Life of a Resolution
- Any MMS member(s), specialty society can submit a
resolution
- Committees & Membership Sections submit reports
- Submitted through Governance Staff, reviewed, edited, sent to
sponsor for approval
- Printed in Delegates' Handbook
- Reference Committees hear testimony on resolutions/reports and
prepares report of recommendations
- House Votes on recommendations
The Delegates' Handbook is the focal point of the HOD meetings
and it includes resolutions and reports submitted for the HOD
meeting. Any member of the Society-whether or not a
delegate-can ask the House to consider an item of business.
These items, called resolutions, are drafted and submitted prior to
each House meeting. The House also considers reports from
committees, Member Interest Networks, membership sections, or MMS
leadership groups.
At the Annual and Interim Meetings of the House of Delegates,
Reference Committees hear testimony on the resolutions and reports
for action assigned to them. The House considers each Reference
Committee's report and vote whether to accept or reject the
committee's recommendation on each resolution or report, in the
following manner. The Reference Committee report is presented
as a whole; any delegate may call for extraction of any item from
that report for discussion and voting by the House; the remainder
of the Reference Committee report is adopted as a consent calendar,
and then the House will discuss and individually dispose of each
extracted resolution in turn. Once all committee
reports are heard and voted upon, the House adjourns.
A report of the House's decisions is sent to the MMS Board of
Trustees. The BOT prioritizes and assigns resolutions or reports
from the House to committees for implementation or for further
study and report back. A report is provided back to the House
upon completion of each item.
House Policies Vs. Directives
The HOD establishes two types of policy: health policies and
directives.
Health policies are statements of philosophy
based on professional principles and scientific standards and
define what the Society stands for as an organization. (Note
with an "HP" in resolutions/reports.)
Directives are action items which articulate a
strategy for accomplishing an objective and/or activate the
Society's health policies. (Noted with "D" in
resolutions/reports)
Resolution sponsor should indicate whether the resolve(s) is a
"HP" or a "D."
Before drafting your idea, review current MMS policy to see if
policy already exists.
In addition, if your idea involves legislative advocacy, check
the MMS website, under MMS Advocacy to see whether
MMS has already presented testimony/legislation on your topic.
Resolution Template
Members can submit resolutions via
e-mail to resolutions@mms.org. Resolutions may also be faxed to (781) 434-7589.
The Content of your Resolution: Nuts-and-Bolts
Whereas statements:
Give reasons for seeking a position or action by listing existing
policy (please see MMS Policy Compendium), concerns, facts,
potential effects upon physicians, patients, practice of medicine,
etc. Try to keep each fact/thought within a separate
"whereas."
Whereas statements are used to justify what you are requesting
in your resolves. Whereas statements can also include relative
background and facts to further "back" your case for a call for
action or a policy. Please note that if a resolution is
adopted, the whereas statements do not carry forward in the MMS
Policy Compendium; only the resolves become policy. Resolution
sponsors are advised to refrain from including too many whereas
statements. You can also "lose" delegates interest or focus if
there are too many that take away from your main focus.
Facts Versus Opinion
Sources: if presenting statistics, findings,
direct quotes in a whereas, provide source.
Opinion versus Fact: staff will advise you to
include "in the opinion of some" or "in the opinion of many" if a
statement is not a known fact or generally accepted
concept.
Example: "Whereas, In the opinion of many,
mandated use of generic products results in prohibitive
restrictions on access to, and costs for, consistently manufactured
pharmaceuticals (usually in branded form)";
MMS Strategic Priorities
Resolution sponsors should include a whereas on how the
resolution relates to the MMS strategic priorities.
Example: "Whereas, advocacy and physician outreach are MMS
strategic priorities"; …
For a list of the MMS annual and three-year strategic
priorities, please visit www.massmed.org/priorities.
Resolves
If you have more than one resolve, each should stand on its own
as a complete statement (not refer back to a previous resolve)
Fiscal impact: Consider whether your idea will
cost money. MMS governance staff can advise and estimate a fiscal
note.
Develop Political Backing
If you are interested in submitting a resolution, there is
tremendous value in presenting your idea to others first.
Your district is an excellent place to start and your district can
even consider co-sponsoring your resolution. (Sponsorship needs to
be confirmed in time for the resolution deadline.) A list of
MMS committees and staff liaisons can be found at www.massmed.org/committees
Sponsors are strongly encouraged to share their draft with the
relevant MMS committee (for example, Public Health or Legislation)
for feedback prior to submitting the resolution for the deadline.
This input can often improve or fine-tune the focus of a
resolution, build consensus, and can enhance successful passage of
your resolution.
MMS Staff Review
MMS governance staff reviews resolution submissions for format,
clarity, fiscal impact, etc.
Legal staff and relevant departmental staff also review
resolutions for any legal/antitrust concerns, facts, and accuracy
of overall content.
Governance staff will contact you to discuss any follow-up
questions and/or suggested edits. It's helpful to be available via
e-mail for any questions or review of suggested edits from
staff.
For More Information
Additional Governance Resources: www.massmed.org/governance
MMS House of Delegates Staff
If you have questions regarding writing a resolution, please
contact:
Annemarie Tucker, Manager, Governance Policy Administration: atucker@mms.org or Lacy Heffel, Governance
Meetings & Services Administrator: lheffel@mms.org
