The Most Powerful Medical Association In The U.S. Gears Up To Fight Congress Over Guns

[babylonsister]

The Most Powerful Medical Association In The U.S. Gears Up To Fight Congress Over Guns

by Alex Zielinski Jun 15, 2016 9:40 am

CREDIT: AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack

Dr. Michael Cheatham, chief surgeon of the Orlando Health Regional Medical Center hospital, addresses reporters during a news conference after a shooting involving multiple fatalities at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, June 12, 2016.


The largest medical organization in the United States, the American Medical Association, passed a historic resolution last night in response to the weekend’s mass shooting. After years of tiptoeing around the topic of gun control, AMA leaders voted to officially call gun violence a public health issue — and respond accordingly. That means flexing the organization’s powerful political muscle on Capitol Hill to refocus federal funds toward studying gun violence.

To see this through, however, Congress would need to lift a 20-year-old ban that blocks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from funding any research related to gun violence. But the AMA, with one of the largest political lobbying budgets of any organization in the U.S., appears ready to fight.
Let AMA be part of turning the tide to make something right

“Even as America faces a crisis unrivaled in any other developed country, the Congress prohibits the CDC from conducting the very research that would help us understand the problems associated with gun violence and determine how to reduce the high rate of firearm-related deaths and injuries,” said AMA President Dr. Steven Stack, in a written statement.

“An epidemiological analysis of gun violence is vital so physicians and other health providers, law enforcement and society at large may be able to prevent injury, death and other harms to society resulting from firearms,” he added.

more...

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2016/06/15/3788662/ama-gun-violence-research/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tptop3&utm_term=1&utm_content=53&elqTrackId=1c8a42289ecc4d06a169d90121041edc&elq=65e93d2e4c014745b7a4f8130c6d3c2c&elqaid=30458&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=5820

[pipoman]

1. Too bad they don't sign a resolution to make medical services

Available to all of the people who die for inability to pay for medical care.

[aikoaiko]

2. boom.

[ErikJ]

11. and to triple the number of medical students

They keep the number of MD graduates low to keep the cost of their services higher.

[hunter]

25. They AMA has become a tool of the Pharmaceutical Industry, bought and paid for.

They are not limiting medical students; the "free market" does a wonderful job of that, importing physicians trained elsewhere because they cost less and will tolerate harsher working environments. The children of American doctors don't wish to become doctors themselves. They've seen what mom or dad has to put up with.

We'd have more primary care physicians willing to work for lower wages if we paid for their educations and improved their working conditions. Nobody wants to go to school for so many years, and suffer a harsh poorly paid residency, just to be an assembly line worker dispensing expensive pharmaceuticals, or referring patients to even more expensive specialists.

All the "altruistic" professions are constantly screwed over by the money people; doctors, teachers, nurses, all the people who desire to help others. Those that survive have either hearts of gold, or they are sociopaths who simply don't care about the quality of their work, just the "productivity" measured in $$$, which has little relation at all to overall public health or education.

[lostnfound]

30. Wow. I've suspected as much but you've said it clearly

Is this personal experience?
Isnt it pitiful that this has been done to even the medical field?
I remember when "doctor" was like the highest ambition most people had for their kids.
Too much debt.

[hunter]

49. Family and friends... Doctors, nurses, teachers

Thank you!

[Roy Rolling]

58. That's the inevitable end

Of capitalism becoming inextricably intertwined with everything with no regulation. Not everything is measured by profitability, and a society that only values money devalues the activities that make life worth living in the first place. Or prices them increasingly out of reach.

[Dhantesvz]

43. Health care economics

Health care economics is something I am very passionate about and will possibly be my specialization for grad school, your first line of your post concerns me because of the negative connotation towards foreign physicians. Foreign physicians for the most part can only find residency positions as GPs which is what this country needs, the United States receives 45% of all medical immigration in the world followed by the UK at 25%. American medical students are only interested in becoming specialists because that is where the money and prestige is in the field. While there should be some effort to incentive medical students to become GPs, government should look at regulating the high earners in the medical field who. Correct me if I'm wrong because basing this off my memory but GPs earn like 3x the pay of nurses while Specialist earn 20x on average.

Right now the american health care systems spends far too much for the health outcomes it receives, spending 17.1% of GDP and seeing worse or similar results to countries that spend 8-10% of their GDP on health care spending. The primary focus of future health care reform should be cost controls, and improvements designed to increase the supply of physicians by lowering the costs of medical school. In European countries the standards/costs for becoming a physician are far lower and see similar health results, but of course there are many differences such as their medical schools having a normal college failure rate whereas in the US if you get into medical school you have like 99% chance of becoming a doctor.

[hunter]

47. Physicians accepted to medical school in the U.S. have completed four years of college...

...have very successfully completed rigorous training in sciences closely related to medicine, and passed very difficult exams.

In medical school these students are not going to trip up on the academics. Most of them have been "high achievers" since kindergarten.

I think the most serious problem in U.S. medicine is the money side. "Success" in our institutions, profit or non-profit, public or private, is measured by the volume of money flowing through the system. More money flowing through the health care system means more CEO's and specialist supervisors with multi-million dollar incomes, more corporate jets and other useless ornamentation, and most destructively, more money diverted for lobbying and advertising. Success isn't measured in the overall public health or in individual outcomes, it's measured in how big a bite the health care system can take out of the overall economy.

[OwlinAZ]

50. Thank you

MBAs usurped the influence of health care specialists in the Reagan years. It is a different world now and not in a better way.

[malaise]

48. Well why should poor countries subsidize education for medical students

so that the American corporate medical system can siphon them off. Take a look at the medical and nursing brain drain to the OECD countries.

[Chuuku Davis]

63. Wrong and right

I have taught medical students, interns and residents for 21 years
The vast majority of those from the middle East, Pakistan and some from India do not have enough knowledge of physiology, pathology and pharmacology to be good doctors
The last three years of teaching I came home frustrated and angry every night
My wife finally convinced me to quit and go back to actually practicing medicine in a primary care clinic

[saidsimplesimon]

68. A reference to Dante Alighieri?

You have encapsulated the whole story in two paragraphs, bravo/brava. A simple marketing person would say, "Medicare for All".

Would you agree that the pharmaceutical industry contributes to the escalating cost and the push to sell "treatments not cures"?

[saidsimplesimon]

67. hunter, bingo, thank you, n/t

[eastwestdem]

53. Trust me, the high admission standards are good. Some of the people at the bottom of my med school

class probably shouldn't have been there. I can't imagine people who scored even lower on admission testing or had worse grades in college.

[midnight]

12. Yes… exactly...

[Duckhunter935]

26. Ouch that had to hurt

[My Good Babushka]

27. I was just about to say something similar

They are a powerful, respected association, and they do not exert the influence that they could over improving healthcare for patients or for workers in the health care industry.

[sarisataka]

3. Might I suggest doctors focus

on reducing death from medical error. The 250,000+ that die yearly from preventable error far exceeds all gun related deaths and injuries.

[AllyCat]

14. Well, since most of what they do helps people,

it's not really the same to compare their services to the munitions industry, which serves NO OTHER purpose except to kill people.

[klook]

16. +50 (eom)

[sarisataka]

17. People who have used firearms

in self-defense might take issue with your statement.

On one hand we have ~30,000 people die of firearms injury yearly, 2/3 of them self inflicted. On the other over a quarter million die due to carelessness.

The AMA concern is noble but also akin to large mortgage bankers telling Congress they need to study average individual's credit card usage.

[AllyCat]

18. Yes. 30k people dying from guns, even (gasp!) self-inflicted, is a public health concern

And if doctors can't bring it up, who should? Nurses? Or do you have a place to put us as well?

[sarisataka]

19. I don't oppose public health research

and I was quite impressed with the 2013 CDC report on gun violence. I encourage further open, peer reviewed studies.

I also encourage a concerted effort to try and reduce the third leading cause of death in the U.S. A very good friend is an ICU nurse. Her horror stories are the best encouragement to keep a healthy lifestyle and stay out of hospitals.

[maxsolomon]

57. not surprised you were impressed with that survey of existing research.

Gary Kleck was on the Committee. His horseshit estimate of 500k to 3 million DGUs/year was "surveyed".

http://www.nap.edu/read/18319/chapter/1#v

[sarisataka]

60. Many people were

on the survey committee. Are you saying Kleck was able to control the other thirteen committee members?

Apparently you haven't actually read the report. If you had, you would know it wasn't all roses for the pro-gun rights side. The report skewered many sacred cows.

Or perhaps you want the CDC to issue reports based on pre-determined conclusions and ignore everything that doesn't support the conclusion?

[Matt_R]

71. The last one, yep, the last one.

Or perhaps you want the CDC to issue reports based on pre-determined conclusions and ignore everything that doesn't support the conclusion?

[Crunchy Frog]

21. Do you think they can possibly focus on more than one thing?

[sarisataka]

22. Doctors are intelligent people,

usually, so I believe they are capable. I just do not recall them having a large press conference and calls to Congress to deal with a problem than kills nearly 10x as many.

Still, as I have said many times before- by all means, let the CDC study gun violence.

[Ilsa]

4. I'll take it. I hope they let us know when

Voting for change is more important than voting for gop tax cuts.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. To quote Joe Biden: "This is a big fucking deal!"

And it IS. Wow!

[Stinky The Clown]

6. To people criticizing the AMA in the face of this news, please stop.

No organization is perfect. To be sure, the AMA has lots of which to be wary.

But this IS a big step forward. Accept it at face value. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

[Old Crow]

8. +1. Well said. (N/T)

[IronLionZion]

15. They're doing the right thing in this case

There needs to be strong lobbying support in favor of studying this issue. And exposing the fact that the NRA is opposing studies because they are afraid of what they'll find. Some NGOs have attempted to aggregate news reports to compile data but the AMA really has the power to influence legislation and budgets and policy on a much larger level.

[Chuuku Davis]

64. I personally know over 300 local docs

Four of them are AMA members
The AMA is a very small country club clique

[dmr]

28. Thank you.

That absurd ban, among others, should never been put in place.

I'm very happy to hear this news.

[Politicub]

39. +1

This.

[Beartracks]

44. Yeah, I hate that.

Reminds of any news about the Church doing something good. Sure, the Church is always helping the poor and feeding the starving throughout the world every day -- but one week let's say the Pope suddenly reverses 2000 years of doctrine and changes its official positions on homosexuals AND condom use, and someone would still complain: "Yeah, whatever, call me when they start ordaining women. Pfft."


Sorry - Not trying to change subjects.

============================

[Wounded Bear]

45. Well, I'll 'criticize' them...It's about fucking time....

It IS a good move, but sadly delayed by many years. Let's hope something comes of it.

[nevergiveup]

62. Thank you!

[SunSeeker]

7. K & R

[Duval]

9. My husband, a MD, says "FINALLY"!

[63splitwindow]

10. GREAT! K&R

[midnight]

13. Good to see this surgon has on all his props...

I don't think he needs his hat on in public…

[stopwastingmymoney]

24. What a shitty thing to say

This man has probably been up to his elbows in carnage for hours before this.

You should be ashamed

[midnight]

29. I disagree… The surgeons in this country do exactly what they are told to do by the insurance co.

[lostnfound]

31. blood soaked scrubs might have sent a stronger message

Would you have considered that a prop too?

[Crunchy Frog]

20. Nice to see them doing something positive for a change. n/t

[postatomic]

23. Works for me

[rladdi]

32. The NRA and Republicans passed legislation years ago preventing any research on guy injuries. They

do not want any fact gathering on guns and the damage they do. Any report like this would take down the NRA. Thus they prevent any fact finding on guns

[phazed0]

33. We're losing our heads...

Sorry, but this is silliness. I get people wanting to "do something" about guns, but this is getting to be madness.

Gun Violence is not a disease in the true sense of the word. Just like Terrorism doesn't classify all violent actions.

Gun violence is a Social issue that results in a possible health issue. See, we're not treating the right thing here.

And no, they are not going to have "An epidemiological analysis of gun violence" seeing as the meaning of epidemiological is:

The term epidemiology is now widely applied to cover the description and causation of not only epidemic disease, but of disease in general, and even many non-disease, health-related conditions, such as high blood pressure and obesity. Therefore, this epidemiology is based upon how the pattern of the disease cause changes in the function of everyone.

and further

Epidemiologists employ a range of study designs from the observational to experimental and generally categorized as descriptive, analytic (aiming to further examine known associations or hypothesized relationships), and experimental (a term often equated with clinical or community trials of treatments and other interventions). In observational studies, nature is allowed to “take its course”, as epidemiologists observe from the sidelines. Conversely, in experimental studies, the epidemiologist is the one in control of all of the factors entering a certain case study.[33] Epidemiological studies are aimed, where possible, at revealing unbiased relationships between exposures such as alcohol or smoking, biological agents, stress, or chemicals to mortality or morbidity. The identification of causal relationships between these exposures and outcomes is an important aspect of epidemiology. Modern epidemiologists use informatics as a tool.

Observational studies have two components, descriptive and analytical. Descriptive observations pertain to the “who, what, where and when of health-related state occurrence”. However, analytical observations deal more with the ‘how’ of a health-related event.[33] Experimental epidemiology contains three case types: randomized controlled trials (often used for new medicine or drug testing), field trials (conducted on those at a high risk of conducting a disease), and community trials (research on social originating diseases).[33]

The term 'epidemiologic triad' is used to describe the intersection of Host, Agent, and Environment in analyzing an outbreak.

Next thing you know we're going to have the AMA after automobile crashes and construction site injuries.

[babylonsister]

37. Yes, getting shot dead could be considered a health issue. nt

[greiner3]

38. Get over yourself

A large reason for doctors to get into the politics of it is that mental health issues play a huge part of gun violence.

[Politicub]

40. Flushhhhhh

It's the sound your argument makes after reading it. Your argument pivots on this misguided notion that guns and cars are exactly the same.

Of course gun violence is an epidemic. It needs to be treated as such.

[phazed0]

41. No, not really...

But if the litmus test for an epidemic is the number of deaths caused... Guns and car accidents are almost exactly the same in deaths per year. So why not count another physical object controlled by another human as an epidemic, too?

The word Epidemic can be used in two ways... as a Noun and as an Adjective.. The noun use of the word does not apply to Guns or doctors - it applies to a widespread infectious disease of biological origin... is that a gun? No.

The other use of the word epidemic is to describe a situation that is widespread or wide-ranging - that can certainly be used to describe the situation, but simply because you used the word "epidemic" does not refer to the medical sense of the word, hence, no docs.

But whatever.

[NBachers]

54. I suggest you start lobbying the AMA to stop this foolish crusade.

[libodem]

35. GOOD!

https://m.facebook.com/GOODHQ/

[avaistheone1]

36. WOW!

[Ikonoklast]

42. No one stopped the AMA from doing their own study, except themselves.

I hope they also study why they as an organization protect bad doctors while they are at it, and why they are against universal health care.

[leftstreet]

46. Yet they didn't use their power to fight for a Public Option

[Hekate]

51. KICK

[glennward]

52. It's about time.

Glad they finally came around.

[lark]

55. Good for them!

It's really pissed me off that they have stood off to the side in this debate, letting the death mill reign supreme. It's time they take a stand for life and against senseless death. Of course gun nuts will crucify anyone who goes against their dogma of "guns for everyone, who cares how many die"?

[63splitwindow]

56. According to OpenSecrets.org...

Total Lobbying Expenditures:

AMA $6,810,000
NRA $735,000

[rladdi]

59. The Republicans at least 20 years ago on advice of their counsel, NRA. passed a bill banning

any research that includes a gun. The NRA does not want any stats of guns they may be held against them. This needs to be address immediately with all the gun related violence in America, but the NRA is against it. Again, lets elect in November politicians that care about the lives of America.

[EndElectoral]

61. If Congress bans funding for studying gun violence does anyone think they'll do anything to stop it?

[ailsagirl]

65. kick

[saidsimplesimon]

66. babylonsister, thank you, recommended

For those who entered the medical profession because of their "values", I salute you. You have demonstrated you are willing to go to any length to act as "caretakers" for those who suffer, and know pain, both physical and psychological. Do not despair, humanity or your own sense of self-worth will prevail.

I am appalled by the WHO's decision to support the summer Olympics in Brazil. Zika creeps toward our hotter, more humid northern borders without so much as a yawn from the US Congress. It is preventable, without political and monetary leches who remind me of the dark age deniers.

[red dog 1]

69. K&R

It's about time!

[flamingdem]

70. Good news!

Now what if they went on strike or something like that to make their point. Then we'd really see their power.