AMA president condemns disinformation and government interference

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American Medical Association president Dr. Jack Resneck Jr. decried laws that stop physicians from providing reproductive healthcare, during an Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association House of Delegates.

Physicians are facing unprecedented disinformation attacks and government interference in the practice of medicine, fanning flames of an already concerning physician burnout crisis, Resneck told physicians and medical students.

"Since we last gathered in Chicago in June, many states have raced to criminalize abortion in the wake of Dobbs, and the drivers of disinformation have been at it again," Resneck said, according to information sent by the AMA. "Now they are falsely claiming that we have exaggerated or even fabricated stories about the real consequences of those laws …"

Patients who have ectopic pregnancies, sepsis or bleeding after incomplete miscarriages, or cancers during pregnancy, are now unable to get care locally and must travel hundreds or thousands of miles across the country to obtain basic medical care, Resneck said.

"Denying our experience is helping prop up restrictive laws that are creating chaos – and leaving physicians in impossible positions," he said. "I never imagined colleagues would find themselves tracking down hospital attorneys before performing urgent abortions, when minutes count … asking if a 30% chance of maternal death, or impending renal failure, meet the criteria for the state's exemptions … or whether they must wait a while longer, until their pregnant patient gets even sicker. In some cases, unstable patients are being packed into ambulances and shipped across state lines for care."

Resnick said, "To those who are forcing physicians into these ethical dilemmas, your efforts are reckless and dangerous."

WHY THIS MATTERS
 
Physicians are already battling COVID-19 and an almost 9% reimbursement cut, Resneck said, fanning the flames of burnout.

Disinformation since the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decisions threaten the patient-physician relationship, Resneck said.
 
He urged Congress to prevent looming end-of-year Medicare cuts that could cut payments to physician practices during a time of rising inflation and the continuing pandemic.
 
"Physicians deserve financial stability, including automatic, positive, annual updates that account for rising practice costs," Resneck said. "And it's time for reform of unfair budget neutrality rules that penalize doctors for things beyond our control."

Resneck also wants to advance the AMA Recovery Plan for America's Physicians, including working to address physician burnout, fixing prior authorization and efforts to stop dozens of unsafe scope expansion proposals. The latter is when nurses move beyond traditional boundaries of care.

THE LARGER TREND
 
These challenges are adding to burnout and physicians leaving the profession, according to Resneck.

Physician burnout has climbed from 38% to 63% in 2021, according to the AMA.  One in five physicians say they will leave practice within the next two years. 

Physicians are also facing efforts to criminalize gender-affirming care, Resneck said.

In October, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney General urging the Department of Justice to investigate the threats of violence against physicians, hospitals and families of children for providing and seeking gender-affirming care.

"Or consider the unscrupulous tactics of those who misrepresent our work on health equity," he said. "Whether raising awareness and addressing hypertension in Black women … suing the FDA to crack down on menthol cigarettes … pushing upstream to influence determinants of health … or working to ensure equity in digital health and innovation, we undertake this work because we see clear evidence of appalling inequities and racial injustice … and because our ethical and moral compasses demand that we act."

Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org