Index 2002: AMNews editorials
Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun - Jul - Aug - Sep - Oct - Nov - Dec - 2001 - 2003
Combating antibiotic resistance: Medicine enlists community awareness
Physicians are central to efforts that mobilize communities against the misuse of these valued infection fighters. - Dec. 23/30
Trying to stop the bullies: A physician's responsibility
The AMA is asking physicians to join with it in taking a stand against the serious youth violence issue of bullying. - Dec. 16
Winning the smoking wars: Tobacco control at the polls
Physician-backed smoking prevention initiatives won big in November's elections, but much work remains. - Dec. 9
Prompt-payment laws: How to close the loopholes
A new survey asks physicians to track how quickly specific claims are paid. The information will be used to beef up regulation and enforcement of prompt-pay laws. - Dec. 2
CDC's advice to doctors: Clean your hands
New guidelines emphasize the role of hand hygiene in reducing the spread of infection. - Nov. 25
Class-action lawsuit: Another setback for managed care
A physician win on a preliminary ruling in a major lawsuit is one more sign of managed care's once-infallible and now-failing immunity in the courts. - Nov. 18
An assurance of safety: Treat supplements like drugs
Physicians call for better federal regulation of dietary supplements. - Nov. 11
Covering the uninsured: There's no time to waste
The number of Americans without insurance went up in 2001, and that increase shows no sign of slowing. The AMA has a plan to make that number go down. - Nov. 4
WMA meeting: Bioterrorism requires local and global response
The World Medical Assn. emphasizes the role of physician organizations, and physicians themselves, in combating biothreats. - Oct. 28
Medical school applications: A disconcerting drop
It's a troubling sign that medical school applications are falling at a time that students are beating down the doors to other professional schools. - Oct. 21
It's about time: Insurers facing antitrust scrutiny
Federal antitrust enforcement has been too lax against health plans that like to use their marketplace clout to bully doctors. Now that may be changing. - Oct. 14
Beyond Internet etiquette: Physicians should be good Web hosts
It's becoming clear that more physician Web sites are on the way. The AMA has guidelines that can help physicians decide what should -- and should not -- be posted. - Oct. 7
National Depression Screening Day: A few minutes can mean a lot
Screening offers the perfect opportunity for physicians to start asking the simple questions that will uncover which patients are suffering in silence. - Sept. 23/30
Ensuring accuracy in medical testimony: Calling "experts" to account
There are welcome signs that greater accountability is coming for physician expert witnesses. - Sept. 16
Low reimbursement threat: Senate must act now to keep Medicare healthy
It is up to the Senate to decide if physicians will be paid enough to ensure Medicare access for all seniors. - Sept. 9
Managed care's profits come from physician pockets
HMO stocks are going up in a down market, and doctors appear to be paying the price. - Sept. 2
Advocate for preventive care: Dr. Carmona is a welcome choice for surgeon general
Senate confirmation of Richard H. Carmona, MD, to fill this vacancy in public health leadership is an important step in addressing the nation's health goals. - Aug. 26
Organ donation: Time has come for study of incentives
Innovative ways to encourage organ donors, including financial approaches, need to be examined in order to see which ones may be effective in increasing the number of cadaveric organs available for tranplants. - Aug. 19
Health reimbursement arrangements: Practical approach to health spending
A landmark IRS ruling tells employers it's OK to offer a new-style health plan that promotes both choice and responsible spending. - Aug. 12
Cigarette taxes? We love New York
New York City smokers get a hefty increase in the price of cigarettes, which may leave them healthier. - Aug. 5
Online health data: At times a tangled Web
There is no dot-com bust in the number of patients seeking health information on the Internet. - Aug. 5
Why tort reform is needed: Trauma drama in Las Vegas
The closure of the city's only top-level trauma center demonstrates the seriousness of a growing professional liability problem in Nevada and most other states. - July 29
Patients' rights victory: Another step is needed
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Moran HMO appeals case marks a major win, but still falls short of what's needed. - July 22
Disparities in treatment: Closing the health care gap
An Institute of Medicine report prompts new urgency in addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health care. - July 8/15
Medicare physician payment: Time to act on E&M mess
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services needs to scrap its evaluation and management documentation guidelines. - July 1
Anti-abortion Web site: Creative intimidation, not free expression
An appeals court ruling draws a necessary distinction between intimidation and free speech. - July 1
AMA's call to get involved: It's time for action
The AMA's 2001 Annual Report contains some good news about the Association's finances and a call for physicians to become more actively involved in the issues confronting medicine today. - June 24
Charity care: Physicians keep on giving
One little-noted fact about physicians that says a lot about the medical profession: Nearly two-thirds of doctors provide free or reduced-fee care for the poor. - June 17
Pharmaceutical marketing to physicians: Free gifts carry a high price
A drug industry trade group adds another voice to dropping extravagant gifts to doctors. - June 10
HIPAA electronic transactions standard: An extension for the asking
Stopping the regulatory clock is a smart move for virtually all physicians covered under the rules. - June 3
Declaration of Professional Responsibility: A statement of purpose
The AMA's declaration is an affirmation of the role and the responsibilities of the physician. - May 27
Tally of tobacco's grim toll: The numbers on death and illness
The AMA's annual report on tobacco paints a grim picture of the deadly industry's toll. - May 20
Online Rx: Be careful with Web prescriptions
The AMA House of Delegates will soon consider new guidelines for physicians who prescribe over the Internet. - May 13
Liability insurance crisis: Physicians must fight for tort reform -- again
Doctors and organized medicine must fight anew to stabilize insurance rates. - May 6
Mental health parity: Cover all conditions the same way
Mental illness is no less real than any other medical condition, but health plans typically don't give it equal coverage. Congress could change that. - April 22/29
A new bid for antitrust relief: Congress tries again
Bipartisan legislation for physician antitrust relief is up in the U.S. House of Representatives. It has strong support from organized medicine. - April 15
A win for health and safety: NBC wisely puts the lid back on hard liquor ads
The network did the right thing by choosing to drop the ads once more. - April 15
Medicare payment cuts: It's time for Congress to act
Medicare pay policy, with physicians facing drops in reimbursement in the immediate future, is creating access problems for patients. - April 8
Health plan on trial: Decisions bring responsibility
A New York lawsuit presents a major test of how health plans can be held accountable for their treatment decisions. - April 1
Halt the trend: Break with tradition of student binge drinking
Spring break has become an annual holiday honoring overimbibing of alcohol. It's time to stop the fad. - April 1
Economy on rebound? Uninsured still waiting for help
A new coalition takes on a sadly familiar problem that is getting worse. - March 25
Death by the numbers: Physician-assisted suicide
Look closely at the statistics from Oregon and elsewhere that are driving the physician-assisted suicide debate. - March 18
Boosting minority care: Role models in medicine
An AMA initiative is sending physicians back to school -- this time to encourage minority students to consider a medical career. - March 11
Physician collective bargaining: A win over a weighty word
A decision that physicians are not "supervisors" gives new life to the AMA-founded physician labor group's attempts to organize privately employed doctors. - March 4
Removing a bad precedent: Louisiana high court makes right ruling on liability
The state Supreme Court struck down a lower court ruling that would have made physicians vulnerable to lawsuits over patient transfers. - March 4
HHS regulatory reform: A reality check for good intentions
A new committee will advise HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on which of his agency's rules are more trouble than they're worth. - Feb. 25
Learn to talk about transplants: A way to boost donations
A new report explores how to make the physician's role in organ donation more effective. - Feb. 18
A case of misdirection: Settlement money should be used to fight tobacco
Most states are diverting billions of dollars from tobacco control and public health to fund unrelated budget items and projects. - Feb. 18
AMA's health coverage proposal: Portable, affordable protection
Layoffs in the wake of recession and terrorist attacks underscore the relevance of an AMA-championed health insurance system based on individually owned health coverage. - Feb. 11
Professional liability crisis: A dilemma that affects us all
A growing emergency has organized medicine renewing its call for fundamental reforms to the nation's tort system. - Feb. 4
NBC's liquor advertisements: A network drunk on greed
NBC television has selfishly decided to put profits before public health by deciding to air ads for hard liquor. - Jan. 28
Medicine and public health: Collaboration benefits everyone
The AMA and HHS launch a series of monographs designed to help integrate disease prevention and health promotion into routine medical care. - Jan. 21
HMO review: Supreme Court will decide who gets final say
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear a case that would empower patients in many states to get the independent reviews that would let them challenge HMO treatment decisions. - Jan. 14
Medicare hassle relief: Victory in the House, now on to the Senate
The new legislation is a victory for medical practice, physicians, patients and the AMA. - Jan. 7
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