AMA eVoice Weekly Newsletter

Rising above the ratings

According to the AMA's 2008 edition of Competition in Health Insurance: A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets, most markets are dominated by only one or two health insurers. In Alabama, for example, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama has 89 percent of the market and UnitedHealthcare (UHC) has the second highest with 5 percent. This lack of competition increases patients' and employers' premiums and eliminates the ability of physicians to negotiate for fair contracts.

The percentage of increases (PDF) in employer contributions to premiums and worker contributions for family coverage are staggering. In the past nine years, worker contributions have increased 117 percent, while employer contributions have risen a full 119 percent.

In an effort to drive down health care costs by finding the most "efficient" physicians to provide patient care, employers and health insurers have designed several programs that judge the quality and cost of health care delivered by physicians to patients. It goes without saying that I'm referring to physician profiling. Virtually every physician in this country has been touched by one of these programs at one time or another.

The problem is that physician profiling programs are driven primarily by employers that pay for health care services through their premium dollars. And these programs are built solely around the data that are submitted to health insurers and other payers through paid claims.

While the AMA neither supports nor opposes physician profiling per se, we believe that when it's done, patients and physicians have both a right to understand how the profiles are developed as well as an expectation that the results accurately reflect the realities of the physician practice. Some health insurers have unfairly evaluated physicians' individual work using an insufficient number of patient cases, questionable quality/cost measures and poor adjustments for risk and case mix. Others have even produced ratings that are solely or primarily based on physicians' cost of care with little or no attention paid to the quality of care provided.

But physicians aren't the only ones affected by physician profiling programs. Patients fall victim to these programs as well. Focusing solely on cost can promote an inappropriate underuse of health care services and impact patients' health outcomes. In addition, long-standing patient-physician relationships may be severed. And patients who require a large number of health care services may have difficulty accessing the necessary care.

Organized medicine, however, is starting to notch several victories against unfair profiling efforts to help alleviate some of these issues. In 2007, the AMA, the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) and six physicians successfully settled a lawsuit against Regence BlueShield, asserting that Regence used misleading ratings and inaccurate data to reject physicians from a health plan in the Seattle area. Under the settlement, Regence helped the WSMA both educate physicians about performance measurement issues and promote quality improvement.

More good news emerged in 2007 when staff from state and medical specialty associations, the AMA and UHC formed Federation/AMA workgroups that meet on a scheduled basis to address specific issues with UHC. The efforts of one of these workgroups have brought about many positive changes to the previously problematic Premium Designation Program for physician profiling, including establishing separate benchmarks for episodes of care among patients with and without prescriptions and removing costs for routine examinations and vaccinations from the efficiency metrics.

Last year New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo developed a series of groundbreaking agreements with the state's largest health insurers to set new standards for physician profiling programs. This came with considerable input from the Medical Society of the State of New York and the AMA. Insurers are now required to submit to the state the rating criteria they use to place doctors in tiered networks, in which members pay a lower co-pay or otherwise get discounts for seeing favored physicians. And insurers operating in New York must abide by a set of standards for their physician profiling programs or incur penalties. Although Cuomo's settlements are only binding in New York, national insurers have said they will use the New York model for any tiered network program they introduce anywhere in the United States and would reconstitute any current tiered networks already in place inside or outside of New York.

Shortly after the insurers signed these agreements with Mr. Cuomo, the AMA was also at the table in strengthening the language of the "Patient Charter" (PDF), a document that creates benchmarks for the transparency, accuracy and reporting of physician profiling programs. This document was created by a collection of consumer and employer groups, and most major health insurers have agreed to comply with its tenets. These crucial principles offer hope that patients will be able to receive more reliable data to make informed health care choices. The AMA sees the Patient Charter as an important step in the right direction and we offer assistance in ensuring its criteria are appropriate and measurable.

The AMA made the next important step by developing a model bill (PDF), which mandates profiling programs adhere to a set of standards, in order to encourage legislation on physician profiling programs. Insurers are required to fully disclose the methodology used to profile physicians and disclose the limitations of the methodology, profile physicians at the group level, establish a reconsideration or appeal process and hire an independent third party to oversee the program.

As a result of this bill, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter recently signed into law a measure regulating physician ratings. It was influenced by Attorney General Cuomo and mirrors the AMA's model bill. The law also gives physicians a chance to appeal the ratings. For states interested in enacting similar bills to that of Colorado's, the AMA's Advocacy Resource Center has created a physician profiling model legislation toolkit (PDF). Maryland has also passed legislation containing some of the AMA's model language. Thus far, states, including New Jersey, Ohio, Arkansas, Maine, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, are proposing profiling reforms either through their attorney general or Health and Human Services departments or legislature.

The AMA's Private Sector Advocacy unit offers a number of resources that can help physicians who are being profiled by health insurers. Among them are descriptions of particular ranking programs used by certain health insurers, and separate tools to help you challenge a profile (PDF) and prepare your practice (PDF) for profiling and rating programs. And the AMA, in conjunction with the Kentucky Medical Association and several other medical societies, created co-branded posters that point out the truth about poorly constructed physician profiling programs. A version of this poster is free to all AMA members to display in their offices.

Physician performance measurement is not coming—it's here. The AMA and the Federation of Medicine have achieved some measure of success with implementing standards and enacting legislation for these programs. However, we must all take the necessary steps to assure that the programs you voluntarily participate in—and especially the ones that do not offer you a choice of participation—are accurately profiling your performance.

Please send comments, questions and replies to amaprez@ama-assn.org.

1) AMA, specialties issue joint Medicare payment reform principles
The AMA and 59 medical specialty organizations have endorsed a set of joint recommendations aimed at eliminating Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and supporting efforts to promote health care quality and appropriateness. Developed with input from the Federation of Medicine, the AMA Council on Medical Service and the AMA Council on Legislation, the joint recommendations underscore that the SGR should be repealed this year and replaced with updates that reflect practice cost increases.

If Congress adopts a transitional approach to replacing the SGR, payment updates would be linked to the Medicare Economic Index for five years while innovative financing and delivery systems are further developed and tested. The recommendations oppose any mandatory physician participation in new models, support antitrust reforms to allow physicians to collaborate around health information technology and quality improvement initiatives, and call for testing programs that provide liability protection to physicians who participate in Medicare quality incentive programs.

View the recommendations, which are being shared with key policymakers in Congress, the Obama administration and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

2) Letter to HHS comments on technology to prevent privacy breaches
In a letter dated May 21, the AMA and 30 medical specialty organizations responded to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) proposed guidance regarding what technology HHS should consider besides shredders and encryption to render protected health information unreadable to prevent a breach as identified by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The AMA and the specialty organizations recommended that HHS consider practical, inexpensive measures and methods that protect health information.

3) Use WellPoint/Anthem settlement agreement provisions to protect your practice
The WellPoint/Anthem settlement agreement grants physicians a number of important protections against unfair business practices from the country’s largest health insurer. For instance, the settlement agreement requires WellPoint/Anthem to recognize and pay services reported as CPT^® add-on codes and overpayment recovery efforts are capped at 18 months. These are protections your practice shouldn’t go without.

Visit the AMA Web site to learn more about the protections the WellPoint/Anthem settlement offers your practice and how you can ensure that WellPoint/Anthem abides by them.

4) Organized medicine works to ensure better physician service from UnitedHealthcare
Since November 2007, work groups comprised of staff from the AMA and several state medical associations and national medical specialty societies have worked diligently with UnitedHealthcare (UHC) to ensure improved physician service. The work groups’ efforts led UHC to implement a Provider Advocate Program pilot, which is designed to provide physicians with responsive, knowledgeable provider advocates. As a result of the success of the first stage of the pilot program, UHC is expanding the program to 11 additional markets this year.

UHC also has created the following documents to help physicians understand how and when to contact its offices: a “how-to” document, “Navigating the United Voice Portal” and “Advance Notification and Admission Notification Frequently Asked Questions.”

Visit the UHC Web site to view these documents.

Physicians who have read these new resources and worked through the appropriate channels but still experience problems with UHC should report these issues to the AMA by e-mail or contact their state medical association or national specialty society. As part of UHC’s commitment to improve physician relations, the health insurer has provided a list of specific contacts within UHC that these associations can work with to resolve issues raised by physicians.

5) National Influenza Vaccine Summit set for this summer
This year’s National Influenza Vaccine Summit will be held June 29–July 1 at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel. Co-sponsored by the AMA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the summit is an opportunity for health care professionals, public health professionals, vaccine manufacturers and distributors, consumers and others interested in preventing vaccine-preventable diseases to address and resolve influenza and influenza vaccine issues.

6) AMA Morning Rounds: just one benefit of being an AMA member
Have you been getting your daily dose of government and medicine, public health and pharmaceutical news? If this doesn’t ring a bell, then you haven’t been reading AMA Morning Rounds. The authoritative news briefing written exclusively for AMA members, AMA Morning Rounds provides concise summaries of the day’s most important developments in health care. Have the latest stories waiting for you in your e-mail inbox every weekday morning.

Subscribe to AMA Morning Rounds.

Visit the AMA Web site to renew your AMA membership or to join the AMA and have access to valuable benefits such as this.

7) In JAMA: NFL players have more favorable glucose levels, similar cholesterol levels, higher rate of high blood pressure compared to other healthy young men
An analysis of the cardiovascular disease risk factors of about 500 National Football League (NFL) players found that they have a lower incidence of impaired fasting glucose and similar prevalence of abnormal cholesterol and triglyceride levels as compared to a sample of healthy young men, according to a study in the May 27 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). However, the study found, the NFL players also have an increased prevalence of high blood pressure.

View the May 27 issue of JAMA.

1) New video offers best practices when taking a sexual history
A patient’s sexual history oftentimes can reveal important details about the patient, such as his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. A free video developed by the AMA can help educate physicians on best practices when taking a patient’s sexual history. The video, "Patient Sexual Health History: What You Need to Know to Help," offers recommendations and considerations when treating gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patients.

2) From MedPage Today: Gender identity disorder could be reclassified
Gender identity disorder could be among several classifications that are left out of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, according to story published last week by MedPage Today.

Gender identity disorder is included in the fourth edition as a sexual dysfunction, and, according to MedPage Today, transgender individuals and groups that represent them are lobbying to have it dropped from the next edition. A four-member work group has been charged with developing recommendations about how to classify the condition.

According to MedPage Today, AMA member Rebecca Allison, MD, who chairs the AMA Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Issues, is among those calling for dropping the condition from the fifth edition but keeping it in the International Classification of Diseases system as a medical condition, with a name like "gender variance." Such a move would make it more likely that health insurers would cover transgender transition services such as hormonal treatments and surgery.

The story also notes that the AMA approved a resolution last year calling for full insurance coverage of transition services for transgender individuals.

3) ACLU sues Tennessee schools to stop censorship of gay educational Web sites
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Tennessee sued two Tennessee school districts in federal court last week, charging that the schools are unconstitutionally blocking students from accessing online information about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues (LGBT).

According to the ACLU, more than 100 school districts throughout the state use Internet filtering software to block Web sites containing pro-LGBT speech, and the districts block the Internet filtering category designated "LGBT," which includes sites that "provide information regarding, support, promote, or cater to one’s sexual orientation or gender identity." They do not, however, block sites that condemn homosexuality or promote "reparative therapy," a practice purporting to "cure" LGBT people that is denounced as dangerous and harmful to young people by such groups as the AMA and the American Psychological Association.

4) AMA GLBT caucus set for June 12
Plan to attend the AMA Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Issues caucus, to be held June 12 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago preceding the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.

The caucus will feature Caitlin Ryan, a clinical social worker who has worked on lesbian and gay health and mental health issues since the 1970s and who focuses on the health and mental health needs of GLBT adolescents in families, schools and out-of-home settings. Ryan launched the Family Acceptance Project in 2002 spell out the role of families in supporting their GLBT children. In January, the Journal on Pediatrics published the first research paper from the Family Acceptance Project, which established a clear predictive link between family rejection of gay, lesbian and bisexual youths during adolescence and health problems during early adulthood.

1) AMA-IMG Governing Council election results are in
AMA-IMG Section members elected Nyapati Rao, MD; Sarala Rao, MD; Raouf Seifeldin, MD; and Jayesh Shah, MD, to the section’s governing council. The four new governing council members will begin three-year terms June 18. The section thanks all who participated in the election.

2) Register to attend the AMA-IMG Section meeting
Mark your calendars for the AMA-IMG Section Assembly meeting, which will take place June 12–15 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Scheduled events include:

• The AMA-IMG Section Congress on June 12, with a keynote address by James Hallock, MD, president of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), who will speak about the state of the ECFMG.
• The AMA-IMG Section candidates forum and caucus June 13
• The fourth annual Desserts From Around the World and IMG Honor Fund Reception on June 13
• The AMA-IMG caucus June 15.
• The Busharat Ahmad, MD, Leadership Program, featuring Dr. Hallock, on June 15.

Visit the AMA-IMG Web site for the assembly meeting’s full schedule and to register to attend.

Learn more about the Desserts From Around the World and IMG Honor Fund Reception. Send an e-mail to the AMA-IMG to make a donation to the IMG Honor Fund.

Contact J. Mori Johnson at (312) 464-5678 or send an e-mail if you have questions or if you wish to give an organizational report during the AMA-IMG Section Congress.

Brought to you by the AMA Section on Medical Schools

1) AMA-SMS seeks resolution and report reviewers
AMA-SMS members attending the section's meeting in June are asked to participate in the review of resolutions and reports. Reviewers develop a consent calendar of recommended actions and present the recommendations to the section for a consensus vote. These actions guide the AMA-SMS delegate, alternate delegate and other representatives who testify in reference committee hearings. A review meeting will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. June 12 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Send an e-mail to Jackie Drake if you are interested in participating.

2) Conference generates call for core set of geriatric competencies across all specialties
Attendees of a recent conference regarding competencies in caring for older adults reached a general agreement regarding the implementation of, and need for, a core set of geriatric competencies across all specialties, as well as specific competencies for each.

The conference, Achieving Competency in the Care of Older Adults: Medicine Responds to the Institute of Medicine’s Retooling for an Aging America—Building the Healthcare Workforce, took place May 7 and was co-sponsored by the AMA, the American Geriatrics Society and the Council of Medical Specialty Societies. Attendees included representatives from medical specialty boards and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Residency Review Committees of 20 medical specialties as well as representatives from the American Board of Medical Specialties, the National Board of Medical Examiners and the AMA Council on Medical Education.

A white paper regarding the implementation of recommendation 4.2 of the April 14, 2008, Institute of Medicine report, titled "Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce," is being prepared for wider dissemination and will soon be available on the AMA Web site.

Access "Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce."

3) Survey shows new doctors, teaching physicians disagree about essential medical procedures to learn
Physicians teaching at medical schools and doctors who have just completed their first year out of medical school disagree about which procedures are necessary to learn before graduating, according to a survey done by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Participating physicians were asked to rate 31 basic clinical procedures—from throat culture to spinal tap—based on their importance in the first year after graduation from medical school. Faculty physicians rated 14 procedures as "must know," while new physicians agreed on only six of those 14 clinical procedures and placed five additional, completely different procedures in the "must know" category.

View an American Medical News story about this study.

4) In the Ventura County Star: Mentors inspire next generation of physicians
A story published May 3 by the Ventura County Star highlights a California program in which doctors are mentoring Latino middle-school students in hopes that they will pursue medical careers. The program has received praise because research has shown that Latino physicians are more likely to serve in areas that have shortages of physicians.

1) Download the AMA-MSS meeting handbook
The AMA-MSS Assembly Meeting Handbook is now available online. The AMA-MSS Assembly meeting will be held June 11–13 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Visit the AMA-MSS Web site to download the handbook.

2) Submit AMA-MSS Reference Committee testimony online
AMA-MSS members are encouraged to submit reference committee testimony for the section’s annual assembly meeting online in advance of the traditional reference committee hearing at the 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.

Send an e-mail with questions.

3) Seven Summits climber to speak during AMA-MSS Assembly meeting
Geoff Tabin, MD, the fourth person to climb the Seven Summits—the highest points of each of the world’s seven continents—will be the keynote speaker at the AMA-MSS Assembly meeting, to be held June 11–13 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Dr. Tabin is professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Utah and the John A. Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City and co-director of the Himalayan Cataract Project, an organization that strives to eradicate preventable and curable blindness in the Himalayas.

Stay tuned for more information on assembly meeting educational sessions, featured speakers and the section’s national service project, "Covering the uninsured and protecting access to care."

If you missed the registration deadline to attend the meeting, you can still register on site. Visit the AMA-MSS Web site for more about the meeting.

4) Make hotel reservations for the AMA-MSS meeting
The AMA has reserved blocks of rooms at a discounted rate at the Hyatt Regency Chicago and at the nearby Courtyard Marriott for attendees of the AMA-MSS Assembly meeting. Rooms are limited and sure to go fast, so make your reservation today.

If you’re looking for someone to share the cost of a hotel room, access the AMA-MSS A-09 Housing Exchange Forum and communicate with other meeting attendees.

5) New video offers best practices when taking a sexual history
A patient’s sexual history oftentimes can reveal important details about the patient, such as his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. A free video developed by the AMA can help educate physicians on best practices when taking a patient’s sexual history. The video, "Patient Sexual Health History: What You Need to Know to Help," offers recommendations and considerations when treating gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patients.

6) Discount on DeGowin’s Diagnostic Examination: just one benefit of being an AMA member
Do you feel confident in your skills to make an accurate diagnosis? Would you like a resource to help you hone those skills? DeGowin's Diagnostic Examination is a complete revision of one of the all-time classic medical books, and now AMA members can purchase this ultimate "next-step" guide from the AMA Bookstore for 20 percent off the list price. Part physical examination, part differential diagnosis, DeGowin’s is an indispensable tool for all budding clinicians, complete with 24 full-color illustrations for key depictions of dermatologic, ophthalmic, gastrointestinal and other visual diseases.

AMA members can visit the AMA Bookstore to receive a discount on this and other titles.

Visit the AMA Web site to renew your AMA membership, or to join the AMA, and have access to valuable resources such as this.

Brought to you by the AMA Minority Affairs Consortium

1) American Indian, Alaska Native communities to receive $500 million in stimulus funding
The Indian Health Service (IHS) announced last week that it will release $500 million in federal economic stimulus funding to help improve health care for American Indian and Alaska Native communities. The money includes $227 million for health facilities construction, $100 million for maintenance and improvements, $85 million for health information technology, $68 million for sanitation facilities construction and $20 million for health equipment.

Visit the IHS Web site to learn more.

1) AMA-OMSS meeting fast approaching
Registration is ongoing for the 53rd annual AMA-OMSS Assembly meeting, which will be held June 11–13 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The deadline to register for the meeting is June 5.

Send late resolutions to James DeNuccio by 4 p.m. CST June 11.

Visit the AMA-OMSS Web site to register for the meeting, make travel arrangements and access the AMA-OMSS Assembly handbook. A hard copy and/or CD of the handbook will be available at the meeting.

2) Interim Meeting webcasts added to archives
The AMA-OMSS has posted a pair of 90-minute educational webcasts to its Web pages: "Physicians as Targets and How to Avoid Being One" and "Organized Medical Staffs and Disruptive Behavior." Both of these programs provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.

Access these the AMA-OMSS webcasts.

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

Designation statement
The American Medical Association designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

3) Align your bylaws with Joint Commission standards
Because medical staff bylaws are considered a contract and are legally binding in most states, it is extremely important that they are well-designed and well-written. The fourth edition of the "Physician’s guide to medical staff organization bylaws" contains practical guidance on bylaws development, model bylaw language, information on emerging issues and recent trends in medical staff re-engineering. The guide will be especially helpful to medical staffs as they update their bylaws to align with Joint Commission standards.

4) Resource helps strengthen physician-hospital relationship
A printable version of the "Principles for strengthening the physician-hospital relationship," developed by the AMA-OMSS and adopted by the AMA House of Delegates, is available online. These principles are designed to improve the working relationship between physicians and hospitals and ultimately foster better patient care and improve patient safety.

Send an e-mail to the AMA-OMSS to order a poster of the principles for your medical staff lounge.

1) AMA-RFS meeting fast approaching
Join the AMA-RFS for its annual assembly meeting, to be held June 11–13 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The meeting is an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues from across the country, participate in policy-making sessions and attend informative educational sessions.

Learn more about the AMA-RFS annual assembly meeting.

2) Apply for Fund for Better Health grant
The AMA Foundation is accepting applications for its Fund for Better Health grants. With support from the AMA Alliance, the foundation provides seed grants for grassroots public health projects that target healthy lifestyles. A maximum grant of $5,000 will be awarded to organizations that support healthy lifestyle programs that address such topics as nutrition and physical fitness; alcohol use; substance abuse and smoking prevention, including smoking cessation; and violence prevention, including domestic violence, Internet safety and bullying. Applications are due by July 15.

Visit the AMA Foundation Web site to learn more about the Fund for Better Health and to download an application.

3) Free online access to the Archives of Medicine: just one benefit of being an AMA member
Do you wish you had more published content dedicated to your specialty? If you do, consider that AMA members receive free access to the online editions of the Archives of Medicine specialty journals, periodicals dedicated to specific specialties that pull original articles, case studies and insight from across the country.

The Archives cover nine different specialties and include many online features, such as a monthly continuing medical education quiz, PowerPoint image downloads, e-mail alerts, RSS feeds, PDF downloads and toll-free interjournal linking to thousands of journals hosted by HighWire Press. Don’t miss out on this rich member benefit.

Visit the AMA Web site to renew your AMA membership, or to join the AMA, and have access to valuable resources such as this.

1) Annual Meeting program to discuss competency, recertification and the value of experience
The AMA-SPG is jointly sponsoring a continuing medical education program titled "Keeping Senior Physicians in Practice: Issues of Competency, Recertification and the Value of Experience," to be held from 1 to 2:30 p.m. June 13 during the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.

John A. Fromson, MD, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, will help attendees understand the value that senior physicians bring to a practice, the most common age-related issues to be aware of, and practical solutions and environmental adjustments to address those issues.

The program also is sponsored by the AMA Organized Medical Staff Section and the AMA Advisory Committee on Group Practice Physicians.

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

Designation statement
The American Medical Association designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

2) Senior physician liaison meeting set for June
Plan to attend the AMA-SPG liaison meeting from 4 to 5 p.m. June 12 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago preceding the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates. The AMA-SPG is seeking representation from each state on senior-oriented programs that can be presented for discussion at House of Delegates meetings. Any state medical society staff member who is interested in senior physician issues also is welcome to attend.

For more information or to verify a contact member for your state, contact Alice Reed at alice.reed@ama-assn.org or at (312) 464-5523.

Brought to you by the AMA Women Physicians Congress

1) Results of women physicians survey available online
A year ago the AMA surveyed its female physician members in an effort help the AMA-WPC better understand the issues and challenges they face and to develop programs and policies that meet their needs. Results of that survey are now available on the AMA-WPC Web site.

1) AMA-YPS meeting handbook posted online; meeting registration due June 2
The AMA-YPS Assembly handbook is available for download. This year’s AMA-YPS Assembly meeting will be held June 11–13 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Please note that online registration for the meeting ends June 2.

2) Submit testimony on AMA-YPS items of business
Members of the AMA-YPS are encouraged to comment on reports and resolutions using the section’s online, interactive work space. Testimony will be accepted until noon CST June 2 and be reviewed by the AMA-YPS Reference Committee. Delegates also will be able to testify in person during the June 12 AMA-YPS Assembly meeting.

Comment on the AMA-YPS reports and resolutions.

Send an e-mail to Jane Ascroft if you are unable to access the online work space.

3) Apply for AMA-YPS Governing Council positions
Candidates interested in a position on the AMA-YPS Governing Council are encouraged to submit nominations by June 1. Open positions include chair-elect, who serves a three-year term as chair-elect, chair and immediate past chair. Other positions include speaker, alternate delegate and member-at-large, all of whom serve two-year terms.

All terms begin at the close of the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates. After June 1, nominations will only be accepted from the floor at the June 12 AMA-YPS Assembly meeting. Candidates whose nomination forms are received before June 1 will be posted on the AMA-YPS Web site.

Learn more about AMA-YPS Governing Council positions and duties.

View candidate profiles online.

4) AMA advocating on multiple fronts for transparent, fair physician contracts
In most situations, physicians have little control over how their contracts with provider networks are rented or leased to third parties, leaving them vulnerable to inappropriate payment discounts.

That’s why the AMA public and private sector advocacy team is working on several fronts to secure increased transparency and promote fair contracting and payment practices in the private health care market. Those efforts have yielded positive results, including securing strong regulatory oversight in a growing number of states, educating physicians about contracting rights and establishing collaborative relationships with professional organizations with common interests.

Learn more about the AMA’s private sector advocacy work.