Where’s My Doctor
"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 of the medical records when a physician leaves. However, the departing physician has a relationship with…
Moseley Invested in First Arkansas Medical Society Distinguished Dean’s Chair
June 12, 2017 | Pope L. Moseley, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine and executive vice chancellor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), was formally invested June 8 as the inaugural recipient of the Arkansas Medical Society Distinguished Dean’s Chair. Moseley, a leader in internal medicine and…
Potential for Falsely Low Blood Lead Test Results from LeadCare® Analyzers
Summary The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety communication warning about the use of Magellan Diagnostics’ LeadCare® analyzers (LeadCare, LeadCare II, LeadCare Ultra and LeadCare Plus) with venous blood samples because they might result in falsely low test results. FDA is now advising that…
Latest Newsletter Now Available
The May 2017 issue of AMS NewsBriefs has been distributed via email and printed mail. Members, if you did not receive a copy, please give us a call to update your subscription preferences at 800-542-1058. The issue is available online in the Publications section as well as excerpts…
Misinformation Abounds on PDMP Mandate
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 their medical staff that the Act is already in effect. In other cases,…
Prescription Waiver for Disaster Declaration Counties
In April, intense storms and subsequent flooding ravaged parts of our state. The aftermath left Arkansans picking up the pieces. Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield wants to help members and is waiving prescription costs for Arkansans whose medications were lost as a result of the devastating weather…
New Officers Elected
The Arkansas Medical Society (AMS), a physician group advocating for health care improvements statewide, met recently at the Doubletree Hotel in Little Rock to elect new officers, attend educational programs and plan advocacy efforts. Pine Bluff Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Amy Cahill, MD, was named president of the group.…
Physicians Honored for 50 Years of Service to Healthcare
Eight physicians were recently inducted into the Arkansas Medical Society’s Fifty Year Club, which is composed of physicians who have practiced medicine for more than fifty years, during the organization’s annual meeting in Little Rock. The society would like to thank Drs. William Nevins (Searcy), Robert Bell (Russellville),…
AMS President-Elect, Dr. Lee Archer, Treating MS Patients with Latest Disease Modifying Techniques
When neurologist Robert L. “Lee” Archer, MD, finished his residency in 1986, there were no disease modifying treatments for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). When the first treatment came out in 1994, demand was so great that a quarter million people with the disease wanted to be on…
Medicine Challenged Insurance Mega-Mergers and Won
On April 28, a federal appeals court upheld the lower court’s ruling to block industry giant Anthem’s proposed acquisition of Cigna. This is a monumental win for America’s patients and physicians, which was made possible through medicine’s joint leadership -- most notably collaboration between the Arkansas Medical Society…
Arkansas Trauma System Saves Lives and Taxpayers’ Money
Journal of the American College of Surgeons study authors report that, after implementation of the publicly funded state trauma system, preventable mortality rate decreased by 48 percent CHICAGO (March 8, 2017): Implementation of a statewide trauma system in Arkansas cut the rate of preventable deaths due to injuries…