AMA supports HEALTH Act

The American Medical Association strongly supports Senator John Ensign, (R-NV) and his efforts to introduce the HEALTH Act in the Senate. In a recent news conference, Sen. Ensign reiterated the importance of liability reform and announced that he will be introducing the Senate version of the HEALTH Act (H.R. 4600) sometime after the Memorial Day recess. The HEALTH Act is a bipartisan health care liability reform bill based on the successful California Medical Injury Compensation Act (MICRA) model. The AMC/NOMA strongly supports medical liability and judicial reform in the State of Ohio as well voicing our support for federal relief. For more information on the HEALTH Act visit www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/article/3216-6145.html Liability crisis motivates physicians to run for office. According to information from the American Medical Association, more than eight physicians made the decision to run for election in West Virginia for seats in the House and Senate. Five physicians have already won in the primary elections. Four of them are seeking seats in the House and one physician is running for a Senate seat. The West Virginia State Medical Association Director is also running for the same Senate seat. The medical liability issue, health care issues, economic development and education are high on the agenda for the candidates. Dr. Dan Foster, a general surgeon and administrator at a Charleston hospital, is making his first attempt at office and would like to address the issue of prescription drug costs. Other physicians running for office include: Marshall Long, DO, a Princeton general practice physician; Dr. Tom Scott, a Huntington orthopedic surgeon; and Dr. Dave Ebbitt, an emergency medicine physician. The American Geriatrics Society's new guidelines for pain The American Geriatrics Society recently released new recommendations regarding pain. New guidelines were established to include important advances in pharmacology and strategies for the assessment and management of pain in older persons. New information included in the guidelines are recommendations for pain assessment in cognitively impaired persons, the use of new COX-2 selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, the unethical use of placebos, and many other contemporary issues in persistent pain management. To access complete guideline information you may visit the Ohio State Medical Board's Web site at, www.state.oh.us/med or The American Geriatrics Society's Web site at, www.americangeriatrics.org .