FEBRUARY EDITION, VOLUME 2015, NO. 2
A Message from the CMS President By Joshua Somerset, M.D.
Welcome to 2015! I have the pleasure of serving as your CMS president this year. I have been on the Capital Medical Society Board of Governors for the last 4 years, which pales in comparison to the years of service from physicians like Drs. Skilling, Mahoney and Hellgren (to name a few). What an eminent organization with a simple focus, “To promote the practice of medicine for the ultimate benefit of the patient.” And in case you haven’t noticed, the practice of medicine could use a little promoting. Our healthcare system can be challenging to navigate. When the tables get turned and one finds their spouse, children or parents becoming the patient, a more complete and unflattering picture of healthcare emerges. I don’t want to sound pessimistic because I think our healthcare system has some incredible assets and a bright future. I just think that the current
healthcare costs are unsustainable and the system is not inclusive. These 2 factors, cost and exclusions, are going to spawn a high cost system with mediocre outcomes. How many articles have you seen blasting the US Healthcare System as having the
this area has been astounding. Only more astonishing has been the cost of this progress. Current hepatitis C medication can cost $1000 per pill daily for an expected 90 day treatment course. With over 3 million people in the United States chronically infected with hepatitis
highest costs in the world with average outcomes? As a physician I feel defensive about this, but also feel as if I have little control over it.
C, this new therapy will breach some budgets. This is just another example of how healthcare system costs can explode and individual physicians may have little control of costs.
The cost of overconsumption of food/ beverage, lack of exercise and poor lifestyle choices including smoking can make an otherwise healthy population present with preventable diseases. These preventable diseases substantially impact the cost of healthcare; at the same time they worsen the outcomes. Look at the negative effects the obesity epidemic has had on healthcare costs and outcomes. Despite seeing this effect daily in my clinical practice, most of my overweight patients cringe when I touch on lifestyle changes. Most people do not welcome input on weight loss; similarly our cigarette smoking patients roll their eyes when we tell them to stop smoking. As a Gastroenterologist, I treat patients chronically infected with hepatitis C. The progress over the last 10 years in
I am sure those of you in other areas of medicine have numerous examples of how complex and overwhelming the healthcare system can be. We are faced with an outsized challenge and we need to respond. In these situations, there is a tendency to think that individual efforts at improving the system are futile. Add a busy practice, a busy family, and spare time is at a premium. This is where CMS can help. CMS can help physicians focus on common goals. CMS is a support network for physicians. CMS can play an integral role in Florida’s healthcare industry by addressing issues to improve quality and affordability of patient care. I look forward to having a great year and building on the momentum of past CMS presidents. I look to collaborate and build with you in 2015 and beyond. CMS
CAPITAL MEDICAL SOCIETY 2015 MEETINGS CALENDAR March 26, 2015 Celebration Awards Dinner 6:30 pm FSU University Center Club
April 21, 2015 May 19, 2015 CMS Membership & CME Meeting CMS Membership & CME Meeting 6:00 pm 6:00 pm Maguire Center for Lifelong Learning at Maguire Center for Lifelong Learning at WestminsterCAP Oaks Westminster Oaks SCAN - A CAPITAL MEDICAL SOCIETY PUBLICATION 1