The Journal of the Arkansas Medical Society Med Journal Jan 2019 Final 2 | Page 7

Moving Forward: HOD-Related Policy Changes Prior to the vote, AMS Executive Vice Presi- dent David Wroten outlined the HOD-associated changes in order to make sure those present un- derstood both the modifications and the reasons leading up to the proposal. One of those reasons included a lack of participation. For the last sev- eral years, attendance at the HOD meetings has decreased to nearly just that of the members of the Board of Trustees. With the vote that occurred on November 2, the responsibilities of the HOD were trans- ferred to the Board of Trustees and the general membership, respectively. The Board will as- sume legislative and policy making duties, as well as responsibility for changes to the bylaws, and the general membership will oversee the election of AMS officers and AMA delegates. A nominating committee will remain in place to help the process along. However, moving for- ward, ballots that the Society sends out for district trustees will also include any relevant Medical Board Legal Issues? officer votes. Resolutions will be eliminated with the HOD, instead allowing members to vote on issues electronically. While the House of Delegates is no more, occasions for networking remain in the form of an annual membership meeting. “The AMS an- nual session was tied to a House of Delegates meeting, but the bylaws committee felt, strongly, that members needed to continue to have an op- portunity for all members of the Society to get together,” said Wroten. “With respect to the an- nual membership meeting, we’re going to have to put some thought into how to approach that. The true goal is to engage the membership, and to find out if is it valuable to get all members to come to a central location to have a meeting. If so, what do we do with it?” Wroten explained how various officers will be elected and explained on procedures related to AMA delegates, amendments, membership comments, and more. “If a general member has an issue that they want addressed, they can still do what they typically do – call us, and we will bring it to the Board’s attention,” he reassured. For more on changes and new policies, contact Wroten at [phone]. A New Season at the Capitol Following the historic vote, AMS Director of Governmental Affairs Scott Smith discussed the possibilities of another new season com- ing up, the 2019 session of the Arkansas Gen- eral Assembly. In laying out expected battles to the group, Smith facilitated a focus group with members on issues like tort reform, scope of practice/patient safety/licensure, health insur- ance, hospital relations, and public health. Now that tort reform has been struck from the ballot by the Arkansas Supreme Court, there will be discussion of next steps toward mean- ingful tort reform through legislative measures like attorney fee caps, non-economic damage caps, punitive damage caps, and addressing rules of the court. > Continued on page 152. Your Complete Travel Solution ® Enjoy the comfort, flexibility, security and privacy that simply cannot be equaled by any form of public transportation. Call Pharmacist/Attorney Darren O’Quinn Call for Details Phil Gustafson 501.975.9328 / [email protected] 1-800-455-0581 www.DarrenOQuinn.com 8 Since 1939 Little Rock, Arkansas 1501 Bond Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas | YEARS OF FLIGHT 1 9 3 9 - 2 0 1 9 | central.aero | 501.375.3245 NUMBER 7 JANUARY 2019 • 151