TMA EVPGram

The 2008 annual meeting of the American Medical Association House of Delegates completed its business and closed up shop a day ahead of schedule, something even long-time delegates said they had never seen happen before. The house calmly considered and debated new AMA policies and elected a new slate of leaders. Highlights:

• A moving address from AMA President Ron Davis, MD, who was stricken with pancreatic cancer midway through his term of office, opened the proceedings.
• The house adopted policy to strongly oppose the Hospital Acquired Condition-Present on Admission (HAC-POA) law, developed new guidelines on international medical tourism, and adopted new strategies to address medical students' growing educational debt.
• AMA published its first National Health Insurers Report Card.
  Two of the three resolutions Texas brought to the meeting won approval from the house. They call on AMA to help physicians move toward e-prescribing and to study the penalties for using health savings accounts for nonmedical purposes. Read all the details in Blogged Arteries.