"The minute you get away from fundamentals--whether it is proper technique,
work ethic or mental preparation--the bottom can fall out of your game, your school work, your job, whatever you are doing."  -Michael Jordan
 

Good morning. The good news is that the legislature decided to postpone its special session so we are safe for awhile. Speaking of PIP, your Council on Legislation is actively engaged in the process and you'll be hearing more about this in the near future from Council Chair, Dr. Miguel Machado. Additionally, I want to recognize the behind the scenes work of Mr. Tim Stapleton and Mr. Jeff Scott who have been engaged in this bill's development from conception and, eventually we hope, to successful delivery.

At the invitation of Dr. Madelyn Butler, Speaker of the FMA House of Delegates, I traveled to Tampa on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007 to meet with a group of medical leaders from Hillsborough County. HCMA President, Dr. Gene Balis, was called away at the last minute because his neurosurgery skills were urgently required. Dr. Bruce Sheppard, HCMA Immediate Past President, Dr. John Curran, HCMA President Elect, Dr. Dennis Agliano, FMA Past President and Mrs. Debbie Zorian, HCMA Executive Director were among those in attendance. HCMA member and a warrior in the legislature on behalf of our profession and patients, Rep. and Dr. Ed Homan, was also in attendance. We discussed the difficulty all are experiencing meeting the health care needs of our communities. Diminishing reimbursement levels, an increasing regulatory burden and the continuing burden of liability exposure are making it increasingly difficult to recruit new physicians to Florida and this effects everyone's access to care. How we effectively convey these concerns to the public, and especially to their elected representatives, remains our challenge. The appeal of these leaders was that the Florida Medical Association should accelerate its activities to address these issues. That is being done.

I attended a fund-raiser for Rep. Larry Cretul (R-22) in Ocala on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. Rep. Ray Sansom, the Speaker-designee of the Florida House, was in attendance and we had the opportunity to review our concerns regarding access to care. Rep. Cretul provided Rep. Sansom with his first pledge for Speaker. Rep. Cretul has been an outstanding supporter of our issues and we look forward to working with him in the future.

Friday found me in Orlando meeting with a principal of one of this state's leading professional liability insurance companies. Med mal rates and future trends were discussed. This day was also the birthday of the Executive Director of the Marion County Medical Society, Mrs. Debbie Trammell, and you'll be happy to learn that I did not forget. That evening, I spoke in depth on issues to Dr. Marc Yacht, the Editor of the FMA's Journal. You will be reading more about this "interview" soon.

I received a letter from Dr. Kamel Elzawahry, a neurologist from Panama City, the Chair of the FMA Specialty Society Section and a member of the FMA Board of Governors. He made a personal pledge of $10,000 to support the expenses of medical students and neurology residents to attend the FMA's next annual meeting. The Specialty Society Section is working on their resolution to encourage the mentoring of young physicians and, as directed by the House of Delegates, they will present their product to the Board of Governors for consideration. This is an exciting even novel approach and I applaud Dr. Elzawahry and the Specialty Society Section for their interest and activity in this program.

This morning, I am in Tallahassee meeting with the FMA Treasurer, Dr. Alan Harmon, to review preliminary data being presented as we prepare for next year's budget. I will also be hosting a lunch for the FMA staff. I'll have a report for you of these meetings and other activities in the next issue.

Thank you for the work that you are doing on behalf of all our patients. Sticking to fundamentals, you, like Dr. Balis, continue to provide lifesaving, quality under difficult - some would say impossible - circumstances and I will remind everyone of this fact as often as I can.


Until next week...


Sincerely,
Karl M. Altenburger, M.D.
President, Florida Medical Association