The importance of the AMA to radiologists, radiology and the ACR is growing in our rapidly evolving radiology landscape.
FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF CHANCELLORS
Christoph Wald, MD, PhD, MBA, FACR
By Arl Van Moore, Jr., MD, FACR, past president of the ACR
Guest Columnist
Around 2,500 years ago, Heraclitus promulgated the concept of change being a constant in life when considering that the world around him was in a constant state of flux, like a flowing stream of water. His legacy leaves us with the ideas that “everything flows” and “no man steps into the same river twice.”
Today, on a macro level, all of medicine, including radiology, is undergoing dramatic change in how we care for our patients and our communities’ well-being, both individually and collectively. We are seeing a decline in the prevalence of the centuries-old concept of the independently owned and physician-led medical practice around the country over the last two to three decades. Independent physician controlled, managed and wholly owned physician medical practices have been slowly acquired by large for-profit and not-for-profit institutions, by for-profit public and private corporations, and by private equity entities.
There is also a different type of practice deconsolidation occurring, especially in radiology with the facilitation of telemedicine. That is the larger practice deconsolidation where individual physicians are leaving their practices as owners, both large and small, and forming their own independent individual corporations and practicing as independent contractors with both for-profit and not-for-profit entities as well as the more traditional physician-owned practices.
As these individual medical contractors practice their trade they, like physicians in the larger medical practice groups, will still need to have representation of their individual specialties and practice setting activities on the larger, national stage. Through these representatives, the individuals in all manner of practice settings can speak with one voice — both for our profession and the appropriate care for our patients and for themselves as independent contractors regardless of their practice setting, large or small. These activities by those who represent us on the national stage will help advance what we are striving to do as individual practitioners — to continue to take better care of our patients and to promote the well-being of the communities we live in.
These activities by those who represent us on the national stage will help advance what we are striving to do as individual practitioners: to continue to take better care of our patients and to promote the well-being of the communities we live in.
This raises a question. When anticipating what our future challenges will be (and there will be many), what is the best pathway for radiology and radiologists in all practice types to have an impact on what happens on the national scene?
In medicine, we have an organization in place that has been impactful in representing the American physician for several decades on the national stage, the American Medical Association (AMA). The House of Radiology, through the efforts of radiology leaders in the ACR and other radiology specialty societies working with the AMA House of Delegates (HOD), has been a powerful force in providing leadership and helping shape the policies of the AMA. We now have radiologists as leaders in several key positions on AMA Councils and the AMA Board and in several of the geographic state delegations within the HOD. Radiologists have held important leadership positions in numerous state medical societies and state medical society delegations. Collectively, our ACR AMA delegation and other radiology specialty delegations, working as a radiology team of teams through the AMA Section Council, is making a positive difference. We have been highly successful by having several prominent ACR member leaders fill key leadership roles within the AMA — on economic issues through the RUC and others for key AMA economic policy fora.
Why have we (ACR) been successful in positioning our members in influential roles within the AMA? We have been successful because of the commitment of the College to engage the AMA and support ACR members in their activities within the AMA. We are fortunate to have a large number of radiologist leaders who see the value in what the AMA can bring to our profession and our patients and who are willing to commit their time and energy to support the AMA and grow its influence. In doing so, we help provide practices with the cutting-edge medicine and practice advances our communities deserve.
We have come a long way in the last 30 years when I was the only ACR AMA delegate and the only other radiologists in the HOD were from state medical societies. Our presence has grown since those early days and the ACR and radiology as a team of professionals from several radiology professional organizations are now in a much stronger position to continue to have an impact within the House of Medicine — both now and for the foreseeable future. The ACR delegation has strong leadership in its current chair, Steven F. Falcone MD, FACR, and vice chair, Christopher McAdams MD. The AMA Radiology Section Council has been an important team-building platform that has been very effective, with Loralie Ma, MD, PhD, FACR, serving as chair and Shane Hopkins MD, FACRO, as vice chair. In growing leaders in our ACR delegation, we have a great group representing us. It is difficult to overemphasize the importance of all the radiology leaders who are supporting these efforts both within AMA HOD and in other important activities like the RUC. All are committed individuals who are working hard to make a difference for us all — our patients, our communities and our profession. As sports legend Michael Jordan has been quoted, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”
We have the talent working on your behalf within the AMA. Working as a team of teams, we can adapt to changes in the flowing stream, ranging from ideal smooth sailing to highly challenging turbulence. Such interplay and collaboration with all the facets within the AMA allow us to continue to advance our profession and the care we provide for our patients, our communities and our nation.
So, you may ask, “What can you as an individual practicing radiologist and ACR member do to support this dedicated group of individuals working within the AMA to help make a difference on your behalf?” The greatest support that you can provide is to not only be an ACR member but also be an AMA member. Your AMA membership counts as a basis for supporting College’s delegation and the work they are doing for you, and to have the delegation talent we need to advocate strongly for radiology and our patients. The answer is: Become an ACR/AMA Team of Teams member with your support by being an AMA member.
ROOT for Reform
The Radiology Outpatient Ordering Transmission Act is here to help aid workforce issues by improving radiologists’ decision-making environment.
Read more
Investing in YPS for Ourselves, Our Profession and Our Patients
Advocacy and organized medicine teach early career professionals the importance of communication, collaboration, negotiation and leadership.
Read more
RLI Leadership Essentials Program Benefits
The ACR RLI Leadership Essentials course equips trainees with the professional skills needed to navigate an increasingly complex healthcare environment.
Read more
