The deadline to submit resolutions is Sunday, June 12, for consideration by the House of  Delegates at this year’s convention, set for Sept. 9 to Sept. 11. We’ve updated our online resolution submission form to make the process easier than ever.

About resolutions
Resolutions written by members and adopted or referred to the Board of Trustees by the House of Delegates can drive ISMA’s public policy, determine ISMA’s formal position on issues, or make structural and process changes to our organization. They can also reaffirm the positions taken in resolutions that will expire in 2022 unless reintroduced; a list of those “sunset resolutions” is available at www.ismanet.org/sunset2022.

Typical resolutions encourage ISMA to take a position supporting or opposing a specific health policy issue or piece of legislation. Resolutions may also call on ISMA to actively seek (introduce) legislation on an issue. That means that introducing a resolution is a unique opportunity to make a difference for Indiana physicians and patients.

Submitting resolutions
The new resolution submission form, available at www.ismanet.org/resolutionform, explains the different parts of a resolution and guides you through the writing process. When you open the form, you will see a set of instructions, including an explanation of certain types of text that the online form cannot accommodate. Please read these carefully! 

Next, you will see a question about whether your resolution requires any of the following, along with instructions on how to submit your resolution if the answer is yes: 

• Citations to external references, including use of footnotes or URLs/websites. (Email resolution in a Word document to Policy@ismanet.org AND submit a plain-text version of your resolution using the online form.)
• Special text formatting, such as bold, italics, underlines or strike-throughs. (Email resolution in a Word document to Policy@ismanet.org.)
• More than 30 Whereas statements or more than 10 Resolved statements. (Email resolution in a Word document to Policy@ismanet.org.)

Other resources
ISMA has developed additional resources to help members write an effective resolution. If you’re thinking about introducing a resolution, please read the online article, “How to write and submit a resolution to influence ISMA or AMA policy.”  In addition, a downloadable template for creating a resolution is available at www.ismanet.org/ResolutionExample.

If you still have questions about the resolution process, email them to policy@ismanet.org. And, be sure to watch your email, ISMA Reports and our 173rd Annual ISMA Convention homepage for more details on the resolution process and convention.