Massachusetts Medical Society Adopts Resolutions on Public Health and Health Policy Issues at its 2006 Annual Meeting

Contact: Richard P. Gulla
rgulla@mms.org 
781-434-7101
pager: 877-820-9023

Boston, Mass. -- May 12, 2006  --  Physicians of the Massachusetts Medical Society today adopted resolutions on significant public health and health policy issues at its 2006 Annual Meeting held at the Seaport Hotel, Boston.

The Society’s Annual Meeting brings together hundreds of Massachusetts physicians from across the state to examine specific resolutions brought forth by members for consideration by the Society’s House of Delegates, its policymaking body.

Among the administrative and policy issues addressed by delegates were the subjects of health courts, physician ownership of facilities, regulatory and legislative changes to test individuals suspected of HIV or hepatitis B and C in an occupational setting where exposure to blood has occurred, increasing awareness of obesity, passenger safety, professional liability for senior volunteer physicians, and the organization’s strategic plan.

Resolutions adopted:

• The Society endorsed the need for comprehensive medical professional liability reform and supported the concept of health courts as an alternative to the current liability system.
  
  
• The Society adopted the American Medical Association’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs Opinion on “Conflicts of Interest: Health Facility Ownership by a Physician.” A lengthy document, the opinion allows physicians to enter into “lawful contractual relationships, including the acquisition of ownership interests in health facilities, products, or equipment,” but offers guidelines where conflicts may arise.
  
  
• The Society approved a resolution advocating for legislative and regulatory changes to ensure the immediate testing of a “source individual” for HIV and hepatitis B and C viruses in an occupational setting where an exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials has occurred and for the release of those test results to the exposed individual. This includes, but is not limited to, cases where needle-stick injuries may have happened.
  
  
• In public health issues, physicians overwhelmingly adopted resolutions to increase awareness and patient education of the health risks of obesity and to strongly support the use of seat belts and child safety restraints for passenger safety.
  
  
• Funding for professional liability insurance for volunteer physicians through the Society’s Committee on Senior Volunteer Physicians Health Center Program was approved, as was an organizational strategic plan for the coming year focusing on the viability of physician practices, health system reform, and membership development.

In addition to considering resolutions, the Society’s House of Delegates also elected its 2006-2007 leadership:  Kenneth R. Peelle, M.D. of North Andover, a radiologist at Saints Memorial Medical Center in Lowell was elected President; B. Dale Magee, M.D., a Shrewsbury obstetrician-gynecologist in private practice was elected President-Elect; and Bruce Auerbach, M.D., Vice President and Chief of Emergency and Ambulatory Services at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, was elected Vice President.

The Massachusetts Medical Society is dedicated to educating and advocating for the patients and physicians of Massachusetts. The Society publishes The New England Journal of Medicine, one of the world’s leading medical journals; the Journal Watch family of professional newsletters covering 11 specialties; and AIDS Clinical Care. The Society is also a leader in continuing medical education for health care professionals throughout Massachusetts, conducting a variety of medical education programs for physicians and health care professionals. Founded in 1781, MMS is the oldest continuously operating medical society in the country.