Day 4 Blog (Tuesday, November 15)
AUA Delegates, Drs. Hans Arora and Richard Pelman, AUA Alternate Delegate Dr. Jason Jameson; and AUA Resident/Fellow Section Delegate, Dr. Ruchika Talwar joined more than 600 physicians at the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates (HoD) 2022 Interim Meeting to consider resolutions and reports covering clinical practice, payment, medical education, and public health topics. View our previous updates from the meeting.
On Tuesday, the AUA delegates spent one final day in the general session where the House debated and voted on various measures relating to Public Health, Reference Committee on Amendments to Constitution and Bylaws, and Medical Education. Here are some of the resolutions of interest:
- Resolution 910 – Gonad Shields: Regulatory and Legislation Advocacy to Oppose Routine Use (Resident & Fellow Section)
- The House adopted a slightly amended version of this resolution, which now urges the AMA to work with other stakeholders to oppose the mandatory use of patient gonad shields. This is due to improvements in medical imaging that have changed the balance of risk and benefit when using a gonad shield in a pediatric patient. Clarifying “patient” language was added to avoid misinterpretation to infer that PPE for health care professionals was no longer being recommended. The AUA spoke in favor of Res. 910 during the reference committee hearing.
- Resolution 916 – HPV-Associated Cancer Prevention (Medical Student Section)
- The House amended and ultimately adopted this measure due to the current focus on cervical cancer for HPV vaccinations leading to mistakenly excluding people at risk for HPV-related cancers at other sites that would benefit from its protection. One of the amendments passed was offered by the AUA, which was to include various “genital” cancers vs. “penile” cancers to be more inclusive of various urologic cancers when promoting HPV vaccinations.
- Resolution 011 – Advocating for the Informed Consent for Access to Transgender Health Care (Washington)
- The House referred this resolution for further consideration by the AMA due to the complexity of the issue. Additional time is needed to address new standards, worth with insurers, and explore any legal implications of changing practice guidelines. This decision for referral aligned with the AUA’s viewpoints – noting that informed consent does not always protect the physicians.
- Resolution 012 – Guidelines on Chaperones for Sensitive Exams (Medical Student Section)
- The House approved this measure to ensure the AMA’s “Use of Chaperones in Code of Medical Ethics” is most in line with the current best practices for adult and pediatric populations, and to consider several topics including opt out chaperones for breast, genital, and rectal exams. Because of the nuances to chaperone use, the AUA offered an amendment asking the AMA to advocate for state and federal legislative and regulatory changes to facilitate reimbursement for chaperone services. However, despite support for the amendment, it was not accepted because it was outside the scope of the current resolution, which is focused on exam guidelines. The AUA will look to offer a standalone resolution on this matter during the next AMA HoD meeting in 2023.
- Resolution 304 – Protecting State Medical Licensing Boards from External Political Influence (New York)
- This measure was overwhelmingly adopted by the House. It urges the AMA to work with the Federation of State Medical Boards and other interested parties to minimize external interference (e.g., legislators) with the independent functioning of state medical disciplinary and licensing boards. References were made regarding current efforts to place licenses in jeopardy for meeting expected standards of care. The AUA testified in support of Res. 304 – citing the primary mission of the boards is the protection of the public.
This concludes the business of the house for the remainder of the year. The next meeting will be the 2023 AMA HoD Annual Meeting, which will take place June 10-14 in Chicago, Illinois.