The AAMC is working with the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness
and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) to help identify specialty physicians willing to volunteer
medical assistance to the people of Haiti, as they recover from
the devastating earthquake of Jan. 12. The department is currently
seeking trauma surgeons, orthopedists, and anesthesiologists, or
others with experience and capability treating crush injuries. For
more information, the HHS recommends individuals and organizations
contact www.cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/
Many of AAMC-member institutions have sent medical teams, donated
supplies, organized fundraising drives, or are in the process of
implementing plans to come to the aid of the people of Haiti. Haiti
Relief is a new page on the AAMC Web site offering resources
for responders, more information about how medical schools and teaching
hospitals are assisting the relief efforts, and links to disaster
relief organizations accepting donations. If you are an AAMC member
and would like to submit information on your institution's relief
efforts, email haiti@aamc.org.
Grassley sends survey to hospitals
on HIT software
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter
and survey to 31 hospitals requesting information about their experiences
implementing health information technology (HIT) funded by the HIT
program authorized in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The request was prompted by health care providers who had expressed
concerns to Grassley about their experiences using the software
that included interoperability problems, data errors, and difficulty
in communicating these issues to vendors and administrators. Often
"gag orders" or non-disclosure clauses in HIT contracts prevent
health care providers and hospitals from sharing information on
product-related issues outside their facilities.
The AspiringDocs.org campaign launches new
comment board
On Tuesday, the AspiringDocs.org
campaign will launch a comment
board on its Web site for the Inspiring Stories series, which
features narratives from medical students and professionals. Registrants
will be able to make comments on their favorite stories, share what
inspires them, and network with other aspiring doctors. In addition,
the campaign recently launched a new Facebook
page, where followers can receive additional updates important to
minorities in medicine.
Follow the AAMC on Twitter
The AAMC has launched a new Twitter feed called AAMCtoday
and began making regular updates to the association's Facebook fan
page. These new communication channels provide AAMC news, and the
latest information on association events, and publications.
On the move
Gerald S. Levey, M.D., will step down as vice chancellor of UCLA
Medical Sciences and dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine
at the end of January 2010. Levey had served in the position since
1994.
Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., will return as full-time CEO of
the Medical Center at the University of Rochester on March 1. Mark
B. Taubman, M.D., who had been acting CEO since Berk suffered a
serious spinal cord injury, will begin serving as the tenth dean
of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
