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December 10, 2007

"If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed;
if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly;
you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds
against you and only a small chance of survival. There may even be a worse
case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is
better to perish than to live as slaves." ---Winston Churchill

Good Morning,

On Monday afternoon I met in Gainesville with the President of the Florida Nurses Association (FNA), Andrea C. Gregg, RN, DSN, Dean of the University of Florida College of Nursing, Dr. Kathy Long, and Ms. Anna Small, who lobbies for the FNA in Tallahassee. We discussed the expanding shortage of physicians and nurses and pledged to work together whenever possible to improve access to quality health care.

The FMA's Administrative Audit Committee met via phone conference on Wednesday evening and last evening. They are developing a set of recommendations for consideration by the FMA's Board of Governors. The Board will meet on January 26, 2008 in Orlando to hear this committee's report.

The FMA has hired a prominent Washington, D.C. lobbying firm to assist Florida's physicians with a number of critical Federal issues--not the least of which is the proposed 10% cut in physician Medicare reimbursement. In addition, Mr. Fred Whitson, FMA Director of Medical Economics, traveled to DC and, accompanied by our lobbyists, visited the staff of Senators Nelson and Martinez this past week to discuss our concerns. Even if you have already communicated with your Congressman and US Senators, it is most important that you write and call them again...and do so frequently until we have resolution of this issue. When we have more specific information, you will be hearing from us. If you wish to review your Medicare participation options, click here.

Ms. Jennifer Forshey joined the FMA staff last week as our Regulatory Affairs Counsel. Jennifer is a graduate of Florida State University College of Law. For the past three years, Jennifer has served as Assistant General Counsel at the Florida Department of Health, Prosecution Services Unit. During this time, she presented cases before the Board of Medicine. Prior to her tenure at the Department of Health, Jennifer was an Associate Attorney with the law firm of McConnaughhay, Duffy, Coonrod, Pope and Weaver, P.A., where she specialized in workers' compensation cases.

Ms. Forshey hit the ground running. In her first week, she attended a Workers' Compensation rules workshop and spoke against a rule that would have put physicians at a disadvantage in dealing with allegations of over-utilization. She then attended a Board of Nursing meeting in Miami to ensure that a declaratory statement allowing registered nurses to establish an independent practice caring for diseases of the foot was not adopted. Finally, she ended the week by attending a Board of Dentistry meeting where she spoke against a rule that would have allowed dentists to administer cosmetic Botox injections.

Ms. Forshey will be closely monitoring these boards, as well as the boards for chiropractors, podiatrists, physical therapists, pharmacists, optometrists, physician assistants, acupuncturists, electrologists, cosmetologists, audiologists, and speech language pathologists. She will also assist with all relevant matters that come before the Board of Medicine. Any of these Boards, especially the Board of Medicine, are capable of adversely affecting the care you deliver to your patients. Even large physician groups have difficulty adequately monitoring this arena. This is the responsibility of your FMA and it alone is worth your membership. If needed, Ms. Forshey can be reached at the FMA office (850) 224-6496 or by e-mail at jforshey@medone.org. Please welcome her to our family.

Congratulations to the FMA Medical Education staff for passing the ACCME reacreditation audits with flying colors. This is a long, arduous process so we are happy to report the FMA was accredited and recognized for another four years. The FMA received a rating of compliance for each element of both systems, which means that no Progress Report and extra monitoring fee will be due during the next four-year term. The FMA accredits 60 organizations in Florida to provide CME and sponsors hundreds of CME credits directly and with unaccredited partners. Click here for upcoming CME courses and accreditation information.

Finally, our second daughter was married this weekend in St. Augustine. Among the attendees was Dr. Miguel Machado, the FMA's Chair of the Council on Legislation. Early during the reception, he was called to the hospital to treat a patient in immediate need of his neurosurgical skills. Somehow, the public has come to expect that physicians will be available to them 24/7--every week--with little concern for the burdens doctors carry to deliver care to them. We must do a better job of communicating to the public the fragility of our heath care system and the challenges that confront it. They should be our best allies in the fights ahead.

Until next time...

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