PCMS MID-YEAR REPORT: Hard Work pays off, more to come

It has been a busy first half of 2018 for the Pima County Medical Society – and a good one.  The first part of the year was marked by coordinating with other medical associations in Arizona to respond to the opioid bill.  The initial bill proposed had multiple major problems and the approved final bill had significant improvements in large part due to input from medical associations.  We are also progressing in finding a replacement for our executive director, Bill Fearneyhough, who will be retiring at the end of this year.

We have increased the visibility of PCMS this year.  Thanks to help from our PCMS student members we have set up a Facebook page and Twitter feed, both managed by our associate executive director Dennis Carey.  You may also have seen the Arizona Daily Star columns about physician burnout and about assessing the quality of medical news. We have also been a reference for reporters seeking opinions on medical issues that affect Pima County.

Summer is traditionally a slow time for the PCMS, but this year we have a board retreat planned, focusing on how to increase the value of being a PCMS member.

The statewide magazine Arizona Physician has been slow to restart this year; hopefully the first issue will be out later this month.  It should help to unite the Arizona medical community.

My goal this year as president has been to work against the overwhelming administrative burden of practicing medicine.  The first Arizona Daily Star column was written to help patients understand some of what physicians deal with on their behalf.  Bill Fearneyhough and I met with U.S. Representative  Martha McSally’s staff to discuss the issue of physician burnout, contributing causes, and long-term impact. Later this year, we will have similar discussions with U.S. Representatives Raul Grijalva and Tom O’Halleran, who both represent portions of Pima County. If this issue frustrates you also, please write your congressmen and senators.

Thank you for supporting your Pima County Medical Society. There are multiple benefits to being a member of PCMS beyond supporting physician leadership in Pima County: for a full list of benefits, please visit our website.