA Delegate Report
Joseph B . Selby , MD Delegate and Chair
The June 2021 special meeting of the American Medical Association ( AMA ) ran from June 11-16 , 2021 , and was carried out on a virtual platform just like the last two meetings of the AMA . As in the past , there were two secure virtual platforms to be accessed , one for House of Delegates business and testimony and one for voting for officers . The four members of the delegation — myself , Hoyt Burdick , Jim Felsen , and Brad Henry — were in attendance .
The results of the election are as follows :
• Gerald Harmon , MD – president
• Jack Resneck Jr ., MD – president
• Madelyn E . Butler , MD – board of directors
• S . Bobby Mukkamala , MD – board of directors
• Jerry Abraham , MD , MCQ , MPH – Council on Constitution & By-Laws
• Mary Ann Contogiannis – Council on Constitution & By-Laws
• Alain Chaoui , MD – Council on Medical Service
• John T . Carlo , MD – Council on Science & Public Health
• Mary LaPlante , MD – Council on Science & Public Health
• Sherri Baker , MD – Council on Medical Education
• Louito C . Edje , MD , FAAFP , MHPE – Council on Medical Education
• Robert Goldberg , DO – Council on Medical Education
• Crystal L . Tomei – Council on Medical Education
REFERENCE COMMITTEE RESOLUTIONS AND REPORTS
Due to the meeting format and the time constraints , resolutions were reviewed prior to the meeting to determine if each met the requirements of timeliness and urgency . There were 84 resolutions that did not meet the criteria as determined by the Committee on Rules and Credentials .
There was a total of 70 resolutions considered , 66 that met the priority threshold , and four late resolutions accepted for consideration . From that total of 70 , 30 items were extracted for discussion and 33 items were accepted by a consent calendar vote . The items for discussion came from the usual seven committees : Constitution & By-Laws , Ethical & Judicial Affairs , Legislation , Long Range Planning & Development , Medical Education , Medical Service , and Science & Public Health . A summary of notable issues follows :
• Restricting the use of chemical restraints in agitated individuals outside the hospital setting
• Changing the profession of medicine to prevent and address racism , discrimination , and bias
• Enhancing medical education pathways to increase diversity in medicine
• Addressing equity in telehealth
• Opposing the restriction and criminalization of evidencebased , gender-affirming care
• The need to revise the definition of harm used by federal privacy regulators to prevent unintended consequences
• Support of strong privacy and equity protections under vaccine mandates and vaccine credentialing
• Steps to assure adequate healthcare resources to address the long-term COVID-19 crisis
• Address the increase in youth suicide
• Scope of practice issues related to the use of the term doctor
• Student , resident , and fellow debt
• Address discrimination against physicians who are being treated for opioid use disorder
• Preventing inappropriate use of patient-protected medical information in the vaccine process
• Support for graduate medical education programs and childcare residency training
• Unreasonable fees charged and inaccuracies by the American Board of Internal Medicine
• Call for modernization and standardization of public health systems
• Address medical misinformation in the age of social media
Finally , I ’ ve included my comments on the strategic plan to embed equity into the AMA . The issue received a great deal of attention at this meeting and in the press .
In June 2018 , the House of Delegates established an equity task force , which resulted in policy D-180.981 , “ Plan for Continued Progress Toward Health Equity .” In 2019 , the AMA established the Center for Health Equity that resulted in an 85-page AMA strategic plan to embed equity into the organization . That report was released to the public , and while the strategic plan was supported by members of the House of Delegates , there were calls for discussion , explanation , and definition of terms used in the report that some felt could have unintended consequences . This report seeks to pivot from ambivalence or even denial to a position of urgent action with respect to health equity and institutional racism .
If you should have questions about the plan , please contact the AMA Public Relations Department at mediarelations @ jamanetwork . org for more information . For AMA members , the plan is available on the AMA member website .
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