Editors: Ellen W. McKnight, M.D. | Erica Huffman, Executive Director
www.escambiacms.org
Bulletin MARCH/APRIL 2015 VOLUME 45, NO. 2
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE In February I had the privilege of attending a leadership conference with world renowned leadership expert John C. Maxwell. While I was there, I met a physician from Nigeria. He came wanting to improve the public health of his country. He states that there is a battle between doctors, nurses and other parties for control of how healthcare is run in that country. Apparently, some problems in healthcare are universal no matter what country you call home. I talked with him about the challenges we face here in the United State and what we are trying to accomplish as physicians here in Florida through organized medicine. We are fighting with insurance carriers, politicians, and other providers who want to tell us how to practice medicine or to replace us with “cheaper” alternatives. We are struggling with potential changes in reimbursement based on our patient compliance or patient satisfaction scores that are not always reflective of quality patient care. However these changes are coming whether we like it or not. Fortunately, we have an answer to help us with these problems, and that is communication. We cannot overemphasize the importance of communication in healthcare. Everything you say, do, write or wear is communicating something. This includes words, tone of voice and body language. Understanding what and how you are communicating is even more essential for healthcare professionals because what we communicate - or don’t
CONTENTS communicate - can have a major impact on a patient’s life. We may like to think that patients should do what we tell them, because we know what is the best treatment based on our years of training and experience. But being right is not enough. We have to get them to buy into the treatment plan and then be compliant with the plan. Whether it is logical or not, patients will sometimes buy into the treatment plan based solely on whether they connected with the doctor. So the question presents itself, are you connecting with your patients? We know that it isn’t always possible to please everyone, but at least our patients should feel like they have been heard. When we have only a few minutes to see each patient, it is still good practice to make them feel important. How many of us have gone into a room and never sat down because we knew “it isn’t going to take long”. I’ve been guilty of that more than a few times myself. But there are studies showing that patients perceived a physician spent more time with them just because he or she sat down than when compared to a physician spending the same amount of time standing in the room. Another thing my patients and I noticed after computers were placed in all the rooms was that there was less face-to-face time and less eye contact. In order to make sure all the correct boxes are checked for meaningful use, we can sometimes get sidetracked clicking away instead of looking at the patient who is talking to us. It isn’t cont. on page 12
Page 3 - Announcements Page 4 - Membership Page 6 - Medical/Legal Page 10 - Practice Mgmt. Page 12 - President’s Message cont. Page 15 - In the Community
SAVE THE DATE Monday, April 13, 2015 Pensacola Wahoos Game Doctors Day Celebration Wednesday, May 6, 2015 Hilton Garden Inn Airport Boulevard Mini Health Vendor Fair Vendors: BBVA Compass Bank, Catalyst CRE, Dyken Wealth Strategies, Rick Lambert CFP ®, Financial Advisor Edward Jones, Safe Harbor Tax Advisory, Underwood Anderson & Associates, Inc., Saltmarsh Cleveland & Gund, Panhandle Medical Services, Plateful of Yum Tuesday, August 11, 2015 New World Landing Young Physicians Section Meeting | Speaker: Patricia Clark Social Sponsor: Edward Jones & FD Insurance Founded in 1973
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #258 PENSACOLA, FL
Founded in 1873
ESCAMBIA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY IN CONJUNCTION WITH SANTA ROSA COUNTY
1 | ECMS