Page 45 - Delaware Medical Journal - January/February 2021

AMA INTERIM MEETING
prevent and ameliorate the health effects of racism.
Law enforcement’s excessive use of force is a public health issue
The HOD adopted new policy to:
• Recognize police brutality as a manifestation of structural racism that disproportionately impacts Black, Indigenous, and other people of color.
• Work with interested national, state, and local medical societies in a public health effort to support the elimination of excessive use of force by law-enforcement
• Oppose the use of racial and enforcement through appropriate anti-bias training, individual monitoring and other measures.
• Advocate legislation and regulations that promote trauma-informed, community-based safety practices.
Set protocols on involuntary commitments for substance-use disorder
To ensure a person with a substance-use disorder is treated properly, the delegates adopted policy that the AMA oppose civil commitment proceedings for such people unless:
• A physician or mental health professional determines that civil commitment is in the patient’s best interest consistent with the AMA Code of Medical Ethics.
• Judicial oversight is present to ensure that the patient can exercise his or her right to oppose the civil commitment.
•The patient will be treated in a medical or other health care facility that is staffed
with medical professionals with training in mental illness and addiction, including medication to help with withdrawal and other symptoms as prescribed by his or her physician.
• The facility is separate and distinct from a correctional facility.
What went wrong on U.S. pandemic response? Panel should investigate
To help inform preparation and response to future pandemics, the HOD has directed the AMA to:
• Advocate for passage of federal legislation to create a congressionally- mandated bipartisan commission composed of scientists, physicians with expertise in pandemic preparedness
and response, public health experts, legislators, and other stakeholders, which is to examine the U.S. preparations
for and response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to inform and support future public policy and health systems preparedness.
• Seek to ensure key provisions are included, namely that the delivery of
required by the commission by a certain period of time and that adequate funding be provided in order for the commission to complete its deliverables.
Prior authorization –
Payers to end bankers’ hours
To minimize delays in prior authorization, the HOD directed the AMA to “advocate managers that require prior authorization have staff available to process approvals 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays and weekends.”
AMA to push for better access to opioid-use disorder treatments
The HOD directed the AMA to support:
• The expansion of federal grants to states in support of treatment for a substance-use disorder, provided those grants are conditioned on that state’s adoption of a law or regulation that prohibits drug courts, recovery homes, sober houses, correctional settings, and other similar programs from denying entry or ongoing care if a patient is receiving medication for an opioid
use disorder or other chronic medical condition.
• Sustained funding to states in support of evidence-based treatment for patients with a substance use disorder and/or co- occurring mental disorder, such as that put forward by the American Society
of Addiction Medicine, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and other professional medical organizations.
Treatment and primary care – methadone maintenance therapy
The AMA calls for further support for primary care services and methadone maintenance therapy (MMT). This includes continued support for clinical research and other evidence to guide safe clinical practice, as well as removing barriers and increasing access to evidence-based care.
• Research current best practices and support pilot programs and other evidence-based efforts to expand and integrate primary care services for patients receiving MMT.
• Support further research to help may be safely treated with MMT via primary care.
Del Med J | January/February 2021 | Vol. 93 | No. 1
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