Today the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that the Arkansas Secretary of State must continue to count the ballot referendum signatures that were collected earlier this year to place Act 579 (optometric surgery) on next year’s ballot. The lawsuit, brought by Safe Surgery Arkansas, challenged the Secretary of State’s decision to not count nearly 60,000 of the 88,000 signatures gathered over the summer to place the referendum on the ballot, giving voters the opportunity to overturn the Optometry Eye Surgery Bill.… Read More

According to a new statewide poll, nearly 65% of Arkansas voters oppose legislation that would allow optometrists to perform eye surgeries with lasers and scalpels. Currently, only specially trained medical doctors, such as ophthalmologists, can… Read More

The Arkansas Medical Society is seeking a few more physician volunteers for the 2018 Fiscal Session at the State Capitol. The doctor of the day should plan to arrive at the State Capitol Infirmary around… Read More

Little Rock –  A coalition representing a diverse group of Arkansans has joined together to support commonsense reforms that will help make Arkansas more competitive with surrounding states and protect everyday Arkansans. Paperwork was filed… Read More

On Thursday, August 3, 2017, the Arkansas State Medical Board will hold public hearings on several proposed rule amendments and new rules. Comments can be submitted to the Board until the August 3rd public hearing.… Read More

AMS actively tracked and worked 342 of the 2,069 bills filed in the 2017 legislative session. The following bills represent some of more high-profile issues AMS successfully fought for, amended and/or monitored closely that we anticipate will… Read More

“Where’s my doctor?” We get that question a lot. It happens often when a physician leaves a practice, usually as an employee. Under most employment contracts the practice – either under hospital or physician ownership – retains ownership… Read More

The AMS office has received several calls over the past couple of weeks about Act 820, which mandates checking the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program prior to prescribing certain medications. Apparently, some hospitals are incorrectly telling… Read More

It has been an interesting 2016, has it not? Governor Hutchinson proposed – the Arkansas Legislature passed; and HHS has issued a waiver for – a revision to Arkansas Medicaid Expansion; we have survived a… Read More

AMS has a lot on its plate. We will be asking legislators to file numerous bills that address issues and concerns affecting your practice and your profession. We will be fighting a mountain of legislation… Read More

The Regular Session of the 91st Arkansas General Assembly will convene on Monday, January 9, 2017. If, like previous general sessions, AMS anticipates the session extending into April. Please watch for the AMS legislative alerts… Read More