• AMSSM Advocacy Landing Page: https://www.amssm.org/AdvocacyLanding.php
• Practice tools: https://www.amssm.org/PracticeTools.html
• Legislative Handbook: https://www.amssm.org/Content/pdf-files/ADVOCACY/LegislativeHandbk.pdf
• State map: https://www.amssm.org/legislation_by_state.php
• AMA House of Delegates: https://www.ama-assn.org/house-delegates
• American Public Health Association: https://www.amssm.org/AdvocacyLanding.php

• Effect on patient care
• Effect on physician practice
• Effect on physician and institutional billing and payment
• Play a greater role in influencing delivery of healthcare
• Research has shown that sport can be an effective vehicle for progressive social change
  • Sports as a Vehicle for Social Change: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0193723509360218

Preserving physician scope of practice: While serving as part of the healthcare team for athletes and patients, physicians have unique education and experience that cannot be replaced by other team members.

• AMSSM brief: https://www.amssm.org/Content/pdf%20files/ADVOCACY/SCOPE_OF_PRACTICE.pdf
• American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) statement on physician scope
  of practice
• American Medical Association (AMA) information on combating “Scope Creep”: https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/ama-advocacy-efforts

Good Samaritan laws: Providing legal protection for physicians who volunteer to provide medical coverage to sports teams.

• Primer on Good Samaritan Laws
  • West, Brian, and Matthew Varacallo. “Good Samaritan Laws.” (2019).
• AMSSM brief on Sports Medicine specific consideration

Team coverage across state lines: Physicians are often called to cover their athletic teams as they compete across state lines. Current legislation in nearly all states (as of this writing, only excluding Oklahoma, Nebraska, Hawaii, and Kansas) allows physicians to practice for sports coverage with exemption for the requirement for a state license.

• AMSSM brief
• Medication management across state lines
  • Chang, Cindy J., et al. “Inter-association consensus statement: the management of medications by the sports medicine team.” Journal of Athletic Training 53.11 (2018): 1103-1112.

Emergency Action Plans: Encouraging the creation of Emergency Action Plans that are specific to the athletic activity and venue, and practiced appropriately.

• AMSSM brief

Promoting exercise as medicine: Promote physical activity assessment as a standard in clinical care and include exercise prescriptions in treatment plans.

• ACSM Exercise is Medicine: https://www.exerciseismedicine.org/eim-in-action/health-care/health-care-providers/
• Support the “Promoting Physical Activity for Americans Act” with congress: https://www.acsm.org/about/advocacy

Ensuring health and equity with care and sports participation (for example, among racial/ethnice groups and LGBTQ groups)

• Health in All Policies: collaborative approach to improve population health and advance health equity: https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/patient_care/everyone_project/health-equity-brief.pdf
• EveryONE Project Toolkit: Strategies for use in your practice and community to improve your patients’ health: https://www.aafp.org/family-physician/patient-care/the-everyone-project/toolkit.html
• IOC Gender Equality Initiatives information: https://olympics.com/ioc/gender-equality

Physician burnout

• AMA information on reducing burnout: https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/ama-advocacy-efforts

Coding and reimbursement of services and procedures

• Needs to be updated

 Concussion education management: Supporting common-sense return to play restrictions for athletes, opposing blanket coverage for any healthcare provider (ie, chiropractor or naturopath) to clear a player for return to play, and restricting testing mandates to scientifically proven methods. 

• AMSSM brief

Covid-19 pandemic and Long COVID/Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) syndrome 

• AMSSM statement on vaccinations: https://www.amssm.org/COVID19.php
• American Academy of Pediatrics Return to Play guide: https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-interim-guidance-return-to-sports/
• Post-covid19 cardiac considerations for athletes (from American College of Cardiology): https://www.amssm.org/Content/pdf-files/COVID19/NCAA_COVID-19_1-13-2022.pdf

Environmental Health and Climate Change: Acknowledging the role that climate change plays on the health of patients and athletes, advocating for continued research and data-driven policy changes. 

• AAFP brief: https://www.aafp.org/dam/AAFP/documents/advocacy/prevention/environmental/BKG-EnvironmentalHealthClimateChange.pdf
• Become a Sustainability Champion via International Olympic Committee (IOC) guide: https://olympics.com/ioc/news/how-to-be-a-sustainable-champion-ideas-and-inspiration-for-protecting-onlyoneearth 

Performance Enhancing substances: The use of performance enhancing substances is opposed to the rules and ethics of sports and can risk the health of the athlete. Their use is opposed by most major medical and sporting organizations. 

• World Anti-Doping Association World Anti-Doping Code: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/world-anti-doping-code
• American College of Sports Medicine brief: https://www.acsm.org/about/advocacy

Opioid use: The use of opioid medications has recent epidemic proportions in the United States, initially perpetuated by the over-prescription of opioids for pain management. Advocating for physician and patient education on the appropriate use of opioid, eliminating opioid “pill mills”, and allowing pharmacists to prescribe naloxone are some ways to advocate for safe opiate use. 

• AMSSM brief
• AMA Toolkit to address opiate abuse: https://end-overdose-epidemic.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/AMA-Manatt-Health-Toolkit-Resources-January-2022_f_FOR-WEB-FINAL.pdf

Sudden cardiac arrest: Supporting legislation that mandates training for coaches and athletes, encouraging pre-participation physicals, mandating the reporting of sudden and cardiac events. 

• AMSSM brief 

• Register to vote!: https://www.usa.gov/voter-registration
• Find your Senator: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
• Find your Legislator: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
• Volunteer with your local state society
• Volunteer with your specialty society
• Volunteer as a committee member with AMSSM Practice and Policy committee
• Volunteer with AMA (American Medical Association).
  • For example, as a House of Delegate (HOD) representative
• Ally with patient interest groups

• Last Updated: 12/1/22
• Contributors (Spring 2023)
  • Sarah Merrill, MD
  • Richard Chang, MD
• Contributors (Fall 2022)
  • Brian Williams
  • Cynthia LaBella, MD