Advocacy Update

Aug. 5, 2022: Advocacy Update other news

| 3 Min Read

AMA leadership video brings personal story to call for prior authorization reform

In a new video, AMA Immediate Past President Gerald E. Harmon, MD, recounts his recent frustration with trying to obtain prior authorization (PA) for his 92-year-old mother’s critical medications. This troubling story, first captured in an AMA Viewpoint, powerfully illustrates the potential for PA-related treatment barriers to harm patients, especially vulnerable seniors. Dr. Harmon discusses how PA delays care and burdens physicians with an antiquated system of phone calls and faxes.

The video concludes with a call to action to join the AMA’s campaign to reform PA and improve the process in the Medicare Advantage program by passing the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act.

Visit FixPriorAuth.org to learn more about the AMA’s PA advocacy work.  

Private practice playbook now available

The new, free AMA STEPS Forward® resource is full of information to help physicians determine if opening a private practice is the right move for them, including guidelines for running a private practice and strategies to help grow a practice into a successful health care facility.

Learn more and download the playbook (PDF). 

Childcare stress, burnout in health care workers during COVID-19

In a survey study recently published in the JAMA Network™ Open, high childcare stress was associated with 80% greater odds of burnout in all health care workers. What can organizations do?

Read the full study findings to learn more. 

AMA STEPS® Forward podcast: Electronic health record optimization and small interventions matter

In one of the latest episodes of the AMA STEPS Forward® podcast, Daniel Dunham, MD, chairman of medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, discusses how eliminating unnecessary clicks in the EHR ultimately decreases physician burnout and allows care teams to focus their time on what matters most—patient care.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

In another episode, Alfred Atanda, MD, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and director of clinician well-being at Nemours Children’s Hospital, discusses how to minimize unnecessary patient transfers using digital technology and how small interventions can lead to big improvements.

Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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