AMA 2023: UroToday’s Coverage of the 2023 American Medical Association Annual Meeting

(UroToday.com) Since the launch of UroToday’s Health Policy Center of Excellence, we strive to raise awareness about important health policy issues that are of interest to the broader urologic community. Organized medicine is the central mechanism for physicians to exert influence over policy changes that will impact healthcare. Although physicians have a variety of opinions on the American Medical Association (AMA), often very critical, the fact remains that the AMA is the largest and most influential body of organized medicine. The AMA continually addresses integral issues related to the practice of medicine, including public health, scope of practice, diversity, equity & inclusion, and legislative advocacy.

The organization’s advocacy and legislative priorities are crafted using a democratic process within the House of Delegates, which is the policy-making arm of the AMA. In fact, any AMA member can draft a “resolution” to adopt as AMA policy, which drives forward the organization’s stances and actions on various issues. Two urologic organizations, the American Urological Association (AUA) and the American Association of Clinical Urologists (AACU) hold seats in the policy-making arm of the AMA, the House of Delegates. The House of Delegates convenes twice a year and will be meeting in Chicago this week.

Major issues of interest to the urologic community include peer review during the prior authorization process, compensation of non-visit care, trainee and student access to fertility preservation, and access to federally funded research. Further, the meeting will also provide educational content regarding various healthcare issues such as risk management strategies, patient advocacy, and palliative care. Please follow along with our meeting coverage to stay up to date on important policy developments throughout the AMA meeting!

Written by: Ruchika Talwar, MD, Urologic Oncology Fellow, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, @RuchikaTalwarMD during the 2023 AMA Annual Meeting, June 9 to June 14