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Society of Critical Care Medicine representatives to the American Medical Association House of Delegates provide an update on recent advocacy.
The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD) meetings serve as a platform for reform, policy, and camaraderie among hundreds of voting members representing their states, specialties, and disciplines. Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) members Tina R. Shah, MD, MPH; Kathleen Doo, MD, MHPE; Devang Sanghavi, MD, MHA; Daniel Udrea, MD; and Michael Nurok, MBChB, PhD, FCCM, represent the Society at AMA HOD meetings. The HOD assembles twice each year. The annual meeting typically convenes in June, and an interim meeting typically convenes in November. At these meetings, the HOD creates broad policies on health, medical, professional, and governance issues, as well as the broad guiding principles for the conduction of the AMA’s business activities. These policies and resolutions adopted by the HOD guide the AMA’s advocacy efforts at all levels of government, from local to federal. SCCM and other medical societies work with the AMA to promote policies that align with the interests and needs of physicians and patients. These policies and resolutions are vital tools for advancing the medical profession’s priorities and improving public health outcomes. This article outlines the outcomes of the 2022 meetings and provides an update from the June 2023 meeting. 2022: Post-Intensive Care Syndrome Win at AMA Meeting During the AMA’s June 2022 annual meeting, SCCM scored a major win when the AMA agreed to adopt a resolution related to post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). The SCCM delegation crafted this resolution, testified at the HOD, and gathered support from other organizations for more research, education, and funding on PICS. These efforts resulted in a letter from the AMA CEO to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee to advocate for PICS research and treatment. A new HOD policy was also adopted to support the development of an ICD-10 code or family of codes to recognize PICS.1 From urging the federal government to prohibit smoking in public spaces to introducing anti-tobacco campaigns, the AMA has long fostered changes that have improved the health of critical care patients in the United States. The AMA HOD makes an impact through the production of sentinel reports across science, public health, and aspects of care delivery, as well as policy recommendations and advocacy with various stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem. Specifically, policies and resolutions created by members (such as SCCM delegates) guide the AMA’s advocacy and public health efforts. Examples of past actions include declaring gun violence a public health crisis, introducing policies that support increasing firearm safety, advocating for transgender rights, opposing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and subjecting electronic cigarettes to the same regulations as regular cigarettes.2 Some of the AMA’s current priorities include comprehensive Medicare reform, fixing prior authorization-related problems, and supporting telehealth. Additionally, the AMA is reducing physician burnout by pushing for legislative and other solutions to help physicians and medical students seek personal care for wellness, burnout, fatigue, and depression.3 The November 2022 AMA HOD interim meeting was held in Honolulu. The SCCM delegation provided testimony and caucused with relevant groups to ensure that the perspective of SCCM’s multiprofessional organization of critical care experts was heard. The following topics, among others, were considered during this meeting and have now become policies awaiting action by AMA4,5:
Posted: 10/2/2023 | 0 comments
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