AAPM&R staff members and delegates attended the American Medical Association (AMA) Annual Meeting in Chicago on June 11-15, 2016. Highlights of the meeting include:
- The delegation sponsored two meetings for the PM&R Caucus on Saturday, June 11 and Monday, June 13 to discuss introduced resolutions and actions of the house.
- AAPM&R’s Resolution 110, “Opposing Limits on Care Based Solely on ICD-10 Code Specificity,” was adopted as amended. The resolution asked that the AMA oppose limitations in coverage for medical services based solely on diagnostic code specificity, especially in cases when it would be less accurate or spurious to use an alternate diagnosis code. Ultimately the resolution was adopted with a friendly amendment, supported by the Academy’s delegation, to expand the resolve to apply more broadly. The title was also changed to “Opposing Coverage Decisions Based Solely on ICD-10 Code Specificity.”
- AAPM&R Resolution 223, “Dry Needling Is an Invasive Procedure,” was adopted with no amendments. The resolution asked that the AMA recognize dry needling as an invasive procedure and maintains that dry needling should only be performed by practitioners with standard training and familiarity with routine use of needles in their practice, such as licensed medical physicians and licensed acupuncturists. There was also a similar resolution introduced by the Illinois Medical Association, but the House ultimately adopted the Academy’s resolution in lieu of the other, with no amendments.
- The AAMP&R delegates added the Academy as a co-sponsor for an emergency resolution in response to the tragic shootings at an Orlando nightclub earlier this month. The resolution called for the AMA to immediately make a public statement that gun violence represents a public health crisis which requires a comprehensive public health response and solution and to actively lobby Congress to lift the gun violence research ban.
View the full meeting report and learn more about AAPM&R’s advocacy efforts.