2021 Assembly Report
April 2021 APA Assembly Report
Robert Feder, M.D. New Hampshire Assembly Rep
I. Meeting Due to the coronavirus situation, the Assembly was again held virtually over a 2 day period.
II. Assembly Actions The Assembly passed a large number of Actions that were primarily new Position Statements, Revisions of previous Position Statements, and Revisions to various diagnostic definitions in DSM5. Three decisions were still pending at the end of the meeting due to votes by strength which had to be taken and tabulated after the meeting. These were for:
A. An Action Paper advising the APA PAC to withhold any contributions to Congressmen who had voted against certifying the 2020 Presidential election. (Even if passed, this would not be binding on the PAC)
B. Revision of the Position Statement on Substance Use Disorders Among Older Adults
C. Position Statement on Interstate Licensure for Telepsychiatry
III. Financial There was a small operational budget loss for the APA this year (less than $1 million) due to loss of revenue from not holding the Annual Meeting. This was largely offset by savings in travel expenses and increased revenue from publications. The APA’s investment holdings had a 12% gain in 2020 and stand at around $175 million.
IV. Membership For the first time in many years the APA membership went down in 2020, about 3%. This was largely due to a loss of international members which was felt to be secondary to the Covid crisis.
V. Residencies Psychiatric residency spots matched at near full capacity this year. This combined with the increased need for psychiatrists in the future due to Covid and climate stresses will make lobbying for increased Federal funding of new residency spots a major APA priority.
VI. Maintenance of Certification Their has been increasing frustration among APA members with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) due to the perceived onerousness, irrelevance, and cost of recertification procedures. The APA is therefore looking into other options, including the newly established National Board of Physicians and Surgeons, as well as the APA taking on the Board Certification process itself. Nevertheless the APA Board recently accepted a $2 million unrestricted grant from the ABPN, which a significant number of Assembly members saw as representing a conflict of interest. The American Board of Medical Specialties, the ABPN’s parent organization, just released guidelines for establishing new standards for Board Certification which can be found here: https://www.abms.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Standards-April-2021-public-comment.pdf The ABPN is encouraging physicians to submit comments regarding these new standards to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ABMSStandards
The APA is also requesting that you send a copy of your comments to them at: MOCfeedback@psych.org
5/20/20 - April 2020 APA Assembly Report
April 2020 APA Assembly Report
Robert Feder, M.D.
New Hampshire Assembly Rep
I. Meeting
Due to the coronavirus situation, the Assembly held a 90 minute virtual meeting rather than its usual 2 day in-person meeting at the APA Annual Meeting. As a result, the meeting was quite abbreviated and most action items were postponed to the Assembly’s November meeting, which will also be virtual
II. Position Statements
A total of 17 new position Statements on a variety of topics were passed by the Assembly. These now go to the Board for final approval, after which they can be located on the APA website (psychiatry.org)
III. Assembly Actions
The Assembly passed the following action papers. These actions will still need to be approved by the APA Board before they become official APA policy.
Changes in the APA bylaws that will result in an improved nomination and election process for APA officers
That the APA support all methods of prescribing (including written, faxed, and phone-ordered), not just e-prescribing, in State and Federal legislation.
That the APA support Medicaid allocations for territories, including Puerto Rico, that are equivalent to those given to State
That the APA expediently approve a Position Statement on Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth
That the APA oppose the recent Medicare Executive Order establishing equal payment for services regardless of training or degree
That the APA approve additional diagnostic codes in DSM5-TR for suicidal behavior and non-suicidal self- injury.