I want you to know that the AMA is listening to you and channeling your collective voices into action.
On Wednesday, in a small virtual meeting with President Trump, Vice President Pence and other senior members of the administration, I told them, loud and clear, the single biggest thing on your minds: WE NEED MORE PPE AND TEST KITS.
We will continue to press the government to use every power they have, right now, to alleviate these dangerous shortages.
Second, I made it clear that physicians will need financial support. That’s why we combined forces with the American Hospital Association and the American Nursing Association to ask the administration for $100 billion to support front line health care personnel and providers.
The AMA is fighting every day on your behalf to remove the obstacles you face while confronting the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, we fast-tracked new CPT codes for COVID-19 testing and worked with the administration to provide new guidelines for telemedicine.
In addition to representing physicians with a unified voice, we’re learning from and sharing first-hand accounts of physicians on the front lines. Listen to JAMA Editor Howard Bauchner, MD, interview Maurizio Cecconi, MD, in Italy and NIAID’s Anthony Fauci, MD; read how The Permanente Medical Group developed new approaches to preserve PPE.
If you haven’t already, visit the AMA COVID-19 Resource Center and the JAMA Network COVID-19 Resource Center for evidence-based, actionable resources, including our new quick-start guide to telemedicine.
I’ll be keeping you updated on our progress in the weeks to come. In the meantime, please reach out to the AMA on Twitter (@AmerMedicalAssn) with your questions, and we’ll do our best to answer.
Thank you for everything you do.
