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AMA Reiterates Cannabis Remains a “Serious Public Health Concern” - 11/19/2020

As more states relax marijuana use and possession laws, delegates at the American Medical Association’s Special Meeting voted Tuesday to clarify AMA policy to say that the association “believes that cannabis is a dangerous drug and as such is a serious public health concern.”

AMA Advocates for 24/7 Prior Authorization Processing - 11/19/2020

AMA delegates passed new policy on Tuesday that advocates for insurers and benefit managers who require prior authorization to have staff available to process  those approvals 24 hours a day, year-round, “including holidays and weekends.”

Delegates Support Expanding Telemedicine, Financial Relief Programs - 11/19/2020

As telemedicine expands because of the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians at the American Medical Association’s Special Meeting of the House of Delegates approved a measure on Tuesday that called for telemedicine’s use to continue beyond the national public health emergency.

AMA Policy Calls on Medicine to Oppose Racism, Recognize It as a Public Health Threat - 11/18/2020

At a Special Meeting of the American Medical Association House of Delegates, the nation’s physicians confronted racism nationwide by adopting several policies that recognize racism as a public health threat.

AMA Adopts Standards for “Public Option” - 11/18/2020

Delegates at the virtual Special Meeting of the American Medical Association passed new policy allowing AMA to advocate that any so-called “public option” proposal to expand health insurance coverage to the nation’s uninsured and underinsured must adhere to a set of standards that include protections for patients and physicians.

AMA Pushes to End National Clinical Skills Exams for U.S. Medical Students - 11/18/2020

American Medical Association (AMA) delegates called on AMA to urge the speedy end to the clinical skills part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 2 and Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) Level 2 for U.S. medical students.

Physicians’ Hard Work Should Not Be Undone by Politics, AMA President Tells Delegates - 11/16/2020

Physicians nationwide will continue to tackle COVID-19’s unique and unforeseen challenges, American Medical Association President Susan R. Bailey, MD, said in opening remarks to the AMA House of Delegates as the November Special Meeting  kicked off Friday evening.

Texas Residents and Students Win AMA Leadership Posts - 11/10/2020

Several Texas residents and students nabbed American Medical Association leadership positions this past weekend during the AMA’s special interim meeting, which is being held virtually this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Texans Take New AMA Leadership Spots - 06/08/2020

Although Susan Rudd Bailey, MD’s installation as the new American Medical Association president Sunday earned most of the attention, four other Texas physicians earned leadership positions during the virtual 2020 annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates.

Sue Bailey, MD, Takes Office as AMA President; “Let Doctors Be Doctors” - 06/08/2020

Susan Rudd Bailey, MD, is American physicians’ new leader in the battles against COVID-19 and outside interference in patient care. The Fort Worth allergist took the oath of office as president of the American Medical Association on Sunday, becoming the sixth Texas physician to lead the organization.

John Zerwas, MD, Honored for Service as Texas Lawmaker - 02/12/2020

The American Medical Association on Tuesday awarded former Texas State Rep. John Zerwas, MD, its Dr. Nathan Award for Outstanding Government Service.

AMA House Punts on Texas Plan to Fix QPP - 11/20/2019

A decision on whether the American Medical Association (AMA) will join the Texas Medical Association’s call for major changes to Medicare’s Quality Payment Program (QPP) will have to wait a few more months, the AMA House of Delegates decided at its annual meeting in Chicago last week. The QPP overhaul was just one of 11 resolutions the Texas delegation to the AMA took to the five-day meeting. Most of the other 10 received a very warm welcome.

AMA House Rejects MIPS Plan - 11/20/2019

Led by the Texas delegation, the American Medical Association House of Delegates on Tuesday rejected as inadequate a plan to improve Medicare’s Quality Payment Program (QPP) and its highly-flawed Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) track.

Texas Students and Residents Nab AMA Posts - 11/18/2019

Ten residents and medical students from Texas won elections over the weekend at the 2019 interim meeting of the American Medical Association in San Diego.

The Uninsured in Texas Quick Links - 11/13/2019

The Uninsured in Texas Quick Links

Beyond the Slogan “Medicare for All” - 10/03/2019

Medicare For All is becoming popular among Democratic lawmakers and the public. But, as popular as the concept is, the details are lost in the simple slogan of “Medicare for All.”

Improve Your Health Systems Science Curriculum - 08/23/2019

Do you have a significant responsibility for implementing a curriculum related to topics such as health care quality, population health, or team-based care at your institution? If so, you might benefit from the American Medical Association’s Health Systems Science Scholars Program.

Retiring the R-Word: The Right Thing to Do - 07/03/2019

The AMA House of Delegates last month adopted policy that would put the first three phrases on the verboten list for physicians. Kudos to the delegates for recognizing that words, especially in the mouths and pens of powerful people like physicians, really do matter.

Houston Physician Is AMA Board Chair-To-Be - 06/17/2019

In 2020, Texas physicians will hold the largest reins of power at the American Medical Association. The AMA Board of Trustees last week chose Russell W.H. Kridel, MD, a facial plastic surgeon from Houston, as its new chair-elect. Dr. Kridel has been a board member since 2014 and served as secretary of the board last year. He will become chair following the AMA’s annual meeting in June 2020.

AMA Taps Texas Physician As Next President - 06/10/2019

Susan Rudd Bailey, MD, an allergist from Fort Worth, was unanimously elected today by the American Medical Association House of Delegates to be the next AMA president. “Challenging times remain for our health care system,” she told the delegates

Texas Doctors Seek to Help Trafficking Victims, Protect New Mothers - 06/07/2019

Texas doctors hope policy proposals put forth now can help stop human trafficking and protect women having a baby by extending their health insurance coverage. The American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates policymaking body will take up these and other resolutions this weekend and in the coming week during the national medical association’s annual meeting, in Chicago.

Milestone Shows How Far Women Have Come in Medicine - 06/07/2019

After 151 years of all-male leadership at the nation’s largest physician organization, a family physician from Texas broke through the glass ceiling at the American Medical Association on June 17, 1998. Twenty-one years later, another Texas physician is poised to become the AMA’s sixth woman president – and its third in a row.

Texans Invite AMA to Join Crusade to Fix QPP - 06/04/2019

Don’t be surprised if the members of the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates leave their annual meeting next week talking with a Texas drawl. Not only is Fort Worth allergist Sue Bailey, MD, likely to be picked as the next AMA president; not only are Texans represented at almost every level of AMA leadership; not only is there a special reception honoring Louis J. Goodman, PhD, who is retiring as CEO of the Texas Medical Association; there’s also this little matter of 11 policy proposals the Texas delegation has submitted for the AMA house to consider.

Learn To Be An Effective Politician at AMA Workshop - 01/07/2019

If you’re now thinking about getting involved in politics, but you’re not sure how, start by attending the 2019 AMPAC Candidate Workshop in March.

A Sermon Every Physician Should Read - 11/17/2018

Linda G. Fischer, a chaplain with the Palliative Care Team at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, offered the following as the opening invocation at the 2018 Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates on Nov. 10, 2018. This reporter was so struck by the power of her words that I felt every Texas physician would benefit from reading them.