Selling Obama-care

This is my first vanity post in ten years on FR. I received an email today from the medical staff coordinator at a hospital in which I am on staff. I would have posted the email but the confidentiality statement at the bottom threatens me with criminal action should I distribute it to non-authorized third parties. The email was to promote a "CME" conference. This is a meeting at which continuing education credits are awarded. Physicians must earn these credits in order to remain licensed. Instead of discussing say, something related to patient care, this conference is by Mike Rock, "Senior Associate Director of Federal Relations" for the American Hospital Association. The goals of this conference are not to provide better care for our patients. Rather they are:

Goals: (1) Understand the American Hospital Association proposals for reform and how they were developed. (2) Understand the legislative process as it works in practice. (3) Review how the American Hospital Association engaged in the legislative process to achieve enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Obtaining CME credits can be costly and this one is "free." Therefore, there is a great incentive to attend. The deceitful required disclaimer says:

The speaker and members of the planning committee have no commercial or other interests that constitute conflicts of interest in presenting this CME presentation.

This is tax payer money being used to spread propaganda and indoctrinate doctors. Sadly, the young ones may be influenced. My head is exploding. Welcome to Obama-care.

I think you must be correct. However, hospital boards and administrators have the ability to seriously disrupt ones life when policy is violated. If there was something to be gained, I would not hesitate. However, I related in my post the substance of the issue. If I thought this was unique and that revealing the hospital would bring focus on them I would. However, I am certain that this is happening at every hospital in the country. Funding this army of speakers is no problem right?

1) What person of entity is the accredited CME provider for this event? Must be on either this list http://www.accme.org/dir_docs/doc_upload/d0d4eda4-4e41-4661-a3ce-ec00dff65afd_uploaddocument.xls or this list http://www.accme.org/dir_docs/doc_upload/edac2232-1a70-4a7e-8460-969b76ea53d9_uploaddocument.xls to qualify to give CME credit. The American Hospital Association is not on either list, so unless this event has a formal joint sponsor that *is* on the list, the event is not eligible for CME credit.

2) I don’t see anything in the basic ACCME statement re requirements for content http://www.accme.org/index.cfm/fa/Policy.policy/Policy_id/16f1c694-d03b-4241-bd1a-44b2d072dc5e.cfm that explicitly rules out political content. However, it’s a stretch to make political content fit the requirements unless the audience consists of physicians directly involved in the legislative process (e.g. perhaps senior hospital managers whose job normally entails discussing the implications of certain legislation with lawmakers or their representatives).

3) I don’t see any evidence that tax dollars are directly involved in staging this event, so unless you can clearly document that, I’d leave it out of your complaint. But you definitely *should* file a complaint with the ACCME, requesting that this event be declared ineligible for CME credit based on its apparently one-sided political advocacy content. Complaint procedure here: http://www.accme.org/dir_docs/doc_upload/5425eedc-f494-4859-9451-e3b1cfabbeb8_uploaddocument.pdf You should also register a complaint with the AMA, since it is also involved in the process: “G. Provider monitoring
In addition to the ACCME accreditation process, the AMA monitors accredited providers’ activity brochures and announcements on a regular basis for compliance with AMA PRA credit system requirements. Whenever warranted, the AMA will proceed with follow-up inquiries to ascertain and address provider compliance with AMA PRA credit system requirements.” http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/455/pra2006.pdf#page=6

I am quite sure this is to prepare you in advance in your efforts to explain to your elderly patients (age to be determined by the HHS secretary who could make it as low as 50 since that is when one is eligible for AARP) why you will be denying them the treatment that before Obamacare they would have received (hip replacement, cataract surgery and others as Britian’s NICE has determined not to be necessary for the elderly). Continuing MEDICAL Education credits for not providing medicine for a patient. Welcome to the crazy post Obamacare world.

Thanks for all that background. The state medical society has approved the activity for AMA category I CME credit. Don't forget that the AMA signed on to this trash legislation. I agree, it would be hard to show that tax payer money was used directly. However, The American Hospital Organization is a lobbying group that was a key player in passing Obama-care. The administration is now spending $125,000,000 in order to ramp up support for a bill that has already been passed. This is in advance of the November election. Call me cynical, but I would be very surprised if there were not some mechanism whereby groups like the AHO are used in this effort.

Nevertheless, I will file a complaint.

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