Page 10 - WCMS3Q21

13-21- Upholding the Integrity
and Vitality of the State and
County Medical Societies
The (Reference) Committee is including the approved resolved portions to share the actual bylaws changes which was not included in the resolution.
RESOLVED: That the county medical societies and MSMS work as committed partners to uphold the county medical societies and MSMS shared integrity and vitality, as previously approved by the House of Delegates; and be it further
RESOLVED: That the current MSMS state-wide membership roster shall be audited and the results shall be distributed to the county medical societies and the 2022 MSMS House of Delegates to evaluate the extent of the October 2020 bylaws interpretation; and be it further
RESOLVED: That any recruitment and/or retention practice by MSMS, vendors and/or support subsidiaries, and/or county medical societies supported by the October 2020 bylaws interpretation that serves to undermine the integrity and vitality of the medical societies end; and be it further
RESOLVED: That moving forward, all physician and medical student members join the county where they live or work, unless there is written agreement due to mutually agreed upon exception between the medical student, physician and/or physician group, MSMS, and the respective county(ies).
This Resolution would necessitate a change to the MSMS Bylaws, Section 4.20. Deletion is indicated by strikethrough.
If approved, this Bylaws change will come back to the 2022 House of Delegates for second and
final reading.
legislative website.) It also advertises prominently for members to contribute to MDPAC, a lobbying entity that is supposed to be completely independent of MSMS and which, in my view, is of questionable effectiveness or benefit to members. (I wrote about this in the first quarter 2021 Bulletin.)
Under Insurance is a link to the MSMS Physician’s Insurance Agency, which offers a variety of insurance products. Events gives links to the MSMS calendar of events and to the educational webinars already mentioned. Finally, Education has links to the webinars once again, to the Spring and Annual Scientific Meetings and to other useful information on licensure and CME. Internet-based education is rapidly replacing in-person meetings, at which attendance has been dwindling even prior to COVID-19.
The Dilemma
Here’s the dilemma: Many of the items on the MSMS website are valuable, especially the educational offerings, but, as an employed physician in a large health care system, how many of these roles to I depend on or look to MSMS for? Over 50% of the physicians in the state are like me in this respect, and that proportion Is increasing. These offerings are useful for a diminishing number of physicians. MSMS depends on some of them for income, but the market is shrinking.
A second dilemma is more basic one of identity: Is MSMS a business or is it an association? Can it be both? If so, which is more important? If it is run like a business, can it succeed as an association? And vice-versa?
Now, let’s look at the Washtenaw County Medical Society website, which offers a quite different set of services, including a physician directory for public access. The home page advertises ways to connect with other physicians, keep informed about medical legislation, and how to become part of Washtenaw County’s Health Solutions. It promotes public health activism. It provides links to its COVID work group through which timely information about the pandemic is regularly shared across the community. It also calls attention to its Legislative Affairs Committee, which meets quarterly with state and federal legislators to discuss legislative issues in depth. This committee has developed strong working relationships with area political leaders and has been one of WCMS’s most important roles.
Here’s its dilemma: WCMS tries to offer services that are patient focused and that all members may find useful, but as useful as these are, they do not generate income.
Here’s the dilemma for both state and local: How do you go about increasing membership and also revenue? Can you sell memberships like commodities, as MSMS has been doing, or should you offer them to interested parties willing to donate time and money for important medical, political, and social enterprises?
Whatever is done, can it be done in a way that does not generate competition in a zero-sum game in which both sides lose? If we do not find a way to stand united, divided we may fall. •
Under Resources are displayed 15 sites containing information useful for physicians in private practice, including legal advice and on-demand webinars that offer continuing education on topics required for license renewal among others. The continuing education programs are very useful. It also contains a link to the Department of Treasury Unclaimed Property web site, which doesn’t seem all that relevant.
10 Washtenaw County Medical Society BULLETIN FALL 2021