Staff News Writer

Being a physician requires a level of altruism unlike that in any other profession. Suzie Brown, MD, knew emotional suppression was draining her wellness. So she began writing songs. The cardiologist-songwriter recently performed at TEDMED2015. Here’s how she says music restored her self-awareness and strengthened her relationships with patients.

Citing some of the medical and environmental consequences of nuclear war—no matter how “limited”—the AMA urged the U.S. Department of State to eliminate nuclear weapons and work to reduce nuclear arms in a letter sent earlier this month.

The 2015 AMA Interim Meeting took place this week. Read these highlights from the meeting, and see AMA Wire's® full coverage of the event to learn more.

The burden of meaningful use regulations and the associated problems with electronic health record (EHR) technology have hindered physicians ability to attend to patients. At the 2015 AMA Interim Meeting, physicians took action with the goal of removing these barriers to physicians’ ability to provide quality care to patients.

New policy adopted Tuesday at the 2015 AMA Interim Meeting calls for support of federal, bipartisan legislation that would expedite and streamline paramedic training for returning veterans who already have received emergency medical training while in the military.

In response to increasing drug costs impacting patient access to needed medications, physicians voted Monday at the 2015 Interim Meeting to convene a task force and launch an advocacy campaign to drive solutions and help make prescription drugs more affordable. Physicians also are calling for greater competition in the pharmaceutical industry and transparency in prescription drug prices and costs.

In the face of mergers between major national health insurers, physicians Tuesday during the 2015 AMA Interim Meeting said the medical profession will continue to stand against health insurance market consolidation that enhances health insurer market power, a trend that decreases health care access, quality and affordability. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 2 million U.S. illnesses and 23,000 deaths each year are caused by antibiotic-resistant infections, and these result in an estimated $20 billion in excess health care costs.