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Advocacy » Alliance for Better Medicine |  |
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Mission/Participation Pledge June 15, 2005 Dear Colleagues, We would like to invite you and your organization to join our new California based coalition called the Alliance for Better Medicine - a coalition of healthcare providers, service users, health advocacy organizations and ethnic organizations whose mission is to: "educate policymakers and the public to achieve the best and most cost effective outcomes in healthcare utilizing the best available science and information developed in consultation with researchers, practitioners and recipients of care, that considers the differences in responses to specific medications or procedures - based upon factors such as age, sex, race, ethnicity and co-occurring disorders." Our most urgent priority is to ensure that the evolving concept of "Evidence Based Medicine" is defined and implemented in a way that protects the most appropriate treatment for the individual patient or consumer. The type of evidence based medicine which truly benefits patients is defined by David Sackett as "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient." However, in efforts to manage costs, the term evidence based medicine has more recently been used to justify limited access to medications - usually older, cheaper and less effective medications and restrictive policies which do not consider the specific needs of the individual patient or the clinical experience of the physician. This movement is led by the State of Oregon (with the Oregon Health Sciences University) and has been gaining support from other consumer groups, government regulators and labor unions. The Alliance for Better Medicine is extremely critical right now, because recent attempts have been made by lawmakers, government agencies and consumer groups to expand the use of the limited and restrictive type of Evidence Based Medicine. It is imperative that we stop this movement and get evidence based medicine defined and used in its intended manner - which not only improves care, but also reduces costs - something that Oregon overlooks. We ask you to join our coalition by signing the enclosed Participation pledge and also to pass this on to others whom you believe should be part of this important coalition. If you have questions or would like more information about the Alliance for Better Medicine, please contact Rusty Selix or Karen Vicari at the contact information which follows. Sincerely, Rusty Selix ABM Steering Committee Members: Rusty Selix, Executive Director - Mental Health Association in California, Coalition Chair Karen Vicari, JD - ABM Executive Director, Patient Advocate Denise Adams-Simms - Executive Director California Black Health Network Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, MD, PhD - Professor of Internal Medicine and Director, Kwabena Adubofour, MD, FACP - Medical Director, East Main Clinic and Stockton Diabetes Intervention Center, Stockton; Associate Clinical Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine, UC Davis Medical Center Jennifer Bright, MA Richard Dolinar, MD - Endocrinologist Stewart Ferry - Government Relations Director, Multiple Sclerosis CA Action Network James Grisolia , MD Loretta Jones, M.A. Ruben J. King-Shaw Jr. Bryan Luce, PhD, MBA Randall Maxey, MD, PhD Rodrigo Munoz, MD Michael Nichol, PhD - Department Chair USC Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy Dotun Ogunyemi, MD Karen Sanders, MS - Associate Director for Publicly Funded Services Judy Wolen - Legislative Representative - NAMI California (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) ABM Member Organizations
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