Room 147-A, Washington Convention Center,
Washington DC Sunday,
November 4, 2007 (all times EST)
9:30 Registration and Networking
10:00 Welcome and Introductions
10:15 Approval of General Meeting Minutes 2007-06-23 10:20 Treasurer's Report 10:30 Dues for 2008 and 2009
Member Services and Recruitment
AAPHP Bulletin
10:45 Awards and Recognition
10:50 IOM Related Activities
10:55 Preventive Services ToolKit (PSTK) Report 11:00 AMA Reports: House of Delegates resolutions
from 2007 Annual Meeting & for 2007 Interim Meeting 11:30
Adjourn Business Meeting until 2:30 pm
12:00-2:00 APHA Opening Plenary Session
2:30 AAPHP Resumes General Membership Meeting:
Officers' Reports
3:00 Old Business
3:15 Educational Session: Joel L. Nitzkin, MD, MPH, MBA,
"Disarray in State and Local Public Health Agencies:
One Possible Root Cause, and Suggestions for an Action Plan"
4:00 Reactor Panel
4:15 Group Discussion
5:00 New Business and Closing Remarks
We convened about 5:50 pm, Central Daylight Time. Approximately 50 physicians and guests attended.
1) Address by William G. Plested III, MD:
Outgoing AMA President William G. Plested III spoke on "The AMA and Public Health". Many countries don't invest in modern medicine, and don't even want any more modern physicians, because they are afraid this will divert resources from basic sanitation. Public health is a prerequisite to good medicine, and is vital to physicians' interests.
Venezuela is importing Cuban physicians to provide free care and free medications. Established physicians and medical associations in Venezuela cannot verify the training of these physicians, or the quality of care that they deliver. Physician credentials and practices are a public health issue. The AMA is concerned.
Hurricane Katrina taught us many lessons about communication and databases. The AMA's Physician Masterfile was an important tool for distinguishing legitimate physician volunteers from impostors.
We are worried about clinicians' response to public health disasters. One of the biggest concerns is that for many disease emergencies, health care workers will be the first ones affected -- and often will be among the most severely affected as well. Clinicians and health workers will need to be creative. AMA staff help with training and planning.
These are just a few examples of the AMA's activities in Public Health. Dr. Plested promised that the AMA will continue to seek improvements in, and provide leadership to, the nation's public health system.
2) Break:
We enjoyed a brief social time before re-convening for additional business.
3) Nominating Committee:
Dr. Sherin proposed R. Jason Newsom, MD, MPH and Dave Blodgett, MD, MPH for future vacancies on the AAPHP Board of Trustees. Members approved this recommendation.
4) Dr. Goyal's campaign:
AAPHP's Immediate Past President and AMA Delegate Arvind K. Goyal, MD, MPH is running for Vice Speaker of the AMA. He has received welcome support from many others, including our own Preventive Medicine Section Council. Dr. Goyal thanked all members for supporting his campaign so enthusiastically. He announced other campaign-related events and opportunities.
5) Report on Resolutions:
Dr. Goyal reported that we have supported and introduced AMA resolutions favoring prenatal care for all U.S. residents; opposing the dilution of medical specialty certification by "boards" with similar names but lacking requirements for medical education and residency training; and seeking amendments in the proposed Philip Morris/CTFK tobacco legislation.
AAPHP appears to be effective in shaping medical policy, despite its relatively small size.
Dr. Murphy noted that various specialty representatives have asked for extensive amendment of our resolution on specialty society certification. We will seek to resolve these concerns, while maintaining our ability to challenge encroachment on our specialty's reputation or on the value of Board certification itself.
After discussion, we adjourned at 7:07 pm CDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Dave Cundiff, MD, MPH
AAPHP Secretary