President's Page

President's Page
April 2007

It's all about me! Isn't it?

by James T. Norwood, MD
2007 DCMS President

“What has organized medicine done for me?” “What do I get out of joining?” “Times are tough, and I wouldn’t mind saving my dues money for something else.” “Yeah, yeah, I know I need some type of representation with our legislators and governmental agencies, but I sure seem to be paying a lot and the only tangible thing I see is my name in the Directory.”

I hear this repeatedly from physicians as I discuss the benefits of belonging to the Dallas County Medical Society and the Texas Medical Association. I enjoy these questions because my poor victims are about to be overwhelmed with how DCMS and the TMA have enhanced their practice. I usually point out the most apparent benefit—that the difference in liability premiums before Proposition 12 was passed and after would pay not only membership dues but also TEXPAC 300 club membership. The average reduction in liability premiums has been 19 percent since Prop 12 was passed. Tort reform is the most frequently identified victory for organized medicine, but less obvious benefits impact the practice of medicine and the quality of health care just as much. For instance…

When the Legislature passed a broad-based business tax last session, physicians were the only group to receive special consideration. The persistence of member physicians as well as DCMS and TMA staff directly working with legislators resulted in an exemption from the tax formula of revenue from Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP, Worker’s Compensation, and military insurance. Also, the cost for charity care can be subtracted from the tax formula. No other group received this special treatment. That is quite an accomplishment when you consider that, according to a recent TMA survey, 45 percent of the average physician revenue is derived from programs funded or regulated by state and federal government, and the average amount of charity care provided per physician in 2005 was $36,600.

In February and March, DCMS and TMA members taking part in First Tuesday educated legislators about the importance of smart card technology to streamline and improve patient care in your office. This is part of our push to make insurance companies more transparent and accountable. It is gratifying to see our representatives and senators interested and taking notes about this issue. The personal interaction and dialog has much more impact than cards, letters, or lobbyists. Your dues money pays for the printed material we leave with our elected officials. The physicians who go to Austin are volunteering their time and traveling at their own expense. The physicians don’t even go out for lunch—they have sandwiches at TMA headquarters. When you start seeing this technology come to your office, don’t think that it’s some new idea from the insurance company. It results from the dedication of members and the dues you paid.

I cannot cover all the issues that physicians and medical society staff are addressing with our state government, but they include scope of practice, advanced directives, immunizations, health information technology, continued monitoring of tort reform, inadequate managed care networks, tiered networks, standardized managed care contracts for physicians, retail health clinics, the uninsured, Medicaid reform, chronic disease prevention, newborn screening, physician ownership of healthcare services, stem cell research, obesity, graduate medical education, the Texas Medical Board, and the SGR formula for Medicare. All of this and more is going on at the state level, thanks to your membership.

That is what is going on in Austin. What are your dues dollars doing for you in Dallas County?

If you have to cover your ER, then, because of Project Access Dallas, you’re seeing fewer patients than you have in the past. This DCMS program uses the volunteer efforts of physicians, hospitals, and labs to provide healthcare to underinsured residents of Dallas County. Studies have shown that Project Access Dallas patients make fewer visits to the emergency room and get care before their condition worsens. PAD saw its first patient 5 years ago, on April 1, 2001. It since has served more than 3500 patients. The aggressive work of DCMS with the Dallas County Medical Society Alliance has helped improve our state’s ranking for childhood immunizations from 48th in 2004 to 24th, which results in fewer sick children going to emergency rooms and offices.

DCMS established a steering committee to develop a RHIO, a regional health information organization. The committee is taking bids from vendors to build the database. Eventually, you will be able to access patient records that previously were unavailable.

Speaking of electronic medical records, I hope you received your mailing for the Medical Records Institute’s 23rd annual meeting. This national conference will be May 19-23 at the Dallas Convention Center. This meeting will include electronic demonstrations, classes, and products for hospitals, solo physician offices, small groups, large groups, and insurance companies. This is a wonderful chance to see all the latest and greatest. DCMS members receive a substantial discount to attend. If you did not get the mailing, call our offices at 214-948-3622 or log on to www.tepr.com.

Now, let’s get back to the DCMS Directory. It is a member benefit that works for you 24 hours a day. With it you have at your fingertips information about all 6000-plus DCMS (and Collin County) members. You have the name, address and even photograph of your physician colleagues. And they have the same information about you (if you’re a member). If you’re not using the Directory on a daily basis, I’m sure someone in your office is. Being in the Directory makes you available for consults and easier to be found by your colleagues. DCMS also has the Physician Finder on its website so patients and potential patients can find information about you 24 hours a day.

Hmm. If there were no DCMS or TMA, you would pay higher liability premiums and more taxes, see sicker patients, have no allies in your battles with managed care, be stuck with paper documentation, watch the government shrink your revenues, and have to come up with your own physician directory. I contend that the dues are a bargain.

Maybe I should ask just what you’ve done for organized medicine. I hope this article will help you see that not only are dues important, but so is participation. May 1 is your last chance to participate in a First Tuesday. Please contact Tracy Casto, DCMS director of public affairs, at 214-413-1427 or tracy@dallas-cms.org to register and see your dues at work.

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