AAOS Applauds Passage of the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act

Washington, D.C. (January 9, 2017) — The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) applauds the passage of a bill by the House of Representatives that would provide licensure clarity for sports medicine professionals. Introduced in the House by Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Cedric Richmond (D-LA), the Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act (H.R. 302) safeguards injured athletes’ timely access to health care professionals who best know their medical history and ensures these patients can return to their active lifestyle as soon as possible. From high school to college to professional levels, it is important that the men and women who are trained to protect and care for athletes and who best know the players’ medical histories are able to engage in the treatment of injured athletes.

 

“By preserving sports medicine professionals’ access to their medical liability insurance coverage when they travel with athletic teams, we ensure these providers do not have to choose between either treating injured athletes at great professional risk, or reducing athletes’ access to timely health care services,” stated Gerald R. Williams, Jr., MD, President of AAOS. “The AAOS is committed to preserving continuity of care for all patients and providing adequate protection for sports medicine professionals. We commend the House for approving this bill and we urge the Senate to do the same.”

 

"The Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act is a critically important bill to protect athletes of all levels who travel across state lines and the medical professionals who care for them,” said American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) President, Annunziato (Ned) Amendola, MD. “With our continued collaboration with a multitude of other healthcare and sports medicine organizations, we look forward to moving this bill on to the Senate in the next few months and closing a longstanding medical liability loophole for athletic care.”

 

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