Element 12: Consultation Agreements
What/how
The AMA Agreement generally focuses on physician compensation for the provision of insured medical services. However, physicians and the AMA have a broader role to play in the health care system. The AMA Agreement recognizes this in stating that:
“For health matters which touch and concern physicians but which are not within the stated scope and purposes of this AMA Agreement… AH will consult with and will seek the advice of AMA, from time to time.”
As a step forward in this commitment to consultation, the parties have negotiated three independent Consultation Agreements that are referenced in the main AMA Agreement, each focused on a particular area of interest and importance to physicians:
- Electronic medical records (EMRs).
- Primary medical care.
- Achieving efficiencies in the health care system.
You might ask
Q12.1 When do the three Consultation Agreements come into effect?
- While they have been signed, the three Consultation Agreements each contain a clause which makes them subject to the ratification of the AMA Agreement. Hence, the ratification vote for the AMA Agreement is for the entire package of agreements: i.e., the AMA Agreement and three Consultation Agreements.
AMA Agreement document references
- Three Consultation Agreements:
- Page 4, Section 4.
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