Prioritization of Council Tasks
Full Text
At the 2000 Annual Meeting, the House of Delegates (HOD) adopted Substitute Resolution 623. The policy emanating from this Resolution provides a framework for Councils to prioritize assigned tasks, commensurate with the desires of both the HOD and the Board to be appropriately focused and responsive.
Policy G-615.030 Council Activities (AMA Policy Database)
American Medical Association policy on the activities of its Councils includes the following: (1) The Councils should actively seek stakeholder input into all items of business; (2) Individual AMA Councils are allowed to prioritize tasks assigned to their respective work subject areas taking into consideration established AMA strategic priorities and the external regulatory, business, and legislative environment affecting our AMA membership and the health care system in which we provide care to our patients; and (3) Each AMA Council, after each meeting of the House, shall prepare a priority ranking of Council tasks, including assigned reports, for presentation at the next meeting of the House and this priority ranking shall be communicated electronically to the House. (BOT Rep. 15, A-00; Consolidated: CLRPD Rep. 3, I-01)
Since the adoption of this resolution, the strategic planning process at our AMA has undergone a series of revisions in order to increase strategic focus and execution of our AMA’s activities. The Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH), like all other components of the AMA, must balance its activities with several other key activities requiring the same AMA staff resources, including the function of Strategic Issue Teams, core programs and support activities, and other governance-related tasks, including support of Senior Management and the Board of Trustees, and the implementation of HOD actions. In order to be transparent and responsive to the HOD, the CSAPH has decided to make use of the prioritization process directed by HOD-adopted policy.
Therefore, beginning with the 2007 Annual Meeting, the CSAPH intends to prioritize its reports and activities, either assigned by our AMA’s HOD or developed in response to a Council initiative, and to communicate these priorities to the HOD electronically. This informational report explains the criteria that the CSAPH will use in prioritizing activities. Although various tasks may be assigned different priority rankings, as always, the CSAPH will continue its effort to respond to HOD-assigned tasks in an appropriate and timely fashion.
Criteria for the Prioritization of CSAPH Tasks and Activities
The CSAPH will consider the following criteria in prioritizing Council reports, or other activities:
1. Relevance to the AMA strategic plan. The most heavily weighted prioritization criterion is relevance to the current AMA strategic plan. In addition to fostering a sustainable AMA through segment-specific membership strategies, strategic plan commitments currently address five major areas, each containing several focus areas:
Health Care Environment. Care for the uninsured; Medicare payment reform; Medical liability reform; Scope of practice regulation.
Clinical Excellence. Quality improvement; Patient safety; Health information technology; Health disparities; Care for the aging.
Health of the Public. Healthy lifestyles; Disaster preparedness; Adult immunizations; International medicine.
Physician Practice Viability. Reforming private health plan payment and other practices; Developing credible physician practice information; Privatization of government programs; Forming a bridge between physicians and payers; Monitoring the impact of consumerism on healthcare.
Physician Education and Professionalism. Medical student financing; Transformation of medical education; Professionalism and ethics; Workforce distribution.
2. Impact.
In utilizing this criterion, the Council will consider whether the report or activity will have a significant impact on the issue, and what impact the report or activity is likely to have on clinical practice and public health. This may take into account whether other medical specialties or organizations have issued recent reports or are working on similar issues.
3. Is this an emerging, or previously ignored issue (not covered in #1) that
demands the immediate attention of the AMA or the Federation.
There are issues the Council may identify periodically that are not specifically covered in the AMA strategic plan, but are nevertheless, of emerging and overriding interest. These issues will be assigned a higher priority. Examples from the past are the pre-9/11 examination by the CSAPH of bioterrorism and disaster preparedness, and the Clinical Research Summit initiative leading to the Institute of Medicine Clinical Research Roundtable. The Council will continue to examine important science and public health issues that need to be addressed in a proactive fashion.
4. Relevance to the regulatory and legislative environment.
In general, issues that have a scientific or public health underpinning, and are the focus of specific ongoing state and/or federal legislative or regulatory initiatives, will have a higher priority. CSAPH initiatives in these areas will largely rely on requests for assistance from the Council on Legislation or the Board of Trustees.
5. Relevance for Federation members.
In general, a higher priority will be assigned to items that are cross-cutting and affect multiple medical specialty societies and/or special sections. A lower priority will be assigned to an issue that is considered a vested interest for a single group.
6. Resources.
Finally, attention must be given to whether resources, including staff expertise, are available to accomplish the required task.
Comment
In using these criteria to prioritize reports and activities, the Council seeks to ensure that available resources are used initially to foster completion of those tasks that are most relevant to the AMA, and will have the greatest impact. With respect to the AMA Strategic Plan, the Council is most likely to consider initiatives under “Clinical Excellence” and “Health of the Public.” However, the Council understands that its initiatives must be carefully considered, and are necessarily limited in number and scope by the available resources. In order to be transparent and responsive to the HOD, the criteria noted above will be weighted in terms of importance, and a formal prioritization process initiated with the 2007 Annual Meeting.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Because this is an informational report, it does not contain recommendations.
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