Page 9 - Delaware Medical Journal - July-August 2018

PRESIDENT’S PAGE
RICHARD W. HENDERSON, MD
MSD President Richard W. Henderson, MD is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist who practices at Saint Francis Healthcare.
Advocacy Matters
On June 30, 2018, the 149th session of the Delaware General Assembly ended. Any bill that
does not pass before June 30 will have to be re-introduced during the next session. The 150th General Assembly will begin its activities on January 1, 2019.
As in past years, this was a very
active General Assembly and there were a number of bills impacting both patients and physicians in our state. This included Senate Bill 227, the Improving Access to Primary Care
bill, a major piece of legislation crafted and driven by the Medical Society of Delaware (MSD) to improve access to primary care for patients by providing support to maintain a strong, robust, and independent primary care base in our state.
I would like to thank our lobby team from The Byrd Group and Andrew Wilson, Esq. at Morris James LLP for their work in Legislative Hall on behalf of MSD this year. Last year, because
of their outstanding efforts, MSD ranked second in the state with regard to lobbying activity in Dover. All of this activity has and will continue to be focused on patients and physicians.
I would also like to recognize the leadership of Andrew W. Dahlke, MD, President-Elect of MSD and Chair of the Government Affairs Committee
(GAC), and also the members of the GAC itself. The GAC is responsible for monitoring all legislative activity that has the potential to impact patient care and physicians, as well as implementing the legislative agenda and priorities of MSD. The committee membership is diverse in makeup, opinions, and thoughts on issues.
This adds to both the richness of
the discussions and the depth of the decisions made on the wide range of issues that come before the committee. Thank you, Dr. Dahlke and GAC members, for your time, energy, and commitment to the advocacy activities of MSD.
Advocacy as defined by Merriam- Webster is “the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal.” A more modern-day version is defined by Wikipedia as “an activity by an individual or group which seeks to influence decisions within political, economic, or social systems or institutions.” Historically, outside of what we do on an individual basis in our offices every day to make things happen for patients, physicians have been very slow to engage in advocacy efforts to address issues/policies impacting the practice of medicine. This lack of engagement has cost our profession as more and more important decisions about health care and the practice of medicine are being made
Del Med J | July/August 2018 | Vol. 90 | No. 6 181