Local AMA Delegates respond to the President's Health System Reform proposals Joint Letter to the Editor published in the Florida Times Union on June 24, 2009 Written by Alan Harmon, MD; Thomas Peters, MD; Ashley Booth, MD; and John Montgomery, MD Our American Medical Association is actively working for health system reform that provides affordable, high quality health care coverage for all Americans. The AMA supports reform that is backed by the best evidence that improves quality, patient safety and cost reduction. The AMA favors patients actively participating in preventative health care and wellness programs. Improved management of chronic disease, increased coordination of care by primary physicians, implementation of advanced health information technology and the formation of integrated health care delivery systems have been documented to improve care and reduce costs. More ... Read the entire editorial on the Florida Times Union's website: Health care: AMA plan supports quality | Jacksonville.com  Or click here for a PDF of the editorial from www.jacksonville.com Comments from Thomas G. Peters, MD, FACS, FASN, AMA delegate I think we would all agree that the President was welcomed by the HOD, and that much of what he said is factually so, or—in the case of some reform—desirable.  His comment that he did not favor caps on malpractice awards for non-economic damages (caps which have worked so well in many states, including Florida) was disappointing, and invoked the only negative response from the House.   His comments about access to care, eliminating health insurance exclusions for pre-existing disease, and less reliance on the SGR (the current physician payment modeling system) are welcomed.  So are many of the issues he raised such as the EMR and continuity of care with one’s own physician.  However, for this administration and this congress, the devil is in the details.  We must remember that with all government support and reform comes regulation, and regulation is seldom enabling.  In fact, with health care, regulation is almost always stifling—sometimes with fatal outcomes for patients. The AMA positions to eliminate the SGR, improve the malpractice circumstance, enable private contracting, relieve doctors from restrictions on information sharing (anti-trust), and promote personal health responsibility among all Americans seem sensible and laudable. Finally, implementation of reform will be neither quick, cheap, nor politically painless.  Surely, unforeseen consequences of well-intentioned legislation and regulatory reform will actually hurt some patients and physician practices.  We may think that we know what we want, and improvements can be made.  But, disappointments must be expected and addressing problems will be needed no matter what reforms ultimately emerge.

Resources From the DCMS Read the advance copies of the President's Message and Editorial from the forthcoming issue of Northeast Florida Medicine by clicking on the links below: President's Message by R. Stephen Lucie, MD The Healthcare Reform Train Has Left The Station From the Editor's Desk by John Kilkenny, MD Promises, Promises  From the FMA Letter from FMA to Congress regarding H.R. 3200 From the AMA website: (you will be redirected to AMA website) Message from AMA President on H.R. 3200 - July 18, 2009 (video, 2m:27s) H.R. 3200 FAQ President Obama Receives Warm Welcome from AMA Physicians AMA Six Guiding Principles of Health System Reform Kaiser Family Foundation Health Care Reform Gateway Includes side-by-side comparisons of major health care reform proposals, charts and interactive tables to compare effects on different states, and a variety of additional resources.