Statement attributable to:
Susan R. Bailey, M.D.
President, American Medical Association
“Accurate, timely, transparent data is critical in public health, particularly as we face a still-worsening COVID-19 pandemic. Since the Administration announced it will streamline data reporting on hospital capacity, we have heard both questions and concerns from physicians and researchers on the front lines fighting this pandemic. We await additional details and information from the Administration on how data collection and sharing will be operationalized, but we urge and expect that the scientists at the CDC will continue to have timely, comprehensive access to data critical to inform response efforts. Additionally, state-level aggregate data must continue to be publicly accessible, as it is used to guide reopening and closing decisions.
“Critical decisions that impact the health and safety of the American people are made based on this data, and the physicians, public health officials, and elected leaders making these decisions must be able to trust the data they are seeing is timely, reliable and actionable. We urge HHS to be transparent and forthcoming about these changes to hospital reporting for COVID-19 infections, so they are understood by all.”
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About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.
