AGA Trainee and Early Career Committee and Quality — Measures Committee member Chioma Ihunnah Anjou, MD, spoke to U.S. legislators for Advocacy Day Sept. 14.
Here are five insights:
1. The AGA promoted three main issues:
Increase National Institutes of Health funding
Increased transparency around insurance-driven step-therapy protocols
Closing the colonoscopy loophole
2. Dr. Anjou said her experience should serve as an example that advocacy is not difficult. While not everyone needs to go to Capitol Hill, she said, taking the time to click a link, leave a voicemail or sign a petition can make a world of difference.
3. She met with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and with the training AGA gave her, she said she was well prepared.
4. Dr. Anjou is a gastroenterologist at Mansfield-based University of Connecticut Health Center.
5. Dr. Anjou said, "I feel that it is important to stand up for our field and our patients, lest others make decisions for us. We do not have to feel powerless in a changing field. Let your voice be heard."