AMSUS DELEGATE'S REPORT - AMA HOUSE OF DELEGATES 2003 INTERIM MEETING

Military Medicine, Spring 2004 by Cassimatis, Emmanuel G

The 2003 Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, from 6 to 9 December, 2003. Your delegate also attended the meetings of the Council on Medical Education, and portions of the Specialty and Service Society and section on Medical Schools meetings.

Activities and Issues of Interest to Federal and Military Medicine

Federal and Military participants attended the meetings traditionally held in connection with the House of Delegates, to include the AMSUS sponsored Federal and Military Caucus on Friday 5 December, the section Council on Federal and Military Medicine on Saturday morning, the National Medical Veterans Society on Saturday late afternoon, and the "No-Host" Federal and Military Dinner on Saturday evening. No special issues were identified that were of unique interest to Federal and Military Medicine, but Federal and Military Representatives participated actively in the discussions during Reference Committee meetings and, as appropriate, on the floor of the House. Of special note this year, the AMA's Medal of Valor was awarded during the opening ceremony on Saturday afternoon to LCDR David A. Tarantino, Jr., MC, USN for his heroic efforts, at grave personal risk, on behalf of colleagues who had been injured and trapped during the September 11 attacks on the Pentagon. Dr. Tarantino, a family physician then assigned to the Office of the secretary of Defense at the Pentagon, accepted the award on behalf of those lost on September 11.

Meeting Highlights

The 2003 Interim Meeting focused exclusively on advocacy issues. As had been established in 2002, a select committee appointed by the speakers reviewed resolutions submitted for consideration during the Interim Meeting. The committee prioritized all resolutions in terms of their relevance to current issues and to their importance and urgency for advocacy. Selected resolutions were then referred to five reference committees, Constitution and Bylaws, F, I, K and L.

A key issue discussed throughout the meeting and a central focus of the address by AMA President Donald Palmisano was Tort Reform. Dr. Palmisano also emphasized the importance of speaking with a unified voice, and celebrated the passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug Bill, which, as he pointed out, protects access to care for America's seniors by eliminating Medicare cuts to physicians for two years (and in fact provides for a 1.5% increase in payments in 2004 and 2005).

Key issues addressed by the House of Delegates include a decision to freeze the size of specialty representation in the House of Delegates for one year, and to review and improve the specialty society designation mechanism; adoption of Board of Trustees report 14, Strategic Membership Plan, which changes the AMA vision statement, making it explicit that AMA is a "member centered organization, whose members' presence and voice drive the AMA and are central to its overall success and effectiveness;" adoption of Council on Medical Service Report 1, Medical Care for Patients with Low Incomes, which among other recommendations calls for replacing the medical care portion of the Medicaid program with refundable and advanceable tax credits to purchase private health insurance with little or no cost sharing; and adoption of Council on Scientific Affairs Report 1, the AMA National Disaster Life Support Program, which recommends that physicians become prepared in disaster life support techniques. In connection with the last recommendation, the AMA Center for Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response, under the direction of Dr. James J. James (BG, MC, USA, (Ret)) offered an 8-hour Basic Disaster Life Support course to delegates and other attendees for continuing medical education credit during the Interim Meeting.

Although educational issues were not prominent during the Interim Meeting, one issue that received substantial attention was medical student debt. Strategies to help medical students manage their debt were discussed and several resolutions addressing this issue (for example, one resolution called for a study of the merits of a cap on medical student tuition) were referred through the Trustees to the Council on Medical Education, which will study the issues and prepare reports for the House.

Awards

As already mentioned, the AMA Medal of Valor was awarded to Dr. David Tarantino. Additional awards were as follows: Drs. Frank A. Riddick, Jr. and F. Douglas Scutchfield were the recipients of the 2003 AMA Distinguished Service Award, the Association' s highest honor. Dr. Riddick, a New Orleans internist and endocrinologist, was recognized for a lifetime of service at all levels of organized medicine, to include service on the Council on Medical Education and the Council on Ethical and judicial Affairs. Dr. Scutchfield, a past president of the American College of Preventive Medicine and a Delegate to the House of Delegates from 1976 to 2000 was honored for his contributions as a Delegate and as a member of the Council on Medical Education, and especially for his advocacy for Public Health issues such as tobacco and diabetes awareness. The 2003 Benjamin Rush Award for Citizenship and Community Service was awarded to Kermit L. Newcomber, MD, an internist and nephrologist who, after a distinguished career in Wisconsin, dedicated his retirement to developing several specialized health centers in Russia, China and the Ukraine that can serve as models for future clinics. Finally, the 2003 Medical Executive Achievement Award was given to the administrative leader of the New York County Medical Society, Gary A. Gatza, JD, who was recognized for his extensive contributions to organized medicine and to society.