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Featured topic and speakers
In the final AMA Update episode of 2024, AMA Chief Experience Officer Todd Unger looks back on another year of stories about the work that physicians are doing across the country and how the AMA is fighting to support them.
- The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most—patients. We will meet this challenge together. Join us.
- Learn more about our AMA advocacy priorities, including:
- Reforming Medicare payment
- Fighting scope creep
- Fixing prior authorization
- Reducing physician burnout
- Making technology work for physicians
Speaker
- Todd Unger, chief experience officer, American Medical Association
Transcript
Unger: Hello and welcome to our final AMA Update of 2024. This marks the end of our fifth year of production on this series, and another year of bringing you stories of the incredible work that physicians are doing and how the AMA is fighting to support them. Let's take a look at some of the most memorable moments of 2024.
At the start of the year, we had another devastating cut to Medicare physician payment, showing yet again why we need to fix Medicare now.
Todd Askew: If the system's is not working for doctors, it's not working for patients.
Jason Marino: The key thing is to keep your foot on the gas as far as advocacy, to keep reaching out to members of Congress.
Bruce Scott, MD: We need to fix the system, and we need to fix it now.
Unger: After a big win on prior authorization, we continued to follow the AMA's fight to reduce this burden and the many others that physicians face.
Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH: The reforms that we're talking about today are a significant, significant step in the right direction.
Zeke Silva III, MD: The AMA does a tremendous job of translating one state's successes to another state.
Melissa Garretson, MD: We're asking people to help support our fight to right-size prior authorization and fix it now.
Unger: Through the AMA Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition program, the AMA recognized 62 organizations for their well-being efforts and kept fighting to reduce physician burnout on every front.
Ah Rim Shin, MD: The best part of my day is when I'm in the room with the patient. And the worst part of my day is everything that comes before and after that time.
Christine Sinsky, MD: Organizations are using the recognition program as a strategic roadmap.
Marie Brown, MD, MACP: We have a de-implementation checklist of all the unnecessary tasks that add no value to the patient.
Unger: We elevated the people on the front lines, who are advocating at the state and federal levels to fight scope creep and protect physician-led team-based care.
Claude Brunson, MD, MS: The AMA has been invaluable to us over the last several years, and we've developed very close working relationships.
G. Ray Callas, MD: The generosity of the AMA Scope of Practice Partnership has been key to our success.
Michael Suk, MD, JD, MPH, MBA: A team-based approach that's physician-led really works very well.
Unger: As technology advanced, AMA update continued to spotlight how physicians need to be part of the solution.
Stephen Parodi, MD: What's important is that it's not AI acting on its own. It's really augmenting our practice.
Margaret Lozovatzky, MD: Having that physician voice in how the technology is implemented is absolutely critical.
Brian Hoerneman, MD: Our providers are using AI as part of their clinical documentation. That's saving them time. It's helping reduce their burnout.
Unger: We also kept you up to date on the stories shaping health care and shared best practices from physician leaders.
Andrea Garcia: Well, Oregon is the latest state to confirm a human case of H5N1 bird flu.
Akiko Iwasaki, PhD: An estimated 6 million children are affected by long COVID in the U.S.
Bobby Mukkamala, MD: What we need is for more physicians to screen for opioid use disorder and to prescribe buprenorphine when needed.
Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD: Transforming the care model to be more focused on things like prevention, quality outcomes, affordability, equity.
Narayana Murali, MD: Alternative payment models require us to take some degree of responsibility for total cost of care.
Ketul Patel: We have spent a lot of time focusing on our public health approach to preventing violence.
Denise White Perkins, MD, PhD: Telehealth is so very important. It's kind of the new transportation. It's the way that people are getting to their visits.
Dr. Scott: We need to come together because the consensus between us is much stronger than the opposition against us.
Unger: Once again, it's been an honor and a privilege to bring you the most important voices shaping health care today. We look forward to seeing you again in 2025. And in the meantime, we hope you have a happy, safe and healthy holiday. We'll see you in the new year.
Disclaimer: The viewpoints expressed in this podcast are those of the participants and/or do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA.
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