Chester County Ranked the Healthiest County in Pennsylvania Is It Time for Malpractice Reform? H1N1 Swine Influenza: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Swine Influenza) www.cdc.gov/swineflu Novel H1N1 Vaccination Update for Pennsylvania http://www.h1n1inpa.com/ Novel H1N1 Influenza Vaccine: Questions & Answers - CDC http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/public/vaccination_qa_pub.htm Swine flu vaccine information sheets (English and Spanish) for patients: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/default.htm#h1n1live Additional Flu Information: http://www.flu.gov Join us on Tuesday, December 8th, when we explore the important debate "Is Physician Self-Regulation Dead?" Our guest speakers are . . . Gardiner Harris Gardiner Harris, Medical Journalist for the New York Times. Harris has written extensively on the medical field for the New York Times with over 500 articles! Do not miss the chance to hear this widely-read medical journalist speak candidly about what it means to be a physician in the midst of today's debate over the future of health care. Click here to visit Harris' page on the New York Times website. Christine K. Cassel, MD President and CEO, American Board of Internal Medicine and ABIM Foundation. Cassel was chosen by President Obama as one of 20 scientists to serve on the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, advising the President in areas where an understanding of science, technology, and innovation is key to forming responsible and effective policy. Click here to read more about Dr. Cassel. Stephen J. Harmelin, Esq. (Moderator) Managing Partner of Dilworth Paxson LLP. Harmelin is an attorney with over 35 years of experience in corporate law, securities and financial transactions who also represents various governmental and non-profit entities. He has been consistently chosen by a survey of his fellow lawyers to be listed in the publication, The Best Lawyers in America and in 2005 received the Replansky Award given by the Philadelphia Bar Association Corporate Law Committee. Click here to read more about Mr. Harmelin. Other topics of discussion for the lecture will be . . . Why do doctors do what they do? How do doctors regulate their own practice? What are the possibilities? What effect does this have on the current health care debate? Is Physician Self-Regulation Dead? Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 - 6:30PM The College of Physicians of Philadelphia 19 South Twenty-Second Street Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-563-3737 *A light reception will follow the program; fees apply. To register for this program, click HERE. To Chester County physicians: The Senate now takes up debate on health care legislation. Heated debate will last through December. NOW is the time to come together with basic principles we share as doctors in Chester County which can then be passed to our legislators and to Washington. As a group of individuals, we will not be able to come to agreement on HOW reform will be achieved as this leads us straight into political party camps and a lot of vitriol. Nevertheless, we DO have a bond with patients, our colleagues, and our profession. Basic fairness and transparency in reform means to me that all participants must be part of the solution, and we should aim for this. We've not heard much about tort and insurance industry reforms, for example. We should be demanding to hear about these areas from our Senators now. Concerns particular to our County, such as low reimbursement rates and the MCARE raid remain an issue. We cannot forget these issues as they remain the underpinning of our professional situation here in Southeastern PA. As I hear from many of you, I am compelled to caution you that fighting amongst ourselves has NEVER helped us in the past and will not help us now. Your passionate belief that a public option, for example, is essential and beneficial will be matched by a colleague's passionate belief that it is unnecessary and would be harmful. We will not help ourselves or our County by stubbornly camping in our party trenches. You may be interested to know that the PA Attorney General is a supporter of CAPS on pain and suffering, that your Insurance Commissioner is a supporter of insurance industry reforms, that all your local legislators except for one voted against the use of our MCARE funds to balance the budget, some crossing party lines. There are those who will wield their weight for us if our goals and ideas are fair and well thought out. There is no way to know now how healthcare reform will look when it comes out of Congress. There are a myriad of possible permutations on the House bill that will now be debated in the Senate. Let your Senators know how you feel, but remember that your particular point of passion is not the entire bill or the entire story. What can we offer to our opponents in this bill that may strengthen the outcome? What are the areas we can all agree on in principle? A system of CHECKS AND BALANCES at the Federal, State and local levels to me remains the most important feature of any bill on healthcare reform that might come out of Congress since there is no way to get it right the first time! How can we ensure that our healthcare future will not rest in the hands of a few with an interest only in their own self-preservation........whether that "few" is a government committee, the insurance industry, the malpractice bar lobbyists or any other group. Perhaps this is the one area that will be the most important feature, just as in the crafting of our Constitution. Let's not give that up for one particular issue. Let's think ahead and beyond one or two "talking points". As always, I look forward to hearing from you, particularly your ideas and suggestions for what we can do to improve the practice of medicine in Chester County. NY Times Health: Prescriptions Daily Updates on Reform Debate http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/ Chester County Medical Society wants County physicians to be aware of the Million Med March on November 21, 2009. Chester County Medical Society and the Pennsylvania Medical Society have not taken a position on this event due to the extreme divergence of viewpoints among physicians in the State and in this County regarding health care reforms under consideration. However, both Medical Societies see it as their obligation to inform physicians of what is happening in their State and their Counties so that they can make their own decisions. Please see the flyer for more details. Congratulations to Judge Joan Orie Melvin, elected to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on November 3rd. Judge Joan Orie Melvin has served on our courts for over 20 years, protecting our families and helping to keep our government accountable to it’s citizens. Her greatest accomplishment has been to help women and families by establishing the first Domestic Violence Court in Pennsylvania, which serves as a national model. Born into a family of physicians (her father was a family doctor for over 50 years), Judge Joan Orie Melvin understands the importance of protecting the doctor-patient relationship. She knows that medical liability insurance relief for physicians and hospitals helps to keep qualified medical professionals providing care in our state. She strongly supports rules adopted by the Supreme Court that keep lawsuit abuse in check. Finally, she understands the health care system and the importance of making sure your physician can care for you without government interference. Responses from Legislators Senator Rafferty to Dr. Holland Senator Folmer to Dr. Holland Legislative E-Mail Responses Mcare Fund Update 10-13-09 http://www.pamedsoc.org/MainMenuCategories/Government/ LawsAffectingPhysicians/MedicalLiability/Mcarenow/Mcare-battle.aspx?utm_source=MagnetMail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=Capitol%20Insight%3A%2010.12.09&utm_campaign=Capitol%20Insight%3A%20Mcare%20War%20Not%20Over Call and thank your Representatives who voted "NO." http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2009&sess_ind=0&rc_body=H&rc_nbr=918 Call and thank your Senators who voted "NO." http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/RC/Public/rc_view_action2.cfm?sess_yr=2009&sess_ind=0&rc_body=S&rc_nbr=322 You can find contact information for legislators at http://www.chestercms.org/legislative/legislative2.html