On March 3, 2020, the American Medical Association, along with the Arkansas Medical Society, filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s effort to uphold an Arkansas statute regulating Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBM). The U.S. Supreme Court is…
As an organization of physicians, the AMS has an obligation to help slow the spread of the virus. Recommendations to avoid large gatherings are changing daily with initial thresholds set at 200, then reduced to 100, and now to 50. Based upon the most current information, the AMS…
Walmart has announced they are delaying a January 1, 2020 policy on requiring electronic prescriptions for controlled substances and would continue to receive paper prescriptions for opioids and anti-depressants at all their locations. The planned move to e-prescribing was part of the retailer’s efforts to reduce the opioid…
Members of the AMS Nominating Committee will be meeting soon to prepare the 2020-2021 slate of officers to be elected at the annual meeting on May 1, 2020. The committee is required to submit the slate of officers to AMS no later than February 1, 2020. Positions to…
The Arkansas Medical Society Board of Trustees welcomes two board members to the group. Parker Jenkins, MD, serves as District 4 Trustee in southeast Arkansas, and Joshua Chance, MD, rejoins the board, serving as District 8 Trustee in Pulaski County. Dr. Parker, family practice physician, joined Family Health…
In recent years, physicians treating Medicaid patients have experienced significant challenges with the prior authorization and re-authorization process in Medicaid. The Arkansas Medicaid Drug Utilization Review (DUR) board is responsible for making clinical recommendations to the Arkansas Medicaid Pharmacy Program regarding the use of restrictions including prior authorization…
From our Executive Vice President, David Wroten: I’m having dinner with one of my favorite physician friends a few weeks ago. He’s an anesthesiologist specializing in pain management. We don’t usually talk shop, but that night he was telling me about a recent experience with a patient (no,…
The Arkansas Medical Society was honored as a Prism Award finalist and winner at the 2019 ARcom Award ceremony, held on Thursday, September 12, at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in Little Rock. The Prism Awards were presented by the Arkansas chapter of the Public Relations Society of…
Gene Shelby, MD, past president of the Arkansas Medical Society wrote the following letter to the editor, which appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on September 29, 2019. It was also signed by Patrice Harris, MD, president of the American Medical Association. More Work to Be Done…
A lot of attention is focused on AMS successes during each legislative session, usually on big bills with big impact. What doesn’t always get the attention they deserve are AMS bills that try to address some of the smaller hassles of practicing medicine and running a practice. A…
Each year, AMS awards the Student Leadership Award to a medical student in good standing who is in the first, second, or third year of medical school. This student embodies the values of the medical profession through leadership, service, excellence, integrity, and ethical behavior, and also encourages other…