Please make note of our new address and forward this information to your appropriate staff for records and billing. 

NEW HEADQUARTERS ADDRESS:

Louisiana State Medical Society
5555 Hilton Avenue, Ste. 420
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

Ph: 225.763.8500
Fx: 225.768.5601

Due to the rerouting of mail and the ongoing delivery issues, there may be a slight delay in the posting of membership dues. If you have questions regarding your dues payment, please contact Amy Tyrrell at atyrrell@lsms.org. For any payments lapsed for an extended period, LSMS staff will follow-up with personal phone calls.  

Thank you again for your patience during this exciting time for our organization. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to LSMS staff or physician leadership with any questions or concerns.

Have a wonderful holiday season and we hope to see you soon in 2022.

The kids are back in school, football is in the air, the holiday season is just around the corner, and, for most of you, it is the end of our traditional membership year. For more than 140 years, the LSMS has proudly worked for the Louisiana physician community! Our charge is to advocate, collaborate, communicate, and educate on your behalf. We focus on you, so you can focus on patients. Each year, medicine advances through innovation, awareness, and professionalism. It's always exciting to look back and celebrate our accomplishments, as we anticipate what the future may bring.
 
In 2019, LSMS has a number of successes to brag about:

• We updated www.lsms.org! Go online and check it out.

• We brought the Journal back to a print format. 

  • It's now printed tri-annually.

  • It includes scientific cases, membership news, and Society updates.

• We returned to grassroots advocacy!

  • More than 550 LSMS members responded to our 2019 legislative session calls-to-action.

  • We had 40 LSMS members join us for White Coat Wednesday at the Capitol.

  • There are five registered lobbyists to protect you and your profession.

  • We have strengthened coalitions with more than 15 medicine and healthcare organizations.

• We increased membership participation.

  • There are 31 LSMS members representing the profession on 18 statewide Boards and Commissions.

• We grew the membership.

  • Our active membership jumped by 48%.

  • We have the largest number of 100% group members ever, with 39 groups and growing!

• We developed new member-led election efforts!

  • LAMPAC endorsed and contributed to 52 candidates in the 2019 Primary election.

  • LAMPAC leaders have met with dozens of candidates and hand delivered new LSMS issue-focused information. 

To share these successes, LSMS staff drove more than 1,300 miles around the state to host the LSMS Summer Road Show membership meetings. Thank you to everyone who attended. We look forward to seeing more of you as we continue outreach efforts in your area.
 
As we look forward to 2020, we are excited to announce the dates for our 139^th Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates. We hope you will consider joining us on January 23-25, 2020, at the Baton Rouge Marriott. Visit our website here to learn about being involved as a delegate or attending as a member.

Furthermore, we are working on new endeavors which include:

• Additions to our publications and resources:

  • "Know your Due Process Rights," a must-have for all physicians.

  • "LSMS New Physicians Guide" for medical students, residents, and physicians.

• New member benefits like a LSMS Multi-Employer 401(k) Plan

As a member, LSMS keeps you up-to-date on what is happening within the Society and the profession. We have a number of continuous benefits to enhance your membership:

• Our weekly e-newsletter, "Capsules QW," communicates association and industry information. It is distributed on Saturday mornings.

• We offer professional, technical, and educational resources specific to physicians:

  • Annual Legislative Update

  • Termination of the Patient/Physician Relationship

  • Closing a Medical Practice

  • Recognizing and Managing Physician Burnout

• A dedicated staff with specialized knowledge is available to discuss all areas of healthcare related to the practice of medicine.

• The LSMS Physician Leadership Academy is hosted in conjunction with the LSU E.J. Ourso College of Business Administration and seeks to give physicians a foundational and practical knowledge base as they take on more leadership roles in their organization.

• Discounts are offered on various educational programs and regional meetings.

• Members are given the opportunity to give back to the profession through service:

  • LSMS Councils and committees,

  • Statewide Boards and Commissions where LSMS has appointive roles, and

  • Joining our Advocacy efforts through your attendance and/or participation in VoterVoice grassroots efforts.

• Scholarships are offered to LSMS member medical students.

• Advertising opportunities for your organization are given at discounted rates to members who wish to advertise in LSMS publications or to exhibit/sponsor events. 

We appreciate our LSMS members and their commitment to the Society. We urge you to stay a part of the Society and continue to receive the benefits of membership by taking action as soon as you receive your renewal invoice. The easiest way to renew is to sign up for our *NEW* auto-pay membership. Monthly, quarterly, and annual installments are available. You can also renew through the secure payment link sent directly to your email inbox.  For members and practices that prefer to pay via check, a paper invoice can be provided. As you submit your renewal, please verify and update your profile so that we can better communicate with you!

As a LSMS member, you are investing in your future and the future of YOUR chosen profession. We take great pride in a membership that connects you with peers; shares best practices; provides education to help you better serve your patients; provides quick access to information and resources; and ultimately helps you navigate the administrative burden and hassle factors associated with practicing medicine in today's ever changing world.
 
The LSMS has specific membership categories for every practice setting of a physician's career lifecycle.  You can view our specific membership categories here. If you practice in a group with FIVE or more physicians, please consider a group membership, which may entitle your organization to additional benefits and unique pricing. 
 
You can contact Terri Watson, Director of Administration and Member Services at terri@lsms.org to learn more about everything discussed in this article.

“One physician commits suicide every day, the highest suicide rate of any profession and more than twice that of the general population,” said Gary Price, M.D., president of The Physicians Foundation. “These are our mothers and fathers, wives and husbands, sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. They are human beings who deal with emotional and physical pain, and neurocognitive issues, like depression and anxiety, all of which are exacerbated by very stressful careers. We cannot continue to lose so many talented and caring professionals every year.”

Vital Signs is designed to empower physicians, their colleagues and loved ones, to check in on one another’s wellbeing. Ultimately, this will help destigmatize the negativity around physicians seeking help for their mental health. The campaign uses an educational webpage to help understand the warning signs to look for in someone who may be suicidal. In addition, Vital Signs provides a guide to help start a conversation with a physician about whom a colleague may be concerned.

“To make progress in addressing physician suicide, we must address the persistent stigma surrounding seeking mental help in the profession and the lack of organizational support for physicians coping with the traumatic events and burdens that take away from the joy of practicing medicine. The reasons for suicide are multifactorial but there is no doubt that long term stress and burnout contribute to a greater risk of suicide among physicians,” noted Dr. Price. “Vital Signs is an effort to reduce that stigma and to get physicians to check in with one another.”

The Vital Signs campaign is part of the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to protect physician wellbeing, including addressing burnout, which can have devastating effects on the access, quality and cost of our country’s health care. It’s estimated that one million Americans lose their physician to suicide each year.

In 2018, the Foundation released results from a nationwide survey, which revealed 78% of physicians experienced burnout due to factors such as loss of clinical autonomy, electronic health record (EHR) challenges and barriers to addressing patients’ social needs that are directly impacting their health outcomes. To combat the main drivers of burnout and improve physician wellbeing, the Foundation is focused on:

• Clinical autonomy: Collaborating with the American Medical Association to extend its Practice Transformation Initiative to support state medical societies in engaging health organizations representing 1,000+ physicians adapt, thrive and enhance professional satisfaction while reducing burnout;
• EHRs: Facilitating The Physicians Foundation Interoperability Fund to assist medical practices in six states in effectively sharing clinical information with other physicians and hospitals through health information exchanges; and
• Patient Social Needs: Working with The Health Initiative to advance three states’ efforts to integrate social determinants of health into care delivery and payment models to improve patients’ lives and mitigate physician burnout.

The Foundation is also supporting the following physician wellbeing efforts across the country:

• American Academy of Pediatrics: Women’s Wellness through Equity and Leadership
• Association of Women Surgeons Foundation: Coaching Program to Address Burnout in Women Surgery Residents
• Baylor Scott & White Central Texas Foundation: Leadership Development as a Unique Tool to Fight Burnout in Women Physicians
• Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University: Development and Evaluation of an Opinion Leader Based Initiative to Create a Culture of Wellness
• Community Service Education and Research Foundation of SSVMS: Joy of Medicine
• Family Health Center of Worcester: An Innovative Model for a Comprehensive Physician Wellness Program
• Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute: Mentoring to Promote Professional Fulfillment and Reduce Burnout in a Department of Medicine
• Massachusetts General Hospital: Reaching Their Personal Best: Coaching for Professional Development and Wellbeing
• Mayo Clinic: RCT: Effect of Coaching on Mid-Career Physician Wellbeing, Job Satisfaction, & Fulfillment
• Metro Omaha Medical Society Foundation: Provider Wellness Initiative
• Mount Sinai Medical Center: Innovations in Physician Wellness: Transforming Culture, Redesigning Systems, Promoting Wellbeing
• Physicians for a Healthy California: Network of Ethnic Physician Organizations: Reducing Stress and Physician Burnout
• Regents of University of California, San Diego: Mindful Mental Training Physicians: Stress Resilience and Wellbeing
• Travis County Medical Society Foundation: Physician Wellness Program Development Initiative
• Western Carolina Medical Society Foundation: Healthy Healer Program

To explore Vital Signs, visit www.physiciansfoundation.org/vitalsigns. The website is intended for educational purposes only. If you need further guidance or are in a crisis, call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273 TALK (8255) for free 24/7 support.

About the Physicians Foundation
The Physicians Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that seeks to advance the work of practicing physicians and helps them facilitate the delivery of health care to patients. It pursues its mission through a variety of activities including grant-making, research, white papers and policy studies. Since 2005, the Foundation has awarded numerous multi-year grants totaling more than $50 million. In addition, the Foundation focuses on the following core areas: physician leadership, physician wellness, physician practice trends, drivers of health and the impact of health care reform on physicians and patients. As the health care system in America continues to evolve, The Physicians Foundation is steadfast in its determination to strengthen the physician-patient relationship and assist physicians in sustaining their medical practices in today’s practice environment. For more information, visit www.PhysiciansFoundation.org.

Click here to read the letter.

623 SW 10th Avenue

800.435.2104

Topeka, KS 66612

www.KaMMCOHealthSolutions.com

Contact information:

Lisa Ignoto,  lignoto@kammco.com

Louisiana State Medical Society to Partner with KaMMCO Health Solutions

for Statewide Health Information Exchange and Analytics Tools

BATON ROUGE, LA.: Nationwide there’s a transformation of the health care industry underway. Physicians are adopting new performance-based delivery and payment models that demand more patient information as well as require powerful analytics to improve clinical outcomes, reduce inefficiencies and positively impact patient safety. The Louisiana State Medical Society (LSMS) recognizes the changes affecting its statewide membership and is pleased to announce a new partnership with KaMMCO Health Solutions (KHS). 

“Partnering with KHS to access new health information exchange (HIE) and analytics tools allows us to support the physicians of Louisiana with cutting-edge benefits relevant to both patient care and the successful transition to alternative payment models. This is a winning combination for our members,” said LSMS Executive Vice President and CEO, Jeff Williams.

“KHS offers a unique perspective, as they too are physician-led. We are pleased to work with an organization that has experience in developing and successfully maintaining a health information exchange which also serves as the foundation for creation and delivery of meaningful data analytic reports,” added Williams.

KHS President and Chief Executive Officer, Kurt Scott said, “Our new partnership with LSMS represents a statewide membership of engaged and forward-thinking physicians. We look forward to working with LSMS to deliver integral solutions to the Louisiana health care community.”

About the Louisiana State Medical Society

Established in 1878, the Louisiana State Medical Society (LSMS) serves as the trusted advocate for physicians in the state of Louisiana. LSMS aims to promote excellence in the practice of medicine and is the largest voluntary physician organization in the state, representing all specialties. 

Louisiana State Medical Society contact:

Jeff Williams

Executive Vice President & CEO

225.763.8500  jeff@lsms.org

www.lsms.org

About KaMMCO Health Solutions, Inc.

KaMMCO Health Solutions, Inc. is a provider-led subsidiary of the Kansas Medical Mutual Insurance Company, KaMMCO, a medical professional liability insurer affiliated with the Kansas Medical Society. KHS’s provider-led approach uniquely positions it to help physicians, other health care providers, integrated delivery networks, accountable care organizations, and others seeking to improve patient outcomes and adapt to new performance-based payment models through the use of data analytics and business intelligence tools. KHS is led by President and Chief Executive Officer, Kurt Scott.

KaMMCO Health Solutions, Inc. contact: 

Lisa Ignoto 

Vice President, Marketing and Business Development

800.435.2104

lignoto@kammco.com www.KaMMCOHealthSolutions.com

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT AND TO VIEW FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, CLICK HERE.

“The LSMS looks forward to capitalizing on Lauren’s almost 20 years of legal expertise and experience working with elected officials, state agencies and the Louisiana Legislature,” said LSMS CEO and Executive Vice-President Jeff Williams.

Before joining LSMS, Bailey served as executive counsel for Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System where she was responsible for drafting, monitoring, recommending positions on and testifying on behalf of its board of trustees relative to legislation. She is also a former attorney for the Louisiana State Senate and an assistant attorney general for the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office. The Morgan City native is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a B.S. in business administration and received her J.D. from Southern University Law Center.