Dive Brief:
- American Medical Association (AMA) EVP and CEO James L. Madara recently highlighted the progress the group has made in medicine -- such as increasing awareness about pre-diabetes -- during its annual meeting. He additionally took to task digital health efforts that are not adding value to physicians.
- "From ineffective EHRs, to an explosion of direct-to-consumer digital health products, to apps of mixed quality – it's the digital snake oil of the early 21st century," Madara said.
- The AMA has opposed telemedicine measures that would be required under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) implementation rule, which CMS proposed in April.
Dive Insight:
During its meeting, the AMA approved by vote telemedicine guidelines for payment and coverage that stemmed from a policy report its Council on Medical Service developed and included a summary of medical practice guidelines, position statements, and case studies.
"The future is not about eliminating physicians, it's about leveraging physicians," Madara said. "We were told that interoperability was the future; we didn't expect that it would always be in the future."
With the goal of getting innovative products in the hands of physicians and patients to ensure they address "real-world challenges," the AMA launched technology incubator Health2047 aimed at speeding up research into different prototype solutions and promoting collaboration between physicians and technology firms, product companies, and payers.
In addition, AMA's Chicago-based incubator, Interaction Studio at Matter, helps physicians collaborate with hundreds of entrepreneurs who are still working on the early stages of their technologies, according to a press release.
"More and more we're seeing digital tools in medicine that, unlike digital tools in other industries, make the provision of care less, not more, efficient," Madara said. "And these digital tools often don't connect with each other—interoperability remains a dream."