In addition, the AMA will oppose any government regulation or legislative action on the content of the individual clinical encounter between a patient and physician without a compelling and evidence-based benefit to the patient, a substantial public health justification, or both.
For a complete list of HOD actions, go to http://www.ama-assn.org/ams/pub/meeting/index.shtml.
Elections
AMA officers, trustees, and council members are elected during the annual meeting. This year, three members of the College were elected to serve on AMA councils and in other leadership positions. Maya Babu, MD, a neurosurgery resident at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, was elected to serve in the resident/fellow trustee position on the AMA Board of Trustees; Andrew Gurman, MD, FACS, a hand surgeon who practices in Altoona, PA, was re-elected as speaker of the HOD; and Liana Puscas, MD, FACS, an otolaryngologist and assistant professor of surgery, Duke University Medical School, in Durham, NC, was elected to the AMA Council on Medical Education.
Ardis Dee Hoven, MD, assumed the presidency of the AMA. An internal medicine and infectious disease specialist from Lexington, KY, she is the 168th president of the organization and only the third woman to hold this office.
Other officers elected are as follows:
President-elect – Robert M. Wah, MD, reproductive endocrinologist from Bethesda, MD.
Board of Trustees – Gerald E. Harmon, MD, a family physician from Pawleys Island, SC; and David O. Barbe, MD, re-elected, a family physician in Mountain Grove, MO.
Vice-speaker of the HOD – Susan R. Bailey, MD, re-elected, an allergist in Fort Worth, TX.
Surgical Caucus
The Surgical Caucus of the AMA brings together surgeons, anesthesiologists, and emergency physicians for focused discussions regarding relevant AMA resolutions that affect surgical interventions. The Caucus held a one-hour program titled "Visiting the Surgical Home." Speakers provided a description of the concept of the surgical home, discussed how the surgical home improves coordination of patient care and relates to other models of coordinated care, and reviewed some of the benefits of implementing the surgical home.
ACS Delegation
The College was well represented by five delegates. New to the delegation was Leigh Neumayer, MD, FACS, a general surgeon from Salt Lake City, UT, and a member of the ACS Board of Regents. She joined four seasoned veterans of the HOD, including: John H. Armstrong, MD, FACS, trauma surgeon, chair of the delegation, and Surgeon General/Secretary of Health for the State of Florida; Jacob Moalem, MD, FACS, an endocrine surgeon from Rochester, NY; Richard Reiling, MD, FACS, a general surgeon from Charlotte, NC; and Patricia L. Turner, MD, FACS, a general surgeon and Director of the ACS Division of Member Services.
In addition, the College Delegation was assisted by Timothy Kresowik, MD, FACS, a vascular surgeon from Iowa City, IA. and an alternate delegate from the Society for Vascular Surgery, and Kenneth Louis, MD, FACS, a neurosurgeon from Tampa, FL, and an alternate delegate for the Florida Medical Association.
The delegation is open to comments and feedback on issues before the HOD as well as suggestions for resolutions. The November Interim HOD meeting will take place November 16-19 in National Harbor, MD. For those surgeons who would like to become familiar with pending issues and policies, items of business will be posted in early November on the AMA website at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-ama/our-people/house-delegates.page. Fellows who follow this activity and have thoughts, comments, or questions may contact the ACS Delegation at jsutton@facs.org.
Dr. Armstrong is Surgeon General and Secretary, Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, FL. He serves on the ACS Board of Governors and the ACS Health Policy and Advocacy Group.
Mr. Sutton is Manager of State Affairs, ACS Division of Advocacy and Health Policy, Washington, DC.