Dr. Barbara McAneny, re-elected to the AMA board as its new chair, summed up the delegates' frustrated mood. “I know what it means to physicians to feel like a data-entry clerk,” she said.
In an interview, new AMA president, Dr. Robert Wah, acknowledged the malaise among AMA doctors. “Some people respond to change and uncertainty with unease and anxiety,” said Wah, the organization's first Chinese-American president. “I choose to see change as an opportunity.”
Delegates railed against the required switch to the ICD-10 coding system and federal meaningful-use requirements for health information technology.
They also voted to oppose mandatory participation in new maintenance-of-certification programs.
And they blasted the Joint Commission for not requiring patient-centered medical home practices to be physician-led to qualify for certification.
In addition, AMA leaders criticized Congress for not repealing and replacing the Medicare sustainable growth- rate formula for physician payment.
“I saw politicians on both sides of the aisle—in the Senate and the House—voice their approval for the legislation,” said Dr. Ardis Dee Hoven, outgoing AMA president. “And then, a few weeks later, I saw those same politicians vote that bill down.”
Dr. James Madara, the association's executive vice president and CEO, emphasized the importance of “a clear and unified voice” in advancing the association's agenda.
That unity was threatened by a resolution calling for an independent review of AMA lobbying efforts.
Some House of Delegate members said the resolution was a thinly veiled jab at the AMA board for its support of key elements of Obamacare. Ultimately, delegates rejected the independent review.
Follow Andis Robeznieks on Twitter: @MHARobeznieks