AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, tonight presented the Presidents and CEOs of the State and Territory AMA organisations with awards for outstanding work in lobbying and communication.

The categories for the awards were Best State Publication, Most Innovative Use of Website or New Media, Best State Health Campaign, and Best State Lobby Campaign. The winners include:

Best State Publication
AMA (ACT) - Canberra Doctor

The judges said that Canberra Doctor "exudes a sense of energy and enthusiasm in covering medical news in the national capital". They said that the mix of stories on politics, medical and practice issues made this monthly publication a consistently worthwhile read.

Most Innovative Use of Website or New Media
AMA (Queensland) - Find A Doctor website and iPhone application

The judges said that AMA Queensland "has truly embraced new media" and "looked beyond the scope of their membership" to develop the Find A Doctor website and iPhone application, which assist the general public to find their local medical practice or doctor.

Best State Health Campaign
AMA (WA) - Anti-smoking campaign

The judges said that the AMA (WA) anti-smoking campaign reflected "the influence that the AMA is able to bring on public health policy and action at the State level". The judges were impressed with the way that AMA (WA) used its networks and position of leadership to influence all MPs to seek better tobacco laws.

Best State Lobby Campaign

AMA (WA) - Against the Odds campaign

The judges said that this campaign was particularly impressive because it set a specific goal for amending WA legislation - a difficult challenge in the WA political environment. They said that AMA (WA) "demonstrated a very sound understanding of how to lobby for a set outcome and combined political nous with skilled media campaigning to achieve their goal".

Source:
Australian Medical Association