Page 10 - Delaware Medical Journal - December 2015

PRESIDENT’S PAGE
role in leading this committee, through the co-chairmanship of Dr. Randeep Kahlon and now Dr. John Goodill. With the increase in national attention to the prescription drug and heroin abuse epidemic, PDAC will continue
to develop policy and procedures which will assist physicians in addressing
and decreasing the effects of this fatal epidemic.
Finally, nothing has transformed
the delivery of health care so much
as the Affordable Care Act and the development of health care payment reform models. I touched on this
when I reviewed the book The Bitter Pill in a previous President’s Page. However, I have discussed over a few President’s Pages the rapidly changing environment of health care “reform” here in Delaware. Only three years
ago, there was a lone innovative care delivery model in the state, the MedNet/ Highmark Patient Centered Medical Home program. This initiative provided physicians with the resources and valuable experience as early adopters
of a payment model, which focused on the patient and the quality of care, not volume. Now, as 2015 comes to a close, there may be as many as a half dozen, if not more, payment models and clinically integrated physician networks which meld the value and quality of care with payment. Of course, there is plenty of room for discussion and improvement, such as, “What is really ’quality’ and
The only way physicians can shape and improve that model is to be engaged. Being at the table is a path to empowerment.”

the work of the physician and the
health of the patient?” However, I have repeatedly beaten the drum that the only way physicians can shape and improve that model is to be engaged. Being at the table is a path to empowerment.
This statement in the end has been
my motivation during my presidency. As I have gone around the state attending medical staff meetings, specialty group meetings, and various committee meetings, I hear the fatigue and frustration that has plagued our profession for the last few years. The perspective regarding administrative burden and the rising cost of practicing,
as well as health care itself, have
had a negative impact on physician satisfaction and practice sustainability. However, two years later I still believe that a strong physician organization can rise above this and provide a powerful voice for our peers and patients. I will continue to “engage” and be engaged after my Presidency ends to ensure that not only is there a “healthier” Delaware, but that I have helped “be the change” that I would like to see in my profession.
Nancy Fan, M.D.
President, Medical Society of Delaware
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Del Med J | December 2015 | Vol. 87 | No. 12