Stains Outlast Gains as Industry Encroaches on Physician Prescribing Power

Opioid Czar & Czarina Mike Magee When the AMA helped empower Purdue Pharma funded Pain Management by granting specialty status in its’ Federation in the 1980s– and with that legitimacy of pain as the “5th vital sign”; and when everyday physicians (especially primary care physicians who were targeted by Purdue Pharma) became easy marks […]

Testosterone: Another Case of Physician Enabled Drug Abuse

Ad From MedicineNet.com Mike Magee Is testosterone the next Oxycontin? It certainly has many of the same earmarks. It’s widespread abuse is being aided and abetted by sloppy prescribers. Its’ benefits are being exaggerated and its’ risks understated. It is associated with heavy marketing by pharmaceutical companies and a range of profit seeking intermediaries. And […]

Iglehart and Thompson: Does the AMA Need “A Different Model of Advocacy”?

John Iglehart and Jeff Thompson MD The AMA’s vigorous opposition this week to the FDA’s consideration of mandating training for opioid prescribers to curb the current opioid epidemic (which the AMA’s liberal policies toward specialty designation and pharmaceutical underwriting helped create), called to mind the words in 2009 of Gundersen-Lutheran neonatologist and CEO, Jeff Thompson in […]

AMA’s New Sunbeam Crisis: The AMA Federation’s “Trojan Horse”

Source:Wikipedia Mike Magee In August, 1997, the leadership of the AMA ignited an existential crisis by agreeing to loan their imprimatur to the Sunbeam corporation. The imprimatur, along with an AMA endorsement, was to be assigned to Sunbeam products in nine home-care categories including heating pads, vaporizers and blood pressure cuffs. In return, the Florida […]

End of An Era: AMA Announces Closure of American Medical News.

For many physicians, the arrival of American Medical News in the mail was a welcome distraction from patient care or teaching responsibilities. It provided a unique summary of medical news and policy as well as a healthy dose of medical politics. For contributors to the content, its’ staff were accessible, professional and helpful in every […]

AMA Pledged To Educate The Public And Polity* – “Humanity Is Our Patient”.

Accessed: AMA Website, August 29, 2012 AMA Introduction of Document: Declaration of Professional Responsibility In the days following the terrorist attacks on Washington and New York in September 2001, thousands of physicians from around the country telephoned and e-mailed the AMA to offer their help, demonstrating their shared professional commitment to the health and well-being […]