CHICAGO — The American Medical Association (AMA) today released the following statement from AMA President Andrew W. Gurman, MD, on an announcement made by Andy Slavitt, acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), concerning a new initiative to improve the physician experience with the Medicare program:
“The American Medical Association (AMA) welcomes this new initiative and sees CMS’ pilot to eliminate medical review for Advanced Alternative Payment Models as a notable first step in the agency’s new effort to lessen the regulatory burden for physicians.
“The AMA has been urging the Obama Administration to ease the extensive bureaucratic requirements imposed on physicians. A recent AMA-sponsored Dartmouth study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that for every hour physicians spend providing clinical care to their patients, they spend two hours on administrative tasks.
“Acting Administrator Slavitt is leading a timely effort to be responsive to physicians’ concerns. We look forward to working with CMS on this initiative so all physicians can spend more time on patient care and less time on paperwork.”
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About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.
