The AVMA House of Delegates met on July 28-29 in Philadelphia. The House discussed two hot topics in veterinary medicine during the veterinary information forum. The HOD discussed needed updates to the Model Veterinary Practice Act such as license portability, roles, and supervision of veterinary technicians and assistants, as well as telemedicine. The HOD also discussed the Responsibility to Provide Emergency Care as it pertains to the principles of veterinary medical ethics.
There were 5 resolutions brought forward to the House of Delegates for review. Resolutions will be brought to the House if they a new policy is created, or if the Board of Directors determines the policy to be pertinent to the scope of practice.
- Resolution 6 – New Policy on Use of Prescription Drugs in Veterinary Medicine
- This resolution passed.
- Resolution 7 – New Policy on Adverse Event Reporting
- This resolution passed.
- Resolution 8 – Revised Policy on Genetic Modification of Animals in Agriculture
- This resolution passed.
- Resolution 9 – Revised Policy on Approval and Availability of Antimicrobials for Use in Food-Producing Animals
- This resolution passed.
- Resolution 10 – Revised Policy on Raw Milk
- This resolution passed.
Officer Election Results
Officer elections were held. Rena Carlson was elected as President-Elect and Jennifer Quamen was elected as Vice President. The House elected two new members and one incumbent to the House Advisory Committee. Libby Todd (Alabama) will serve a second term and Diana Thome (Washington), and Stuart Brown (AAEP) were both elected for their first term. Other Council elections took place and the results can be found on the AVMA website.
The Board of Directors welcomed new District 1 Director, Amanda Bisol. The new BOD Chair is Ronald Gil, and the new Vice Chair is Charles Lemme.
Three individuals announced their candidacy for AVMA President-Elect: Sanda Faeh Butler, Arnie Goldman, and Bob Murtaugh. This is a historical election with the most candidates to date for AVMA president-elect.
International Dignitaries
AVMA HOD heard from many international dignitaries including the President of the Mexican Veterinary Medical Association, Treasurer of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, President of the World Veterinary Medical Association, President of the Australian Veterinary Association, President of the Canadian Veterinary Association, President of the Commonwealth Veterinary Association, President of Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, President of Japan Medical Association
Journey for Teams
Journey for Teams is an initiative to incorporate DEI actions and thinking into daily life that was launched on July 29th, 2022. There will be webinars and booklets that will help your team with improving diversity in your workplace. All resources can be found at https://www.journeyforteams.org/.
There was an increased interest in telehealth during the pandemic. Now that in-person visits have largely returned, telehealth visits have declined. On July 30th, 2022 AVMA launched a Coalition for Connected Veterinary Care to collaborate across the veterinary and animal health industry to enhance and expand care by leveraging technology, while simultaneously respecting the integrity of the veterinarian-client-patient relationship. The founding members are the AVMA, Veterinary Study Groups, and Merck Animal Health along with more than 30 other veterinary organizations and companies that have signed on so far.
Workforce Issues
AVMA is investigating the causes for workforce shortages, first to identify why there is a shortage so a solution can be identified. Some key factors include underutilization of technicians, salary not keeping up with debt load, practices growing faster than DVM production which puts pressure on the labor market, and pet numbers growing slower than DVM growth which constrains DVM wages. AVMA will host roundtables to drill down on workforce needs and challenges. Boots on the ground expertise is needed here, so keep an eye out for opportunities to join the discussion.
FDA Compounding Guidance
FDA finalized and published Guidance for Industry (GFI) #256 which describes the agency’s approach to situations where veterinarians need access to unapproved drugs compounded from bulk drug substances (BDS) to provide appropriate care for the medical needs of the diverse species they treat when no FDA-approved (including conditionally approved) or indexed drug can be used to treat the animal. This means FDA is granting use of drugs compounding from FDA-approved animal and human bulk drug substances list. The good news is it places few restrictions on patient-specific prescriptions for nonfood-producing species. There is a call for nominations to attempt to get bulk drug substances (BDS) on the FDA list for use. Consult the Appendix of GFI #256 for needed information and submit our request for AVMA assistance to [email protected].
AVMA Government Relations Division
While politics are pretty polarized right now, AVMA remains non-partisan. The AVMA works with those in congress that want to work with AVMA on veterinary issues. AVMA will remain dedicated to veterinary issues only because for the long haul for our profession it’s important to remain in the center aisle. Veterinarians need to be the cause of the good change, not at the effect of someone else’s change. We need to advocate for the protection of our profession. AVMA is attempting to expand grasstops and grassroots capabilities, grow the PAC, and continue to improve the quality of interactions with state and allied VMAs.
AVMA PAC
The AVMA Political Action Committee has grown 30% over this time last year. This is an incredible accomplishment, but the new goal is $400k by end of year. Membership support is so important. This money does not stay in PAC bank account; it does no good if it’s not contributed. All of this money goes out to legislators. The PAC website is updated regularly to show where money goes state to state. PAC funds are distributed on a non-partisan basis focused on veterinary issues only. It’s this historical non-partisan stance that allows AVMA access to both sides of the aisle.
AVMF
The mission of the AVMF is to raise funds to improve animal health. The AVMF has raised over half a million dollars for Ukraine relief including supplies, care, food, etc. You can visit the website AVMF.org where you can find stories and heartbreaking images of what our colleagues are going through in this part of the world. New this year to the AVMF mission is education. There is an educational debt problem and workforce shortage, so AVMF plans to award $300,000 in scholarships for veterinary technicians.
AVMA Trust
AVMA trust doubled down its efforts to provide new /better ways to help, recognizing the needs of members at every step of the journey. For practicing DVMs: portability, consent to settle, individual coverage limits, Trust Vets: claims review, advocates, 4000 claims, 1000 calls, Risk mgmt. resources: 13 webinars, 12 publications, 7 educational blogs. School-based teams at each school to encourage awareness for students. Expanded coverage for students they need during 3rd and 4th year with very simple underwriting: 2 axon webinars, and 5 MyVeterinary Life podcasts. For practice owners: practice healthcare solutions (PHS is a solution-based program), veterinary safety manual, online training, and online reputation mgmt.
AVMA Online Educator Community
The AVMA Online Educator community has continued to grow. Individuals involved in academia and the education of the next generation of our colleagues are invited to join this online educator community. This is a place to exchange ideas, learn about AVMA resources that may make jobs easier, and discuss challenges and opportunities unique to the world of academia.
http://form.jotform./com/210466066513047
The next summer convention will be held in Denver from July 14-18, 2023.
By Gary Marshall, WSVMA Alternate Delegate
Posted August 12, 2022