OSMAP Focuses on State Priorities
OSMAP met in General Session on Friday, November 10, 2017 in Honolulu, HI in conjunction with the AMA Interim Meeting. The meeting agenda can be found under Past Meetings or by clicking here. In addition to an update on AMA Priorities by David Barbe, MD, AMA President, and an update by Russell Libby, MD, (Board Member) on how the Physicians Foundation continues to support State Medical Society initiatives and programmatic efforts, OSMAP members discussed the following: an initiative by the Medical Society of Delaware to address prior authorization by empowering physicians; a Pennsylvania Court Ruling which disrupts the "standard of care," and an update from California on the status of a lawsuit which may negatively impact the future relations between hospital administration and medical staffs. As always, OSMAP members engaged in an informative Q&A Session. Following the meeting, OSMAP continued discussions in an informal, but well-attended Reception sponsored by The Physicians Foundation.
Pictures from all OSMAP events can be found on this site.

Forum Attendees Seek to Reclaim the JOY in Medicine
The Forum for Medical Affairs presented its 2017 Educational Program on Sunday, November 12, 2017, from 1:00pm to 4:00pm at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu.This year's program entitled,"Reclaiming the JOY in Medicine: Personal Practices and Systemic Approaches for Success." opened with a compelling and highly emotional theatrical presentation - Side Effects - presented by Michael Milligan, a professional actor, who viscerally demonstrated the many side effects of practicing medicine in America today. Immediately following Mr. Milligan, Laurie Drill-Mellum, MD, MPH, explored practical approaches for physicians to reclaim the joy of seeing patients and practicing medicine. Nearly 120 physicians and others attended the program. More information can be found under "Past Programs."

The Forum THANKS Its Friends
The Forum for Medical Affairs wishes to thank the following organizations who contributed so generously to the success of the 2017 Forum program:
Constellation Mutual
NORCAL Mutual
California Medical Association
Kansas Medical Society
Massachusetts Medical Society
New Mexico Medical Society
Medical Society of the State of New York
Pennsylvania Medical Society
Texas Medical Association
Sanford Health

OSMAP Elects New Officers for 2017-18
On June 9, 2017, the OSMAP Membership elected the following OSMAP Officers for 2017-18: Albert Kwan, MD, President (New Mexico); Robert Gunby, MD, Vice President (Texas); and Richard Geline, MD, Secretary (Illinois).OSMAP also thanks Richard Warner, MD (Kansas) who completed his year of service as president.

Forum Elects New Officers for 2017
Congratulations to the following physicians were were elected officers of The Forum on November 13: David Holley, MD, President (Radiation Oncology - Pacific Grove, CA); Mary Carpenter, MD, President-elect (Family Medicine - Winner, SD); and Steven Kanig, MD, Secretary (Nephrology - Albuquerque, NM). The Forum also wishes to express its sincere appreciation to Arthur Lurvey, MD, who served as president in 2016.

MACRA Preparation Highlights I-16 OSMAP Program
The OSMAP General Membership Meeting and program was held on Friday, November 11th at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort Hotel, Orlando. Highlighting the program was a presentation by Texas Medical Association (TMA): "MACRA From the Trenches," which showcased TMA initiatives to help prepare its members for the onset of MACRA. The TMA presentation can be found here or under "past meetings." Other OSMAP presentations included: a report on Tennessee's efforts at Medicaid expansion; an update from the Pennsylvania Medical Society on its advocacy to influence MOC reform; and a related presentation by the Oklahoma State Medical Association to discuss a law that passed in Oklahoma which mitigates the use of MOC as a weapon against physicians. All available presentations are posted under past meetings.

The Physicians Foundation presented their semi-annual report to OSMAP and those slides may also be accessed under Past Meetings.

The always popular OSMAP Reception served as a perfect gathering place for post-meeting discussions and fellowship. A big THANK YOU to The Physicians Foundation for their support of OSMAP!

2016 Forum Program Explores Genomic Engineering
The Forum for Medical Affairs presented its annual educational program on Sunday, November 13th at the Walt Disney World Swan Hotel, Orlando. Approximately 100 attendees were treated to a presentation by Neville Sanjana, PhD, Director of the New York Genome Center, who presented"Gene Editing to Decipher Human Genetics," during which he discussed the gene editing process using CRISPR-Cas9 technology and how genomic engineering, the process of writing/editing DNA in the genome, can be used to test whether a particular genetic variant can cause a disease.

Following Dr. Sanjana, David Holley, MD, Forum Program Chair, discussed the short term potential for CRISPR applications in agriculture. Moderating the program was Steven Stack, MD, AMA Immediate Past President, who shared the AMA's perspective on this emerging technology as well as moderate a Q&A Session following the two presentations. Attendees received 2 hours of CME Category I credit. A copy of the program flyer may accessed here.

2015 Forum Tackles BIG DATA
The Forum for Medical Affairs presented its annual education program on Sunday, November 15 in conjunction with the AMA Interim Meeting. The program, entitled "BIG DATA: Panacea or Pandora's Box?" featured a distinguished panel of speakers and focused on how the explosion of data in healthcare will impact the practice of medicine, clinical decision-making and the financing of healthcare in the future. Click here for a copy of the program flyer. The program was moderated by AMA President Steven Stack, MD and also featured AMA Immediate Past President, Robert Wah, MD, who participated in the Q&A Session following the program. Over 160 attendees enjoyed the informative and thought-provoking program. Speaker presentations may be found under Past Programs.

The Forum would like to thank ALL of the state and specialty medical societies who contributed toward the success of this year's Forum program. Notably, The Forum would like to extend its strong appreciation to the following Societies who contributed $500 each to become "Friends of The Forum" in 2015:

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
American Society of Clinical Oncology
California Medical Association
Massachusetts Medical Society
Medical Society of the State of New York
Pennsylvania Medical Society
Texas Medical Association

THANK YOU for Your Support of The Forum!

Free ICD-10 Resources
This year many physicians’ practices will spend countless time, money and other resources preparing for the transition to ICD-10, even with the one-year grace period provided by CMS. The Physicians Foundation has been working with a medical student, Parth Desai, who has developed a set of free ICD-10 resources to help any medical practice prepare for the upcoming transition to ICD-10. For more information, visit www.icd10charts.com.

The Physicians Foundation: Why Aren’t Physicians Part of the Health Reform Conversation?
In a recent post on Forbes.com, the Physicians Foundation examines the lack of physician input in health reform legislation. The public feels physician influence on legislation is important and a majority of physicians surveyed in 2012 felt the medical profession had no influence on healthcare reform matters. So why aren’t physicians part of the health reform conversation? Read the full article here. For more information regarding the Physicians Foundation, go to www.physiciansfoundation.org.

2014 Forum Explores the Human Microbiome
The Forum for Medical Affairs presented its annual educational program on November 9, 2014. The program - "The Human Microbiome: Germ Warfare or Collaboration?," was held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, TX in conjunction with the AMA Interim Meeting. The program drew over 160 attendees and was approved for a maximum of 2 AMA PRA Category I Credits. A copy of the flyer describing the program and the speakers can be found here.

The Forum would like to express its sincere appreciation to Ardis Hoven, MD, AMA Immediate Past President, for moderating this program and to the following speakers for their outstanding presentations: David Relman, MD; Lita Proctor, PhD; and Alexander Khoruts, MD.

The Forum also wishes to express its thanks to Illumina for its unrestricted grant in support of The Forum program. For more information about Illumina and its "Understanding Your Genome" program, click here.

Copies of the speaker presentations can be found under Past Programs or you can click here.