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Northeast Florida Medicine
Vol. 67, No. 1 2016
7
From the President’s Desk
Medicine is truly one of society’s noble professions. Those
who choose to go through four years of medical school, at least
three years of residency and, sometimes, further fellowship
training do so because of a passion for the field and the patients
who benefit. Preventing
disease in one indi-
vidual has a multitude
of effects downstream
that can positively
influence the healthof an
entire community.
Unfortunately, there
are many forces that
lead to road blocks in a
physician’s path to caring
for his/her patients. At
times, insurance compa-
nies decide that a certain
diagnostic procedure or
treatment regimen is not “medically necessary.” This occurs
because there is a presumably cheaper way of managing the
condition. Despite years of these fail-first strategies, health
care insurance premiums continue to rise which suggests that
this approach is flawed.
Though the internet can make it easier to obtain up to date
information on a variety of topics, it also is a source of incred-
ibly inaccurate medical information. The perfect example of
this is the fear many parents have of vaccinating their children.
Despite a multitude of scientific data in favor of vaccine safety,
misinformation byHollywood celebrities and its spread through
social media tends to shape public perception.
These are just two examples of ways in which physicians’
jobs have become more difficult over the years. Though
there are not easy ways to overcome these outside forces,
organized medicine provides an avenue. In fact the DCMS’
mission is “helping physicians care for the health of our
community.” How does the Medical Society try to make the
doctor’s job easier? Organized medicine works for physicians
in four ways: 1) Legislative efforts 2) Advocacy 3) Education
and 4) Leadership.
Legislative Efforts:
Through the work of the DCMS Legislative Committee, the
Society is able to keep track of bills that are being pushed at the
state and national level that impact health care. The committee
members also follow the voting record of local legislators to
understandwho typically votes for and against our priority bills.
This same committee leads the Northeast Florida Delegation
to the FMA Annual Meeting each summer. In preparation for
that meeting, theDelegationwrites and reviews resolutions that
are introduced to the FMA and, if passed, eventually sponsored
as a bill to the state House and Senate. The DCMS Legislative
Committee is to be commended for its tireless efforts.
Advocacy:
Healthcare advocacy is defined as a group of activities that
promote health and access to health care in communities and
the public at-large. It brings attention to certain illnesses/diseases
in medicine to increase awareness, funding and, hopefully, the
health of the community.There are many organizations in town
that raise awareness of specific conditions such as breast cancer
or multiple sclerosis, but only theDCMS Foundation promotes
wellness across all genders, races, specialties anddisease processes.
In fact, later this year the Foundation’s President, Todd Sack,
MD will announce ways in which this organization plans to
make a huge impact in our community’s wellness through an
aggressive healthcare initiative. This will allow the DCMS to
continue to be a leader in the community while improving the
health of its citizens.
Education:
A successful organized medicine group provides continuing
medical education to its members. This can be done with
lectures, articles or even webinars. The DCMS produces this
outstanding journal
(Northeast Florida Medicine)
which is the
only peer reviewed medical publication by a county medical
society in the entire state. Each issue has CME and the state
mandated CME in HIV, medical errors and domestic violence
is frequently updated and available online as well. Starting this
year, the DCMS will have monthly membership meetings that
will include CME talks. This is not only a way for members
to interact with one another, but also to receive pertinent
education in a relaxed social environment.
Leadership:
Medical societies are filledwith leaders. As respectedmembers
of the community and the key cog of the healthcare system,
physicians have an opportunity to be involved inmany aspects of
a municipality. Many members of the DCMS want to be more
involved in protecting the rights of patients but do not really
knowhow.Through the guidance of our DCMS Past-President,
Raed Assar, we will now have a DCMS Leadership Academy
that will have a curriculum to help build the physician leaders
of tomorrow.This impressive course will outline public speaking
strategies and appropriate media interactions to just name a few
of the many skills that will be discussed during each session.
Yes, there are indeedmany forces at play thatmake a physician’s
job tougher than it has been in the past. Fortunately the Duval
County Medical Society has established the foundation of an
efficient organization that is here to protect physicians fromthese
road blocks so doctors can do what they are uniquely trained
to do, which is to take care of the health of the community.
v
Sunil Joshi, MD
2016 DCMS President
DCMS: Organized Medicine at its Best