From the Editor-in-Chief

NEW DESIGN, GREATER FOCUS ON YOU

I am pleased to announce Arizona Physician has a new design for 2021 and will include a greater focus on you and other physicians. The cover story will remain a physician, but the structure of the magazine sections will become consistent. More importantly, the content will highlight the work and impact of more doctors throughout the pages of each issue.

It is important for physicians to hear from their peers and learn about perspectives on medicine across specialties, patient populations, employment settings, and geographic locations.

WHAT’S INSIDE?

Our theme for this issue is Major Health Issues of Arizona. We thank Sheila Sjolander, Assistant Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services for sharing the new Arizona Health Improvement Plan, an updated effort to develop “a set of health priorities with plans to implement actions to address those priorities.” Included in the five priorities for 2021-2025 is mental well-being, including social connectedness, substance use, and suicide prevention.

One person who lived through substance use and now treats colleagues to improve their mental well-being is Monica Faria, MD, FASAM. We are honored Dr. Faria shared her journey with us. It is powerful and worth your time reading.

Another of the health priorities, and major health issues in Arizona, is fostering health in all policies. Along those lines, we convinced William Riley, George Jacobson, and George Runger to explain the Targeted Investments Program. It is a five-year, $285 million program of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System for incentivizing providers to develop systems for integrating physical and behavioral health.

In our section What Arizona Docs are Saying, we ask several physicians what they see as major health issues in the state. We also dive into what motivates them, the role physicians should play in promoting health equity, and get some advice for medical students. Thank you to Drs. Miriam Anand, Adrienne Forstner-Barthell, Pamela T. Frazier, Brenda LaTowsky, Ann Cheri Foxx Leach, Paul Lynch, and Edward Patterson for sharing their views.

Those are just some examples of what you’ll find inside this issue of Arizona Physician.

SHARE YOUR TWO CENTS

We strongly encourage more physicians to share their views on any topic related to clinical care, training, medical education, or something else related to the practice of medicine.

You have a few options for sharing your perspective as a doctor. In addition to quarterly issues of the Arizona Physician print magazine, we will publish content in the digital version of the magazine. We welcome your articles for consideration.

Finally, we publish two episodes of Arizona Physician Podcast each month. We are recruiting more physicians as guests. The short episodes, usually 15 minutes, cover a wide range of topics.

THE TEAM BEHIND ARIZONA PHYSICIAN

I applaud everyone working behind the scenes to create each issue of Arizona Physician and to disseminate content you care about. Chief among them are physicians serving on the Board of Directors for the Maricopa County Medical Society. Edward Araujo is our Managing Editor and Randi Karabin is our new Creative Designer. Ben Scolaro provides photography.

Enjoy the magazine.

By John E. McElligott, MPH, CPH

Interested in being an article contributor, podcast guest, or virtual event presenter? Contact us at information@arizonaphysician.com for these and many more opportunities.