AMA in the News: June 2021

AMA in the News covers media coverage and mentions about the American Medical Association. Find articles recognizing our efforts in health care, advocacy, medical education and improvements in public health. Read coverage on the achievements of our leadership and the members of the AMA community.

1. AMA's Racial and equity strategic plan is a model for others to emulate

   MedPage Today, June 29, 2021

   It was being worked on for a year, says the American Medical Association (AMA), but with all that transpired during the past year, the association made completing a timely treatise a more urgent priority. The "Organizational Strategic Plan to Embed Racial Justice and Advance Health Equity" is a three-year agenda based upon the fact that "Embedding equity into medicine requires planning and honesty." (Free registration is required to view content.)

2. Biden administration 'absolutely supportive' of efforts to expand virtual care, HHS official says

   Fierce Healthcare, June 28, 2021

   Jack Resneck, Jr., MD, president-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA), said the physician organization also supports expanding the telehealth waivers. "I don’t think my patients want to go back to the way things were a year and a half ago when this wasn’t an option," said Resneck, a dermatologist who practices in the San Francisco Bay Area, during a separate interview with The Washington Post.

3. The Health 202: ACB helped save the ACA after all

   1. The Washington Post, June 18, 2021
   2. “With yet another court decision upholding the ACA now behind us, we remain committed to strengthening the current law and look forward to policymakers advancing solutions to improve the ACA,” said Gerald E. Harmon, president of the American Medical Association.
   3. “The AMA will continue working to expand access to health care and ensure that all Americans have meaningful, comprehensive, and affordable health coverage to improve the health of the nation,” he added.  (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

4. Q&A: New AMA president discusses ways to seize ‘historic moment’ in medicine

   1. Healio, June 17, 2021
   2. Gerald E. Harmon, MD, was recently sworn in as the 176th president of the AMA.
   3. Harmon, a family physician from Georgetown, South Carolina, brings more than 30 years of professional and military experience to the AMA presidency, according to a press release from the organization. He has also been a member of the AMA’s board of trustees and a member of its Council on Medical Service. In addition, Harmon has previously served as the chair and president of the South Carolina Medical Association board of trustees.

5. New AMA president discusses pandemic during inaugural address

   1. Medscape, June 17, 2021
   2. Harmon was sworn in June 15 as the 176th president of the AMA during the virtual Special Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates. He follows Susan R. Bailey, MD, an allergist from Fort Worth, Texas, in leading the organization, which has more than 270,000 members. (Free registration is required to view content.)

6. Remember your 'why,' new AMA president tells delegates

   1. Medpage Today, June 16, 2021
   2. Doctors need to remember their "why" to give themselves a sense of purpose during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Gerald Harmon, MD, the 176th president of the American Medical Association (AMA), in his inaugural address to the AMA's House of Delegates during the association's annual meeting. (Free registration is required to view content.)

7. American Medical Association delegates vote to support controversial COVID-19 IP waiver

   1. STAT, June 16, 2021
   2. The American Medical Association delegates voted at their annual meeting to support a controversial proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines, the latest bid to widen distribution to low and middle-income countries. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

8. Retired USAF General takes reins at AMA

   1. HealthLeaders Magazine, June 15, 2021
   2. Gerald E. Harmon, MD, a retired Air Force major general and a family medicine physician from Pawleys Island, South Carolina, was sworn in Tuesday as the 176th president of the American Medical Association.

9. AMA selects UCSF dermatologist as President-elect

   1. Medscape, June 15, 2021
   2. Jack Resneck Jr., MD, a dermatologist in the San Francisco Bay area, is the new president-elect of the American Medical Association and will take over as president in June 2022. (Free registration is required to view content.)

10. AMA opposes 'excited delirium' as a diagnosis, citing forced sedation

    1. Modern Healthcare, June 15, 2021
    2. The American Medical Association on Tuesday said it oppose the use of "excited delirium syndrome" as a clinical diagnosis, contending the term too often inappropriately justifies excessive police force and the forced sedation of individuals for no legitimate medical reason during encounters with law enforcement. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

11. AMA adopts policies to advance telehealth, close digital divide and tackle prior authorization burdens

    1. Fierce Healthcare, June 15, 2021
    2. At a meeting this week, the American Medical Association’s (AMA's) delegates adopted new policies specifically targeting peer-to-peer (P2P) review of prior authorization decisions and the particular burden of prior authorization during a public health emergency.

12. AMA: 96 percent of physicians fully vaccinated against COVID-19

    1. HealthDay, June 15, 2021
    2. Ninety-six percent of physicians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the results of a survey conducted by the American Medical Association (AMA).

13. After working COVID front lines, SC doctor will lead American Medical Association

    1. The News and Observer, June 14, 2021
    2. Harmon, vice president of medical affairs at Tidelands Health, is set to take over as the president of the American Medical Association (AMA) June 15, becoming only the third South Carolina doctor to hold the title.

14. Tidelands Health doctor to be named new president of American Medical Association

    1. My Horry News, June 14, 2021
    2. Gerald Harmon, MD, vice president of medical affairs at Tidelands Health, is soon to be the new president of the American Medical Association (AMA).

15. Race and health care collide in revealing American Medical Association controversy

    1. NBC News, June 14, 2021
    2. All of this coincided with the release last month of the AMA's three-year health equity strategic plan, a project in play since 2018, when an internal task force suggested establishing a Center for Health Equity. The goal of the center would be to embed health equity in all of the AMA's work; the original charter established the working definition of health equity as "optimal health for all."

16. American Medical Association opposes ketamine use in law enforcement situations

    1. Fox 31 News, June 14, 2021
    2. A  new American Medical Association policy suggests the extremely agitated state many medics refer to as “excited delirium” is not a legitimate “official” medical diagnosis and does not warrant the use of pharmacological interventions, like the use of ketamine, “solely” for law enforcement purposes, without a legitimate medical reason.

17. AMA doctors meet amid vocal backlash over racial equity plan

    1. Associated Press, June 12, 2021
    2. Announced last month, the plan is unusually bold for the historically cautious AMA, acknowledging that racism and white privilege exist in the medical establishment and have contributed to health disparities laid bare during the coronavirus pandemic.

18. Murrells Inlet doctor credits military for new role as AMA president

    1. ABC 15, June 8, 2021
    2. The American Medical Association will welcome a Murrells Inlet man as the new president next week.
    3. Gerald Harmon, MD, is a South Carolina native and currently the vice president of medical affairs at Tidelands Health.