May 2013

SOCIETY CHANGES DUES BILLING CYCLE:  Beginning in June, members will start receiving their 2014 membership dues assessments. Usually billing began in November. The Board voted to make the change to avoid our statements from being lost in the sea of annual billings and allow members to spread their dues commitments more evenly throughout the year. You may want to alert your accounts payable staff to the new change.

PCMS MEMBERSHIP DRIVE UNDERWAY: The Board has made a major commitment to add 75 new members to the roles this coming quarter; however the Board is also asking each of you to commit to bring in at least one new colleague into our “family of physicians” during the coming months. We are also considering establishing a membership committee, complementing our Legislative, Bioethics, Public Health, Alternative Medicine and History committees.

Adding a member should not be a hard sell since most Pima County physicians already believe they are members. It’s not unusual for a doctor to call the office asking for assistance only to discover they’re not members. This tells us doctors are not opposed to membership but are just under the false impression they already belong.  

HEALTHCARE REFORM IS A MOVING TARGET:  No matter what Arizona decides come and learn what the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has in store for you in 2014 during a symposium Tuesday, May 14.  Part of the PCMS Foundation Evening Speaker Series, the presenters are Marc Leib MD (AHCCCS chief medical officer), William Mangold MD (former Medicare carrier medical director for Arizona) and PCMS Past President Timothy Fagan MD.

Doors open at 6:15.  A dinner, courtesy of the foundation, begins at 6:30.  The speakers start at 7.  Call 795-9484 to reserve your spot by noon, May 13.

2013 PHYSICIAN OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS: Any PCMS member may nominate a physician for this annual award. Contact Bill Fearneyhough at the medical society or email him: billf5199@gmail.com.

The criteria are simple:

1) Nominee must be a living PCMS member at the time of the vote

2) The nominee must have made a significant contribution to the practice of medicine

3) A brief letter of support should accompany nomination

4) Nominees will be reviewed by the PCMS Executive Committee

Nominators are not identified, although they may be asked for a more formal nomination letter before the Board of Directors vote.

NEW MEMBER APPLICANTS: Richard A. Cohn MD, CD, 6565 E. Carondelet Dr, #225, 886-9779; Rachel E.  Cramton, MD, Pediatric Hospitalist, 1501 N. Campbell Ave, 626-6614; Francisco Pacheco, MD, PUD, 1951 N. Wilmot Rd, Bldg 4, 318-1114; Karl A. Rosen, MD, OPH, 1110 N. El Dorado Pl, 327-5677; Jasna Seserinac, MD, Pediatric Hospitalist, 1501 N. Campbell Ave, 626-6614.