On the Road Again

Keith Hansen, MD
President, South Dakota State Medical Association
July 2, 2025

The American Medical Association House of Delegates held its annual meeting in Chicago June 6 -11. Physicians, medical students, and residents/fellows from multiple different specialties and throughout the U.S. met in this democratic process to evaluate and develop a national physician consensus on current and emerging issues that face our patients and the practice of medicine. The SDSMA delegation comprised our two delegates; Robert Summerer, DO and Rob Allison, MD and our alternate delegates; Mary Carpenter, MD and myself. Our delegation is an integral part of the North Central Medical Conference which is composed of delegates from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. Within the NCMC are multiple committees evaluating multiple different areas including medical education, constitution and bylaws, medical service, legislation and others. These committees and the NCMC reviewed and developed information on the various resolutions that were presented to the HOD meeting. During the HOD meeting each group was allowed to discuss the various issues prior to a vote and adoption or rejection of an issue. NCMC also met with the various candidates for national AMA office and determined which candidate(s) would receive our support. There were also multiple CME conferences during the meeting including advocacy, emergency inflight medicine and scope creep.

During the AMA HOD meeting, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services fired the 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. ACIP provides recommendations to the CDC on the critical topic of immunization practices in the U.S. Members of the ACIP are respected authorities on immunization research, immunization practice or public health. The ACIP members apply for membership and then are vetted by the ACIP committee with final selection by the U.S. health secretary. The ACIP has always been a trusted, informed committee to make evidence-based decisions and recommendations for the use of vaccines and vaccine schedules in the U.S. In response to the ACIP firing, the AMA HOD heard and adopted an emergency resolution (requires 2/3 majority) calling on the Secretary to reverse his decision on the firings of the 17 members of the ACIP, as well as ask the AMA leadership to draft a letter asking the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to investigate these firings and the impact on public health. The SDSMA Board of Directors signed on to support this emergency response. Since the firing of the ACIP members, new members have been appointed without the usual vetting or transparency in the process.

At the meeting there were a number of important issues discussed that will impact our patients and medical practice. Augmented (aka artificial) intelligence is a rapidly developing tool in medicine. A recent survey found that 66% of physicians used AI in 2024, up from 38% in 2023. The AMA is devoted to making sure that AI works for patients and physicians. Research and implementation guidance are critical for the widespread adoption of AI in medicine. The AMA continues to strongly support Medicare reform. During the meeting physicians discussed having to close their private practices due to a “broke” Medicare model. There were multiple other discussions including fixing pre-authorization and removing redundant compliance training. As an alternate delegate I had an opportunity to review, evaluate and eventually vote on the Medical Education Committee’s resolutions before the HOD. The AMA is working to give residents the educational resources and tools they need to advocate for the physician-led care team. The Medical Student Section advocated for reducing some of the stress associated with the national licensing board examinations by not requiring them to report the number of times they had to take the examination on their residency applications.

Additionally, the new AMA President, Bobby Mukkamala, MD was inaugurated. Dr Mukkamala is an otolaryngologist who in November was diagnosed with a large brain tumor and underwent craniotomy with sub-total resection and subsequent therapy. He has always been a strong advocate for improving patient access in his hometown of Flint, Michigan, and with his recent experience as a patient, plans to improve access and medical care throughout the U.S.  The AMA and SDSMA are our voice nationally, locally and regionally to enhance the care of our patients and our practice of medicine. If you get the opportunity to attend an annual AMA HOD meeting, I would urge you to go to see our AMA in action.