AMA Update

AMA Update is your source for physician-focused news. Hear from physicians and other experts on trending public health concerns, practice issues, and more. Because who’s doing the talking matters.

AMA Update is your source for physician-focused news. Hear from physicians and other experts on trending public health concerns, practice issues, and more. Because who’s doing the talking matters.


All Episodes

AMA Update 550: 2025 AMA advocacy priorities: Medicare payment, prior authorization, physician burnout and more

What does the American Medical Association do? Are private practices closing? When do Joy In Medicine applications open? What’s the new CMS rule on prior authorization? AMA President Bruce A. Scott, MD, joins to discuss the pressing issues facing physicians like Medicare payment reform, scope creep, prior authorization hassles, and the ongoing crisis of physician burnout. He highlights American Medical Association successes over the past year and how the AMA will fight for physicians and help patients in 2025. AMA CXO Todd Unger hosts. 

🩺 The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most — patients. We will meet this challenge together. Join us: https://ama-assn.co/JoinRenew

🥼 Go to https://ama-assn.co/FightingForDocs to learn more about our AMA advocacy priorities, including:
▹ Reforming Medicare payment
▹ Fighting scope creep
▹ Fixing prior authorization
▹ Reducing physician burnout
▹ Making technology work for physicians

AMA Update 549: AMA advocacy efforts for 2025: Fixing Medicare now, prior authorization reform and more

What does the AMA advocate for? What does the AMA do? Is Medicare reducing payments to doctors? Are there telehealth exemptions in 2025? Todd Askew, senior vice president of advocacy at the American Medical Association, joins from the AMA State Advocacy Summit to outline the AMA’s top priorities for 2025. This includes reversing Medicare payment cuts, extending telehealth policies, fixing prior authorization issues to reduce administrative burdens for doctors, as well as continuing grassroots and physician engagement with elected officials to support key healthcare policies. AMA CXO Todd Unger hosts.

🩺 The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most — patients. We will meet this challenge together. Join us: https://ama-assn.co/JoinRenew

📨 Stay up to date on all the latest advocacy news by subscribing to AMA Advocacy Update: https://ama-assn.co/Advocacy_newsletter

AMA Update 548: Bird flu 2025, first H5N1 death, norovirus outbreak, and links between drinking alcohol and cancer

Should I be worried about bird flu? How do humans get bird flu? What’s the stomach virus going around? What happens if you drink alcohol daily? AMA’s Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH, discusses alcohol’s link to cancer, the latest bird flu news, flu season trends, and the rise of norovirus. American Medical Association CXO Todd Unger hosts.

🩺 The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most — patients. We will meet this challenge together. Join us: https://ama-assn.co/JoinRenew

🗺️ CDC current avian flu map: https://ama-assn.co/avianflu_map

AMA Update 547: AI scribes for clinicians: How ambient listening in medicine works and future AI use cases

What is an ambient scribe? How does scribe AI work? Are AI scribes worth it? What are the medical issues with AI? Brian Hoberman, MD, executive vice president of information technology and chief information officer at The Permanente Federation and chief information officer at The Permanente Medical Group in Northern California. Dr. Hoberman discusses the implementation and impact of ambient scribe technology and shares insights on how technology enhances clinician-patient interaction by reducing administrative burdens and improving documentation accuracy. Also covering the challenges of adapting technology to medical specialties, the future potential of AI in health care, and the importance of responsible AI usage. American Medical Association CXO Todd Unger hosts.

🩺 The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most — patients. We will meet this challenge together. Join us: https://ama-assn.co/JoinRenew

🥼 Go to https://ama-assn.co/FightingForDocs to learn more about our AMA advocacy priorities, including:
▹ Reforming Medicare payment
▹ Fighting scope creep
▹ Fixing prior authorization
▹ Reducing physician burnout
▹ Making technology work for physicians

AMA Update 546: How the AMA fought for docs in 2024 to fix prior authorization, reduce physician burnout and more

In the final AMA Update episode of 2024, American Medical Association CXO Todd Unger looks back on another year of stories about the work that physicians are doing across the country and how the AMA is fighting to support them.

🩺 The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most — patients. We will meet this challenge together. Join us: https://ama-assn.co/JoinRenew

🥼 Go to https://ama-assn.co/FightingForDocs to learn more about our AMA advocacy priorities, including:
▹ Reforming Medicare payment
▹ Fighting scope creep
▹ Fixing prior authorization
▹ Reducing physician burnout
▹ Making technology work for physicians

AMA Update 545: Living with chronic pain, lifespan vs healthspan, and updated dietary guideline recommendations

Is obesity decreasing in the US? Do women live longer than men? What are the US Dietary Guidelines 2025? Does America have a healthy diet? AMA’s Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH, discusses recent findings on obesity trends in the US, upcoming 2025 US Dietary Guidelines changes, the importance of a healthy diet and the need for health equity in dietary recommendations. Also covering Americans’ healthspan lifespan gap and the implications of living longer with diseases. American Medical Association CXO Todd Unger hosts.

🩺 The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most — patients. We will meet this challenge together. Join us: https://ama-assn.co/JoinRenew

🗺️ CDC current avian flu map: https://ama-assn.co/avianflu_map

💻 For bird flu news visit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC H5N1 Bird Flu Current Situation Summary (CDC H5N1 technical report): https://ama-assn.co/CDC_H5N1

AMA Update 544: A new model of value-based care and direct-to-employer health care pros and cons

What is direct-to-employer contracting in health care? What are value-based care examples? What are innovative care models? Jerry Finkel, MD, senior vice president and chief primary health officer at Henry Ford Health, discusses an innovative value-based care program between General Motors and Henry Ford Health that allows GM employees and their families to receive customized health care directly from Henry Ford Health, bypassing traditional insurance models. Dr. Finkel highlights the benefits of this direct arrangement, including enhanced quality of care, cost savings, and a concierge service for easier navigation of the health care system. American Medical Association CXO Todd Unger hosts.

🩺 The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most — patients. We will meet this challenge together. Join us: https://ama-assn.co/JoinRenew

🏥 Learn more about the AMA Health System Program here: https://ama-assn.co/HealthSystems

🥼 Go to https://ama-assn.co/FightingForDocs to learn more about our AMA advocacy priorities, including:
▹ Reforming Medicare payment
▹ Fighting scope creep
▹ Fixing prior authorization
▹ Reducing physician burnout
▹ Making technology work for physicians

AMA Update 543: Health care technology trends 2025: AI benefits, wearable use cases and telehealth expansion

What is the future of AI in healthcare? What is the future of RPM? Is telehealth increasing or decreasing? How can AI reduce physician burnout? Our guest is Margaret Lozovatsky, MD, vice president of Digital Health Innovations at the American Medical Association. AMA CXO Todd Unger hosts.

🩺 The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most — patients. We will meet this challenge together. Join us: https://ama-assn.co/JoinRenew

🥼 Go to https://ama-assn.co/FightingForDocs to learn more about our AMA advocacy priorities, including:
▹ Reforming Medicare payment
▹ Fighting scope creep
▹ Fixing prior authorization
▹ Reducing physician burnout
▹ Making technology work for physicians

AMA Update 542: USDA milk testing, raw milk recall, plus new flu treatment study and the current COVID variant

Is whooping cough going around? What is the best flu medicine? What is the latest strain of COVID? Is raw milk safe? Why drink raw milk? AMA’s Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health, Andrea Garcia, JD, MPH, discusses rising whooping cough cases, vaccines for whooping cough, and effectiveness of antiviral medicine for flu. Also covering milk safety around pasteurized milk vs raw milk and concerns over bird flu in raw milk. American Medical Association CXO Todd Unger hosts.

🩺 The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most — patients. We will meet this challenge together. Join us: https://ama-assn.co/JoinRenew

🗺️ CDC current avian flu map: https://ama-assn.co/avianflu_map