From the
PRESIDENT
ROBERT “ BOB ” H . COUCH , MD , MBA GLMS President | bob . couch @ glms . org
To listen to Dr . Couch ’ s article as a podcast or watch the video , visit our link on www . glms . org .
LOOKING BACK
I
started this year as your president by looking to where we were going . My term has gone by remarkably fast , and I want to end it by looking at where we ’ ve been .
When I reflect on the past year , I think about the butterfly effect , first described by Edward Lorenz , an MIT meteorologist , who found that even minute changes in a nonlinear system could have profound effects later on . Unknowingly , his work was a foundation of chaos theory , a metaphor for the current state of medicine . It is true , though , that small changes now can have a large influence on the future , and that is what I hope we accomplished this year .
I am most proud of our wellness initiatives . Burnout rates for physicians are at an all-time high . More than half of physicians are reporting at least one sign of burnout and the rates are highest for the specialties on the front lines of care . For emergency medicine , my specialty , the rate is over 70 percent . Suicide takes over 400 physicians a year – the size of an entire medical school – and the rates are continuing to rise . We recognized the need to address the problems of stress and burnout , in an anonymous way that protects our privacy . This led to the genesis of our Physician Wellness Program , a safe harbor for physicians , where GLMS covers the cost of 4 counseling visits . It ’ s an opportunity I hope our members take advantage of , rather than trying to go it alone . It can save careers and save lives .
We ’ ve also been working behind the scenes to improve how GLMS functions every day . All organizations depend on IT to do well , and we have totally revamped our old technology with a new cloud-based program , Member Max . This will allow our members to make use of many new features , such as paying dues online , tracking CME , and in general , makes it much easier to navigate our website and interface with GLMS . Our staff has put in many long hours this year to convert our system , and you will love the result . It will allow us to better interface with other Kentucky physician organizations , and will allow us to become a more efficient organization . We ’ ve also completely restructured our Centralized Application Processing Service ( CAPS ), becoming much more responsive to both our members and hospital participants .
We ’ ve had a great impact on legislation this year in Frankfort , and I think it has been one of the most successful sessions in passing bills that favorably impact physicians in many years . Our policy and advocacy team has reinvigorated our legislative efforts , and their work has paid off . This is one of the most important ways that our membership can shape the future , engaging physicians to have a greater presence both in state and national politics .
We as physicians have been given a gift , and many use that gift to give back to our community both in a local and international way . Your GLMS Foundation provides many opportunities for medical missions , and there are a myriad of ways that GLMS members are caring for people beyond their primary jobs . Promoting missions has always been a cornerstone of what we do at GLMS , and our Supplies Over Seas initiative continues to provide global support . I ’ m also very proud of the work of The Healing Place , started by GLMS members over 25 years ago . It is truly a place where hope is found .
We ’ re facing the challenges of navigating a difficult reimbursement system , trying to understand and embrace the specificity of ICD-10 while attempting to comply with Meaningful Use , the Physicians Quality Reporting System , Value Based Purchasing , and other CMS programs . My physician practice started using scribes 5 years ago and it has changed our lives , letting us interact with patients instead of interacting with a computer screen . It is at least one way to try and retain the patient – physician relationship and have patients see me as a healer rather than a data-entry clerk .
While this year has been one with many successes , it ’ s also been one of change . We celebrated the retirement of Lelan Woodmansee , who had been the face of GLMS for my entire medical career , and welcomed the selection of Bert Guinn as our new Executive Vice President and CEO . Lelan was a tremendous influence , both personally and professionally , and we ’ ll miss his steady hand . Bert has done a fantastic job in taking over , and has very capably met the challenges of his first year . The entire leadership team and staff at GLMS are what make our organization successful , and I am grateful for their engagement and passion . We are in good hands .
In closing my year as your president , I ’ d like to thank my family , who has gracefully indulged my year of rescheduled dinners , early mornings and late evenings , and travel , along with my physician partners at Southern Emergency Medical Specialists who have traded shifts and allowed me the time to serve . Most importantly , however , I ’ d like to thank our membership . It has been an incredible honor and I thank you for entrusting me with your leadership .
I think that little things we do now will have a tremendous impact on the future . The butterfly effect is real . Even the smallest positive changes made this year will influence our organization for many years to come . Thank you .
Robert Couch , MD , MBA , is the emergency department medical director at Norton Audubon Hospital and the founder of Southern Emergency Medical Specialists , PSC .
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