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Ann Thorac Surg 1999;68:2392-2393
© 1999 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

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Reports

Public Affairs/Patient Advocacy and Media Affairs Subcommittee: introductory report and update

^a Cardiovascular Surgeons, P.A., Orlando, Florida, USA
^b Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
^c Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

	Introduction

Top Introduction

 
Recent socioeconomic and political developments, and in particular, Medicare Program reform efforts, have made it mandatory for all medical specialists in the United States to be involved and knowledgeable regarding health care policy at the national legislative level. The Society of Thoracic Surgeons greatly broadened its government relations activities to address these policy changes and established the Professional Affairs Committee 2 years ago. The Public Affairs/Patient Advocacy and Media Affairs Subcommittee was set up at that time to be the Society’s voice to the public and the media, in order to insure, on behalf of our patients, that superior specialty care is not threatened by ongoing health care and Medicare policy changes.

The subcommittee is working with public affairs consultants and patient advocacy groups to reach media groups, in an attempt to better inform the public about the accomplishments and current activities of thoracic surgeons, as well as to provide information about new procedures and technical developments in the field. For thoracic surgeons to remain effective patient advocates in the current milieu, the public must understand how Medicare and other health care reforms can adversely affect our clinical programs. This public awareness must then influence the legislative process if we are to continue to be successful in our professional endeavors.

The subcommittee meets via telephone conference calls twice monthly, as well as by frequent e-mails and newsletters. These efforts are coordinated through the Society of Thoracic office in Washington, D.C., and by our media affairs consultants, Fleishman-Hillard. Regular subcommittee meetings occur at the annual Society of Thoracic Surgeons, American Association for Thoracic Surgery, and American College of Surgeons meetings. At these meetings, we provide the media with information about important and newsworthy presentations and developments discussed in the scientific sessions. Because of the considerable influence that the media can have on our patients, and on the evolution of health policy, we must remain actively involved in providing accurate and pertinent information about the specialty.

Current projects of the subcommittee include the preparation of a quarterly report that will be submitted to The Annals of Thoracic Surgery in order to inform the membership of legislative issues influencing health policy, as well as developments in the media affecting the specialty’s clinical efforts. Also, as spokespeople and patient advocates, we expect to project the same commitment as caring and interested physicians to the general public, media, and legislators, which we make each day to our patients.

The subcommittee activities during this past year have been extensive. The report presented by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons to the Bipartisan Commission for Medicare Reform was drafted by several members of the subcommittee in an effort coordinated by Bob Wilbur and Corinne Colgan of the Washington office. Although the Medicare Commission adjourned without a clear consensus, our recommendations and participation were acknowledged by members of this commission, and our efforts will continue as Medicare reform proceeds through legislative channels. As a result of these efforts, we have obtained a voice in the reform process, and hopefully will have ongoing input into future deliberations.

We are currently exploring appropriate alliances with groups such as the American College of Cardiology and the American Medical Association, as well as strengthening our existing working relationship with American College of Surgeons in order to increase our influence in the health policy arena. With the apparent, current bias against specialty care by many health policy experts, collaborative efforts by medical specialists are imperative.

A web page has been developed by the subcommittee for patients to obtain and utilize information about thoracic surgeons and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. In addition, an internet-based educational program, established by the committee and called Smoke Signals (http://www.smokesignals.org), focuses on anti-tobacco issues, and is directed to teens and adolescents in particular. This effort has been received very positively and has brought media attention to the Society, including an article about The Society of Thoracic Surgeons in USA Today.

Another function of the subcommittee is the internal education of our own members regarding public policy and media affairs issues. The quarterly update submission to The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, which is planned by the committee, will include a major emphasis on member education and will provide, information about upcoming events and programs at our major meetings about health policy and legislative issues. We expect to collaborate with other specialty societies during these events, such as occurred at the socioeconomic and geriatric programs during the last year’s Society of Thoracic Surgeons meeting in San Antonio. Broad member involvement in these efforts will be the key to successfully influencing the outcome of such issues. The subcommittee plans a Public Affairs symposium at the Year 2000 Annual Meeting in Florida.

As part of our internal education, we send a biweekly newsletter to members of our Public Affairs Network that will provide an update on our latest public relations activities and highlight members of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons who have recently been featured in the media. We have begun to distribute the newsletter through e-mail to all Society members and welcome feedback on the usefulness of this material.

The goal of this subcommittee is to be proactive in all aspects of health care reform. Changes impact adversely on the specialty and threaten our ability to care for patients appropriately. Our main focus is to function as the patient’s advocate, and to continue to provide our patients with the superior specialty care they deserve and expect.

Kevin D. Accola, MD, Member, Public Affairs/Patient Advocacy and Media Affairs Subcommittee

Victor F. Trastek, MD, Chair, Public Affairs/Patient Advocacy and Media Affairs Subcommittee

Timothy J. Gardner, MD, Chair, Professional Affairs Committee

Public Affairs/Patient Advocacy and Media Affairs Subcommittee of the Professional Affairs Committee:

Kevin D. Accola, MD

E. Pendleton Alexander, MD

Timothy J. Gardner, MD

Timothy S. Hall, MD

Stephen J. Lahey, MD

Walter H. Merrill, MD

Keith S. Naunheim, MD

Mehmet C. Oz, MD

Meredith L. Scott, MD

Mark S. Soberman, MD

Alan J. Spotnitz, MD

Thoralf M. Sundt III, MD

Victor F. Trastek, MD

Paul N. Uhlig, MD

Clifford H. Van Meter, MD

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Kevin D. Accola Victor F. Trastek Timothy J. Gardner Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Accola, K. D. Articles by Gardner, T. J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Accola, K. D. Articles by Gardner, T. J.