Channel your passion and join a committee, work group or task force.
As a committee member you influence the MMA’s direction, acquire new leadership skills, and network with physicians who care about the same issues you do. It is easy and only takes about eight hours a year (four evening meetings annually). Currently, all meetings are taking place virtually.
Committee members serve on a calendar-year basis. Terms are for three years, with a maximum of two terms.
To learn more about the appointment process, please email us.
POLICY COUNCIL
Responsibility: To be an advisory body to the MMA Board of Trustees on the most critical issues to medical practice and population health in Minnesota.To be an advisory body to the MMA Board of Trustees on the most critical issues to medical practice and population health in Minnesota.
How to Apply: Send an email indicating your interest to Adrian Uphoff, Health Policy Analyst.
Chairperson: Robert Koshnick, MD
Staff Liaison: Adrian Uphoff, MPH, MPP
POLICY COMMITTEES
Mission: To understand and influence issues that impact access to, and delivery of, high-quality care, including consideration of how healthcare financing, payment, and delivery models contribute to inequities in treatment and outcomes.
(formerly: Medical Practice & Quality)
Charge:
- Investigate factors influencing or limiting patient access to care, including geographic, economic, and cultural.
- Identify and promote public and private sector financing, payment, and coverage policies that support safe, high-quality, equitable care and outcomes.
- Examine and address the role of racist practices, policies, and structures in undermining access to and delivery of high-quality care.
- Promote valid and reliable quality measurement, public reporting, and transparency that is actionable, relevant, and improves health.
- Understand and monitor relevant legislative and regulatory issues.
- Communicate relevant issues to the Board of Trustees and MMA membership.
Chairperson: Kevin Donnelly, MD
Staff Liaison: Adrian Uphoff, MPH, MPP
Mission: To safeguard the highest ethical and moral standards in the delivery of healthcare in Minnesota and to champion professionalism in medicine.
Charge:
- Address issues that deal with the legal, ethical and moral aspects of medical practice.
- Monitor the issues and activities of the state body responsible for the competency and discipline of Minnesota physicians (Board of Medical Practice).
- Develop and support activities that enhance the role of professionalism in the practice of medicine.
- Monitor and address legislative, regulatory, and judicial activities related to the ethical, moral, and legal delivery of health care.
- Educate Minnesota physicians about ethical, moral, and legal issues.
- Communicate relevant issues to the Board of Trustees and MMA membership.
Chairperson: Dennis O’Hare, MD
Staff Liaison: Stephanie Lindgren, JD
Mission: To optimize the health and wellness of Minnesotans and to address health equity issues and the social determinants of health.
Charge:
- Address issues related to public and population health (e.g., obesity, diet and exercise, maternal and child care, substance abuse, crime, lifestyle, preventive medicine, environmental and occupational health, etc.). Advocate the importance of a healthy population.
- Work to reduce disparities in health care and to increase equity in health care outcomes.
- Examine opportunities to strengthen relationships between medicine and public health.
- Monitor and address legislative and regulatory issues affecting public health, wellness, and safety.
- Communicate relevant issues to the Board of Trustees and MMA membership.
Chairperson: Shari Bornstein, MD, MPH
Staff Liaison: Juliana Milhofer, JD
OPERATIONAL COMMITTEES
Mission: To champion, oversee and deliver high-quality accredited education for Minnesota physicians.
Charge:
- Ensure MMA accredited education is designed to be relevant, practice-based, and effective for Minnesota physicians.
- Advocate the importance of accredited education in high quality health care delivery.
- Serve as the MMA's agent to accredit intrastate CME providers.
- Oversee CME activities provided by the MMA and those jointly provided with non-accredited organizations.
- Develop and implement policies and procedures that comply with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).
- Monitor legislative and regulatory issues that may affect accredited education opportunities, requirements, rules, and regulations.
- Communicate issues pertinent to continuing medical education and maintenance of certification to the Board of Trustees and MMA membership.
Chairperson: Robert C. Moravec, MD
Staff Liaison: Rachael Bommarito, PhD
Minnesota Medicine is the journal of the MMA, continuously published since 1918. It is intended to serve as a credible forum for presenting information and ideas affecting Minnesota physicians and their practices. The content of articles and the opinions expressed in Minnesota Medicine do not represent the official policy of the MMA unless this is specified.
Staff Liaison: Greg Breining, Editor
About: Provides overall management and direction of POLST Minnesota, including POLST form maintenance, implementation, education, and outreach. The committee generally meets on a quarterly basis. The POLST Minnesota Coalition is open to interested stakeholders.
GOVERNANCE COMMITTEES
The MMA Board of Trustees manages the ongoing affairs of the MMA. With the exception of one voting member appointed by the MMA Policy Council, all officers and trustees are elected by MMA membership.
Mission: To safeguard the fiscal health and stability of the MMA.
Charge:
- Monitor the financial status of the MMA.
- Review the association's financial activities and make recommendations on membership dues levels.
- Develop a budget for recommendation to the Board of Trustees.
- Review proposed non-budgeted projects requiring financial expenditures.
- Monitor the performance of the Permanent Investment Fund.
- Explore opportunities for economic growth and development to maximize fiscal health and stability.
- Communicate issues pertinent to budget and financial stability to the Board of Trustees and MMA membership.
Chairperson: Kimberly Tjaden, MD, Secretary-Treasurer
Staff Liaison: Jon Stensland
Mission: To improve MMA governance effectiveness, to identify board education and development opportunities, and to conduct leadership and board assessments.
Charge:
- Identify, monitor, and recommend actions to the board to improve board effectiveness, learning, and development.
- Recommend approaches to improve board structures and functions.
- Assess performance of MMA trustees, board-elected officers, and AMA delegation members. Communicate results of such assessments to the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee.
- Identify and communicate annually with the Nominating and Leadership Development Committee a statement of competencies and personal attributes needed on the MMA board and/or delegation to the AMA.
- Review on a biennial basis MMA committee structures.
- Review and draft bylaws changes, as needed, for board and membership approval.
Chairperson: Currently vacant
Staff Liaison: Janet Silversmith, CEO
Charge:
- Identify, encourage, and nurture physician leaders for the MMA.
- Create opportunities for growth and development of immediate and future physician leaders.
- Consider input from the MMA Governance Committee on the results of performance assessments of MMA trustees, board-elected officers, and AMA delegation members who may be eligible for re-election.
- Consider input from the MMA Governance Committee on competencies and personal attributes needed on the MMA board and/or delegation to the AMA.
- Report to the membership a slate of candidates for President-Elect, trustees and AMA delegates and alternates.
- Oversee the annual direct election process.
Chairperson: Randy Rice, MD
Staff Liaison: Janet Silversmith, CEO
WORK GROUPS AND TASK FORCES
These are time-limited groups formed to address specific issues.
Charge: To advise the MMA on strategies and approaches to help physicians and physicians in training foster wellbeing, avoid burnout, and an improved quality of life.
Chairperson: Natalia Dorf-Biderman, MD
Staff Liaison: Kristen Gloege
Charge: The Task Force is charged with developing solutions for improving boarding of mental health patients in emergency departments. The purpose of this effort will be to look at the mental health system’s capacity for crisis and urgent care, as well as prevention efforts. While this work will focus on reducing the boarding of mental health patients in the ED, it will also look at upstream and downstream causes of boarding. Solutions identified through this work will serve as the basis for future policy and/or advocacy initiatives.
Co-Chairs: Dionne Hart, MD, FAPA and Andrew Zinkel, MD
Staff Liaison: Adrian Uphoff, MPH, MPP