Report of 2023 AMA Interim Meeting: A Major Breakthrough for AmericanBoard of Cosmetic Surgery Certification
Anthony Geroulis, MD, FAACS | AMA Delegate
Robert Jackson, MD, FAACS | AMA Alternate Delegate
Kamran Dastoury, MD | AMA Young Physicians Representative
Resolution Favoring the Cosmetic Surgery Industry
The 2023 Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) was held November 10-14, 2023, at the Gaylord National Harbor in Maryland. The AACS was represented by your delegates, Drs. Anthony Geroulis, and Robert Jackson and by your YPS representative, Dr. Kamran Dastoury. The most significant report came from the Council on Medical Education regarding recognizing physician non-ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties) specialty certifications.
Using H-275.926 (3), the Medical Specialty Board Certification Standards, ABMS-certified boards were contrasted with certain non-ABMS boards including the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery (ABCS), American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ABFPRS), American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS), American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) on three factors:
1. Defining specialty-specific standards for knowledge andskills;
2. Offering an independent external assessment of knowledge and skill for initial certification;
3. Having an independent external assessment of knowledge and skills for recertification or continuous certification.
Since the ABCS met all of the criteria, the Council on Medical Education recommended that the following resolve be adopted, and their report be filed. The resolution states:
Encourage continued advocacy to federal and state legislatures, federal and state regulators, physician credentialing organizations, hospitals, and other interested parties to define physician board certification as the medical profession establishing specialty-specific standards for
knowledge and skills, using an independent assessment process to determine the acquisition of knowledge and skills for initial certification and recertification. View report here:
https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/i23-refcomm-c-report.pdf
Drs. Geroulis, Jackson, and Dastoury testified before the reference committee in favor of their report. Dr. Dastoury also received the support of the YPS. The resolution passed the House of Delegates unanimously. This resolution, combined with those passed at Interim ‘22, is great news for the ABCS.
The full report is available to anyone who wants or needs it.
Member Call to Action
To keep being able to advocate for our profession and to continue to hold a seat in the AMA, we plead with AACS members to renew your AMA membership or to join if you currently are not a member. Retaining our seat in the House of Delegates is dependent on the percentage of AACS members who belong to the AMA. When renewing or joining, please register as a “Cosmetic Surgeon.”
We cannot lose the voice and specialty recognition we have fought to attain. Other advocacy matters that came before the House of Delegates included the following:
- Prioritized dialog around Medicare payments, taking into account the 3.36% cut in the proposed 2024 Medicare physician pay schedule, absent congressional intervention, is scheduled to take effect in January 2024. It was noted that physician fees have remained stagnant for decades, with many seeing a 2% pay cut in 2023, and that physicians
are one of the only providers without an automatic increase to account for inflation. (See article on AMA here. - Directed the AMA to advocate that only physicians who are trained, licensed, and qualified should diagnose medical conditions or determine medical necessity and give prior authorization.
- Reaffirmed the scope of practice authority and regulation oversight of non-physician health professionals by physicians and physician medical boards.
- Adopted a resolution to obtain insurance coverage for prosthodontic reconstruction, including dental implants after oral facial reconstruction secondary to oncologic resection including dental implants to restore the patient’s appearance, form, and function as much as possible. This should not be denied as a preexisting condition. Dr. Jackson testified in support of this resolution.
Your delegates also met with the Private Practice Section, and Dr. Geroulis spoke on helping physicians take appropriate legal steps in preserving their ability to private practice.
Look for us at the 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting.
The Interim meeting of the AMA was devoted to advocacy. The House of Delegates is devoted to helping doctors! For further information concerning topics, feel free to seek any of us
out at the February, 2024 AACS Annual Scientific Meeting.