AMA in the News: October 2023

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. Doctors wrestle with A.I. in patient care, citing lax oversight

   1. New York Times, Oct. 30, 2023
   2. “We’re going to have a lot of choices. It’s exciting,” Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, president of the American Medical Association, a leading doctors’ lobbying group, said in an interview. “But if physicians are going to incorporate these things into their workflow, if they’re going to pay for them and if they’re going to use them—we’re going to have to have some confidence that these tools work.” (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

2. AMA, allies plead for leniency as Medicare pay penalties loom

   1. Modern Healthcare, Oct. 30, 2023
   2. "When you adjust for inflation, the payment rate to physicians who care for Medicare patients has dropped 26% since 2001," AMA President Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, said at a news conference in Washington Wednesday. "I don't know many businesses in any industry that could withstand a 26% drop in revenue and still survive," said Ehrenfeld, an anesthesiologist who practices in Milwaukee and is a professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

3. Healthcare workers cite more burnout, and more are thinking of a career change

   1. Chief Healthcare Executive, Oct. 27, 2023
   2. In a speech at the National Press Club Wednesday, Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, the president of the American Medical Association, cited high levels of burnout as a factor in the nation’s physician shortage.

4. COVID made health care burnout worse. Here’s what those workers need now

   1. PBS, Oct. 27, 2023
   2. Burnout is only part of the health worker pipeline problem. Nearly half of all practicing physicians are over age 55, said Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, president of the American Medical Association, in a speech before the National Press Club Wednesday.

5. AMA president sounds alarm on national physician shortage, health system in crisis

   1. Healthcare Business Today, Oct. 26, 2023
   2. In a national address yesterday, American Medical Association President Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, M.D., MPH, spotlighted the growing national physician shortage and corresponding health system in crisis. In remarks delivered at the National Press Club, Dr. Ehrenfeld outlined critical strains on physicians, including enormous administrative burdens, burnout, attacks on attacks on science, increased consolidation across health care, a broken Medicare payment system, and health crises that worsen each day. 

6. AMA pushes Medicare pay hikes bill

   1. Modern Healthcare, Oct. 26, 2023
   2. Congress should support the Strengthening Medicare for Patients and Providers Act of 2023, Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, president of the American Medical Association, said at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday.
   3. “For the last 20 years, a shrinking Medicare reimbursement rate for physicians has pushed many small, independent practices to the brink of financial collapse and jeopardized care for millions of America’s seniors,” Ehrenfeld said. Adjusted for inflation, physician payments have declined 26% since 2001, he said. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

7. AMA urges legislative action to combat growing physician shortage

   1. Medscape, Oct. 26, 2023
   2. An increasingly bureaucratic healthcare system and the unsustainable Medicare payment program are just two of the issues causing physicians to feel powerless and are pushing burnout to levels never before seen, said Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, president of the American Medical Association (AMA), during a press conference Wednesday to highlight steps to stabilize the physician workforce. (Free registration is required to view content.)

8. AMA president shares perspectives on burnout, trust, hope in medicine

   1. Medical Economics, Oct. 26, 2023
   2. American Medical Association (AMA) President Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, was the keynote speaker at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 25.
   3. His presentation painted “a picture of our health care system in 2023, and it is not a happy or uplifting one,” with record physician burnout, shrinking Medicare reimbursement, administrative burdens and a workforce exodus. Ehrenfeld also discussed AMA’s Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians.

9. AMA president warns physician shortage is 'urgent crisis'

   1. HealthLeaders, Oct. 26, 2023
   2. A slew of factors is driving the country's physician shortage, including burnout, shrinking Medicare reimbursement, an aging workforce, administrative burdens and efforts to criminalize care, American Medical Association President Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, said yesterday in a National Press Club address.

10. AMA president warns of growing physician shortage: ‘It’s an urgent crisis’

    1. Chief Healthcare Executive, Oct. 26, 2023
    2. Ehrenfeld, the president of the American Medical Association, spoke about the physician shortage at the National Press Club Wednesday. He pointed to the high levels of burnout among today’s doctors, which is playing a role in driving some out of the profession. He also outlined steps to address the shortage of doctors.

11. Congress must tackle crisis in physician numbers in the U.S., says AMA president

    1. BMJ, Oct. 26, 2023
    2. Ehrenfeld called for Congress to act on several fronts to relieve the situation, from increasing Medicare payments to reducing bureaucracy and supporting doctors’ mental health. (Publication subscription is required for full or unlimited access.)

12. A 5-step solution to physician shortages, per AMA's president

    1. Becker’s Hospital Review, Oct. 26, 2023
    2. "Our nation's physician shortage is not a problem to set aside and deal with tomorrow. It is an urgent problem we need to address today," he said. "We must take action to create a stronger and more resilient physician workforce to care for an ever-changing nation."

13. Warning signs for the U.S. health system are piling up

    1. Axios, Oct. 26, 2023
    2. "The physician shortage that we have long feared—and warned was on the horizon—is already here," said AMA President Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, in a press briefing on Wednesday. "It’s an urgent crisis … hitting every corner of this country—urban and rural—with the most direct impacting hitting families with high needs and limited means."

14. The physician shortage is here: AMA implores Congress to address ‘urgent crisis’

    1. Radiology Business, Oct. 25, 2023
    2. Anesthesiologist Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, delivered his remarks at the National Press Club in Washington, highlighting the growing list of challenges physicians are facing in 2023. These include “enormous” administrative burdens, burnout, attacks on science, consolidation and a “broken” Medicare payment system.

15. AI can be a boon to clinicians—if used correctly, says AMA president

    1. Medpage Today, Oct. 25, 2023
    2. Artificial intelligence (AI)—when used for the right purposes—can help ease the burdens created by the nation's physician shortage, American Medical Association (AMA) president Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, said Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington.

16. 'Frustrated, burned out, abandoning hope'—physicians need support now in Washington, D.C., and around the nation

    1. Medical Economics, Oct. 25, 2023
    2. A five-point plan to bolster the physician workforce will not be easy or fast, but it could be effective for doctors and patients, said AMA President Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH. He outlined key parts of the association’s Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians in an Oct. 25 presentation, “What America’s looming physician shortage means for patients and health care, and how to fix it—now,” at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

17. AMA president warns of looming physician shortage

    1. The Well, Oct. 25, 2023
    2. The crisis is widespread physician burnout, and Ehrenfeld said Wednesday he fears the situation will get decidedly worse if the Congress, the White House, states and the profession itself don’t take steps to curb it.

18. AMA begs for federal action on 'insidious crisis' of physician burnout

    1. Washington Examiner, Oct. 25, 2023
    2. "The physician shortage that we have long feared—and warned was on the horizon—is already here," said AMA President Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, in a press briefing on Wednesday. "It’s an urgent crisis … hitting every corner of this country—urban and rural—with the most direct impacting hitting families with high needs and limited means."

19. DEA again extends telemedicine flexibilities

    1. CNN Health, Oct. 10, 2023
    2. American Medical Association president Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, MD, MPH, said in a news release that the organization is “grateful the DEA recognizes patients being treated with these medications … often have challenges securing and traveling to in-person appointments, and that the agency is committed to avoiding lapses in their care.”

20. AMA honors 72 organizations for promoting healthcare worker well-being

    1. Becker’s Hospital Review, Oct. 3, 2023
    2. The American Medical Association honored 72 healthcare organizations for their efforts to promote the well-being of healthcare workers and reduce physician burnout. The organization unveiled the list in an Oct. 3 news release as recipients of the 2023 Joy in Medicine Health System Recognition Program.