Member Spotlights

QI Member Spotlight MMS Member TMA President

Dr. Andrew Watson is now President-Elect of TMA

Dr. Andrew Watson of Memphis and MMS’s Immediate Past President has been elected as the 2023-2024 President of the Tennessee Medical Association. Dr. Watson will serve one year as President-Elect, one year as President and one year as Immediate Past President. His primary role is to be the face of and spokesman for the TMA with its membership, the media, government officials, and citizens of Tennessee. “It’s truly an honor to be elected by my peers across the state,” he says. “I’m eager to get to work strengthening organized medicine in Tennessee.”

Dr. Watson has been a TMA member since 2005, recently having served eight years on the TMA Legislative committee. He has held several leadership roles at the local and state level, and he has served numerous times as a delegate with TMA’s House of Delegates.

“Dr. Watson has been one of the most dedicated leaders we have had at Memphis Medical Society and TMA,” Clint Cummins, MHA, CEO says. “I have experienced the impact of his leadership first-hand, and we know he will make a great impact across the state, making practicing medicine better for physicians and their patients.”

“My most sincere thanks to each member for your recent support in the 2022 Tennessee Medical Association’s race for president-elect.

I will ensure that your voice is heard in every aspect of TMA’s efforts both with the legislature and across our statewide community of physicians. Please do not hesitate to contact me regarding any issues or concerns within the TMA you may have,” he says.

“Thank you again for the confidence of your vote. Thank you for electing me to help represent you.”

Dr. Watson will be officially installed on May 21st, 2022, at TMA’s Annual Meeting and House of Delegates at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs.

Dr. Watson is a board-certified cardiologist in practice with St. Francis Cardiology Associates. His TMA President email is andrew.watson@tma.org.

Wofford commits to volunteer work

Finds it obligation as physician

Q I Member Spotlight

“We all do some sort of volunteer work,” says Dr. Persico Wofford. “Whether you are seeing patients through Christ Community, Church Health, local health fairs, or just in your office. I find it a moral obligation as a physician. We are here to help people no matter their insurance status.”

Dr. Wofford recently began seeing uninsured patients through the newly formed, non-profit, Project Access West Tennessee (PAWT), which is run in partnership with the Memphis Medical Society through its charitable arm, the Memphis Medical Foundation. PAWT has care coordinators who organize each step of an uninsured patient’s journey through the healthcare system. If the patient comes to Project Access without a referral from a primary care provider, a care coordinator will screen them for insurance options and help them establish a PCP. If the patient needs specialty care, a care coordinator pairs the patient with a provider, often including diagnostic and follow-up visits.

“Navigating healthcare systems can be daunting,” says PAWT executive director, Nicole Scroggins. “This can especially be true for our uninsured patients who may have been outside the system for some time. Our job is not only to secure them the care they need, but also to follow them throughout the process, providing education, assistance and resources when needed.”

“Often these patients’ entries into the healthcare system are through the emergency department,” Dr. Wofford says. “Focusing on getting these patients preventative care is a huge step in lessening the burden of the emergency department, and the patients will have better outcomes long term.”

PAWT’s success is determined by a network of physicians who are willing to see uninsured patients when called upon to do so. “Try just one patient a month,” says Dr. Wofford. “Seeing one uninsured patient can make an unbelievable impact and think how those numbers could grow if each physician in a large practice took just one.” Dr. Wofford reminds physicians who may be hesitant to volunteer that even seeing commercially insured patients does not mean you will be paid what you charge. “There are sliding scales for everything. And this really makes a difference in our community.”

The icing on the cake? PAWT tracks your service and can award up to 8 hours of CME and track the contributions our community makes to demonstrate impact.

If you know an uninsured patient who needs coordinated care, or if you are a physician interested in getting involved, please call 901-761-0200.