|
ACPM
Policy Committee Meeting
Friday, February 22, 2002, 1:30-3:00 PM
Adams Mark San Antonio Riverwalk
Director's Room 1
MINUTES
Participants
Mark
Johnson (Chair), Kathleen Acree,
Christopher Armstrong, John Ashley, C. R.
Allen, Jr., Mike Barry (Staff), Ron Davis,
Halley Faust, Marise Gottlieb, Arvind
Goyal, Tom Houston, Neal Kohatsu,
Perrianne Lurie, Jean Malecki, Charles
McCannon (Resident), Joel Nitzkin, Peter
Pendergrass, Alex Rodriguez, Nancy
Sheehan, Kelly Woodward.
Welcome
and Introductions
Mark
Johnson called the Committee to order at
1:40 PM.
He welcomed the Committee members
and led the introductions.
Dr. Johnson reviewed the agenda.
Committee
Affairs
The
minutes from the October 21, 2001 meeting
were approved.
Dr. Johnson announced that
Christopher Armstrong will be the new Vice
Chair.
Dr. Johnson reviewed the action
items from the October minutes, including
those resulting from resolutions, and the
status of each.
Mike
Barry provided a legislative update,
focusing mainly on the pending
congressional bioterrorism response bills.
He discussed how
ACPM
’s
PMR funding advocacy efforts have focused
on the important role preventive medicine
physicians play in bioterrorism
preparedness and response, and shared with
the committee a one-page advocacy piece
ACPM
is using for this purpose.
The committee encouraged
ACPM
to work with CDC (PHPPO), HRSA, ASTHO, and
NACCHO to create a crisp advocacy brochure
focused on the role of the public health
and preventive medicine workforce in
bioterrorism preparedness.
Jean Malecki volunteered to help
develop such a piece.
Mike
Barry presented the following set of draft
annual objectives for the Policy
Committee:
- Increase
from the previous year the number of
ACPM
policy resolutions (non-AMA) adopted
(2001 baseline: 3).
- Develop
plans for implementing resolutions
(non-AMA) passed in 2001 and at
the 2002 annual meeting and report on
progress to the committee/Board at the
November 2002 business meetings.
- Increase
FY 2003 federal appropriations/funding
for preventive medicine residency
training by at least 25 percent over
the FY 2002 level.
- Make
the Job Market Initiative (JMI) web
site fully functional to include
200-400 job postings suitable to
preventive medicine physicians per
month and provide a link through the
ACPM
web site.
For
the first objective, the committee felt
that the number of resolutions adopted is
not necessarily a good measure of success.
Rather, members noted that the
process (i.e., resolution and open policy
forum) and the interaction and education
it generates is important.
Hence, the committee suggested the
objective take into account the number of
resolutions submitted and the percentage
of those adopted.
The
committee strongly supported the second
objective, and suggested that staff
provide to the committee at each year’s
annual meeting a list of resolutions and
action taken on each.
The
committee noted how the third objective is
perhaps beyond the control of
ACPM
, but voted to keep the objective because
ACPM
is the only body vested in this issue.
Because this is the key policy
issue for
ACPM
, the committee urged that
ACPM
develop a model for how to implement a
resolution (e.g., from passage by the
Board to legislative strategy and
advocacy) once it is passed.
It was suggested that
ACPM
revisit the idea of creating an
ACPM
staff position for a board-certified
preventive medicine physician for
advocacy/legislative purposes (a Board
issue).
Discussion
of the fourth objective was deferred to
later on the agenda when the committee
discusses the JMI report.
Action
on Member Resolutions
Resolution
# 01-02(A)
Consultative
Preventive Medicine
Action
Taken:
The Policy Committee
recommended that the proposed resolution
be adopted with the following amendments:
- Resolved
1 is deleted.
- Delete
all references to the term
"consultative" in Resolve 2.
- Insert
two additional items under Resolve 2
as follows:
"I. Preliminary recommendations as to
how Preventive Medicine services should be
reimbursed in both fee for service and
capitated systems."
"J. Recommendations of
the role of Preventive Medicine physicians
as consultants."
Remarks: The Policy
Committee agreed with the gist of the
resolution and recommended that
ACPM
establish a task force to define Clinical
Preventive Medicine and all that it
encompasses. The committee had difficulty
with the term, "consultative,"
which implied a role contrary to the
integral role of preventive medicine being
espoused in the resolution. Hence, the
committee recommended that references to
"consultative" be removed from
all appropriate places in the proposed
task force charge and that a new charge be
added for the task force to consider the
role of preventive medicine physicians as
consultants. The committee also felt that
the task force should consider how
preventive medicine services should be
reimbursed in existing health care
financing systems.
Resolution
# 02-02(A) National Immunization Program
Action
Taken:
The
Policy Committee recommended that the
following amended Resolve be adopted in
lieu of the proposed Resolve: "That
ACPM
support and advocate for the United States
Federal Government to assure the adequate,
affordable production and distribution of
vaccine supply for the health of the
public and national security."
Remarks:
The Policy Committee was supportive
of the general concept being proposed.
However, the committee felt that reference
to specific national vaccine
programs/offices was not necessary and
recommended a more simplified Resolve that
addresses the key issues of assuring
access to affordable, adequate supplies of
vaccine. The committee agreed that, even
though
ACPM
has expressed support of significant
policy on this issue by the American
Medical Association and the Institute of
Medicine,
ACPM
should have its own stated policy and be
able to articulate its policy in the
national debate.
Resolution
# 03-02(A) Health Care for All
Action
Taken:
The Policy Committee Chair will
appoint a subcommittee to develop an
ACPM
policy position on universal health
insurance that updates its existing
policy, builds to the extent possible on
the principles and elements proposed in
Resolution 03-02(A), and addresses the
following key components: (1) benefits
coverage, (2) financing mechanisms, (3)
access principles, and (4) regulatory
authority. The subcommittee will report
back to the full committee at Preventive
Medicine 2003.
Remarks:
The Policy Committee felt that the
proposed resolution contained too much
detail, complexity, and potential
controversy and would not be approved by
the Board without the opportunity for
extensive vetting and consensus building.
As such, the committee initially
recommended a pared-down resolution that
contained what were thought to be the most
critical aspects of the proposal (i.e.,
guaranteed health insurance of all U.S.
residents through a federally-funded,
tax-based, Medicare-like insurance program
with a single risk pool). However, one of
the authors felt the committee’s actions
would create a meaningless
ACPM
position that would not considerably
extend or improve the current
ACPM
position. As such, the committee agreed to
form a subcommittee, in which the authors
would be invited to participate, to
consider the authors proposal in the
context of an updated
ACPM
policy, as described above.
Resolution
# 04-02(A) Availability and Distribution
of Potassium Iodide (KI) for Radiologic
Emergencies
Action
Taken:
The
Policy Committee agreed to defer action on
this resolution pending additional
research by the committee.
Remarks:
The
Policy Committee did not take action at
this time, agreeing to do more research
and learn more about the subject before
taking a position. The committee agreed
the main educational avenue would be the
environmental radiation and KI education
session to be held at Preventive Medicine
2002 on February 24, 2002. That session
profiled the pros and cons of a KI
stockpiling/distribution strategy. Further
discussion and development will take place
over the
ACPM
policy listserv.
Resolution
# 05-02(A) Principles for Combating
Antibiotic Resistance
Action
Taken:
The Policy Committee unanimously
voted to recommend this resolution as
submitted.
Remarks:
By adopting this resolution,
ACPM
would endorse the Seven Principles for
Combating Antibiotic Resistance as adopted
by the Coalition to Combat Antibiotic
Resistance. Additionally, these principles
are consistent with the
ACPM
's
Statement on the Use of Antimicrobials in
Food Animals, adopted in March 2000.
Report
from the Job Market Initiative
Joel
Nitzkin provided an update on the Job
Market Initiative (JMI).
Dr. Nitzkin noted the JMI web site
is up and running with approximately 30 to
50 job listings.
He is seeking enthusiastic support
by
ACPM
to notify its members about the JMI home
page and to create a link from the
ACPM
web site.
The deferred discussion about the
JMI committee objective did not take
place.
Other
Business
Tom
Houston suggested that the
ACPM
develop a short list of candidates for the
vacant CDC Director position and submit it
to the Secretary of HHS.
He encouraged
ACPM
to contact the AMA for potential
endorsement of the candidates.
In
order to boost attendance at the Open
Policy Forum, the committee again strongly
urged that the forum be scheduled such
that it does not complete with other
sessions.
The
committee recommended that the Board adopt
the
ACPM
position statement, “Preventing Handgun
Injury.”
Adjourn
The
meeting was adjourned at 3:16 PM.
|
