Volume 12, No. 12
April 2011
PRESIDENT’S LETTER OF REFLECTION
WHAT’S NEWS: UPDATE FROM CEO BARBARA BALDWIN
REGISTER NOW: 2011 CSA ANNUAL MEETING AND CLINICAL ANESTHESIA UPDATE
2012 CSA ANNUAL MEETING APRIL 19 – 23, 2012
WELCOME TO COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER MERRIN MCGREGOR
PRESIDENT’S LETTER OF REFLECTION
By Narendra S. Trivedi, M. D., CSA President 2010-2011
As I reflect on the past year as your 63rd President of the California Society of Anesthesiologists, I am honored to have been selected for this great opportunity. I dedicated my Presidency to “The Future of Anesthesiology,” and it has been a year full of noteworthy achievements and progress in the field of Anesthesiology and for the CSA.
In 2010, many new areas for growth were identified, and many existing goals saw progress. We developed a Committee on the Future of Anesthesiology, which identified key focus areas for moving forward in Anesthesiology. In February 2011, the CSA and CMA filed an appeal seeking the reversal of a superior court decision upholding Governor Schwarzenegger’s “Opt-Out” of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services requirement that a physician supervise nurse anesthetists. The CSA is committed to fight this battle with the support of the CMA and ASA. We have made considerable progress in area of advocacy, seen growth in our membership size, and increased resident involvement in the CSA during the past year. As well, significant communications advancements have been implemented at CSA, most notably, the launch of the new website in September 2010.
I would like to thank the distinguished leaders of the CSA for guiding and mentoring me through this year as President of the California Society of Anesthesiologists. It has been a challenging, yet productive year. I have embraced this immense responsibility and taken great personal responsibility for serving the members of the CSA well. I look forward to continuing to serve for years to come and working to maintain the CSA as a leader in organized medicine.
WHAT’S NEWS: UPDATE FROM CEO BARBARA BALDWIN
The mobile application for the CSA website is now operating and may be accessed by logging on to the CSA website www.csahq.org using a smart phone or other PDA. You will automatically be directed to the mobile site, which is streamlined and easy to read on a small screen.
The CSA office has been busy with district elections and annual meeting preparations. Shortly after the annual meeting, dues statements for 2011 – 2012 will be sent. The CSA is very pleased that for the sixth year, membership dues will not be not increased. In our continuing efforts to “go green,” members will receive an email with a link to the CSA web site to renew membership and make donations online. This saves paper, postage and administrative time. Those who do not renew online prior to the first mailing may renew by mail, phone or via the website after receiving a paper invoice.
REGISTER NOW: 2011 CSA ANNUAL MEETING AND CLINICAL ANESTHESIA UPDATE
Make plans to join us at the CSA Annual Meeting and Clinical Anesthesia Update, May 13-15, 2011, at the beautiful Fairmont Hotel located in downtown San Jose. CME topics include Advances in Continuous Peripheral Nerve Blocks and Perineural Infusions, presented by Edward Mariano, M.D., MAS, and Managing Endocrine Abnormalities During the Perioperative Period, presented by Ana Crawford, M.D. Register online at https://www.csahq.org/up-register.php?event=40
This year’s annual ASA Legislative Conference takes place May 2 – 4 in Washington D.C. The CSA’s delegation includes 19 active members and five residents who will visit California congressional representatives to carry the message on issues affecting anesthesiologists and their patients. The burning issues this year are the severe shortage of anesthesia drugs, opposition to Medicare payment cuts and repeal of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, truth and transparency in identifying health care workers’ professional status, and expansion of the rural pass-through to anesthesiologists. The program agenda includes the Honorable Xavier Becerra (D-CA-31st), Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus; the Honorable Paul Ryan (R-WI-1st), Chairman of the House Budget Committee; and the Honorable Eric Cantor (R-VA-7th), House Majority Leader.
2012 CSA ANNUAL MEETING APRIL 19 – 23, 2012
Next year’s Annual Meeting introduces a new format with several changes, including separation of the educational program from the House of Delegates. The Annual Meeting will take place at the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel, a beautiful resort location expected to attract many CSA members and out-of-state anesthesiologists. The educational program is scheduled for mornings, leaving the remainder of the day open to enjoy the local amenities. Check the CSA website soon for more information.
WELCOME TO COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER MERRIN MCGREGOR
On March 21st, the CSA welcomed Merrin McGregor as the new Manager of Communications and Electronic Media. Merrin has a broad background with experience in communications, marketing, public relations, website development and copywriting. She holds bachelor degrees in education and the arts. Her background and talents make her a most welcome addition to the CSA staff team.
By Paul Yost, M.D., FAAP, Chair LPAD
Many critical issues that affect the way you practice are decided in Sacramento and Washington DC. The CSA, ASA, (and the CMA) have a dedicated team of lobbyists and advocates working on your behalf, however, the most important and effective person in political advocacy is YOU. No argument drives a point home more strongly than a physician on the front lines of patient care who can articulate how a law or regulation will impact the patients of California. The ASA currently has an excellent Grass Roots advocacy section. To sign up for the ASA Grass Roots program please visit http://grassroots.asahq.org/Home/New
The CSA is expanding its California State advocacy efforts as well. Please visit the CSA advocacy page at http://www.csahq.org/advocacy.vp.html. We encourage CSA members to get to know their individual legislators on a personal level and become a "key contact" for the CSA. Coming soon, the CSA will be launching a grassroots advocacy initiative through the CSA web site. The implementation of CapWiz software on the CSA website will make advocacy efforts simpler, easier and more effective. Stay tuned for more information!
The CSA currently has two political action alerts that need your help:
- AB 1360 (Swanson). This is a bill that would extend and expand a loophole that allows some hospitals to hire physicians under certain circumstances. Please see the following alert for talking points and a link to find your elected official: http://members.csahq.org/bill-ab-1360-request-action
- MICRA: Since 1974, California has enjoyed the gold standard of medical liability reform in the form of MICRA (Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act). The Consumer Attorneys of California have made it clear they intend to make a run at altering MICRA this year. Although there is no specific legislation yet, there are a couple of "spot bills" or "place holder" bills that can easily be altered to change MICRA to the detriment of the patients of California. To see how you can help protect MICRA, please view http://www.csahq.org/member_alerts.php?news=50
On April 8, the opening brief for the CSA/CMA appeal of the decision to uphold then-Governor Schwarzenegger’s opt-out from the Medicare requirement for physician supervision of nurse anesthetists was filed in San Francisco District Court. Unless an extension is granted, CANA and the Governor will have 30 days to file their response brief. We then will have at least 20 days to file our reply brief, and amicus briefs will be due 14 days after that final filing. The ASA and AMA will file a joint amicus (“friend of the court”) brief supporting the appeal. Other amicus parties may also submit briefs. A decision is expected by mid-summer.
By William Feaster, M.D., MBA, Co-Chair CPPC, Assistant Treasurer
The new CSA website has undergone a major face-lift over this past year, but its beauty is more than skin deep! In addition to things like new menu functionality for navigating the site and Google search within the site, there now is substantial group functionality that we are using to support all of our CSA committees and communications with members. This is a tremendous resource that we will soon be using to its full advantage for all CSA members. Another major improvement now in production is a parallel mobile website that recognizes what type of smart phone browser you are using to access the site and formats the text and graphics accordingly for easy viewing and use. If you haven’t accessed the website from your smart phone recently, please give it a try, and give us some feedback if you experience any problems.
The next focus of our web development is to rearrange the Practice Resources section of the site to make it more approachable and to include more relevant content for your use. Members of both LPAD and CPPC are working together to complete this project over the next several months. The group will be working to link to existing resources at the ASA and other websites, as well as improving the organization of CSA content and documents. Drs. Zakowski and Hertzberg will be leading this effort.
I will be leaving the role of Co-Chair of CPPC this coming year. Over the past two years, in addition to coordinating our website development project, we’ve dealt with personnel changes and communications around the Governor's opt-out decision. I want to thank all of our committee members for their valuable input that made this project so successful, and I also want to acknowledge Dr. Hertzberg, my Co-Chair this last year for her leadership on our communications initiatives and her work as Editor of Electronic Media.
CSA is social. Find the California Society of Anesthesiology page on Facebook and LinkedIn, or follow us on Twitter @CSAHQ to stay up to date on all the latest CSA news, events and announcements. Please ‘like’ or ‘follow’ the CSA and spread the word to your network of contacts.
District elections have closed. Thank you to all who voted. Complete election results can be found on the CSA website at http://www.csahq.org/elections.php.
The Bulletin is looking for talented photographers among the CSA members to submit potential cover images for future issues of the publication. Photographers who deal with imagery relevant to the field of anesthesia or scenery in California are welcome to contact Communications Manager, Merrin McGregor at communications@csahq.org.
Please respond to the CSA’s latest survey question:
Which CSA Member Benefit do you believe offers the most value?
View this issue online at http://members.csahq.org/newsletter/volume-12-no-12.
CSA Online First
The EMR Doesn't Tell You the Story
by Karen S. Sibert, MD
One morning recently, I found another physician standing morosely at one of the mobile computer terminals we refer to as “cows”—computers on wheels—that are everywhere now in our hospital...
Read more... 
Subscribe via RSS
