The American Academy of Family Physicians hosted its annual Congress of Delegates from Sept. 19 to Sept. 21 in Orlando, where the Reference Committee on Advocacy addressed a number of patient care issues.
Here are five things to note:
1. Physicians shared testimonies about specific issues that impact family physicians and their patients, such as "eliminating the subjective measure of a patient's pain as the fifth vital sign." In response to the discussion, the congress adopted a substitute resolution, calling on the AAFP to discard pain classification as a determinate of quality patient care.
2. The committee also listened to discussions on expanding access of comprehensive healthcare to incarcerated women. Following discussion, the Congress opted to adopt a resolution that calls on the AAFP to push for the access of comprehensive healthcare services to women in federal detention facilities.
3. During the meeting, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Tennessee state chapters pushed for a national prescription drug database with required interoperability. The committee called for a substitute resolution, but the delegates overrode it and the original language remained unchanged.
4. Twelve state chapters brought up the issue of patient access to life-sustaining or life-saving medications within a monopolistic environment. The delegates adopted an amended resolution asking the FDA and U.S. Congress to, "establish mechanisms to prioritize and fast-track competitive drug options for widely used life-saving or life-sustaining drugs that may be subject to monopoly power."
5. The delegates adopted many other resolutions in regards to patient care and referred some issues to the board of directors.
