The Green Slip Prescription
Physicians take Team Approach
to Help Leaders with Health
Care Related Decisions
Tracy L. Ragland, MD
E
arly last year, the new GLMS Strategic
Plan was developed by a diverse group
of our organization’s leaders, active
members, and senior staff. One of the four key
recommendations in the plan was for GLMS
to proactively and persistently have a positive
influence on the decision-makers, both public
and private, who craft and approve the laws, regulations, and policies
that affect patient care, medical practice, and our community’s wellbeing. To that end, the GLMS Policy and Advocacy Team (or Team
for this article) was created in mid-2013 by our Board of Governors
in hopes that a team approach will help physicians continue to be
relevant and even key stakeholders in an ever-changing healthcare
environment in Greater Louisville and beyond. The Team Chair is
Mary Helen Davis, MD and our focus will be on inclusiveness and
action. We aim to work with local and state physician specialty organizations to find common ground on key issues; to develop effective
year round advocacy with the Kentucky General Assembly (KGA,
particularly the Jefferson County delegation) and other leaders in
government, the press, and private corporations that employ physicians; to coordinate our actions with KMA and AMA in order to
improve efficiencies; and to educate the GLMS membership about
policy developments and advocacy progress while encouraging
broad participation.
At the time of this writing in late January, the Team has had four
formal meetings. The first was a roundtable discussion with approximately 15 representatives of specialty societies, sharing their
legislative and advocacy priorities. In other meetings, we discussed
the scope of our planned activity, met with a special guest from the
Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, and decided on our tentative
agenda for the 2014 session of the KGA.
The Team has been active in many other ways as well. Last fall was
particularly busy. First, the Team was invited to a monthly meeting
of the Jefferson County delegation of the KGA and five members
were able to attend. During a 15-minute presentation, Dr. James
Patrick Murphy laid the groundwork for better communication
between GLMS and our legislators on issues concerning health care.
Dr. Murphy also led by example as he later met with the Indiana
Board of Medical Licensure as they discussed regulations related to
the prescribing of controlled substances. Later, my medical group
28
LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
partners, Dr. Ilana Kayrouz and Dr. Tony Karem, and I hosted a
legislative reception at our office. During the event, physicians had
the opportunity to socialize with several members of the Jefferson
County delegation. We also informally talked about team-based
and integrative care models in health care delivery, using technology to improve access to care, Good Samaritan 911 legislation, and
the importance of improved treatment options for addiction and
mental illness. Several specialty societies that are actively involved
in the Team’s activities have recently hosted one or two legislators at
their meetings as well, in smaller and more intimate settings. And
Team members have reached out individually to the members of
the Jefferson County delegation in efforts to make sure every lawmaker from Greater Louisville knows that physicians are engaged
and want to be future resources on issues related to health care.
Small groups and individual meetings with our legislators and other
leaders will continue to give us great opportunities to keep these
conversations going.
At the beginning of the 2014 legislative session in January, the
Team hosted a very well attended and high-energy reception in
Louisville at the Hurstbourne Marriott. Legislators, physicians,
and leaders from other advocacy groups socialized and discussed
several key issues facing the KGA this session, including expert witness legislation for malpractice cases, the Smoke-Free bill, Medical
Orders for Scope of Treatment (MOST), medical marijuana, Good
Samaritan 911 legislation, and other ideas aimed to curb addiction
and drug overdoses in Kentucky. Physicians were also asked by
several legislators in attendance to consider supporting tax reform
or other revenue producing ideas that are being discussed this
legislative session such as expanded gaming. Since health care and
post-secondary education (including medical education) are two
areas that could benefit from increased revenues, we hope physicians will consider voicing their opinions on this as well as the
question of how best to spend health care and medical education
dollars in the future.
Political events and fundraisers, although stomach-turning to
some, definitely continue to have a very important impact on the
overall goal of becoming influential with the elected officials who are
in positions to make practice- and profession-changing decisions.
Several individual Team members have been involved with this type
of activity throughout the fall and winter by attending or co-hosting
several events. These events are often attended by public servants in
all levels of government — City Council members, County Judge