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New president highlights ACP priorities for coming year
WASHINGTON — Through the work of Wayne J. Riley, MD, MPH, MBA, MACP, immediate past-president, and other leaders at the American College of Physicians, the organization has made great strides that Nitin S. Damle, MD, MS, FACP, ACP President, plans to continue, he said at a press conference at the annual ACP Internal Medicine Meeting.
Riley highlighted some of the ACP achievements in 2015, including significant changes to the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), lobbying for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and extending funding for the National Health Service Corps. He also explained that Damle, who began his term as president at the end of the meeting, will continue to make improvements for internal medicine, with a focus on public policy.
"He will continue many of the initiatives that began during my tenure, as well as tenures of those that preceded me, to really advance the American College of Physicians as a leading voice in public policy as related to the health of the American public and the world," Riley said.
Noting that "there is lots more work to be done," Damle listed his priorities for the upcoming year:
- Advocate for chronic care legislation currently in development;
- Support health committees regarding comprehensive health IT reform;
- Help eliminate barriers and support legislation for payments for telemedicine and remote patient monitoring;
- Advocate for mental health parity laws in order to reduce barriers to behavioral and mental health treatment;
- Urge House members to pass the Comprehensive Addition and Recovery Act;
- Lobby Congress to introduce and enact legislation about the rising costs of prescription drugs; and
- Support changes to graduate medical education financing.
"I look forward to building on the work of Dr. Riley and other ACP leaders," he stated. – by Chelsea Frajerman Pardes