Page 28 - Delaware Medical Journal - January 2016

AMA REPORT
AMA Interim Meeting Highlights
The 2015 AMA Interim Meeting was
held November 14-17, 2015 in Atlanta, Ga.
The Medical Society of Delaware was represented
by MSD’s AMA Delegate Kelly Eschbach, MD; Alternate Delegate Janice Tildon-Burton, MD; MSD
President and OMSS Interim Representative Nancy Fan, MD; and Stephanie Guarino, MD, Resident and Fellow Section Representative. MSD member Stephen Permut, MD attended the meeting in his role as Chair of the AMA Board of Trustees. MSD Executive Director Mark Meister also attended the meeting.
In an address during the opening session, AMA President Steven J. Stack, MD, discussed the current state of health care in our country and insisted that in medicine, moments matter. When more and more moments are stolen from physicians
due to frustrating phone calls, interruptions, and unnecessary bureaucratic protocols, it is the patient who suffers most — and this cannot stand, he said.
In his opening remarks, AMA Executive Vice President and CEO James L. Madara, MD, echoed those remarks saying, “What’s important [to physicians] is time with our patients, tools that work, practices poised to thrive.” He also noted
that “the American health care system evolves at a pace that would not have seemed possible not too long ago,” adding that physicians are “actively working to shape the future for the betterment of public health.”
In an address to the meeting Bruce Bagley, MD, outlined

evolving technology, increased patient demands, and shifting payment models.
An organizational model that can grow with your practice. A real care team – not another “hero model.”
A focus on population health.
Physician leaders.
A commitment to fostering physician satisfaction by measuring — and addressing — barriers to patient care.
Policy decisions approved by the House of Delegates included:
FAIRNESS IN DRUG PRICING AND ACCESS. In response to increasing drug costs impacting patient access to needed medications, physicians called for a ban on advertising directly to patients, voted to convene a task force, and agreed to launch an advocacy campaign to drive solutions and help make prescription drugs more affordable.
BURNOUT OF PHYSICIANS IN TRAINING. As burnout and suicide continue to plague the medical profession at much higher rates than the general population, the physician community took action. New policy is aimed at ensuring physicians in training have access to potentially life-saving mental health services.
EHR INTEROPERABILITY. The burden of meaningful use regulations and the associated problems with electronic health record (EHR) technology have plagued physicians for far too long. Physicians took action with the goal of removing these hindrances to physicians’ ability to provide quality care
to patients.
COMMITMENT TO STOP INSURANCE MERGERS.
In the face of mergers between major national health insurers, 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.
Physicians heard reports about emerging health concerns:
ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT INFECTIONS. An estimated 2 million U.S. illnesses and 23,000 deaths each year are caused by antibiotic-resistant infections. Three experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) spoke about this global health crisis and multifaceted solutions to address it.
ALTERNATE FUNDING FOR GME. A new report takes a look at alternative funding sources for residency programs and offers steps that could be taken to expand existing graduate medical education (GME) programs and create new programs.
A program to aid physicians was unveiled:
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. Physicians have a strong history of leadership within the community, and the new Leadership Skills Series provides practical training for practicing physicians. Get involved and improve your ability to lead.
Learn more about actions at the 2015 AMA Interim Meeting on the AMA’s website, www.ama-assn.org.
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Del Med J | January 2016 | Vol. 88 | No. 1