A Seat at the Table:
How GLMS, KMA and AMA Are Shaping the Future of Medicine
by Aneeta Bhatia, MD, MBA
Every physician in Louisville feels some mix of the same pressures: shrinking Medicare and insurance payments, exploding prior authorization demands, burnout, moral injury and the sense that“ decisions are being made about us, without us.” Many colleagues have quietly opted out. They express lack of time, no bandwidth, no faith that anything will change.
The result of that disengagement is that it allows others to write the rules of our profession. When we stay fragmented and silent, we are easy to ignore; when we are organized and unified, it is impossible to overlook us. This is where organized medicine can take us.
I would like to answer the often-posed question to me by my peers: What does organized medicine do for me?
Organized medicine refers to the union of physicians in professional associations that provide advocacy, resources and education to serve both medical professionals and their communities. It describes the collective actions of physicians working through local, state and national associations to advocate for the medical profession, advocate for our patients and advance health equity and improve health care policy, thus influencing health care systems.
Organized medicine is not“ one more thing” on an already impossible to-do list. It is one of the few levers physicians still fully control to protect their patients, their practices and themselves. Organized medicine gives us a way to stop struggling alone and start acting together. It serves as a representative voice.
In Louisville, the Greater Louisville Medical Society( GLMS) exemplifies this mission. The Kentucky Medical Association( KMA) and the American Medical Association( AMA) operate at increasing scale, unifying medical voices and driving policy for the well-being of patients and the profession. Here are a few facts about the individual organizations:
Greater Louisville Medical Society( GLMS)
GLMS, established in 1892, unites nearly 4,000 local physicians to promote medicine, protect patient-physician relationships and advocate
6 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE