Supporting telehealth, reforming Medicare, fixing the prior authorization process—these are three of five goals the American Medical Association (AMA) is pursuing in an expansive new program.
The two other goals are fighting scope creep and reducing physician burnout.
Unveiling its wide-ranging “Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians” June 10, AMA says it brainstormed and built the project largely as a response to COVID-19 challenges that have “stretched our healthcare system to the brink.”
The association says it will use the plan to maintain or improve care quality for patients by moving U.S. healthcare toward “renewing our country’s commitment to physicians” and “ensuring their needs are met.”
AMA president Gerald Harmon, MD, heralded the program June 10 in a video address played at the association’s first in-person meeting of delegates since the pandemic started.
Here are on-point comments from Harmon’s prepared speech on each of the five goals in AMA’s recovery plan for physicians.
1. Support telehealth to maintain coverage and payment:
While it’s not appropriate for suturing a wound or setting a broken bone, telehealth can be hugely beneficial for chronic disease management [and] care coordination. … We know the vast majority of patients and physicians want this type of care to continue after the declared public health emergency is over. Telehealth is here to stay, and we are fighting to update our laws and regulations to reflect that fact.”
2. Reform Medicare payment to promote thriving physician practices and innovation:
We need a permanent solution to end the annual battles that threaten the economic survival of physician practices … and we must lay the groundwork within medicine and among policymakers to address flaws and bring stability to the Medicare physician payment system. We must be able to predict financial returns with some reliability in order to invest in costly infrastructure like new technologies and treatments. In short, we’re done with short-term patches and looming cuts. This just ain’t the way to run a railroad.”
3. Fight scope creep that threatens patient safety:
Quality, affordable health care is only possible with teamwork. We rely on nurses, physician assistants, and office workers to do the invaluable work they are trained to do. ... [P]atients need to trust that a physician is leading their care, and leading the team. We have years’ more education, and thousands of hours’ more clinical training than other members of the team, and are better prepared to treat complex cases, and complications. ... As this is primarily a state issue, we are working with our federation partners through the Scope of Practice Partnership to defeat the many unsafe scope expansion bills that are proposed during each state legislative session.”
4. Fix prior authorization to reduce burden on practices while minimizing care delays for patients:
In a recent AMA survey, 93% of physicians reported that hurdles imposed by prior authorization for medication, tests and procedures resulted in care delays for their patients. … And navigating these hurdles is also a burden for physicians and staff, who must spend valuable patient care time doing this. … Four years ago, the AMA developed a consensus statement on improving the prior authorization process together with other national organizations representing health plans and providers. Unfortunately, since then, insurers have done precious little to implement agreed-upon improvements. It’s time to hold them accountable.”
5. Reduce physician burnout and address the stigma around mental health:
[W]e must find ways for physicians to address their mental health needs without fear of negative repercussions and to practice their skills without threats of hostility or violence. ... [T]he AMA is working at the state and national levels to reform outdated language on medical licensing applications and employment and credentialing applications that may be stigmatizing. … We are also supporting legislation to create confidential physician wellness programs so that physicians and medical students will have somewhere to go when they need help.”
Harmon also called for reducing debt incurred by medical education, expanding residency training slots, and securing governmental funding for medical schools and residencies at historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and Tribal colleges and universities.
“America’s doctors are a precious and irreplaceable resource,” Harmon said toward the end of his remarks. “[O]ur recovery plan is ambitious, but it is [also] doable. And the AMA is here to be our unified voice to lawmakers and those in positions of power. By prioritizing and meeting the needs of physicians, we also improve patient care.”
Click here for details on AMA’s Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians, here to watch a 1.5-minute video promoting the plan and here for the AMA announcement with the full text of Harmon’s June 10 speech as written.
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Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.