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 October 2003Welcome to the inaugural issue of ACS Cross Country–a monthly newsletter that will focus on state issues that are having an impact on surgeons at the local level. Produced by the College's Division of Advocacy and Health Policy, ACS Cross Country will also highlight current ACS activities and grassroots initiatives that are planned for, or are under way, in various areas across the country. We hope you will find the newsletter interesting and informative. Thomas R. Russell, MD, FACS STATE MEDICAL LIABILITY REFORM FOCUS: NEW JERSEY
Facing a stalemate in state tort reform efforts, members of the New Jersey Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (NJACS) recently took their concerns directly to voters by going door to door in key legislative districts on October 7. "Operation House Call," initiated by the Medical Society of New Jersey (MSNJ), proved to be an important way for physicians to illustrate to the voters the urgency of electing a state assembly that will support a reasonable cap on noneconomic damages. The October 7 house calls were targeted at key legislative districts throughout the state with kick-off rallies in the central and northern parts of the state drawing hundreds of physicians. In north Jersey, surgeon leaders Ruth Schultze, MD, FACOG, and John Poole, MD, FACS, led large contingents of physicians door-to-door asking voters to seriously consider backing candidates for state assembly who support reasonable medical liability reforms. In central Jersey, Anthony Caggiano, Jr, MD, FACOG, rallied the troops before their respective voter canvassing. A number of surgeons, led by NJACS Chapter President Dr. Robert Davies, also pounded the pavement for assembly candidates in south Jersey; and in a number of cases were accompanied by colleagues from the Philadelphia metropolitan area, where physicians are facing similar troubles. Other individuals who contributed to the success of the event included: current and past MSNJ Presidents Drs. Mark Olesnicky and Robert Rigolosi, respectively; NJACS Governor Dr. John Donahue; and NJACS Chapter Administrator Art Ellenberger. This innovative voter education campaign received positive media coverage from a number of outlets in the region including The New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer. Many New Jersey papers sent reporters to shadow physicians during their "neighborhood rounds." The American College of Surgeons Professional Association (ACSPA) devoted significant resources to help generate media attention and raise public awareness about the October 7 campaign—purchasing a large educational ad (40K PDF) in the Bergen County Record, a local newspaper that covers the northern part of the state. In addition, ACSPA worked hard in developing numerous patient education materials to help surgeons help themselves in explaining the problems facing patients if this issue does not get resolved soon.
For more information regarding how your state can replicate the New Jersey voter education campaign or to obtain a copy of the patient education pack, please contact Christopher Gallagher at: cgallagher@facs.org. PATIENT SAFETY UPDATE On October 14, ACS Executive Director Thomas R. Russell met with the AMA's Board of Trustees (BOT) to urge AMA's leadership to approve and preserve 10 fundamental principles for office-based surgery (OBS) that an ACS/AMA coordinated consensus group crafted on March 17. The principles being considered by the AMA BOT would cover only office procedures performed under moderate, deep, or general sedation. In talking with the trustees, Dr. Russell stressed the importance of the AMA embracing these principles, particularly one that states that all physicians performing office-based surgery "must obtain and maintain board certification by one of the boards recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, American Osteopathic Association, or a board with equivalent standards approved by the state medical board within five years of completing an approved residency training program." The impetus for development of the OBS principles resulted from a College-sponsored resolution, which was brought before the AMA's House of Delegates during its December 2002 meeting. In brief, the resolution called on the AMA to work with the ACS in "convening a work group of interested specialty societies and state medical associations to identify specific requirements for optimal office-based procedures and utilize those requirements to develop guidelines and model state legislation for use by state regulatory authorities to assure quality of office-based procedures." For more information, regarding the OBS principles, please contact Christopher Gallagher at cgallagher@facs.org. ACS GRASSROOTS UPDATE Late last year, the College began working with ACS State Chapter Presidents and Administrators to recruit individuals to serve in its new State Advocacy Representative (StAR) Program. Those selected as "StARs" will begin serving their chapter's membership during the coming year—working as the ACS point person to carry the College's message to their state house. Another responsibility of these "StARs" will be to reach out to counterparts in their specialty societies and state medical associations who are performing the same service for their organizations. These individuals will be the chapter's "scout" for the Fellows in the state – providing the College with local "intel," which will greatly assist the College's Division of Advocacy and Health Policy in addressing issues of concern to surgeons at the state level. We encourage you to access our current list of StAR Contacts (55K PDF) to see who your "scout" at the state level is. For more information regarding the StAR Program, please contact Jon Sutton at jsutton@facs.org. QUOTE OF THE MONTH
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