June 14, 2022
Columbia, MD – AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine is pleased to announce that the American Medical Association (AMA) today adopted as AMA policy a resolution from AMDA calling for a public listing of medical directors for all of the country’s nursing homes.
The resolution states that this listing is necessary for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) “to promote health care transparency and consumer access to quality health care.” The AMA’s Reference Committee only heard testimony supporting the resolution; the supporters noted that the listing is important for continuity of care as well as for addressing quality issues in a timely fashion. Among those testifying were Karl Steinberg, MD, HMDC, CMD, and Rajeev Kumar, MD, FACP, CMD—AMDA’s AMA delegate and alternate, respectively.
Despite the fact that all nursing homes are required by law to engage a physician medical director, no national listing of medical directors exists, and few states require their nursing homes to report the names and credentials of their medical directors. Residents and families aren’t made aware to ask about who the medical director is when choosing a home, and a large proportion of medical directors have no interaction with the survey teams who assess the home’s compliance with the quality requirements the medical director is responsible for overseeing.
“For too long, the federal government has been content to let the role of the nursing home medical director be largely invisible,” said Christopher E. Laxton, CAE, the Society’s executive director. “Especially during COVID, the absence of a public listing of medical directors has hampered the rapid flow of critical clinical information and guidance to nursing homes. For the AMA to recognize this as a need validates our advocacy and supports further action in public policy. We are grateful to our leaders who testified in support of the resolution, and to the AMA for recognizing its importance.”
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AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine is the only medical specialty society representing the community of over 50,000 medical directors, physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other practitioners working in the various post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) settings. Dedicated to defining and improving quality, we advance our mission through timely professional development, evidence-based clinical guidance, and tireless advocacy on behalf of members, patients, families, and staff. Visit www.paltc.org for more information.
