INTERVIEW
Pursuing better health and better healthcare Janet Silversmith, MA, CEO of the Minnesota Medical Association
For those who may be less familiar with
environment – both socio-economic and practice setting – in which physicians care for patients.
the MMA, what can you tell us about the organization?
We’ve also made some internal changes that I’m proud of, such as adding more diversity to our board and elected leadership.
With more than 11,000 individual members across the state – from all specialties, all practice types, and representing diverse opinions and viewpoints – the MMA is the state’s oldest and largest professional association for physicians and physicians-in-training. Among our most distinguishing attributes is our advocacy voice on behalf of medicine – the profession of medicine – not the interests of medical practices, facilities, or other particular business interests.
What can you tell us about ways the MMA has responded to COVID?
From day one, we had two primary goals in mind – to help shape the state’s pandemic response with the perspectives and experiences of practicing physicians, and to help keep physicians (member or not) across the state informed and connected. I’m really proud of the countless ways in which we did – and continue to – accomplish those goals. There were two very specific things that we did during the pandemic that were extremely well received – we quantified and documented the financial impact of the pandemic on physicians and physician practices, and we launched a public education campaign called Practice Good Health. Through the Practice Good Health campaign, we deliberately leveraged the public’s trust and confidence in physicians and amplified accurate, current, and evidence-based information on how Minnesotans could best protect themselves from the virus, including direct appeals from physicians to mask up and to get vaccinated.
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APRIL 2022 MINNESOTA PHYSICIAN
Physicians make a “...” difference every day in the lives of the patients they see.
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My favorite fun fact about the MMA is that it is five years older than the State of Minnesota, having been founded in 1853. Although the original purpose of the organization remains intact after 169 years – to improve health and healthcare for all Minnesotans – our current work is focused on the most significant issues and challenges of today.
And, like everyone else, the pandemic forced us to do our work in new ways. For us, that meant new ways of reaching and engaging physicians. Some of those ideas, such as our noontime virtual Physician Forums, have been so incredibly popular that we plan to continue them beyond the pandemic.
As some of the traditional ways that members used to get involved have changed, and in recognition of how busy our members are, we needed more flexible options for their involvement. One way we responded was with the launch, in mid-2020, of The Pulse, which is a new online policy development and membership polling tool. This tool, which is incredibly easy for members to use, has significantly expanded the number and diversity of members who influence and inform our policy development and advocacy work. In fact, given its ease of use and accessibility, other state medical associations are now working to adopt the tool for their own use. To remain relevant, every association, including MMA, must embrace change as a constant. As a result, we work very hard to listen to our members, and our prospective members, to understand their needs, interests and concerns, and to involve them directly in our work. The MMA is involved in a lot of advocacy work, including legislative advocacy. Please
Aside from the pandemic-related work, what
tell us about some of your advocacy priorities.
can you tell us about some of the changes
Yes, advocacy is one of our essential functions. Consistent with our mission, our advocacy has both a public health focus and a medical practice focus. Legislatively, we are involved in a significant number of issues as we work to protect the patient-physician relationship from outside interference, promote public health, and improve access to high-quality, safe, and affordable care.
that have occurred at the MMA since you started as CEO?
I assumed the CEO role in January 2018, which after the past two years, feels like a very long time ago. I think the most important change in that time has been a new and very clear strategic plan that leverages our unique expertise and defines clear outcomes we want to achieve. Our mission, which I believe in so strongly, is to make Minnesota the healthiest state and the best place to practice medicine. The MMA’s elected physician leadership, through our strategic plan, has fully embraced the dual aims of that mission with specific work to improve community and public health, as well as specific work to improve the
In 2022, we actively pursued three legislative proposals. One of these proposals, included in the House omnibus health and human services bill, would protect patients who are taking medications for chronic conditions from having their medications and coverage changed mid-year by their health plan. Many health plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) make frequent changes
