President’s letter – November 2017
November 3, 2017
Executive update – Winter 2018
February 5, 2018
President’s letter – November 2017
November 3, 2017
Executive update – Winter 2018
February 5, 2018
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President’s letter: Winter 2018

By Peter Smith, MD

After a simply great annual meeting for the Northern Colorado Medical Society, I would like to start by recognizing some individuals. Many thanks to Dr. Donna Sullivan. Dr. Sullivan was the president of NCMS for two years and during this time she put many hours into the organization. She has set us up for a tremendous year. We are fortunate to have Maria Medina, EdD, as our executive director. Her expertise helped “rebuild” NCMS after a couple of rough years. She was able to produce a high-quality and accurate directory, arrange multiple events through the years, engage NCMS with local politicians and increase sponsorship for the annual meeting. Many thanks to Dr. Jan Gillespie, our treasurer. Dr. Gillespie donates her time to overseeing the books. She has done a great job. Kate Alfano performs many of the behind-the-scenes activities such as the directory, newsletters, email blasts, photography, logistical planning and event planning. These individuals have positioned the Northern Colorado Medical Society to be one of the premier medical society components in the state. I appreciate all the hard work.

One of the challenges to any professional society is to provide value to the membership. With a profession as diverse as medicine, it is difficult to give direct benefit to any one individual or any one specialty. If Newton’s Laws of Motion were applied to an organization, it would be medicine – every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Having said that, the Northern Colorado Medical Society has much to offer its members and more is planned.

Simply having a medical society is of vital importance. Without an organization to advocate for physicians and patients, many of the other players in the field would go unchecked. Because of efforts of the medical society, large insurance company mergers have been blocked. Because of the medical society, billing paperwork has been simplified (although there is still much work to do). Because of the medical society, the efforts of the trial lawyers to increase medical malpractice awards have been unsuccessful. I can go on, but the point to understand is that at this time in Colorado, nothing happens in the medical world without some input from the medical society or at least some thought on how we will react. We have power and influence built into our existence. Thank you for all who support the medical society. We will continue to advocate for our providers and our patients.

In the past year, the NCMS has started several initiatives that will continue. There have been educational sessions to help educate providers about the status of the opioid epidemic and strategies to help the patients affected by it. The Systems of Care Initiative has reached out to the community to help with advanced care directives and end-of-life planning. NCMS has started to work on physician wellness. Maria Medina has worked with NCMS members as well as state representatives on a bill for a statewide advance directive registry. This year is an important election year. We plan to have a fun and educational legislative night. My personal goal is to make the medical society a resource of information for the public, the press, the legislators and anyone else who needs help understanding the complexities of the medical system.

In closing, being in organized medicine has always been a challenge. I am just grateful for the many physicians who take time out of their busy lives to support this profession that has helped so many people. Because of hard work from many individuals, the Northern Colorado Medical Society is primed for a great 2018. Please look for the events and gatherings throughout the year and join us whenever possible.