Sebelius Sworn into Dept. of HHS

Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in as the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

To read her biography, click here.

Information and Resources for Swine Flu

As leaders of the country's medical societies, you play a critical role in helping to maintain the public health. To this end, AAMSE is pleased to provide you with comprehensive resources to help you prepare your members and community for the emerging Swine Flu pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a dedicated webpage with the most up-to-date news and information related to Swine Flu. We encourage you share this information with your members and also sign up for the CDC's RSS feed dedicated to the Swine Flu.

Additionally, AAMSE is gathering information resources from medical societies from across the country. To view these resources visit the AAMSE Resource Center and search for "Swine Flu" or click here for a full listing.

If you have resources you would like to share or for general discussion of Swine Flu, please visit the AAMSE Forums discussion thread "Swine Flu Resources and Discussion"

Swine Flu Resources

CDC's Swine Flu Resource Page

CDC's Swine Flu RSS Feed

AAMSE Discussion Forum on Swine Flu*

AAMSE Resource Center Documents on Swine Flu*

*Please note, you must be logged in to the AAMSE website to view these pages

AMA Announces Web Portal for Physicians

The AMA announced today that it is partnering with two technology companies, Covisint (a subsidiary of the Compuware Corporation) and DrFirst, to offer physicians web-based products and services in the hopes of facilitating a transition to electronic health records.

To read more, click here.

Social Networking Helps Reverse FDA Call

Story submitted by Steve Smith, CAE, executive director / CEO of the American Academy of Hospice & Palliative Medicine.

On March 31, the FDA announced that manufacturers of 14 unapproved pain medications commonly used by palliative care physicians must cease production of said medications within 60 days. On April 9, the FDA reversed this decision due to an outpouring of complaints from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and other groups. The swiftness of this decision reversal has been attributed to interested parties using social networks such as Twitter, Facebook - as well as conventional routes such as phone, face-to-face, email, and fax - to discuss and inform others about this and encourage them to voice their complaints.

To read more about this story click here, and to read how social networking was used, click here.

Amicus Filed in Vaccine Ruling

Eight medical associations, including the AMA and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), filed an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court in response to the Georgia Supreme Court ruling that state courts could hear cases involving alleged vaccine defects, despite the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1986 establishing a "national vaccine" court to oversee such lawsuits.

To read more, click here.

AMA Reduces Staff Positions

The AMA announced last week that they would be reducing open and filled staff positions, affecting approximately 100 current AMA staff members.

To read more, click here.

Private Companies Attempt to Collect Overpayments

Some companies with self-funded insurance plans, working under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, are using private companies to recoup "overpayments" to physicians.

To read more, click here.