Bucks Montgomery Physician Summer 2021 - 4

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Bucks CMS President
A Message From
by Richard T. Leshner, D.O. FACC FCPP
T
here are many challenges facing those of us who
deliver healthcare in these turbulent times. Some
challenges require immediate attention while
others are ongoing, and there will be struggles for years
to come. Healthcare professionals
must also have a succession plan to
ensure a future for our profession
commensurate with the efforts
it requires to be a member of
the healthcare profession. We
have the responsibility to ensure
our patients receive the quality
medical care they deserve.
PAMED and Bucks CMS have identified a long list of
issues that will impact healthcare delivery over many years.
There is no
shorTcuT
The COVID-19 pandemic has
highlighted the difficulty of
delivering health care in a time of
intense political division. There are
general principles of virology, but
the number of variables is so great
that one path is never certain. In fact,
we have seen that mutations that
impact vaccine efficacy and patterns
of inoculation all have the ability to disrupt what should
be successful health care delivery. The press engendering
polarization through less than responsible reporting is
compromising the healthcare of the people. There are
varying opinions as to how to proceed. The role of the
Bucks County Medical Society (Bucks CMS) along with the
Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) is to be a resource
to educate the community, support our members, and
assist our legislators in understanding the science to make
informed decisions. We must also support the doctorpatient
relationship and its primary role in the process.
To becoming
a physician.
We are
professionals,
noT providers.
Venue for litigation is one issue with wide reaching
ramifications. Venue shopping would
allow plaintiff attorneys the ability to
" shop " for a county in which to plead
their case that is more favorable to
plaintiff verdicts. If a rule proposed by a
Pennsylvania Supreme Court committee
were to advance to weaken the current
restriction on venue shopping, the
result would be higher premiums and
physicians would be prompted to leave
a hostile environment in this state. We
must continue to support PAMED's
efforts to preserve the venue rule and
coordinate our efforts at the county level.
We need to engage legislators and the
press professionally, but also firmly, as
to the ramifications if the rule were to
change and allow venue shopping. At the
same time, we must educate our patients
about how this could impact access to their healthcare.
Another issue is the push by CRNPs to practice without
physician collaboration. There is no question that
CRNPs are an integral part of the health care delivery
team. However, 18th grade is not the equivalent of 23rd
grade. There is no shortcut to becoming a physician. The
hope by some policymakers that removal of the CRNP
collaborative agreement requirement would provide health
care to the rural areas of Pennsylvania has not been
borne out in other states. Let's keep the team together.
2 BUCKS/MONTGOMERY PHYSICIAN summer 2021
Bucks Montgomery Physician Summer 2021

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