www.escambiacms.org JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 VOLUME 44, NO. 1
2014 Membership Dues ECMS mailed early county invoices for membership dues in October of 2013. Please be sure to pay your membership dues for 2014 prior to March to be included in the 2014 ECMS Pictorial Directory. If you recently moved or changed any of your business information (fax, phone number, address, etc.) please submit all changes to the directory by March.
Founded in 1873
BULLETIN Editors: Hillary Hultstrand, M.D. Erica Huffman, Executive Director
Starting the New Year Right Escambia County Medical Society started 2014 with a bang. We enjoyed a festive inaugural ball on Saturday, January 25, 2014 with a nautical theme featuring Dr. Alan Harmon as our speaker. Dr. Harmon is the current president of the Florida Medical Association. He is a practicing gastroenterologist out of Jacksonville, Florida. He delivered an encouraging message about what the FMA has accomplished and was reminiscing about his time spent working alongside some of the longstanding members of the ECMS. The invocation was delivered by Monsignor Luke Hunt from St. Ann Church in Gulf Breeze. Dr. Lanza was on hand to give the We CARE award. The 2013 Bell-Shippey We CARE Doctor of the year award went to Dr. Gerald Lowrey. His total donated services came to $97,028. Music added to the atmosphere and there was plenty of dancing…and much of it was my family! I received many comments from those of you who noticed that my son and daughter seem to get along fabulously for a brother and sister at ages 12 and 15. It also gave me the opportunity to introduce myself as your new president. First and foremost, I am humbled to be in this position. I wish for this medical society to thrive and I hope to recruit new leadership as we are always looking for individuals who can shape the future of organized medicine. I intend to listen. I hope you feel comfortable bringing your concerns to the medical society and particularly to me. Organized medicine exists to promote the practice of medicine and to elevate our ability to effectively care for our patients. We need unity in order to overcome the obstacles that doctors face when trying to deliver quality healthcare. How many of you are like me and are relatively new to the Electronic Health Record? Have you thrown your laptop or just quietly cursed it? I can see the future benefit and many of you who have been on EHR for years have been encouraging, but I will tell you that this time of transition to EHR has been trying and worrisome. I have seen staff and doctors who have needed to input data but forgot to take the extra step of communicating by mouth. This has led to some close calls and miscommunication. The lesson I have learned is that I am a translator. I still do my job, but now I have to translate what I have just done to the
computer to justify my charge. I’m not terribly efficient yet, but I’m working on it. I look forward to 2014 because there are many issues on the legislative front. This past year, Florida passed Dr. Laenger historic medical liability reform requiring fairness in the use of medical experts. Upcoming challenges in medicine nationally include the ACA and changing payment trends, government mandates including ICD-10, the second stage of meaningful use, updated rules for HIPAA, and the Physician Quality Reporting System. The high cost of the EHR includes the fact that most physicians are about 10% less productive and the increased burden of administrative duties has caused higher staff turnover in many practices. This year will also be known for increased implementation of the Patient Centered Medical Home. The vision is that the primary care physicians will lead the delivery of medicine and coordinate care through the maze of specialists. It may sound like the primary care physician is the “gate keeper” just like in the past, but I guarantee it is much more involved than that. Just remember that sometimes when we think of political issues, we think that there is a “them.” It can feel like there is a mass of people who actually control our senators and representatives. Someone else will need to give a donation to the Political Action Committee—I mean, C’mon…I don’t want to be one of those involved in the “dirtiness” of politics, right? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you are already involved. By not voting, you are endorsing the candidate who has views opposite to your own. By not giving to the candidate of your choice or to a Political Action Committee, you are endorsing the candidate that favors the trial lawyers-because they-the trial lawyers- are all giving. Believe me. The action you take may be an act of omission rather than commission, but make no mistake, you ARE involved. Please consider becoming more involved. If you are not voting, inform yourself on doctor-friendly continued on page 3...