OMA House of Delegates – April 30 – May 1, 2005
DIGEST OF ACTIONS
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OREGON MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
HOUSE OF DELEGATES
Annual Meeting
April 30 – May 1, 2005
Sunriver, Oregon
DIGEST OF ACTIONS
The House of Delegates held its 131st Annual Meeting at Sunriver Resort, Sunriver, Oregon, April 30 – May 1, 2005 and took the following actions:
A. FILED the following informational reports:
AMA Delegates’ Report (p. 158)
Board of Medical Examiners Report (p. 123)
Community Health Committee Report (p. 63)
Executive Committee Report C (p. 141)
Executive Committee Report D (p. 163)
Executive Committee Report F (p. Late #7)
Executive Director’s Report (p. 154)
Health Care Finance Committee Report (p. Late #2)
Legislative Committee Report (p. Late #1)
Liability Reform Task Force Report (p. Late #4)
Loss Prevention Committee Report (p. 61)
OMA Alliance Report (p. 144)
OMPRO Report (p. 147)
Oregon Medical Education Foundation Report (p. 114)
Patient Safety Committee Report (p. 160)
PEER Report (p. 152)
Professional Consultation Committee Report (p. 58)
Secretary-Treasurer’s Report A (p. 11)
Secretary-Treasurer’s Report B (p. 38)
Secretary-Treasurer’s Report C (p. 49)
US Pharmacopeia Delegate Report (p.120)
Workers’ Compensation Committee Report (p. Late #3)
B. REFERRED – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT A (p. 69) back to the committee for further study.
C. AMENDED AND ADOPTED (w/editorial correction) – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT B (P. 71):
Personal and professional membership contact data information will be obtained for purposes of enhancing communication amongst the organization and its membership. Only that data authorized by the individual member will be distributed to the membership roster, the AMA, component and specialty societies. When requested, membership data published in the roster and previously authorized by the member will be distributed to other members who so request it. This distribution may be in electronic form via email or CD. Email addresses will not be distributed under any circumstances unless directly authorized by the member.
OMA will sell mailing lists of its membership in hard copy form or electronic (exclusive of email addresses) only to mailing houses for requesting third parties, provided the purpose of such mailings is deemed to be of interest and relevance to the membership. Such circumstances include but are not necessarily limited to: continuing education, announcements of new physicians in a practice and medically related newsletters, as determined by the Executive Director. The Executive Director shall perform or cause to be performed due diligence, including consultation with the leadership when deemed appropriate.
In the case of distribution of mailing lists to members or sales of such lists to third parties, recipient shall agree in writing that such lists will be used for no other purpose than for that agreed to and, in the case of sales to third parties, may only be used once (see Appendix).
D. ADOPTED APPENDIX TO – BYLAWS COMMITTEE REPORT (p.74) containing 67 recommendations for amendments to wit: Appendix attached.
1. (Page 1-lines 27/30) After due consideration the committee has concluded that, since OMA is an individual membership organization, the definition of “physician as it applies to membership” as currently appears in the Definitions section does not add meaning or clarity and should therefore be deleted.
2. (1-32) The Immediate Past President is, by definition elsewhere in the Bylaws, an officer of the OMA and should therefore be included in the listing of OMA officers.
3. (1-42/45) In addition to physicians, both medical students and physician assistants are eligible for membership and, for the sake of consistency in the Definitions section, should likewise be defined.
4. (2-2/3) The privilege of voting is extended to Affiliate (medical student) members under certain circumstances and should be so stated in the Definitions section for the sake of clarity and consistency.
5. (2-27/28) This and other references to membership in component societies are archaic and should be deleted from the Bylaws since OMA members need not affiliate with a component society nor are component society members obliged to belong to OMA.
6. (3-4/19) Current language concerning Affiliate members and their rights and privileges is confusing and further requires amendment to achieve compliance with a directive of the House at I-04 to permit their seating as delegates from component societies should such societies choose to elect or appoint them. The committee therefore proposes to delete the current language and substitute clearer and more precise language concerning this class of membership. The committee also notes that the current Bylaws skip subchapter 04.014 and proposed this number be assigned to this subchapter for the sake of consistency.
7. (3-21) Consistent with the preceding recommendation, the committee proposes the number of this subchapter be changed for the sake of consistency.
8. (3-26) See Recommendation No. 7.
9. (3-33) See Recommendation No. 7.
10. (3-36/37) The committee notes that, while there is a provision for inactive membership for those members who may leave the state for an extended period, no such provision exists for members who may be required to leave active practice but who remain Oregon residents. While the committee understands such members are already assigned administratively to the Inactive membership category, it recommends the matter be specifically and clearly addressed in the Bylaws.
11. (3-40) See Recommendation No. 7.
12. (3-47) See Recommendation No. 7.
13. (4-4) See Recommendation No. 7.
14. (4-7/10) Since OMA membership is not contingent on component society membership nor is component society membership contingent of OMA membership the committee believes this subchapter is archaic and should be deleted.
15. (4-12/16) The committee proposes that language in current subchapter 04.32 be deleted in favor of new language in subchapter 04.021 (renumbered so as to be consistent with the preceding subchapter). While the intent of the two versions is the same, the committee believes the new language is clearer.
16. (4-18/23) This subchapter is renumbered so as to be consistent with the preceding subchapter and is modified to delete references to component societies and to simplify and clarify language pertaining to disciplinary action by the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners or the American Medical Association. The committee notes that suspension and revocation have distinctly different meanings under the Medical Practices Act (ORS 677) and to automatically withdraw the benefits of membership from a physician whose license has been suspended would not always be appropriate, since it would include physicians suspended under an emergency order pending an investigation or for relatively brief periods.
17. (4-25/35) The committee recommends that this subchapter be amended by deletion, since it effectively provides component societies with provisional veto power over physicians who choose not to affiliate with them in OMA membership decisions rightly vested in the Board of Trustees.
18. (4-37) This subchapter should be renumbered so as to be consistent with the preceding subchapter.
19. (4-40/44) This subchapter should be renumbered so as to be consistent with the preceding subchapter. Presumably provisions of this subchapter are intended to permit members to maintain their membership for a period of one year after their vacation from the state. The committee assumes that such members might wish to retain an Active membership in order to retain for a period of one year or less an OMA insurance benefit. The fate of such members is not currently clear and the committee proposes that they automatically become inactive members after one year.
20. (4-46/47) This subchapter should be renumbered so as to be consistent with the preceding subchapter and the committee proposes to delete a clause pertaining to component medical societies that is archaic.
21. (5-5/6) With regard to the sole authority of the House of Delegates to set dues and assessments for the membership, the committee proposes that long-standing policy of the House that requires adoption of proposals to modify dues levels or set assessments by two-thirds majority be codified in the Bylaws.
22. (5-26-28) On careful review the committee concludes that subchapter 05.030 is largely redundant of the following provision and should be deleted.
23. (5-30) This subchapter is renumbered so as to be consistent with the preceding subchapter. The committee proposes a minor amendment to confirm the Board’s authority to assess application fees for any class of members.
24. (5-35) This subchapter is renumbered so as to be consistent with the preceding subchapter. The committee also proposes deletion of archaic and unclear language to affirm the Board’s authority to fully or partially waive dues under special circumstances.
25. (6-1/3) The committee proposes, so as to be consistent with other amendments concerning the relationship of component societies and OMA, that this subchapter be amended by deletion.
26. (6-26/31) On review the committee concludes this provision of the Bylaws is universally ignored, archaic and should be amended by deletion.
27. (6-33) This subchapter should be renumbered so as to be consistent with the preceding subchapter.
28. (7-13/15) The committee proposes that long-standing policy of the House that delegates or, if necessary, the Speakers introduce without prejudice (neither supporting nor opposing) resolutions on behalf of any member so requesting be codified in the Bylaws.
29. (7-26/40) These proposed amendments to subchapter 07.030 are to clarify and simplify language pertaining to the election and terms of their delegates and alternate delegates and to permit the seating of Affiliate (medical student) members as regular, voting delegates provided they are members of both OMA and the sponsoring component society. This latter amendment is proposed at the direction of the House at its I-04 Meeting.
30. (7-42) In this subchapter and elsewhere, the committee proposes that references to the secretaries of component societies be deleted since such an office seldom exists and requirements imposed on them by the bylaws are generally ignored.
31. 7-47) The proposed amendment by substitution clarifies the intent and meaning of the subchapter.
32. (7-50) See Recommendation No. 30.
33. (8-50) The proposed amendment by addition is intended to clarify that powers of the Board of Trustees are limited only by authority vested solely in the House or the voting membership (with respect to a referendum) as specified by the Bylaws.
34. (10-51) See Recommendation No. 30.
35. (11-4) See Recommendation No. 30
36. (13-19/23) The committee proposes an amendment by deletion in this subchapter and addition of two additional subchapters immediately following in order to make the precise duties of the nominating committee clearer and more understandable.
37. (13-25/27) See Recommendation No. 34.
38. (13-29/30) See Recommendation No. 34.
39. (13-32) This subchapter should be renumbered so as to be consistent with the preceding subchapter.
40. (13-36) See recommendation No. 27.
41. (13-40) See recommendation No. 27.
42. (13-47) See recommendation No. 27.
43. (14-4) See recommendation No. 27.
44. (14-10) See recommendation No. 27.
45. (14-16) The amendment corrects references to other subchapters in this Chapter that have been renumbered.
46. (14-41) See Recommendation No. 43.
47. (14-48/51-15-1/6) The amendment by deletion of the existing language and by addition is intended to codify in the Bylaws provisions for replacement of alternate AMA delegates should they become an AMA delegate by virtue of vacation of that position or for other reasons by the OMA President for the remainder of their elected term as alternate delegate. As has occurred in the last year, a delegate resigned to be replaced by the senior alternate delegate for a single meeting of the AMA House of Delegates and most recently an alternate delegate has resigned because he was moving out of the state. In both cases the decision was made to fill the vacancy thereby created with the President, who by virtue of his or her office already serves ex officio as an alternate AMA delegate. The Bylaws Committee believes that this procedure represents prudent conservation of scarce OMA resources for no more than two consecutive AMA meetings and in no way diminishes the effectiveness or representation of the OMA Delegation in these meetings. The committee also notes that several other relatively small state medical societies already use their incumbent president as an alternate delegate as a matter of course.
48. (15-8/13) These amendments are proposed to clarify that the Associate members Trustee and Alternate Trustee are elected in same manner as Affiliate Trustee and Alternate Trustee and to amend by deletion reference to Associate members being engaged in postgraduate training since this requirement is already specified in the Bylaws definition of this class of members.
49. (15-16/21) These amendments are proposed to clarify that the Associate members Trustee and Alternate Trustee are likewise elected in same manner as Affiliate Trustee and Alternate Trustee and to renumber subchapters amended by previous action.
50. (15-24) A proposed amendment by deletion of the word “and” that the committee believes is redundant.
51. (15-35/36) Current language in Chapter 10.010 regarding the President’s voting privileges is unclear in that it may imply the President may only vote to break a tie vote or that the President may, in effect, be able to vote twice in order to settle a matter that resulted in a tie vote in which he or she has already voted. In either case, the matter is unsettled without specific clarification. After considerable discussion, the Bylaws Committee concluded that, as presiding officer of two of three policy-making bodies of the Association, at least with regard to the issue of voting, the President should demonstrate impartiality and leadership by only voting to resolve a tie vote when a serious division may result without a resolution.
52. (17-40/41) Noting there are no standing “councils” of the Association and that, by inference the only “standing” committees are those who duties are delineated in these Bylaws, the committee proposes that reference to councils be amended by deletion and that this preamble clearly specify that the only standing committees of the OMA are those incorporated in the Bylaws.
53. (17-43/45) Language proposed in this subchapter has been prepared by OMA general counsel to assure compliance with ORS 41.675, the confidentiality of medical peer review statute.
54. (18-1/6) See Recommendation No. 49.
55. (18-8/17) Language proposed in this subchapter has been prepared by OMA general counsel to assure compliance with ORS 41.675, the confidentiality of medical peer review statute and with the Federal Risk Retention Act under which OMA’s group professional liability program authorized and administered. Finally, the committee proposes that a provision concerning annual appointment of the committee is redundant.