AMA eVoice Weekly Newsletter

Medicine's grassroots strength crucial in weeks ahead

In a matter of just five days, more than 42,000 contacts were generated to Senate offices through the AMA's grassroots networks. That's thanks to the many physicians, residents and medical students--as well as state, county and national specialty societies, the AMA Alliance, state and specialty alliances, and patients--who rallied to play an integral part in the AMA's Medicare grassroots campaign on S. 1776, the Medicare Physician Fair Payment Act. On behalf of myself and the AMA, I want to say thank you. This was a tremendous demonstration of how medicine can mobilize to support a common goal.

In fact, this display has been quite encouraging to see as we look ahead to what's next for Medicare and health system reform, because quite frankly, we're going to need a lot more of it. While the Senate voted this week 53-47 to block consideration of S. 1776--a bill introduced last week by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., that would have provided the foundation for implementing a new Medicare physician payment system--the effort to permanently fix the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula is most definitely not over.

The good news is we're not in this alone. Along with the 47 Democratic senators who voted for cloture, including continued strong support from Sen. Stabenow, we have active support from the AARP and the Military Officers Association of America. I can't express my gratitude enough to these individuals and groups.

But now that the S. 1776 ship has sailed, so to speak, many are asking, "now what?" In the coming weeks, both the House and Senate will hold floor votes on their respective health reform bills. With that in mind, the AMA has established some metrics to evaluate them. First, the AMA will look at whether or not the legislation adequately addresses the AMA's seven essential elements of health system reform. Secondly, the AMA will examine whether or not the legislation corrects existing failures to fulfill current obligations to patients and physicians. Finally, the AMA will consider whether or not new obligations are based on sound policy and financial foundations that are sustainable and deliver on the promise of real access to care.

The AMA has advised Congress and the Obama administration that we do not support another short-term fix that only serves to steepen future cuts and grow the SGR deficit, and we will continue to stand by the seven essential elements for health system reform I mentioned above.

It's time to fulfill current obligations. Medicare physician payments are scheduled to be cut by 21 percent on Jan. 1, with more cuts in years to come. Furthermore, nearly 90 percent of people age 50 and older are concerned that the current Medicare physician payment formula threatens their access to care. Just this week, the AMA released a new analysis showing that access to care for Medicare patients in 21 states and Washington, D.C., is already at risk. And today, the price tag to permanently repeal the SGR is up to $245 billion--a number that will only grow as more temporary fixes are put on the problem.

These disheartening numbers that affect the lives of so many seniors, baby boomers and military families show that we mustn't give up. It's time to stop this Ponzi-like scheme to manage the SGR. It's time to ensure that Congress fulfills its obligation to seniors and the physicians who treat them. It's up to us to make the next move.

E-mail comments, questions and replies to Dr. Rohack

1) AMA deeply disappointed by Senate’s block of S. 1776
The AMA expressed its deep disappointment with the U.S. Senate earlier this week for blocking consideration of S. 1776, legislation that would have preserved access to health care for America’s seniors, baby boomers and military families. The AMA, along with AARP and the Military Officers Association of America, strongly supported the bill, which would have laid the foundation to permanently fix the Medicare physician payment formula.

With Medicare physician payments scheduled to be cut by 21 percent on Jan. 1, followed by more cuts in years to come, the AMA remains committed to fixing the Medicare payment problem once and for all for seniors, baby boomers and the physicians who care for them.

“As we work to improve the health system, permanent repeal of the payment formula is essential to ensuring the security and stability of Medicare,” AMA President J. James Rohack, MD, said.

View more from Dr. Rohack.

2) Analysis reveals 22 new “patient access hot spots” nationwide
Highlighting the impact that looming Medicare physician payment cuts would have on seniors’ access and choice of physician, the AMA released a new analysis of states where access to care for Medicare patients already is at risk. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia made the AMA’s new “Patient Access Hot Spots” list, which is based on their ranking in the top 15 of at least two of five objective measures of access problems.

“This new analysis shows that seniors’ access and choice of physician is already threatened and bolsters the case for permanent repeal of the flawed payment formula that projects the Medicare cuts,” AMA President-elect Cecil Wilson, MD, said.

View the list, which is part of the AMA’s Medicare payment action kit.

3) AMA offers free H1N1 patient management tools
Connect with and monitor your patients in response to H1N1 and seasonal influenza by visiting www.AMAfluhelp.org, a free, Web-based suite of decision support tools offered by the AMA and the nation’s first comprehensive Web-based patient flu health-assessment program.

Launched this week, this unique online practice management system offers your patients private self-assessment tools authored and maintained by the AMA and based on real-time Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance and the most up-to-date scientific data available. Your patients may choose to share their results with you—ensuring immediate communication of symptoms and risk factors—without an office visit.

View other H1N1 influenza resources from the AMA.

4) Pregnant women at high risk for serious complications from seasonal and H1N1 flu
In a letter to health care professionals nationwide, the AMA, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stressed the urgent message that pregnant women must get vaccinated against both seasonal influenza and 2009 H1N1 influenza to protect themselves and their unborn baby.

The letter urges health care professionals to both encourage their pregnant patients to get vaccinated and counsel them on the benefits of the vaccine. Both the seasonal influenza vaccine and the H1N1 influenza vaccine are safe to administer to pregnant women in any trimester and can be given simultaneously. Pregnant women should be given the flu shot, not the nasal spray version of the vaccine.

5) Upcoming AMA webinar to cover patient safety improvement
Learn about patient safety evaluation systems, patient safety organizations and event reporting, and discover ways to optimize your participation in patient safety improvement by viewing a free AMA webinar from 8 to 9:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 27.

Presented by leading experts in the field, the webinar will help you:

• Understand the scope of patient safety evaluation systems and patient safety organizations
• Participate effectively in hospital or group practice construction of patient safety evaluation systems and patient safety organizations
• Understand safety event reporting
• Recognize how the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 could influence peer review and ongoing professional practice evaluation

Speakers to be featured during the webinar include Susan M. Nedza, MD, the AMA’s vice president of clinical quality and patient safety strategy and medical director of clinical practice solutions; Janice Anderson, an attorney with Polsinelli Shughart PC; and William A. Conway, MD, senior vice president and chief quality officer with Henry Ford Health System and chief medical officer at Henry Ford Hospital.

Register for the webinar.

6) New AMA resource helps you fight for accurate payment
If your practice submits claims electronically, a free resource from the AMA can help you secure accurate payment from health insurers for inappropriately denied claims.

Using the Claims Workflow Assistant, you can look up the reasons health insurers reported for denying claims on the electronic remittance advices, or ERAs, you receive. Then you can determine the best steps for your practice to reverse the denial. The Claims Workflow Assistant also helps you get started with recommended workflows for the top 80 percent of denials from the 2008 and 2009 National Health Insurer Report Card and provides numerous template appeal letters that AMA members can easily modify to use in their practices.

View the Claims Workflow Assistant on the AMA Practice Management Center Web site.

7) Discounts at the AMA Bookstore: just one benefit of AMA membership
Is your practice up to speed? Is it running as well as it could? If you think general operations are less than perfect, an AMA resource can help lubricate the gears and tighten the screws.

AMA members receive a discount on “The Physician’s Guide to Survival and Success in the Medical Practice,” an invaluable reference guide available through the AMA Bookstore that details the day-to-day operation of a medical practice and offers tools and techniques for managing personnel, finance and operations, marketing and promotion, and risk. The guide also includes up-to-date coverage of electronic health records and other technologies. A user-friendly three-ring binder format offers many forms, evaluation and assessment tools, and other aids, all of which also can be found in a CD-ROM.

AMA members can take advantage of their member discount on this and other titles available through the AMA Bookstore.

If you’re an AMA member, don’t lose valuable benefits such as this. Renew your membership. If you’re not a member, join the AMA today and begin receiving them.

8) In JAMA: Comparison finds considerable differences on estimates of future physician work force supply
Compared with a source of data often used regarding physician work force supply and projected changes, data from the U.S. Census Bureau suggests that the future physician work force may be younger but fewer in number than previously projected, according to a study in the Oct. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

1) In the Philadelphia Inquirer: Justice agency pledges to fight anti-gay bias
A recent story in the Philadelphia Inquirer covers the Justice Department’s effort to fight discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has historically gone after discrimination based only on race, gender or religion. The development would be a major shift from the division’s work during the Bush administration, which opposed expanding the federal hate-crimes law to prosecute people who attack gays, the Inquirer reports.

2) In the Los Angeles Times: longtime study may contribute to national AIDS strategy
A story in the Los Angeles Times reports on the legacy of the Los Angeles Men’s Study, part of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study that has generated data about HIV/AIDS since the mid-1980s. The story focuses on the study at a time when the Office of National AIDS Policy is drafting a national HIV/AIDS strategy for the first time, similar to strategies required for foreign countries to receive U.S. HIV/AIDS funding.

Brought to you by the AMA Section on Medical Schools

1) Learn about the AMA’s efforts to transform medical education
If you’ll be at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Annual Meeting in Boston next month, then plan to attend an educational session covering the AMA’s initiatives to transform medical education, which will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Nov. 8. The session will be held after the AMA-SMS’s Nov. 6 meeting, which will be held in conjunction with the AAMC meeting.

This session will highlight AMA efforts, including the AMA’s Initiative to Transform Medical Education, designed to improve the nation’s health through the reform of medical education in collaboration with other health profession stakeholders. Projects developed to address the 10 consensus recommendations—formed from partnerships with the American Academy of Pediatrics, AAMC, Federation of State Medical Boards and others—will be described.

Presenters will be Susan Skochelak, MD, the AMA’s vice president for medical education; M. Dewayne Andrews, MD, AMA-SMS immediate past chair; and Barbara Barzansky, director of the AMA Division of Undergraduate Medical Education.

2) In the AMA’s GME e-Letter: Will they choose primary care?
A recent story in American Medical News reports on the 41 members of the first class of students at the new University of Central Florida College of Medicine, who will receive full scholarships for all four years of their medical education. Many point to student debt as a factor in medical school graduates eschewing primary care and choosing higher-paying fields. What effect, if any, will a free medical education have on these students’ choices of specialty and subspecialty? This question is posed in the latest edition of the AMA’s GME e-Letter.

3) Help strengthen the nation’s response to public health emergencies
The Third National Congress on Health System Readiness, entitled “Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness in the 21st Century,” will be held Dec. 1–3 in Washington, D.C.

Join leading experts to review current research and science related to recent disasters and public health emergencies worldwide, and to establish the essential elements of a comprehensive disaster response health system. The congress will also include a special session examining the H1N1 influenza pandemic.

Community and government leaders and stakeholders will convene to:

• Integrate lessons from recent public health emergencies—such as H1N1 influenza, terrorist attacks and natural disasters—into clinical and public health practice.
• Advance health systems to appropriately prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters and other public health emergencies.
• Develop a distinct educational framework for all health professionals to ascribe to in catastrophic events.

Learn more and register today.

The American Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American Medical Association designates this educational activity for a maximum of 18.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

4) New work force reform report available
The American Academy of Family Physicians recently released a report detailing its recommendations for physician work force reform. The report reviews demographic characteristics of the population and family physician work force, identifies areas for change in health care financing and medical education, reviews trends in the generalist health care work force and examines the impact of increased health care coverage on family physician demand, utilization and access.

1) View the AMA-MSS meeting handbook
The AMA-MSS Interim Assembly Meeting Handbook is now available online in advance of the meeting, which will be held November 5–7 at the Hilton Americas-Houston. If you didn’t register for the meeting by the deadline, you can still do so on site.

2) Volunteer for national service project event at AMA-MSS meeting
The AMA-MSS will officially kick off its 2009–2011 national service project by hosting the “Fall into Healthier Life Styles Health Fair” at the upcoming AMA-MSS Interim Assembly Meeting.

Medical student volunteers will speak with Houston-area citizens about the four key health behaviors addressed by the AMA Healthier Life Steps™ Program: healthy eating, physical activity, reducing risky alcohol use and not smoking. Students also will provide various free services for adults, including blood pressure screening, body mass index screening, CPR and stroke information, resources for the uninsured, and healthy cooking and physical fitness demonstrations.

If you will be attending the AMA-MSS meeting and are interested in participating in the health fair, visit the AMA-MSS Web site and complete the online registration form by Oct. 30. Contact Hayley Fischer, the AMA-MSS’s at-large officer, at hayley.fischer@gmail.com with any questions.

3) Submit online AMA-MSS Reference Committee testimony
AMA-MSS members are encouraged to submit reference committee testimony online in advance of the traditional reference committee hearing at the AMA-MSS Interim Assembly Meeting. All testimony submitted online will be considered along with testimony heard in person as the AMA-MSS Reference Committee makes its recommendations to the assembly. Make your voice heard by submitting online reference committee testimony.

If you’re registered for the meeting, you already have access to the AMA-MSS Online Reference Committee blog on Central Desktop and should have received an e-mail Oct. 15 with log-in instructions.

If you’re not registered for the meeting but would still like to submit testimony, register for the AMA-MSS Discussion Forum to receive access to the AMA-MSS Online Reference Committee blog.

Send an e-mail to mss@ama-assn.org with any questions.

4) Chapter of the Week: State University of New York at Buffalo
Medical students of the AMA chapter at the State University of New York at Buffalo are set to hold a Halloween party for children with diabetes. This annual event includes Halloween-themed crafts, games, costume contests and prizes as well as sugar-free candy and healthy choices as refreshments. Send an e-mail to ssshaw@buffalo.edu for more information about this project.

Chapter Involvement Grants (CIGs) are available to help AMA-MSS chapters put student projects and recruitment events such as this into action. Chapters are eligible for up to $1,000 per academic year. Apply for a CIG at least 30 days before your event.

5) Listen to “Radio Rounds” for a distinct view of health care
Get a unique glimpse into the world of health care by tuning in to “Radio Rounds,” a weekly radio program created by medical students at the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and the only radio program in the country produced entirely by medical students.

Available via live streaming audio on the show’s Web site and on iTunes podcasts, “Radio Rounds” explores the qualities of humanism in medicine through different perspectives—those of world-renowned physicians, authors, students and health care leaders.

Contact the show’s hosts, AMA members Avash Kalra and Lakshman Swamy, at radiorounds@gmail.com if you are interested in contributing as a medical student to this project.

6) FREIDA Online: just one benefit of AMA membership
Residency is just around the corner. Where are you going to go? Which institution has the right program for you?

As an AMA member, you have an outstanding, newly updated resource at your fingertips—FREIDA Online. FREIDA is a database of nearly 8,800 graduate medical education programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. AMA members-only functions for FREIDA include being able to save the contents of your folder to view at a later date, and the ability to print program mailing address labels directly to your computer’s printer at no cost.

A brand-new feature allows members to download FREIDA Online data into a text file that can be saved as a spreadsheet. New optional criteria for searching on FREIDA Online include research rotations, on-site child care and number of first-year positions.

If you’re an AMA member, don’t lose valuable resources such as access to AMA member functions of FREIDA Online. Renew your membership, or, if you’re not a member, join the AMA today and begin receiving them.

Brought to you by the AMA Minority Affairs Consortium

1) AMA-MAC Caucus set for Nov. 6
The AMA-MAC Caucus will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston preceding the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates (HOD). Stop by to network with colleagues, discuss a range of minority-related issues that the AMA-HOD will consider, and hear a presentation by Edith Irby Jones, MD, the first female president of the National Medical Association, about the experiences of African-American physicians in state medical societies.

2) Houston schools to host AMA Doctors Back to School events
In an effort to demonstrate the importance of increasing diversity in medicine, the AMA-MAC is coordinating a pair of AMA Doctors Back to School events at Houston schools preceding the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.

Physicians, residents and medical students attending the Interim Meeting are invited to participate in one or both events, which will take place Nov. 5. One will be held at 9:30 a.m. Central time with ninth-graders at Yates High School, 3703 Sampson. The other will take place at 1:30 p.m. Central time with kindergarteners through fourth-graders at Hicks Elementary School, 8520 Hemlock Hill Dr.

Send an e-mail to Cynthia Norwood of the AMA at cynthia.norwood@ama-assn.org if you would like to participate in either event.

3) AMA WorldScopes: helping doctors who need stethoscopes help patients
The AMA’s WorldScopes initiative, in collaboration with the AMA Foundation, collects and delivers stethoscopes to doctors, nurses and other health care professionals around the world who lack this most basic of medical instruments.

To date, WorldScopes has distributed nearly 6,500 stethoscopes—worth an estimated $100,000—to clinics and hospitals from Afghanistan to Zambia. Last year, WorldScopes provided stethoscopes for mobile medical teams that responded in the deadly aftermath of cyclones in Myanmar. Recently, stethoscopes were delivered to a maternity ward in the Philippines and to a pediatric hospital in the Dominican Republic.

WorldScopes donations are tax deductible. Learn more about how you can help make a difference.

1) AMA-OMSS meeting approaching fast
The next AMA-OMSS Assembly meeting will take place Nov. 5–7 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston preceding the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates. The meeting will include unique education programs that provide insight and perspective on topics such as employment contracting, accountable care organizations, medical staff organization and leadership.

The final day to register online for the meeting is Oct. 26. Visit the AMA-OMSS Web site to view more information about the meeting, including the preliminary version of the AMA-OMSS Interim Meeting Handbook.

If you are not an AMA-OMSS representative and would like to become one, to download a certification form and fax it to (312) 464-5845, e-mail it to omss@ama-assn.org or mail it to 515 N. State St., Chicago, IL 60654.

2) AMA symposium to cover IMGs in the U.S. physician work force
Join the AMA for a symposium about international medical graduates in the U.S. physician work force from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at AMA headquarters in Chicago. The event is open to all physicians, medical students and their guests who are interested in physician work force issues, particularly international medical graduates’ role in the nation’s physician work force.

Attendees will have an opportunity to network with colleagues and take an exclusive look at the 2009 edition of “International Medical Graduates in the U.S. Physician Workforce: A Discussion Paper,” which will be unveiled at the meeting prior to its online publication in January.

3) Upcoming AMA webinar to cover patient safety improvement
Learn about patient safety evaluation systems, patient safety organizations and event reporting, and discover ways to optimize your participation in patient safety improvement by viewing a free AMA webinar from 8 to 9:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 27.

Presented by leading experts in the field, the webinar will help you

• Understand the scope of patient safety evaluation systems and patient safety organizations
• Participate effectively in hospital or group practice construction of patient safety evaluation systems and patient safety organizations
• Understand safety event reporting
• Recognize how the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 could influence peer review and ongoing professional practice evaluation.

Speakers to be featured during the webinar include Susan M. Nedza, MD, the AMA’s vice president of clinical quality and patient safety strategy and medical director of clinical practice solutions; Janice Anderson, an attorney with Polsinelli Shughart PC; and William A. Conway, MD, senior vice president and chief quality officer with Henry Ford Health System and chief medical officer at Henry Ford Hospital.

4) Joint Commission’s pre-publication standards available online
Pre-publication versions of the 2010 standards for all Joint Commission accreditation programs can be viewed on the Joint Commission Web site. Please take the time to view this information with members of your organized medical staff and discuss it with your hospital leadership. These standards will be accessible online at least through Dec. 1.

1) AMA WorldScopes: helping doctors who need stethoscopes help patients
The AMA’s WorldScopes initiative, in collaboration with the AMA Foundation, collects and delivers stethoscopes to doctors, nurses and other health care professionals around the world who lack this most basic of medical instruments.

To date, WorldScopes has distributed nearly 6,500 stethoscopes—worth an estimated $100,000—to clinics and hospitals from Afghanistan to Zambia. Last year, WorldScopes provided stethoscopes for mobile medical teams that responded in the deadly aftermath of cyclones in Myanmar. Recently, stethoscopes were delivered to a maternity ward in the Philippines and to a pediatric hospital in the Dominican Republic.

WorldScopes donations are tax deductible. Learn more about how you can help make a difference.

2) Guidance on building a practice: just one benefit of AMA membership
Do you want to start your own practice? Where do you begin? AMA members can get advice from a special resource: “Succeeding from Medical School to Practice, Part 3.” Learn how to write a business plan, raise capital, hire and retain a staff, market your practice and more to ensure success. Developed by your AMA physician colleagues, this easy-to-navigate resource includes a wealth of valuable information plus streaming video to help you confront the nonclinical demands of training and today’s practice environment.

AMA members can view “Succeeding from Medical School to Practice, Part 3.”

Don’t miss out on valuable resources such as this. Renew your AMA membership or join the AMA today and begin receiving them.

3) AMA-RFS meeting approaching fast
The AMA-RFS will hold its 33rd annual Interim Meeting Nov. 5–7 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. Learn more about the meeting and to register for it.

Take a more active leadership role at the meeting by becoming a convention committee member. Convention committee activities range from helping formulate AMA-RFS policy to planning social and networking events.

View a letter from AMA-RFS Governing Council Chair Baligh Yehia, MD, and learn about important activities and deadlines associated with the meeting.

4) Take a FIRST step in learning about student debt
Members of the academic medicine community looking for help in navigating the complexities of student debt can use the Financial Information, Resources, Services, and Tools (FIRST) resource, developed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in collaboration with the medical school financial aid community and the Organization of Student Representatives.

FIRST offers a full range of information for applicants, medical school students, residents, advisors and financial aid officers. The goal of the resource is to help medical school borrowers expand their financial literacy, make smart decisions about student loans and manage their student debt wisely.

1) Senior physician liaison meeting planned for Interim Meeting
The AMA Senior Physicians Group (SPG) Governing Council will hold its next liaison meeting from 5 to 6 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Hilton Americas-Houston, Room 343A, preceding the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates (HOD).

The AMA-SPG has progressed in the past two years and is seeking representation from each state on senior-oriented programs that can be presented for discussion at both the Annual and Interim Meetings. These meetings are attended by an increasing number of senior physicians from the AMA-HOD, a third of whom are members of the AMA-SPG. Representation can enhance the effectiveness of the AMA-SPG and promote sharing of concerns with other delegates.

Contact Alice Reed of the AMA at alice.reed@ama-assn.org to provide your suggestions or to confirm your state liaison to the meeting.

Visit the AMA-SPG Web site for more information, including a list of current liaisons.

2) Nominations for the Jack B. McConnell, MD, Award due by Nov. 16
The AMA Foundation is accepting nominations for the Jack B. McConnell, MD, Award for Excellence in Volunteerism, which recognizes a senior physician who provides treatment to U.S. patients who lack access to health care. The award is part of the AMA Foundation’s Excellence in Medicine Awards, which are presented in association with Pfizer, Inc.

The award will be presented at the Excellence in Medicine Awards banquet and special leadership program on March 1, 2010, in Washington, D.C., during the AMA’s National Advocacy Conference. Nominations are due by Nov. 16.

Visit the AMA Foundation Web site to view nomination materials. Contact Alice Reed at (312) 464-5523 or alice.reed@ama-assn.org if you have questions.

Brought to you by the AMA Women Physicians Congress

1) AMA-WPC Caucus set for Nov. 7
Continue celebrating the 30th anniversary of the AMA Women in Medicine Program by joining the AMA-WPC from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston for its caucus and reception, which will be held in conjunction with the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.

The winners of this year’s AMA-WPC Physician Mentor Recognition Program will be recognized, and Erin Tracy, MD, will explore the history of women in medicine during her presentation, “From Petticoats to Labcoats: The Evolution of the Profession.” Refreshments will be served.

2) AMA WorldScopes: helping doctors who need stethoscopes help patients
The AMA’s WorldScopes initiative, in collaboration with the AMA Foundation, collects and delivers stethoscopes to doctors, nurses and other health care professionals around the world who lack this most basic of medical instruments.

To date, WorldScopes has distributed nearly 6,500 stethoscopes—worth an estimated $100,000—to clinics and hospitals from Afghanistan to Zambia. Last year, WorldScopes provided stethoscopes for mobile medical teams that responded in the deadly aftermath of cyclones in Myanmar. Recently, stethoscopes were delivered to a maternity ward in the Philippines and to a pediatric hospital in the Dominican Republic.

WorldScopes donations are tax deductible. Learn more about how you can help make a difference.

1) AMA-YPS meeting approaching fast
Help represent the voice and vision of young physicians across the country at the AMA-YPS Interim Assembly Meeting, scheduled for Nov. 5–7 in Houston preceding the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.

Registration is due by Oct. 25. Visit the AMA-YPS Web site to register, to download the AMA-YPS Interim Assembly Meeting Handbook and to learn more about the meeting.

2) Submit testimony on AMA-YPS reports and resolutions
AMA-YPS members are encouraged to comment on reports and resolutions in advance of the AMA-YPS Interim Assembly Meeting using the section’s online, interactive workspace. Testimony will be accepted until noon Central time Oct. 27 and will inform the AMA-YPS Reference Committee. AMA-YPS delegates also will be able to testify in person during the Nov. 6 assembly meeting.

Comment on AMA-YPS reports and resolutions.

Send an e-mail to Jane Ascroft of the AMA-YPS at jane.ascroft@ama-assn.org if you are unable to access the AMA-YPS workspace.

3) Interim Meeting to include bipartisan discussion about health reform
Join the AMA’s sections and special groups for a candid discussion about the status of health system reform, where it is heading and what it means for physicians and patients. This program, which will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 7 as part of the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates, will consist of AMA President J. James Rohack, MD; Richard Deem, the AMA’s senior vice president for advocacy; and congressional representatives, including U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, MD, R-Texas, discussing the AMA’s involvement in the reform debate. Participants can earn 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.

Online registration will close Oct. 30 and space is limited, so register early.

The American Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American Medical Association designates this educational activity for a maximum of 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

4) AMA Foundation seeks everyday heroes in medicine
Recognizing the extraordinary efforts of leaders in the medical community, the AMA Foundation honors those who go beyond the call of duty to improve the health of our nation with the Excellence in Medicine Awards. Presented in association with Pfizer Inc., the awards recognize a select group of physicians and medical students who represent the highest standards of volunteerism, public service and leadership.

Nominations are due Nov. 16. Learn more about how you can nominate a colleague.

5) AMA WorldScopes: helping doctors who need stethoscopes help patients
The AMA’s WorldScopes initiative, in collaboration with the AMA Foundation, collects and delivers stethoscopes to doctors, nurses and other health care professionals around the world who lack this most basic of medical instruments.

To date, WorldScopes has distributed nearly 6,500 stethoscopes—worth an estimated $100,000—to clinics and hospitals from Afghanistan to Zambia. Last year, WorldScopes provided stethoscopes for mobile medical teams that responded in the deadly aftermath of cyclones in Myanmar. Recently, stethoscopes were delivered to a maternity ward in the Philippines and to a pediatric hospital in the Dominican Republic.

WorldScopes donations are tax deductible. Learn more about how you can help make a difference.