June 2001 • Volume 7 • Number 6
Constituencies tackle tough issues
BY SHERI PORTER & JANE STOEVER
Jacquline Perry, M.D., of Huntsville, Ala., listens intently before sharing her views at the National Conference of Special Constituencies.
Mary Gayle Armstrong, M.D., of McComb, Miss., makes sure her vote is counted during the women physicians' hearing.
Newly elected IMG delegate Ashok Kumar, M.D., of Tyler, Texas, takes a turn at the NCSC microphone.The corridors and conference rooms of the Hyatt Regency Crown Center filled with family physicians, chapter executives and other Academy friends April 26 - 28. Nearly 400 registrants participated in the Annual Leadership Forum and National Conference of Special Constituencies, held in conjunction each year.
Resolutions passed at NCSC are referred to either the AAFP Board of Directors or the Congress of Delegates for further action. Here's a sampling of work from the five constituencies.
Women FPs
Discussion on four resolutions pertaining to emergency contraception kept women physician constituency members literally on their toes as they lined up at the microphones.
Three resolutions, two of which passed, asked for more education and training on the subject for both practicing physicians and residents.
The debate heated up when attention turned to the resolution calling for the Academy to oppose over-the-counter availability of hormonal emergency contraceptives.
"There are 1.5 million abortions a year in the United States. If this (use of over-the-counter hormonal contraceptives) were widely available, it could cut that number in half," said Linda Prine, M.D., of New York, who spoke against the resolution. Prine called emergency contraception a compelling public health issue and an option for people who can't access a doctor.
Deborah Green, M.D., of Fort Lupton, Colo., voiced concerns about the patient/doctor relationship and said that birth control should be discussed in the physician's office, not the pharmacy. "I'm afraid teens will misuse this as a form of birth control, which it is not," said Green.
There were voice votes, hand counts and several mandatory recounts with one-vote margins.
In the end, the resolution failed late Saturday afternoon by a final hand vote of 17 - 15.
International medical graduates
IMGs, meeting for the second year, passed a resolution aimed at eliminating inequities in the resident selection process. Ashok Kumar, M.D., of Tyler, Texas, was elected at the meeting as one of the first IMG delegates to the AAFP Congress. He hopes to be seated there this fall pending adoption of a Bylaws amendment by the COD. Kumar said IMGs take the same examinations as American graduates, plus a clinical assessment test and an English language skills test.
"We want to make people aware that IMGs are equally qualified for residency slots," he said. IMGs consistently fulfill important health care needs in the United States by serving in rural and underserved areas, he added.
New physicians
During most years since 1995, the new physicians have sought a position on the AAFP Board. They chalked up their first success last fall. The Congress of Delegates asked the Committee on Bylaws to draft an amendment reserving a Board seat for new physicians, those in practice fewer than seven years. The Congress will vote on the amendment this fall.
The new physicians at NCSC adopted a resolution on the election process for the new physician. "When the Committee on Bylaws meets this June, we hope it will add this process to the final amendment," said new physician Julie Wood, M.D., of Macon, Mo., who helped write the resolution. The process calls for candidates to be nominated by constituent chapters, elected by new physicians at NCSC and voted on by the Congress.
Among the concerns of new physicians are licensure and credentialing problems. "The Federation of State Medical Boards has made it harder to get licensed quickly, and many insurance plans and HMOs may not credential you for six or nine months, so you can't see patients in those plans," said Wood. "You're at the whim of the insurance plan."
She adds, "The new physician on the Board could provide our perspective on all issues, not just new physician issues."
GLBT constituency
The gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender constituency, meeting for the first time, sent a resolution to the joint constituency (a meeting of all the constituencies), which approved it. The measure asked AAFP to introduce a resolution in the AMA House of Delegates calling for a change in federal immigration and naturalization laws to extend resident alien status to those meeting the AAFP definition of family.
The AAFP defines family as "a group of individuals with a continuing legal, genetic and/or emotional relationship." Currently, immigrants' spouses (not lesbian or gay partners) may receive resident alien status.
Minority constituency
The minority constituency asked the Academy to support legislation that would help fund culturally sensitive interpretive services for health care and to develop and promote to members both written and electronic materials on cultural competency and special populations.
The constituency called for health promotion efforts, including the prevention of substance abuse, on behalf of prisoners and former prisoners. The minority physicians also resolved that the Academy should encourage HCFA to provide reimbursement, if needed, for transportation of Medicare patients for up to 12 health care visits.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2001 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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