By Stephen D. Tharp, MD
Chair, Indiana Delegation to the AMA

This year, the big story was the AMA Annual Meeting itself. For the first time, we did not come together in person for our annual meeting. Covid-19 left us all back home seeking social distance. The meeting was condensed to the bare essentials, which came down to choosing and installing our leaders. There was only one reference committee, Reference Committee F. It had no controversial measures and provided the financial authorization to continue the business of the AMA.

The real action was in the elections. Indiana was blessed with three stellar candidates: Vidya Kora, MD, for the AMA Board of Trustees; David Welsh, MD, for re-election to the Council on Science and Public Health; and Heidi Dunniway, MD, for the Council on Medical Service. From the time plans were announced to hold a virtual meeting, we began planning all three campaigns. We recognized that we had a very large task to reach every delegate with our messages. William Mohr, MD, led our efforts directing all three campaigns and did a fabulous job integrating websites, emails and interviews.

The meeting itself was disappointing. Our speaker did an amazing job of creating a functional platform and was limited to essentially one-way transmission. Using a real computer on the delegate end was beneficial. The display included a split screen with live or recorded video on one side and an information screen with secure voting capability on the other side. Delegates using a smartphone or tablet could only see one screen at a time. 

In my experience, all went well until the Board of Trustees election started. At that point, my video screen froze, and no audio came through. The information screen did not change either, but it was working. I was able to vote; but, until the ballot appeared 10 minutes after the loss of video, I feared my vote would not be counted. I only learned the results of the election from deduction using the next ballot information.

Dr. Welsh was re-elected to the Council on Science and Public Health. Dr. Kora and Dr. Dunniway were not elected. I believe we had the best candidates in all three races (OK – I admit to some bias). I also believe that the election results reflect the practice of electing Board candidates who are currently on a council and who also have unexpired terms. This then allows undeclared candidates to be nominated from the floor for that council and to be elected to the unexpired term.

I remain confident that Our AMA is the most universal voice for physicians and that our leadership is committed to caring for our patients and creating the best possible environment for medical practice.