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2007 Interim Meeting Information memo

Memo to:
Delegates, Alternate Delegates
Executive Directors
State Medical Associations
National Medical Specialty Societies
Other National Medical Societies
AMA Sections and Special Groups

From:
Jeremy A. Lazarus, MD
Speaker, House of Delegates

Andrew W. Gurman, MD
Vice Speaker, House of Delegates

Date:
August 15, 2007

Subject:
2007 Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association House of Delegates

Your Speakers want to inform you of plans for the upcoming Interim Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii.  If you have questions regarding any of the following items, or questions on AMA policy, please call (312) 464-4463, or e-mail to hod@ama-assn.org. As a reminder, the Interim Meeting will be held at the Hawaii Convention Center while the headquarters hotel will be the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  Shuttle buses will be available to transport meeting attendees between venues if they choose not to walk.

Tentative schedule

The 2007 Interim Meeting will convene at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, and is scheduled to adjourn by noon on Tuesday, Nov. 13. A tentative schedule that your Speakers have determined for the meeting is available online (Word, 29KB).

Resolutions

The business of the Interim Meeting will be focused on advocacy and legislation. A Resolution Committee has been appointed to consider resolutions submitted for the Interim Meeting and make recommendations to your Speakers on whether resolutions should be considered at the meeting.

For the purposes of the Interim Meeting, advocacy shall be defined as follows:

Active use of communication and influence with public and private sector entities responsible for making decisions that directly affect physician practice, payment for physician services, funding and regulation of education and research, and access to and delivery of medical care.

The Speakers are appointing five Reference Committees to consider the resolutions presented at the Interim Meeting. The Reference Committee on Amendments to Constitution and Bylaws will consider business relative to the Constitution and Bylaws and ethics, and Reference Committee F will focus on AMA finance and governance issues. Those resolutions accepted for consideration at the Interim Meeting that have an advocacy or legislative focus will be assigned to Reference Committees J, K, and L, according to the following guidelines:

• Resolutions dealing explicitly with advocacy directed toward federal and state agencies in the areas of physician practice, payment, education and research, and improved access to and delivery of medical care.
• Resolutions dealing explicitly with advocacy directed toward private sector agencies in the areas of physician practice, payment, education and research, and improved access to and delivery of medical care.
• Resolutions dealing explicitly with the achievement of the AMAs goals in the legislative process at the federal and state levels.

In addition, resolutions that do not meet the advocacy criteria, but are considered by the Resolution Committee to be "urgent" will be accepted for consideration at the Interim Meeting, as will resolutions that address ethics issues. Per adoption of Council on Constitution and Bylaws Report 2-A-03, resolutions that are not accepted for consideration by the House will not be held over until the 2008 Annual Meeting, but may be resubmitted for consideration at a future meeting.

When drafting resolutions for submission, please give close attention to the following:

• The title of the resolution should appropriately and concisely reflect the action for which it calls.
• Information contained in the resolution should be checked for accuracy.
• The "Resolved" portions should stand alone, since the House adopts only the "Resolved" portions and the "Whereas" portions do not appear in the Proceedings.
• Sponsors of resolutions should carefully consider Policy G-600.061, "Guidelines for Drafting a Resolution" and try, whenever possible, to make adjustments, additions, or elaborations of AMA policy positions by recommending modifications to existing AMA policy statements rather than creating new policy.
• Each resolve clause in a recommendation must be followed by a phrase, in parentheses, that indicates the nature and purpose of the resolve (HOD Action, A-02). These phrases are the following:
  (a) New HOD Policy
  (b) Modify Current HOD Policy--This designation is intended for resolutions that call for specific amendments or modifications to a specific policy (e.g., RESOLVED, That our AMA amend Policy H-123.456 by insertion as follows...)
  (c) Modify Bylaws
  (d) Rescind HOD Policy
  (e) Reaffirm HOD Policy (specific policy to be reaffirmed should be included in the resolve clause)
  (f) Directive to Take Action
• Resolutions submitted for consideration by the House of Delegates should include an appendix of existing policy related to the subject, provided by the sponsor, and supplemented as necessary by AMA staff (HOD action, I-96).
• Resolutions should include, whenever possible or applicable, appropriate reference citations to facilitate independent review by delegates prior to policy development (HOD action, A-07).
• Resolutions seeking endorsement or AMA adoption of specific screening tests must include an evidence-based review that determines the strength or quality of the evidence supporting the request (see AMA Policy G-600.064).
• State and specialty societies are strongly encouraged to communicate directly with the AMA Executive Vice President to obtain specific action on issues for which there is already existing AMA policy (HOD action, I-99).
• A fiscal note setting forth the estimated resource implications (expense increase, expense reduction, or change in revenue) of the proposed policy, program, or action shall be generated by AMA staff in consultation with the sponsor. Estimated changes in expenses will include direct outlays by the AMA as well as the value of the time of the AMA's staff. A succinct description of the assumptions used to estimate the resource implications must be included in each fiscal note (HOD action, A-03).

Deadline dates

In order to provide better service, streamline the processing of business for the House of Delegates, and increase the efficiency with which the Handbook is produced, the Speakers require that each resolution be submitted to the House of Delegates Office via e-mail to carla.frenzel@ama-assn.org. The receipt of all resolutions is confirmed via a return e-mail message from this office—if you do not receive such an e-mail, your resolution has not been received. We would appreciate your cooperation in sending us your resolutions as soon as they are available.

Per the AMA Bylaws, on time resolutions are those that are received at least 30 days prior to the opening of each House of Delegates Meeting.  In order to accommodate printing and mailing deadlines, only those resolutions that are received by Sept. 26 will be included in the Delegate Handbook. Resolutions received after that date will be included in the supplemental mailing, or distributed on site as necessary.  All business will also be posted on the AMA web site.

The AMA Bylaws provide an exception for those state associations and specialty societies whose Houses adjourn during the five week period preceding commencement of an HOD meeting. (Note that this period was shortened by two days when the Bylaws were revised at I-06). These organizations are allowed seven (7) days after their adjournment to submit resolutions.

Late resolutions that are received after the 30-day and 7-day deadlines but before noon on Friday, Nov. 9, will be distributed on Sunday, Nov. 11, but will not be formally incorporated into the Handbook until receiving approval by 2/3 of the delegates present and voting. The Committee on Rules and Credentials will submit recommendations regarding the acceptance of late resolutions following the procedure previously established by House action.

Important dates

• Deadline for resolutions to be included in the Delegate Handbook - Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2007
  
• Resolution deadline - Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007
  
• Handbook mailing date - Friday, Oct. 19, 2007
  
• Supplemental mailing date - Monday, Oct. 29, 2007
  Note: Resolutions received after the handbook deadline (Sept. 26), but by the bylaws deadline (Oct. 11) will be included in the supplemental mailing.

Dress

Your Speakers have also decided that dress for all sessions of the House at the Interim Meeting will be "business casual". That means long- or short-sleeved shirts with collars for men, and dresses or blouses with skirts or slacks for women. Jackets or sweaters are optional, and ties are not required. Those seated at the head tables during general sessions of the House, including Reference Committees, are requested to wear business attire when in front of the House.

Not official business of the House

Material received in the Production Area of the Headquarters Office on or before 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8, will be collected in a bag and placed on the Delegates tables before 3:00 p.m. on Saturday when the House convenes.Seven hundred (700) copies are required for a complete distribution in the reserved section.

Registry of retiring delegates and retiring medical executives

At the Interim Meeting, the Speaker will read the names of delegates and alternate delegates who are retiring from the House, as well as the names of those medical society executives who are retiring. The registry will be published and distributed during the meeting. Please let the headquarters office know who should be included in this listing before noon on Friday, November 9. Names may be faxed to (312) 464-4505 or e-mailed to hod@ama-assn.org prior to Monday, November 5.

Delegate/alternate delegate job description, roles and responsibilities

The House of Delegates has adopted a job description and roles and responsibilities for delegates and alternate delegates. The roles and responsibilities are included below because the Speakers believe it is important to stress them to all members of the House.

Roles and responsibilities of AMA delegates/alternate delegates

Members of the AMA House of Delegates serve as an important communications, policy, and membership link between the AMA and grassroots physicians. The delegate/alternate delegate is a key source of information on activities, programs, and policies of the AMA. The delegate/alternate delegate is also a direct contact for the individual member to communicate with and contribute to the formulation of AMA policy positions, the identification of situations that might be addressed through policy implementation efforts, and the implementation of AMA policies. Delegates and alternate delegates to the AMA are expected to foster a positive and useful two-way relationship between grassroots physicians and the AMA leadership. To fulfill these roles, AMA delegates and alternate delegates are expected to make themselves readily accessible to individual members by providing the AMA with their addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses so that the AMA can make the information accessible to individual members through the AMA web site and through other communication mechanisms. The responsibilities of this role are as follows:

• Regularly communicate AMA policy, information, activities, and programs to constituents so he/she will be recognized as the representative of the AMA.
  
• Relate constituent views and suggestions, particularly those related to implementation of AMA policy positions, to the appropriate AMA leadership, governing body, or executive staff.
  
• Advocate constituent views within the House of Delegates or other governance unit, including the executive staff.
  
• Attend and report highlights of House of Delegates meetings to constituents, for example, at hospital medical staff, county, state, and specialty society meetings.
  
• Serve as an advocate for patients to improve the health of the public and the health care system.
  
• Cultivate promising leaders for all levels of organized medicine and help them gain leadership positions.
  
• Actively recruit new AMA members and help retain current members.
  
• Participate in the AMA Membership Outreach Program.

Special recognition of delegations and individuals

Per action of the House at the 2002 Annual Meeting, your Speakers will be acknowledging before the House those delegations and individual delegates and alternate delegates who have developed mechanisms for sharing information and soliciting input on important issues. If you or your delegation has developed a particularly effective way of communicating with your constituents regarding AMA policies and activities, please let us know by submitting a letter to the House of Delegates Office.

Campaign rules and procedures

Your Speakers wish to remind the House of the rules and procedures governing campaigns for AMA offices. No formal campaign activities are permitted during the Interim Meeting. However, an announcement of candidacy can be made on the last day of the Interim Meeting OR via a single mailing prior to the Interim Meeting (if one has not already been made on the last day of the Annual Meeting). The complete campaign rules and election procedures are available online. Of course, we are happy to entertain individual questions at any time.

We look forward to an exciting and productive Interim Meeting. Please feel free to contact us or the AMA Office of House of Delegates Affairs if you have any questions.

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