FROM THE PRESIDENT by Thomas Higgins, MD, MSPH, MBA Reflections on a Year of“ Physicians Together”
It is a surreal feeling to sit down and pen these final words from the“ Desk of the President” for Louisville Medicine. As I look back on the past 12 months, the primary emotion that surfaces is one of profound gratitude. When I stepped into this role, I chose a theme that I believed was vital for our survival and our collective success: Physicians Together. In a time characterized by increasing administrative burdens, the rise of corporate medicine and a mounting sense of professional fragmentation, my goal for this year was simple, yet ambitious – to remind us that our greatest strength lies not just in our individual clinical brilliance, but in our collective voice.
The weight of the GLMS presidency is felt most acutely in the realization that this society represents the pulse of the Louisville medical community. We are a diverse tapestry of specialists, primary care providers, researchers and educators. Yet, throughout this year, I have seen that the challenges we face are remarkably universal. Whether in a large hospital system or a small independent practice, the desire to return to the heart of medicine, the patient, remains our shared North Star.
The Power of Advocacy
One of the cornerstones of my term has been our deepened engagement in health care politics. We often hear the cynical refrain that if you aren’ t at the table, you’ re on the menu. This year, we made sure Louisville physicians were firmly seated at that table, and more importantly, that we were the ones setting the agenda.
Our advocacy efforts were about protecting the integrity of the profession. I have written throughout the year about the necessity of legislative advocacy, urging us to step out of the exam room and into the political arena. The complexity of modern health care means that the decisions made in Frankfort often have a more direct impact on our daily lives than the latest clinical guidelines. We cannot afford to be passive observers. We cannot complain about the rules of the game if we refuse to help write the rulebook.
A Story from the Statehouse
I remember standing in the gallery during a particularly tense legislative debate earlier this year. The air in the Capitol was thick with the scent of old wood and the nervous energy of a hundred competing interests. Beside me there were several colleagues, some in private practice, others representing our state’ s large academic and hospital systems. We represented many different specialties, from the high-intensity world of the OR to the long-term relationships of family practice.
As the debate unfolded on a bill that threatened our clinical autonomy and proposed unnecessary hurdles for patient access, the“ Physicians Together” theme became tangible. In that moment, the barriers of hospital systems, insurance affiliations and specialty silos vanished. We weren’ t just otolaryngologists or pediatricians; we were a unified front for our patients. When we spoke to the legislators in the halls afterward, we didn’ t speak as competitors; we spoke as the collective conscience of Kentucky medicine. That day, we shaped it through the sheer force of our shared expertise.
A Year Highlighting Our Shared Narrative
Through my monthly articles, I have attempted to chronicle our journey and address the“ Great Devaluation” of our profession, the slow, systematic erosion of the physician’ s role in the health care hierarchy. We have spent much of this year discussing the importance of reclaiming our leadership. This isn’ t out of a sense of ego or tradition, but because our unique training, years of sacrifice and ethical mandates are the ultimate safeguards for patient care.
In the spring, we focused on the“ Legislative Pulse,” breaking down the complexities of prior authorization reform and the fight for fair reimbursement. In the summer, we shifted our gaze toward“ The Future Workforce,” discussing how we can mentor the next generation of physicians to be advocates as well as clinicians. By the fall, we were addressing the“ Human Side of Medicine,” where I shared reflections on the burnout that plagues our ranks and how to handle the age of artificial( or augmented) intelligence. We identified that the antidote is often overlooked: Community. We
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