News in brief - April 10, 2006

Visa waiver program set to run out - 100,000 Lives campaign more than halfway to its goal - California medical board warns against identity theft - Georgia family can't seek punitive damages against tobacco company - Psychiatrists to fund medical student activities

Visa waiver program set to run out

The J-1 visa waiver program, through which international medical graduates are hired to work in underserved areas, will sunset in June, leaving new IMGs with J-1 visas ineligible to apply for the waiver. However, those already training in the United States on a J-1 visa still can seek a waiver.

The waiver program forgives the requirement that IMGs return to their native country after graduating if they serve for at least three years in an underserved area.

Legislation to permanently reauthorize the waiver program is circulating through Congress.

An amendment reauthorizing the program was introduced in the Senate as part of a larger immigration reform package. A comprehensive immigration bill in the House was passed earlier this year.

At the same time, stand-alone bills in the House and Senate permanently reauthorizing the waiver program were introduced by Reps. Jerry Moran, (R, Kan.) and Earl Pomeroy (D, N.D.) and Sens. Kent Conrad (D, N.D.) and Sam Brownback (R, Kan.).

100,000 Lives campaign more than halfway to its goal

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement announced in March that 3,000 hospitals that are participating in its new Campaign to Save 100,000 Lives have saved 65,000 lives so far.

The campaign was founded on the premise that if 1,600 hospitals reliably implemented six suggested quality-improvement strategies, 100,000 lives could be saved over 18 months. The 18-month mark comes in June, when IHI holds its annual hospital summit in Atlanta.

The AMA is a partner in the campaign and has issued several tool kits to help physicians implement the initiative in their hospitals. The tool kits are available on the AMA Web site (www.ama-assn.org/go/makingstrides).

California medical board warns against identity theft

Medical Board of California officials are alerting physicians that mail sent to the board was stolen March 4 from a mailbox at a Dept. of Consumer Affairs facility in Sacramento, Calif.

Doctors should contact the board if they sent a licensing application, renewal or other mail containing personal information between Feb. 25 and March 3. Doctors can call the board at 916-263-1080 or send an (webmaster@medbd.ca.gov) to make sure their mail arrived.

Board officials said that law enforcement officials and the U.S. Postal Service are investigating the theft.

Georgia family can't seek punitive damages against tobacco company

The Georgia Supreme Court ruled on March 13 that individuals can't sue tobacco companies for punitive damages because the state participated in the 1998 tobacco settlement.

In the 6-1 decision, the high court found that "punitive damages serve a public interest and are intended to protect the general public, as opposed to benefiting or rewarding particular private parties," Justice Carol W. Hunstein wrote.

The family of Clara Gault Freeman sued Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., alleging that the company's Kool cigarettes caused 43-year-old Freeman's death in 2001.

The court ruled in favor of Brown & Williamson, now merged with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. The company claimed that it was released from liability because Georgia joined the $246 billion Master Settlement Agreement across 46 states for tobacco-related health injuries. Georgia recovered $4.8 billion from the companies, including B&W.

Psychiatrists to fund medical student activities

The American Psychiatric Foundation named three universities as the recipients of its new Helping Hands Grants.

The $5,000 grants will support medical student participation in community mental health service activities, particularly those targeting underserved minority communities.

The American Psychiatric Foundation administers the program that is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc.

The recipients are:

Case Western Reserve University's Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, for a program to expand the knowledge and awareness of mental health issues among 5th grade students in East Cleveland.
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, to produce culturally targeted informational materials on mental health literacy and awareness and conduct routine screenings for mental disorders at the New Jersey Medical School Family Health Care Center, a free student-run community health center.
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, for a Maternal Obstetric Outreach and Depression Screening program to improve identification and treatment for mothers in underserved populations who have from postpartum mood disorders.