What's Next on Psychiatry's Agenda for AMA?

Original article: Original article: Original article: Original article: Original article: The AMA Section Council on Psychiatry will be asking the AMA House of Delegates at its meeting next June to address the growing use of tasers by police, schools, and health care facilities and in particular on people with mental illness.

The section council will be sponsoring a resolution asking the AMA to collect data on the morbidity and mortality associated with the use of tasers and urge the AMA to advocate for the development of appropriate guidelines to ensure that tasers are used only in a manner that minimizes the risk of injury or death.

The resolution will also urge the AMA to encourage the Joint Commission (formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) and other appropriate accreditation and regulatory agencies to develop standards and guidelines regarding the use of tasers in hospitals and other health care facilities.

The section council will also submit resolutions on generic medications and on lead levels in children.

A resolution on generic medications will ask the AMA to review and summarize the literature regarding the incidence of adverse clinical consequences attributable to the use of generic medications, review Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mechanisms for the approval of generic medications and evaluate the adequacy of current FDA regulations, and develop recommendations to ensure patient safety in the use of generic medications.

A resolution on lead levels will ask the AMA to generate evidenced-based recommendations regarding screening for lead and to advocate for updated policies, procedures, and standards with respect to lead screening programs.

The Section Council on Psychiatry includes APA, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. ▪