Hover, the past decade has led us to a difficult cross-road. We are all aware that patient access to quality medical care and the medical profession as a whole is being seriously threatened, in our community and across the country. Unfair reimbursement rates force doctors to squeeze more patients into an already strained schedule. Personal injury attorneys are driving good doctors out of the practice of medicine or forcing them to cut back on "high risk" life-saving treatments. The end result is that older, experienced physicians are choosing to retire early, and younger, newly-trained doctors are choosing to begin practice in other states. In fact, unless a physician has been born and raised here, there is very little incentive to stay.

All hope is not lost. I believe this assault on our profession can and will ultimately be reversed, perhaps even in my lifetime. History has shown us that real change begins at the grassroots level, and the enthusiasm and dedication of organized medicine has been responsible for many positive changes on the local, regional, and national level over the years. The process to effect change can be painfully slow, but the only way we can expect to reclaim our profession is through perseverance and solidarity.

In this spirit, I plan to focus on three facets our society’s foundation in the upcoming year: Unity, Political Involvement, and Communication.

UNITY

The most powerful resource we have as physicians is unity. When we speak with one voice, our odds of helping to guide the future of medicine increases dramatically. Unfortunately, our opponents realize this, and have successfully divided and conquered us on numerous occasions by separating us into artificial groups: by specialty, region of practice, etc. Montgomery County has been lucky enough to have the cooperation of several excellent hospitals and a solid active membership. In addition, we benefit from a strong relationship with our surrounding county medical societies, which have been proven to be invaluable when confronting issues at the state level. As we move forward together, I am optimistic that we will continue to grow as a society as we strive to regain control of our profession. I would encourage everyone here tonight to make sure every physician in your practice is a member of the medical society on the county, state and national level.

POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT

Although politics has been a “dirty word” in our culture for some time, the truth of the matter is that legislation is enacted daily that affects all aspects of our lives. The practice of medicine is certainly no exception. Many physicians feel powerless when it comes to determining the future of medicine, but working closely with our elected representatives and educating their staff has proven to be critical, especially when changes to health care policy is being considered.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower said:

"Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would protect the rights and privileges of free people and who would preserve what is good and fruitful in our national heritage."

I believe this is still true today. In the next few months I plan to meet with several of our local representatives, in order to convey your thoughts and concerns and keep a dialogue open for future legislative issues. Sending a letter or making a phone call to your elected official when an item of concern is about to be decided upon remains an important part of this process. Our patients often look to us for information, and we should not be afraid to express our opinions regarding these matters. Though, admittedly, we have even less time nowadays during a patient visit to discuss it. Nevertheless, we as physicians can no longer afford to remain impartial in the world of politics.

COMMUNICATION

Lastly, we arrive at the issue of communication. One of the chief complaints I hear from members and potential members is that they don’t know what our society is doing and what good it has done. I usually reply with some statistics and recent legislative initiatives before the person I’m speaking to gets a glazed look in their eyes and I realize it’s time to move along. This all-to-common experience has led me to nudge our medical society into the 21st century by developing our own web site. With the help of our illustrious board chair, I hope to create a site that would allow anyone to visit and see exactly what is occurring at our board meetings and how our medical society is trying to bring about change. It would also double as proof to my wife that I am actually attending board meetings and that truly important things are being discussed. Once this is up and running, I would encourage everyone to take a look and send comments or complaints to Dr. Goodyear.

Again, I want to thank you for the honor and real privilege to be your society’s president as we work to advance our mission to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship both now and for the future of our profession.

Dennis A. Jerdan, MD,
President, Montgomery County (PA) Medical Society

Dr. Jerdan received his BA from LaSalle University, Philadelphia, PA, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He received his MD from Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. His postdoctoral training included a Residency in Internal Medicine at Abington Memorial Hospital, Abington, PA, and a Fellowship in Rheumatology, also at Temple University. Dr. Jerdan is Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, and practices Subspecialty of Rheumatology. He is currently in group practice with Rheumatic Disease Associates, Ltd., based in Willow Grove, PA.

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