 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Daniel Singer, MD
This letter is my first President’s Letter to the membership of the OSRS since assuming the position at the annual meeting in Columbus this past May. It would be appropriate to introduce myself to those of you who for a variety of reasons were unable to attend the annual meeting.
I have had the good fortune of being in private practice with Toledo Radiological Associates for my entire career of eighteen years. Through the knowledge gained by interacting with my twenty-five partners I have been able to deliver care in all areas of radiology except for interventional radiology. Like most of you the intellectual challenges of a constantly evolving discipline has kept me going through all the more recent challenges to the practice of radiology. In 1991 I became involved with the OSRS after being elected to the position of alternate councilor by the Northwest Ohio Radiological Society. The experience gained by my close association with radiology leaders in our state would soon be an asset to aid my transition in 1992 to Medical Director of Radiology at Toledo Hospital, our largest hospital and the tertiary center of the Promedica Health System.
These past eight years have rushed by but the changes to our specialty have been overwhelming to all of us. The ramifications to patient care are now only beginning to be understood by those outside of the medical community. In 1992 as Medical Director I had full control of the department including the financial budget, staffing, and equipment. Together with the other members of the Medical Executive Committee our recommendations for planning were taken as important gospel by the administration. Back then the administration would encourage all doctors to admit patients through the open staff model. Patients were able to freely choose their doctor from almost all practicing in Northwest Ohio. Today, as Medical Director I come to the hospital each day not knowing how many non-physician staff will be available as staff cuts occur without my prior knowledge. A committee of administrators that is kept secret plans the budget. An outside consultant who has never worked in a radiology department now selects equipment. The President of the Promedica System has not bothered to attend a Medical Executive Committee in over two years as it is viewed as a powerless body of complainers that do not understand business and who have not accepted their role as employees in the new system.
Like most of you it is getting more difficult to come to the hospital and perform the duties that we have been trained so highly in and continue to develop even in our "off hours." Today most of the patients we serve in the hospital setting are those so accurately referred to by Tom Brokaw as "The Greatest Generation." Hopefully there will be a grass roots political groundswell to overturn the poor care many of these fine people are receiving in their final years. The first wave of "baby boomers" are also now becoming important users of the medical system. Demographics of this powerful group will insure that our politicians address their concerns. Yes, whether we want to participate or not it will be politics that will change the environment we practice in today and in the future. It is pleasing to see the rapid growth of radiology in the PACS process. RADPAC is now at the $250,000 dollar level. ORSPAC, our state PAC, is small in dollars but a potent force thanks to the knowledge of our attorney, Victor Goodman of the political system in Columbus. All of us must contribute to these two PACs to make this a success. More of us must be involved personally in the political system. Two of our members, John Olsen, M.D. and Chris Lee, M.D., spent countless hours this summer at the Ohio Department of Health Hearings in Columbus. The outcome for our specialty and all patients was much more favorable than we thought possible. The difference was that radiologists were present at the hearings and their knowledge of radiation protection was evident to all in attendance. I hope to see more involvement by our membership at all levels in the state. Those of you who know our legislators please contact our executive council so we can place you on a hotline of pertinent issues of concern to radiology. There is also a noted absence of participation of our younger radiologists at the state level. We have strong resident participation but no one from the 30 to 40 yr. age group. To help with this issue all Regional councilors have been asked to mentor an individual of this age group from their region and invite them to our next State Meeting to be held in Columbus on Sunday, September 10th.
Two key issues will be discussed at our meeting. One will be the ACR Resolution to provide in- house, seven-day, 24 hour coverage. This will be voted on at the national meeting later in September. This is controversial to say the least especially among those of us in private practice. Technology has been improving to provide coverage by teleradiology for most of the studies done at night. Recruitment of new radiologists has been difficult for most of us in the Midwest even without this proposed new staffing requirement. The second issue is the future of our academic program held in conjunction with our annual meeting in May. Our past president, Tom Seward, is chairing a committee to address this issue. Attendance has been weak these past few years and a change in the annual meeting venue may better serve our membership. Please email your local councilor or me with your thoughts on these issues. I look forward to working with all of you this year and although we may not have the chance to personally meet, I check my email at least four times per day and promise to answer all questions from the ACR membership.
Leadership Meeting
- The ACR leadership meeting was held on Saturday, March 25th through to the following Tuesday at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC. Drs. Thomas Seward, Terry Frey, Larry Berk, myself and Victor Goodman, our OSRS Lobbyist, represented the Ohio chapter.
- The meeting began with a rousing speech by our President, Dr. Landrey, emphasizing our need to become involved with the political process. This encouraged all of us to press home the need to support Radpac.
- Dr. Alderson reviewed the need for an Academy of Radiology Research at the NIH. This provided all of us with needed details to encourage our Senators and Representatives to support HR1795/S110.
- Dr. Max Cloud reminded us of the fact that we are only one election away from a major policy change in health care.
- The ACR legal department provided a comprehensive review of the legal issues facing state chapters. We were fortunate to have Victor Goodman at this meeting. One area the chapter must review is liability insurance for directors and officers of the OSRS.
- On Tuesday all delegates met with their respective state Senators and House Representatives to discuss the following issues:
- HCFA ruling on Nurse Practioners to perform and interpret radiology.
- Institute of Medicine for Biomedical Engineering Self-Referral Bill
- Colon Cancer Screening Bills For 3rd party payors.
Thank you for all your support to allow us to attend this important meeting and represent the Ohio radiologists.
Daniel Singer
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