New Resources from the AMA

Excess Mortality Among Physicians During The COVID-19 Pandemic

This newly published JAMA Internal Medicine research letter, co-authored by AMA Research and Policy Manager Lindsey Carlasare with a team from Stanford University School of Medicine, seeks to better understand the effects of the pandemic on physician mortality rates.

Listening Campaign: Engage Physicians to Uncover Sources of Burnout

A new AMA STEPS Forward® toolkit outlines the 7 STEPS needed to successfully carry out a Listening Campaign, including 9 practical tools to help uncover and address sources of physician burnout.

Private Practice Simple Solutions: Support Staff Recruitment

Release Date: Feb. 14, 2023

This new eight-week session featuring Dr. Justin Holtzman, Medical Director of Holtzman Medical Group, focuses on recruiting and retaining support staff for your private practice. Register Here.

To access the complete collection of previously released Simple Solutions sessions, click here.

Supporting Private Practices: AMA & Medline University

Tuesday, March 7 | 10:15 am CT

Learn how to use the AMA STEPS Forward® Private Practice Playbook to your advantage in this open access webinar designed to help physicians streamline employee training in their private practices. Following the webinar, AMA members will have access to a curated Medline University course list that can be assigned to their care teams. Register Now.

AMA STEPS Forward® Podcast Episode 43

How a Telephone Consultation Model Eased Call Burden for Frontline Specialists
Dr. Alfred Atanda, Director of Clinician Well-Being at Nemours Children’s Health, shares his experience piloting a telephone consultation model aimed at reducing call burden for infectious disease specialists.

LISTEN NOW: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

AMA STEPS Forward® Podcast Episode 44

The Importance of Screening for Social Determinants of Health

Margaret Bavis, DNP and Assistant Professor, Rush University College of Nursing, discusses how CommunityHealth, one of the largest volunteer-based health centers in the nation, assesses and optimizes social determinants of health to improve patient care.

LISTEN NOW: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Debunking Regulatory Myths: Protected Health Information (PHI) Disclosures

Does HIPAA require that health care providers obtain patient authorization to disclose PHI for treatment purposes?

The American Conference on Physician Health (ACPH): Call for Abstracts

Oct. 11-13, 2023 | Palm Desert, CA

The ACPH theme this year is “Building the workplace of the future.” Contribute to the conversation by showcasing your work! Hurry – abstracts are only accepted until March 15.

AAP President Sandy Chung, MD Attends FMLA White House Event

AAP President Sandy Chung, MD, FAAP, attended an event at the White House to mark the upcoming anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). For the last 30 years, the law has helped many Americans take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave, without the risk of losing their job, to care for a new child or sick family member or when they are seriously ill. The AAP continues to advocate for comprehensive paid family and medical leave policy.

How Virginia’s getting rid of obstacles to physician well-being

From the AMA:

A statewide initiative has been launched in Virginia that seeks to cut burnout levels among physicians and other health professionals, and it includes a call to remove a major barrier to their well-being—the stigmatizing of those who seek the help of mental health professionals.

As part of the “ALL IN: Caring for Virginia’s Caregivers” initiative, hospitals and health systems that remove overly broad or invasive mental health questions on credentialing applications will be recognized as well-being champions by the coalition supporting the effort.

The coalition includes the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV), the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association and the Virginia Nurses Association. It is being supported by ALL IN: WellBeing First for Healthcare—an organization co-founded by the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation and #FirstRespondersFirst.

The effort builds on the medical society’s previous success in advocating with the state’s lawmakers. In 2020, the legislature unanimously approved creation of SafeHaven, an MSV-administered program in which physicians can seek confidential help 24/7 to address career fatigue or mental health issues. The law also guarantees that information originating in SafeHaven is privileged…

Read the Full Article at AMA

Buprenorphine prescribing now available to all DEA-registered physicians

From the AMA: In a major advance for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) and efforts to end the epidemic of drug overdose and death, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 eliminated the requirement for physicians to obtain a waiver from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to prescribe buprenorphine for OUD treatment.

Read more.

How one state is reducing physician mental health stigma

A coalition of healthcare organizations in Virginia has launched a new initiative that hopes to cut burnout among physicians and encourage more healthcare workers to receive care from mental health professionals, according to a Jan. 23 report from the American Medical Association.

The initiative, “All In: Caring for Virginia’s Caregivers,” will recognize hospitals and health systems that remove invasive mental health questions on credentialing applications as “well-being champions.”

The initiative is spearheaded by the Medical Society of Virginia, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association and the Virginia Nurses Association and builds on previous efforts to improve providers’ well-being…

Read the Full Article 

Physicians Can and Should Encourage Patients to Give Blood

Every 2 seconds in this country someone needs blood. As a physician, you understand the critical importance of blood donation to help ensure all patients can get the care they need when they need it most. But do your patients understand how crucial it is for them to donate blood, to help keep the whole system running efficiently and effectively?

Physicians can and should encourage patients to give blood. Blood saves lives. It could save the life of your patient, or the life of someone they love and care about. Without donors, there is no blood.

Considering only 3 percent of the U.S. population gives blood, there’s a lot of room for improvement. To help educate your patients about blood donation, we’ve created an FAQ of top questions about donating blood for you to share and discuss in hopes they’ll plan to make giving blood a priority in 2023 — if they haven’t already.

When I donate blood, what is it used for?

Donated blood is used for patients of all ages — infants to seniors — and in a wide variety of medical situations. You probably think of car accidents and surgery as times when someone would need blood. And that’s right, they do. But there are so many more reasons. Burn victims, women giving birth, trauma patients, and patients with cancer, sickle cell disease, blood disorders, or other chronic diseases also need blood.

Are certain types of blood needed more than others?

If you’re interested in donating blood, don’t worry about your blood type — blood is always needed! That said, yes, there are blood types that are in high demand. So if you have a high-demand blood type, that’s all the more reason to consider giving blood, or even consider giving blood more often. Blood type O is usually in high demand and short supply. Why? O positive is the most common blood type, and O negative is considered the “universal” type for emergencies. Only 7 percent of the U.S. population has O negative blood. If you know you have a rare blood type, that makes giving blood even more important for you, so you can help contribute to the blood supply.

Who can give blood?

There are some requirements for giving blood, for the safety of donors as well as patients. In Virginia, donors must be 17 years old — or 16 with parental consent. Donors should also weigh more than 110 pounds. In addition to being in good general health, you should also feel good, meaning you should not give blood when you’re feeling sick like with a cold or the flu. Donors can give blood every 56 days up to 6 times a year. There are additional considerations around your health, your medications, your immunizations, and international travel, all of which can be discussed with your doctor or when you are being screened prior to giving blood.

Can I give blood if I have a tattoo or piercing?

Yes! It’s a common myth that you can’t give blood if you have a tattoo or piercing. In Virginia, if you have a tattoo from a state-regulated or facility using sterile single-use equipment, you’re good to go as soon as the site has healed. With ear or body piercing, you also need to have received your piercing in a professional setting using sterile single-use equipment.

There is a 3-month wait if you got your tattoo outside the U.S. or, in some cases, outside of Virginia. In fact, our neighbor Washington D.C. is one of the areas that will trigger the 3-month waiting period. If you’re interested in donating blood, your tattoos and piercings can be discussed with your doctor or when you are being screened prior to giving blood.

Where can I give blood?

The best place to find a blood drive near you is visit the American Red Cross website at www.redcrossblood.org and search by your zip code. Many schools, businesses, neighborhoods, civic organizations, and other groups host the American Red Cross for blood donation on a regular basis.

With more education as well as more encouragement from you, hopefully more of your patients will choose to give blood and help save lives in 2023 — and will make giving blood a priority for years to come.

Michele A. Nedelka, MD
Radiation Oncologist

The information contained in this blog post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute healthcare advice.

AMA Response Regarding FTC and Noncompete Clauses

From the AMA:

As you may know, the Federal Trade Commission published today a proposed rule that would ban most noncompete clauses.

Some of you have been asking if the American Medical Association (AMA) will be submitting comments to the FTC and, if so, what approach the AMA expects to take.

The AMA has existing policy specifically addressing noncompetes, including a Code of Medical Ethics opinion. This ethics opinion recognizes that physicians often have diverse opinions about noncompetes. AMA policy opposes unreasonable noncompetes. The AMA will be submitting comments by the March 20 deadline, and our comments will be guided by this policy.

In the meantime, the AMA has been responding to media inquiries as they come in with the following statement:

The AMA appreciates the Federal Trade Commission’s examination of noncompete agreements in the workplace. While the AMA’s membership has diverse perspectives on noncompetes—with some members in an employer/practice ownership role and some in an employee role—AMA ethics policy opposes unreasonable noncompetes. Many states have enacted negotiated health care-specific noncompete statutes that take into account their unique health care markets and that balance the competing stakeholder interests. The balanced approach of these states must be considered against a proposed universal federal ban on all noncompete agreements.

The AMA welcomes our Federation members to share your views on the proposed rule. Also, we will be happy to share with you our draft comments prior to the deadline if doing so would help you develop your own comments. Please send any comments to [email protected].

FTC Proposes Rule to Ban Non-Compete Clauses

On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) proposed a sweeping rule that, if enacted as initially drafted, will prohibit employers from entering into or enforcing existing non-competition agreements with executives and other employees…

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VCU names Arturo P. Saavedra dean of VCU School of Medicine and VCU Health Executive VP for Medical Affairs

Via VCU News

Virginia Commonwealth University has announced that Arturo P. Saavedra, M.D., Ph.D., has been named dean of the VCU School of Medicine, effective April 15. He also will serve as VCU Health System executive vice president for medical affairs.

Saavedra comes to VCU from the University of Virginia where he is chair of the Department of Dermatology and president and interim chief executive officer of University of Virginia Physicians Group. In these roles, Saavedra partners with other leaders to drive continuous improvement in the quality and value of care in addition to setting strategy and ensuring operational and financial performance of the physicians’ group. His appointment follows a national search.

Prior to his current roles…

Read the Full Story at VCU News

Updated 2023 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule Conversion

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has alerted the American Medical Association that the agency has released updated national Medicare physician payment files that incorporate the changes in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023.

Specifically, in response to concerted advocacy by organized medicine, Congress reduced the 4.5% cut to Medicare physician payment by increasing the 2023 conversion factor by 2.5%. The updated 2023 Medicare physician payment schedule conversion factor will be $33.8872. The previously finalized conversion factor was $33.0607. The 2022 conversion factor was $34.6062.