A Conversation with New AMDA President Dr. Brechtelsbauer

(submitted by Joanne Kaldy) - May 2009

David Brechtelsbauer, MD, CMD, became AMDA President during the association’s Annual Symposium in Charlotte, NC, in March. We sat down with him recently, and asked him about his plans, hopes, and expectations for his term. Here are some highlights of that conversation:

Q: What do you hope to accomplish working with state chapters?

A: There are many unsung heroes among state chapters, and I intend to extend both encouragement and support to them. I met with several of these groups during the Annual Symposium, and I’ve gained insight into their specific issues. I’ll work with AMDA staff to provide them with the tools and resources they need to accomplish their goals and objectives. I will continue an open dialogue with chapter leaders to keep my finger on the pulse of their challenges, concerns, and issues.

Q: What is the role of the interdisciplinary team (IDT) in AMDA?

A: As you know, we recently changed our tagline to “Dedicated to Long Term Care Medicine” to emphasize our commitment to the IDT and our belief that interdisciplinary care is essential to quality care.A better team means better patient care. Physician leaders need to embrace the IDT approach. We want to enhance the interdisciplinary team aspect of care and help make sure that there are more educated, trained, and committed physician assistants, nursing professionals, and others to work in this setting. Recently, AMDA established an IDT Advisory Panel made up of nurses, therapists, pharmacists, caregivers, and others. We met with this group during the Annual Symposium, and this represented a great first step. We will be counting on this group to advise us on various issues and help us meet educational and other needs, including improved communication, of IDT team members.

Q: What issues seem to be most on the minds of members? How will you address these?

A: Everyone is concerned about workforce issues. That was stimulated by IOM report, “Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce.” The report concluded that the health care workforce—including front-line caregivers—receive very little geriatric training and are not prepared to deliver the best possible care. It also recommended strengthening training standards for these workers. AMDA will continue to place an emphasis on educational materials that physicians can share with staff and caregivers. We also have strengthened our consumer outreach with “Caring for Consumers” columns inCaring for the Agesand on our Web site.

As for physicians, we’ve found that our colleagues in long term care generally enjoy their jobs but are wondering what will happen in the future. AMDA is working to make life easier for our members and remove some of their fears and stresses. For example, we recently selected Lockton Affinity to launch a new, service-driven insurance program to offer professional long term care physician liability insurance exclusively for AMDA members.

The IOM report found that additional geriatric training is necessary for physicians, and it urged financial incentives be provided to increase the number of geriatric specialists. AMDA has been on top of encouraging more physicians to choose geriatrics and long term care. Specifically, our Foundation’s very popular Futures Program attracts many residents and fellows who want to learn about practice in this care setting. Many of them have gone on to careers in long term care, positions as medical directors, and active membership in AMDA.

Q: How will you work with the Obama administration regarding health care/Medicare/long-term care?

We will work with the new Administration to bring the long-term care piece of health care to the table and help make sure it gets the attention it deserves. As state budgets and regulations will affect care in specific regions, we will work with state chapters to make sure they have the advocacy knowledge and support they need to communicate with and influence legislators and policy makers in their states.