Making Sense of Medicine: Bridging the Gap Between Doctor Guidelines and Patient Preferences
  • New Book: Making Sense of Medicine
  • Advance Praise
  • About Zack Berger
  • Talking To Your Doctor
    • Talking To Your Doctor: Buy the Book >
      • Praise and Critique
      • Talking to Your Doctor: Resources and Questions for Discussion
      • Excerpt
  • Blog
  • Past Events
  • Sholem's Bias: Medicine and Other Curiosities (A Podcast)

Actions to Protest AMA and AAMC Support of Price for HHS

11/30/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
List assembled by Andrew Goldstein.

1) If a member of AMA, call and express disagreement, mention considering ending membership. 1-800-262-3211. Hit 2 then 1 to speak with Member Relations. May be overwhelmed by calls, but try first, otherwise member.feedback@ama-assn.org

2) If NOT a member, call and explain this is why you are not a member. 1-800-262-3211. Hit 2 then 1 to speak with Member Relations.
3) Member or not: All American physicians are by default registered in AMA's Masterfile, which is sold to third parties for AMA profit and allows pharma reps to monitor your prescribing data, etc. Submit a Do Not Release restriction to your Masterfile record, found here: https://www.ama-assn.org/…/dbl…/dnr_authrztn_ltr1_0_PDRP.doc or sign up for the Physician Data Restriction Program, which allows you to opt out of having your prescribing data released to the pharmaceutical industry. The website appears to be malfunctioning so you can also call or email: https://apps.ama-assn.org/PDRP/locate.do
4) Call any of these organizations you are a member of. They are represented in the AMA. https://www.ama-assn.org/member-organizations-ama-house-delegates

5) Write an op-ed in your local paper.

6) Join and/or donate to Doctors for America and National Physician Alliance.
7) Call the AAMC is you're an academic physician. Their support is far more surprising.
8) Add your name to an open letter:
Doctors: https://medium.com/@ClinicianAction/the-ama-does-not-speak-for-us-d697511267d5#.gf70l7kcm
Medical students: https://medium.com/@FutureDocsUSA/national-medical-student-open-letter-concerning-the-nomination-of-rep-tom-price-for-hhs-secretary-2a27232f2be8#.i55sjj4nw

9) Encourage your physician friends to do these actions. You could even share this post :)

If you have other ideas, please comment and I'll add them.
Here's the case against him:
- Defund Children’s Health Insurance Program
- Supports Medicare privatization
- Opposes Medicare power to negotiate drugprices
- Wants to dismantle the Affordable Care Act
- Wants to defund Medicaid via block grants (estimated 18-20 million will lose coverage)
- Zero rating from Planned Parenthood
- Marriage equality a "sad day for marriage" and "judicial destruction of checks and balances"
- Against transgender rights, called it "absurd" to have a guideline to schools
- Voted NO on reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act
- Voted NO on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation
- Voted NO on a bill to fight hate crimes based on sexual orientation
- Voted YES for constitutional amendment defining marriage as "one man and one woman"
- Supported Atlanta Police Chief Cochran after he was suspended for remarks referring to homosexuality as a sexual perversion and equating it to bestiality
- Voted YES on prohibiting product misuse lawsuits on gun manufacturers.
- Ban gun registration & trigger lock law in Washington DC.
- Voted YES on opening Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling.
- Voted YES on barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases.
- Voted NO on enforcing limits on CO2 global warming pollution.
- Voted NO on protecting free-roaming horses and burros.
- Voted NO on providing $70 million for Section 8 Housing vouchers.


0 Comments

Save the US Preventive Services Task Force and Evidence-Based Medicine

11/23/2016

6 Comments

 
Picture
Those who care about health care based on evidence and not merely on economic incentives, and primary care that considers the balance of the science in service of the whole person, should be very concerned about a bill before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

A hearing on November 30 can decide if evidence-based health care is going to be yanked in the direction of economic incentives and special interests. I think this is the leading edge of anti-science and anti-medicine legislation.

Called the USPSTF Transparency and Accountability Act, the bill significantly weakens the US Preventive Services Task Force, a respected source for unbiased summaries of the evidence--and used by physicians every day-- in three significant ways:

1. It replaces generalist members of the Task Force with specialists, who are less likely to take a broad view and balance risks and benefits in the whole population.
2. It establishes a review board to counterweight, and possibly counteract, the Task Force's recommendations, making evidence-based healthcare yet another political football.
3. It mandates reconsideration of any given past Task Force recommendations if requested by any specialist or other organization.

This is a serious step backwards for evidence-based, patient-centered, resource-sensitive health care in the US. Please reach out to your representative if they sit on the committee and ask them to vote against the bill.


6 Comments

Doctors Against Trump

11/17/2016

1 Comment

 

Some doctors might say,
"I don't want to mix politics and medicine."

Too late. They have been, always will be mixed. #SDOH

— DoctorsAgainstTrump (@MDsAgainstTrump) November 16, 2016
1 Comment

    Author

    The author of Talking To Your Doctor and Making Sense of Medicine blogs about the books, shared decision making, doctor-patient communication, and the redeemable imperfections of healthcare.

    Archives

    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.