President's Message

The Year in Review

Another year has come and gone, and I will be stepping down as your society president and will be replaced by another. I don’t think any of us who have been privileged to serve as PCMS President have really left any mark on the face of the organization or accomplished any stunning deeds. The face of medicine is slow to change. Instead, it is we who are changed, and each of us leaves having been more a student than a teacher.

I have learned much about our organization, its history, and its ongoing struggle to reach its members and motivate them to be more active. I have learned a great deal about the state and national political machines and how each of us can make change occur. The difficulty has been, and will continue to be, motivating our members –YOU– to become involved. We are all “too busy to be involved,” and more accurately, we are simply not interested until something threatens our livelihoods. Even then, we seem to accept control of our professional lives by government regulations and insurance company rules without much more than an occasional grumble. The practice of medicine has slipped from our control to “second parties”, who are more concerned about their profits than the welfare of our patients or the quality of medical care. We can regain control of our profession, but it will take each of us contacting our state and federal representatives and letting them know that things must change. This is not something that “someone else will do”, this is each of our responsibilities. We have all seen the almost daily urgent messages from our county and state societies, as well as the AMA, to contact our Washington representatives to vote “yes” or “no” on issues that will affect each of us. But how many of these requests end up in the trash can without even a thought? The Medicare Prescription Bill has just passed which affect our rates of reimbursement for all Medicare patients for the next five years. It also contained language concerning Medicare equity, and proposed 10,000 new CPT codes. How many of us even know of the components of the bill, much less, how it will change our lives?

I have enjoyed my two trips to Washington, D.C., and I have learned a great deal about our state and local representatives there. I have met and spent time with Senators Grassley and Harkin and Representative Boswell. I sincerely think that Senator Grassley is truly interested in health care in our state. He has been committed and worked very hard to improve Medicare reimbursement and equity to all of us.

I have been impressed with how many doctors in Polk County give significant amounts of time away from their practices, and home lives, to work for all of us at PCMS meetings and projects. In addition, these same people are active in providing medical care to the uninsured through Des Moines’ Free Clinic system.

Lastly, I am continuously in awe of our Executive Director, Kathie Lyman, who under the direction of the board single-handedly steers our society. We presidents are merely figure heads who pass through like a never ending parade. She is the society – she makes it happen for all of us. I will always be grateful for all of her coaching, organizational skills, and plain hard work.

The most important lesson of all, however, is that I have learned how good it makes me feel doing something for others, not just myself. Each of us can change things if we work together for the common good, and it takes minimal effort. We can all make a difference. Believe me; if I have the time, you have the time. Thank you for allowing me to be your President for the past year. I will cherish the memories.