Administration urged to provide additional clarity on travel ban
In a letter (PDF) to Secretary John F. Kelly of the Department of Homeland Security, the AMA expressed strong concerns regarding the implementation of the executive order "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States." The executive order was reinstated after the Supreme Court ruled on June 26, 2017.
The AMA agrees with the administration's subsequent guidance that explicitly allows: students (including medical students); those with offers of employment (such as residents, fellows and other physicians); and lecturers to be admitted to the U.S. Yet the AMA fears the guidance is not as broad as it needs to be and it is still creating confusion for international medical graduates, scientific researchers, those attending medical conferences and the medical community. The AMA also expressed concern that the additional case-by-case waiver policy on patients from the six identified countries will have a chilling effect on individuals seeking critical medical care. The AMA urges the administration to provide clarity to address these issues.
Read more at AMA Wire.
Legislation proposes funding CDC for gun-violence prevention research
On July 24, the AMA sent letters to Sen. Edward Markey (PDF), D-Mass., and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (PDF), D-N.Y., in support of their bills, S. 834/H.R. 1832. The legislation would provide funding for research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on firearm safety and gun-violence prevention.
For more than 20 years, the CDC has lacked support from Congress to conduct firearm violence research. The paucity of gun-violence research has contributed to the lack of meaningful progress in reducing firearm-related injuries. Significant research investments could address these issues by helping provide a more accurate understanding of the problems associated with gun violence and to determine how best to reduce the high rate of firearm-related deaths and injuries. AMA policy supports providing sufficient resources to enable the CDC to conduct an epidemiological analysis of the data on firearm-related injuries and deaths.
Earlier this year, the AMA—along with the American Bar Association and nine other local, state, and specialty medical societies—convened a program on developing a public health response to reducing gun violence, including priorities for a research agenda and physicians' role in preventing gun violence.
Videos of the presentations are now available:
- Preventing gun violence—introductory remarks
- Using the law to support a public health approach to gun violence
- A public health framework and research agenda
- An evidence-based approach to preventing gun violence in Chicago
- Physicians' role in promoting gun safety
Read more at AMA Wire.
