[NPInfo] AMA and SOPP (Scope of Practice Partnership)

[mmhelgert46 at comcast.net]

In response to all the comments on the listserv...I agree...no one is "immune" from the far reaching arm of the AMA...we just scraped by Senate Bill 717 here in Oregon and had this issue put aside...we know it will come back in a far different form next legislative session...the AMA used all sorts of tactics against Chiropractors...I believe I wrote on this listserv months ago about the Noerr-Pennington Doctrine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noerr-Pennington_doctrine) ...and I believe this is how they will get their SOPP agenda passed in many legislatures across the country....this has nothing to do with our abilities, how good we are...it boils down to who has the best lobbyists, and the most money ...chiropractors barely won their day in court. Osteopaths had to sue the AMA to practice in the 1960's (restraint of trade) I believe....it was bittersweet for Chiropractors as the AMA agenda did enough damage simply by the words the AMA used against them.

Where we win is within the legal process and/or the legislative system: 
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/471/bot24A06.doc  (AMA SOPP Report)
or Google AMA and SOPP Report

So...this listserv has excellent commentary and ideas from all Advanced Practice Providers across the country...we still need one voice and enough money to fight the AMA in the legislature and within the legal system. We need direction and we need visibility. This is where the food chain begins and ends...inside legislatures across the country or inside court rooms...take your pick. It maybe...we'll just allow the AMA to have their way before deciding what the next strategy is...by then it may be too late and the damage done by the AMA and their rhetoric and well-designed campaigns against Advanced Practice (whether by being interviewed regarding Retail Clinics or whatever). Placing enough doubt in the minds of the lay public is a fairly successful campaign and tactic (one must admit)...politicians use it all the time...create doubt...whether its true or not...and this is what we are up against.
Not how good we are, or how much money we save an institution by hiring us....in the minds of people holding the purse strings we are an item of purchase, a bottom line, a figure on paper and can be made to disappear quite easily....unless we embrace the legal and legislative process nothing else matters, really.

Meg FNP
Portland Oregon