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Some wonder whether state and county medical societies can survive. They face increasing competition from the specialty professional associations. Increasingly, more physicians are employees of hospitals or in models with private equity sponsors. Younger physicians often are more likely to eschew such groups, given that they are not always seen to adapt the technological advances that they are accustomed to and often, seem to be “old boys” networks. Many clinicians wonder whether the costs of such societies are worth their financial and time investment. And now, we have COVID-10 adding additional stresses, including financial pressure, to one’s practice.
It is probably true that many medical societies will not survive, but that is not because there is not a role for them, but rather, they have not decided to adapt to the changing market place. As Wayne Gretzky might say, a medical society needs to skate to where the puck is going to be. Physicians need to realize substantial value from their financial and time investment.
My experience the last year and a half as a member of the national Board of Directors of the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), a member of many different associations and a counselor to physicians suggests that those medical societies which will survive will need to think more about reinventing themselves and thriving. They need to reach out to their members and provide services that have not previously been imagined. For example, the MGMA list serve on COVID-19 is a go-to resource for medical practice executives. Offerings of MGMA are designed to appeal to all medical practice executives, whether or not, their medical group is employed by a hospital or in a traditional private practice.
Just what are the characteristics that a medical society will need to be successful and strive in the next decade? The society needs to be agile and understand its market. Physicians want on demand resources. Many of their patients are used to using apps and want to access their physician through such an app, and increasingly are interested in telemedicine offerings. Obviously, COVID-19 has facilitated such offerings beyond what anyone might have dreamed of last year.
Medical societies need to understand population health, precision health, and data analytics, and assist their members in not only understanding these concepts, but also being market leaders in them. They need to be facile with information technology, mHealth, social media, telehealth, etc., and provide resources in that regard for their members. COVID-19 has emphasized the importance of having a greater understanding of financial and legal issues. Physicians do not want to have to continually reach out to their accountants and attorneys in areas where other physician also have the same queries.
They need to understand privacy and security and not operate in a vacuum. Patients visit South Florida from all over the world. Not only are the HIPAA privacy laws relevant, but also the European Union General Data Protection Regulations.
If medical societies want to be considered top tier, they may need to be places for innovation, exploration of cutting-edge medical practices, hosts for medical residents, and increasingly understand the value of national and international connections. More sophisticated medical societies might be involved in clinical trials, explore medication therapy management models with pharmacists, seek to participate in precision and personalized medicine, if not ultra-personalized medicine.
Medical societies need to be leaders in their communities. They need to foster healthy environments, understand and help address the social determinants of health, be advocates for their patients on a local, state and national level, if they want their members and would be members to value them. A physician who is a member of a medical society should be proud of their affiliation, not just view it as another group to which they must pay dues. Such physicians should be engaged in striving for better quality of care in a more cost-effective manner. They need to see their medical society as an advocate with them in bettering the health of all and their community.
South Florida is a very special place. It has been my home for over the last five years. I have seen the dedication of the physicians in this great community, and more recently, in their unbelievable response to the pandemic. As we start to re-open our communities, we need to ensure that our medical societies not only help our physicians meet the new challenges we face, but also help them thrive. Their leadership can take their medical societies to where “the puck will be.” We as residents and patients are looking forward to their continued leadership.
