Letter from 2005 President (Victor G. Freeman, MD, MPP)

Dear Colleague:

In 2005, MSDC will begin a year of outreach and re-engagement.  It will be a time for us to reach out and recruit our friends and colleagues.  For those who have never been members or are no longer members, we will make it especially affordable for them to check out the New MSDC.

The New MSDC
To create the New MSDC, we streamlined its structure to make it more dynamic.  Year-long appointments to various committees will be replaced by short-term appointments to "action-oriented" task forces that will allow members to drive important issues forward and then get back to patients and families.

We will experiment with novel ways to re-engage physicians with two-way communication.  We will use fax, e-mail, conference calls, and surveys to tap physician insights and perspectives in more convenient ways.

We will reach out to physicians of all specialties with the message: "Membership in a specialty organization is valuable for continuing medical education, developing practice skills, and career enhancement; however, membership in MSDC is the only way we can show solidarity across specialties as physicians who care about patients and health care delivery in the Nation's Capital."

Regardless of whether physicians are in solo practice, small group practice, large group practice, community practice, academics, research, management/administrative medicine, or government service, ALL will be welcome and encouraged to join MSDC.

Medical Liability Reform and Patient Safety
Medical liability reform is the most important initiative that we have tackled in years.  We need all hands on deck in our efforts to make malpractice insurance costs more affordable in the District.

Emergency Preparedness
With DC subject to terrorist, epidemic, and natural disasters, we all need to know the basics of preparedness, response, and recovery for ourselves (and our families), for our staff (and their families) and for our patients (and their families).  

We will continue to work with the City and region on

emergency preparedness activities and get relevant information to members.

Patients, Practice and Public Health in DC
We will continue to be the unified voice of DC physicians on the wide range of issues affecting physicians and their patients across the District of Columbia. 

But, it must all begin with building membership.  We must bring physicians back to the fold, back to the organization that represents our common interests.

With my regards,

Victor G. Freeman, MD, MPP, 2005 President