AVMA House of Delegates (HOD) Summer Session: July 28-29, 2022 Philadelphia
Aloha mai kakou! (Greetings to all of you!) I share with you the topics of discussion during the meeting of the AVMA House of Delegates:
RESOLUTIONS
Resolution 6 – New policy on use of prescription drugs in veterinary medicine.
Resolution 7 – New policy on adverse event reporting
Resolution 8 – Revised policy on genetic modification of animals in agriculture
Resolution 9 – Revised policy on approval and availability of antimicrobials for use in food-producing animals
Resolution 10 – Revised policy on raw milk
All resolutions were passed by the AVMA House of Delegates.
VETERINARY INFORMATION FORUM
HOD’s Veterinary Information Forum was devoted to the topics of:
1) Updates to the AVMA Model Veterinary Practice Act— including updates related to license portability, veterinary technicians, and telehealth.
Ahead of the HOD meeting, most of the comments from AVMA members about updating the AVMA Model Veterinary Practice Act were to support the idea of providing license portability from state to state. Regarding veterinary technicians, Veterinarians are pushing to define the duties of certified veterinary technicians versus noncertified veterinarians in the practice act. Pertaining to telehealth, an emphasis in the model practice act for the requirement of an in-person examination to establish a veterinarian-client-patient relationship before initiating telehealth.
2) The responsibility to provide emergency care
The reference committee that discussed the responsibility to provide emergency care suggested the following points for the Council on Veterinary Service to consider while reviewing the Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics.
• Define “emergencies.” Is this meant to refer to immediate life-threatening situations and situations in which the animal is in intractable pain and suffering?
• Address payment.
• Add wording regarding whether providing the emergency care is prudent, with considerations to include the following:
◦ The number and skill level of available staff members.
◦ Available equipment.
◦ Working conditions that are safe for veterinary team personnel.
◦ Sufficient knowledge of the species.
◦ Geography or location of the emergency, particularly for large animal or mobile practices.
◦ Whether a veterinarian-client-patient relationship has been established. In other words, is it an established client and patient?
• Clarify that euthanasia is acceptable to prevent intractable pain and suffering even if a client is not identified, for example, an animal brought in by animal control or other government agency.
OFFICER ELECTION RESULTS
Dr. Lori Teller assumed the presidency of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) with a pledge to strengthen the profession through collaboration and a focus on wellbeing.
AVMA President-elect 2022-2023: Dr. Rena Carlson
AVMA Board Chair 2022-2023: Ronald E. Gill
AVMA Vice President 2022-2024: Jennifer Quammen
House Advisory Committee: Libby Todd (Alabama), Diana Thome
(Washington) and Stuart Brown (AAEP)
Elections for 2023-2024
Three individuals have announced their candidacy for 2023-24 AVMA
president-elect; they will campaign for one year, with the election in Summer 2023:
Sandra Faeh Butler (past AVMA Vice-President)
Arnie Goldman (current AVMA Treasurer)
Bob Murtaugh
JOURNEY FOR TEAMS
The AVMA is co-launching a multiyear educational initiative to help veterinary workplaces become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. The upcoming Journey for Teams program is under development by the AVMA and the Veterinary Medical Association Executives. Details were provided in an announcement event July 30 at AVMA Convention 2022 in Philadelphia, and program content will be released in stages beginning this fall. 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/ .
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 compounding@avma.org .
AVMA GOVERNMENT RELATIONS DIVISION
Although the political world appears to be polarized, the AVMA remains non-partisan. The AVMA builds relationship with those individuals in congress that want to work with AVMA on veterinary issues such as: Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP), Improve Loan Options for Veterinarians, Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act (H.R. 5441/S. 2295), and the Healthy Dog Importation Act.
Just announced:
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture within the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Aug. 31 that it had awarded $3.2 million in grants to support rural veterinary services though the Veterinary Services Grant Program. The AVMA was instrumental in pushing Congress to create and fund the program, which was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. The first grants were announced in 2016.
AVMA PAC
The AVMA Political Action Committee (AVMA PAC) helps veterinarians build relationships with lawmakers, amplifying the AVMA’s voice in policy discussions on Capitol Hill. The AVMA Political Action Committee has grown 30% over this time last year and a new goal is $400k by the end of 2022. Membership support is so important. PAC funds are distributed on a non-partisan basis focused on veterinary issues and therefore allows AVMA access to both sides of the political aisle.
FINANCIAL UPDATE 2022:
• Receipts to-date: $85,865 (33% higher than 2021!)
• Portion of AVMA Members contributing in 2021-22: 2%
• 2022 Election Disbursements made: $86,500
• Funds available for new disbursements: $213,375
AVMF
The American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) is the charitable arm of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), 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
Insurance and risk solutions for every stage of your career – providing new/better ways to help members at every step of the journey.
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.
FUTURE DATES TO REMEMBER:
Veterinary Leadership Conference: Leadership in a New Era
January 5-7, 2023 Chicago, IL
AVMA Summer Convention
July 14-18, 2023 Denver, CO
…..and that’s a wrap!
Mahalo from your Hawaii AVMA Delegate – Leianne Lee Loy
and Hawaii AVMA Alt Delegate – Carolyn Naun
Please feel free to contact us on any of these topics or about the AVMA. It
has been an honor to represent Hawaii. Aloha!