NEWS
AMA Delegate Report 2021 Special Meeting
Joseph B . Selby , MD Delegate and Chair
Nearly 700 physicians , residents , and medical students gathered virtually over five days in early November for the 2021 American Medical Association ( AMA ) special meeting . For consideration was a wide variety of clinical practice , payment , medical education , and public health topics . As was done at the last virtual meeting , resolutions needed to meet a priority threshold of urgency and timeliness in order to be considered .
Jim Felsen , MD , and I covered the reference committee deliberations and voted on the items that were presented to the House of Delegates . West Virginia has two voting delegates , so we were fully represented .
The reference committees conducted proceedings and made their recommendations . The reference committees were amendments to Constitution and By-Laws , Medical Service ( A ), Legislation ( B ), Medical Education ( C ), Science & Public Health ( D ), Science & Technology ( E ), Finance ( F ), and Medical Practice ( G ).
Highlights from the November 2021 AMA special meeting include the following :
• AMA President Gerald E . Harmon , MD , gave special recognition to healthcare workers , including young physicians and residents as COVID-19 ravages hospitals and nursing home facilities across the country . He stated , “ Like combat , the unrelenting demands of responding to COVID patients has led to physical and emotional exhaustion and is pushing physicians and the entire healthcare workforce to the breaking point .”
• Patients still trust doctors , and doctors count on the AMA . AMA Executive President and CEO James L . Madara , MD , provided survey data as proof of this trust in his address during the opening session of the 2021 special meeting . Trust in physicians was shown to be high among all groups , demographics , and political affiliations .
• Policy was adopted to allow the AMA to work with relevant health professional societies and other stakeholders to combat public health disinformation disseminated by health professionals in all forms of media and to address disinformation that undermines public health initiatives . There is a call for the AMA to promote and provide accurate evidence-based information and advice for patients and the public at large .
• The AMA has been given the charge by the nation ’ s physicians to prioritize the elimination of racial and ethnic inequalities in maternal healthcare while increasing the access to affordable health insurance for new mothers .
• The AMA is strongly invested in the betterment of public health and committed to advocating for reform to eliminate excessive police violence in marginalized communities . It may benefit law enforcement to borrow some of the strategies and practices the medical profession uses to ensure its members provide safe and effective care .
• Policy has been adopted by the AMA to support strengthening of U . S . public health systems . The current public health systems are underfunded and lack the workforce and data infrastructure and interoperability needed to promote health necessary to keep the population safe from disease and to save lives .
• The AMA adopted policy to encourage the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education review committees to consider adding exposure to rural medicine by the development of rural program tracks and training programs as appropriate .
• In an effort to seek more help for medical students and residents with disabilities , the House of Delegates has directed the AMA to ( 1 ) urge all medical schools and graduate medical education institutions to revise technical standards that emphasize abilities rather than limitations and ( 2 ) encourage the National Board of Medical Examiners , National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners , and member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties and the American Osteopathic Association to evaluate and enhance their process for reviewing requests for accommodation from applicants with disabilities .
• In other actions , the AMA called for :
• MDs and DOs to decide who gets medical vaccine exemptions
• More transparency on loan forgiveness for medical student loan debt
• Protecting medical students and residents who call out unsafe working conditions
• The House of Delegates took action calling for the AMA to support efforts to include medical cannabis license certification in states ’ prescription drug monitoring programs when consistent with AMA principles , safeguarding , patient privacy , and confidentiality .
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