In a continuing effort to advance The Endocrine Society's advocacy goals, the Society's delegates attended the American Medical Association's (AMA) Annual House of Delegates (HOD) meeting in Chicago in June.  Drs. Vineeth Mohan, Susan Sherman, Daniel Spratt, and Robert Vigersky, President of The Endocrine Society, represented the Society's interests in discussions that formed the basis for new AMA policy.

The HOD accepted a report by the AMA’s Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, “The Use of Hormones for ‘Anti-Aging:’ A Review of Efficacy and Safety,” which was commissioned in June 2008. The report reviewed the scientific evidence on the benefits and risks of human growth hormone (hGH), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone, and estrogens with or without progestins as supplements to prevent, slow, or reverse age-related changes in otherwise healthy adults.  As part of its review, the CSAPH examined clinical guidelines and position statements by government agencies and medical specialty societies such as The Endocrine Society.  The report states that “no credible scientific evidence exists on the value of so-called ‘bioidentical hormones,’ and there are concerns about their purity, potency and quality because they are not approved by the FDA.”  This report further bolsters current AMA policy, which resulted from a Society-sponsored resolution based on the Society’s 2006 position statement on bioidentical hormones.  

As part of its work in the HOD, the Society is a member of the Endocrine Section Council, a group representing all endocrine-related specialties in the House of Delegates.  The section council, which comprises representatives from the Society, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, discussed resolutions of importance to endocrinologists on topics such as the Patient-Centered Medical Home, substitution of bio-similar products, funding of continuing medical education, vitamin D, ultrasound contrast agents, and obesity as a disability, as well as other topics.  The section council meetings, which occur at each HOD meeting, provide an exciting opportunity for the endocrine-related organizations to share ideas and to develop consistent policies that allow the section council to speak with one voice during policy debates at the HOD meeting.  

The next meeting of the House of Delegates will take place in November 2009, and the Society's delegates will be tracking issues of importance to the Society's members in the coming months to identify potential resolutions.