Meeting Highlights - Wednesday, June 17, 2009
‘Be the change’During an inspirational inaugural address Tuesday evening, AMA President J. James Rohack, MD, urged physicians to work together and speak as one, bringing to light the ever-changing times in medicine and society—and hope for a promising future. |  AMA President J. James Rohack, MD, was inaugurated Tuesday evening. (AMA photo/Ted Grudzinski)
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| Dr. Rohack recognized the AMA’s concurrent adaptation with these changing times, particularly the 1957-adopted ninth principle of its Code of Medical Ethics, one that trumps all: “A physician |
Stressing the unmistakable and urgent need for health system reform, Dr. Rohack promised physicians that the AMA is committed to offering guidance, expertise and a powerful voice on behalf of the profession to help the powers that be make the right decisions. He urged all Americans to be a part of this evolution.
“When survival is threatened, those who change survive,” Dr. Rohack said. “The evolutionary gain is not always to the swift, the strongest or most intelligent, but to the most adaptable.
“In this extraordinary moment in our history, we as physicians must not only anticipate change, or respond to change, or adapt to change. We ourselves must be the change we hope to see in our health care system. I’m excited about it and confident we can do it.”
Throughout the centuries, Dr. Rohack said, as the science of medicine has evolved, the art has remained the same. He challenged physicians to keep it that way.
“We must hold true to our ethics as the evolution of the American health care system unfolds,” Dr. Rohack said. “And never forget that we as a profession exist for the patients we serve.”
Remembering an extraordinary year
In her farewell address to the House on Tuesday evening, AMA Immediate Past President Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, briefly reflected on the past 12 months, a span that saw health system reform become one of the nation’s leading issues.
“A lot of it is timing,” Dr. Nielsen said, “but it’s really been a remarkable year.”
She also offered a little light advice to the AMA’s new president, J. James Rohack, MD.
“We all need to remember,” she said with a smile, “today’s peacock is tomorrow’s feather duster.”
Earlier in the day, Dr. Nielsen provided a final display of leadership as the AMA’s president, urging delegates to adopt health system reform policy that is consistent with the AMA’s principles of pluralism, freedom of choice, freedom of practice and universal access for patients.
“Here’s what America is waiting to hear from us,” she said to the House after conducting an interview by CNN. “The question was clear. What is it that the AMA supports? I ask you to pass what we support.”
The votes are in
On Tuesday, the AMA House of Delegates elected David O. Barbe, MD, a family physician in Mountain Grove, Mo., to the AMA Board of Trustees (BOT). Both Ardis D. Hoven, MD, an infectious disease specialist in Lexington, Ky., and Robert M. Wah, MD, an ob-gyn and reproductive endocrinologist in McLean, Va., were re-elected to the AMA-BOT. Raj Ambay, MD, a plastic surgery resident at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, was elected to the resident/fellow position on the board. And Justin B. Mahida, a medical student at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, was elected to the board's medical student position.
Dr. Barbe’s election to the AMA-BOT opened an additional spot on the AMA Council on Medical Service. In addition to Columbus, Ohio, neonatologist Craig W. Anderson, MD, delegates elected Danvers, Mass., cardiologist Thomas E. Sullivan, MD, to the council.
Also on Tuesday, the House elected Baltimore internist and National Medical Association President-elect Willarda V. Edwards, MD, and re-elected New London, Conn., thoracic surgeon Michael M. Deren, MD, to the AMA Council on Constitution and Bylaws. Jason W. Sharp, MD, a radiology resident at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, was elected to the resident/fellow position on the council.
To the AMA Council on Medical Education, the House elected William McDade, MD, a Burr Ridge, Ill., anesthesiologist, and Darlyne Menscer, MD, a Charlotte, N.C., family physician; and re-elected Baretta R. Casey, MD, a Hazard, Ky., family physician; Mahendr S. Kochar, a Milwaukee internist; and Richard B. Reiling, MD, a Charlotte, N.C., surgeon.
Delegates elected Ilse R. Levin, DO, a Massachusetts internist and epidemiologist, and Bobby Mukkamala, MD, a Flint, Mich., otolaryngologist, to the AMA Council on Science and Public Health. L. Shane Hopkins, MD, a radiation oncology resident at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y., was elected to the resident/fellow position on the council.
By acclamation on Saturday, Winter Park, Fla., internist Cecil B. Wilson, MD, was elected president-elect; Denver psychiatrist Jeremy A. Lazarus, MD, was re-elected to a third term as speaker; and Altoona, Pa., hand surgeon Andrew W. Gurman, MD, was re-elected to a third term as vice speaker.
New AMA portal to help doctors cope with challenges of practice
The AMA is in the process of building a Web-based portal for physicians that will offer clinical resources, point-of-care clinical references and patient education options from the nation’s leading sources.
This portal will have practice management references like those in the AMA’s “Appeal that Claim” campaign and tools to help navigate the claims process as well as assist with the financial infrastructure of a practice. It will also contain professional resources around ethics, continuing education and helping physicians enhance their careers.
In addition, the AMA is working alongside the Michigan State Medical Society to launch this portal concept. Stay tuned for more details in the weeks and months to come.
Check your e-mail for health system reform details
All delegates and alternate delegates will receive an e-mail Thursday morning containing a message kit that highlights the AMA’s efforts on health system reform. The message kit will contain:
- A summary of health system reform policies adopted at this meeting
- Talking points on the AMA’s ongoing advocacy efforts regarding health system reform
- A copy of President Barack Obama’s speech to the AMA House of Delegates Monday
- A reminder that physicians and patients can get involved in the debate through the AMA’s grassroots programs
