AMA names new top executive

AP Medical WriterCHICAGO (AP) -- The American Medical Association on Monday named as its new top executive Dr. Michael D. Maves, president of a trade group for the over-the-counter drug and dietary supplement industries.

Maves replaces Dr. E. Ratcliffe Anderson, fired in June in a dispute about his authority over the nation's largest group of physicians.

The AMA touted Maves' previous involvement in other medical groups, including a five-year stint as executive vice president of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

But his appointment drew immediate fire from AMA critics, who said his efforts on behalf of the unregulated dietary supplement industry will undermine the AMA's reputation.

It's "a very odd choice to take someone who has represented industry," said Dr. Jerome Kassirer, professor at Tufts and Yale University and a former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine. "The last thing they need is to go even further into commercial ventures."

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the consumer-oriented Public Citizen Health Research Group, said the appointment is "bringing in someone who's championed snake oil -- that's what these products basically are."

"It's now inviting into their bed an even wider circle of pharmaceutical influence," Wolfe said.

Maves, 53, is an ear, nose and throat physician who leads the Washington, D.C.-based Consumer Healthcare Products Association, a 120-year-old national trade association representing U.S. makers of nonprescription drugs and dietary supplements.

As the AMA's new executive vice president and chief executive officer, he will be in charge of the AMA's day-to-day business operations starting January 15. His appointment was approved by the AMA's 20-member board of trustees. Board votes are not made public and there was no indication if the decision to hire Maves was unanimous.

"Dr. Maves is a proven leader who has distinguished himself across many fronts -- academia, organized medicine and association management," said Dr. Timothy Flaherty, chairman of the AMA's Board of Trustees.

To critics concerned with his industry ties, Maves said "assurance can absolutely be given" that he will not focus on industry interests in his new job.

He said rebuilding membership and the AMA's reputation as "the voice of American medicine" will be among his top priorities.

Maves calls himself "a physician first" and said he still sees patients part-time in Washington.

"I really regard this as a calling and an opportunity to serve my profession, serve the American public," he said.

The job has been vacant since Anderson was fired in June. His three-year stint ended in a dispute over a multimillion-dollar land deal involving AMA property in downtown Chicago.

Anderson had alleged trustees took away his power to fire the AMA's lawyer after he complained the lawyer had negotiated an undervalued sale price for the property. Anderson claimed the $23.5 million sale, finalized last year, was millions of dollars below fair market value.

Anderson headed the AMA as it tried to recover from a botched deal with Sunbeam Corp., which drew heavy criticism and was blamed for a large loss of members. The deal would have had the AMA endorse the manufacturer's products in exchange for including AMA educational materials with them.

Commenting further on Maves' appointment, Kassirer said: "What they need is strict attention to real professional values, namely a long overdue focus on what is good for patients, not what is in the best interests of their vanishing membership."

The AMA represents about one-third of the nation's 800,000-plus doctors, residents and medical students, down about 10 percent from a decade ago.

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AMA: http://www.ama-assn.org