While we are busy seeing patients each day at our offices, making rounds in the hospital, or carrying out our administrative duties, the Kane County and Illinois State Medical Societies are hard at work helping us become even better physicians.

The “Seven Pillars Approach” CME event which was held in September and co-sponsored with the McHenry County Medical Society, is one example of how this is being carried out. If you didn’t attend, you missed out on a fantastic learning experience, where knowledge was gained and value was brought back to our practices. It was a pleasure to be with our sister medical society to the north learning about ways to make our practices better. Dr. Timothy McDonald spoke to us about how to communicate with our patients and their families in effective and honest ways should a patient safety incident occur, in order to virtually eliminate the possibility of litigation. This is why I enjoy being a part of the medical society. Never would I have thought about this type of approach if it had not been made known to me through this CME event.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to our very own, Dr. Wayne Polek, member of both the Kane and McHenry County Medical Society and this year’s President of the Illinois State Medical Society. He has been a wonderful advocate for the society. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at the Delnor Medical Staff Meeting in October. He wants to rally the troops. We have so much that will be affecting our industry in the next few months and years. We need to believe in our medical society and become better organized with ONE voice. Dr. Polek has been a true follower of those words for years. Thank you for being our advocate.

Speaking of advocacy, have you read the article in this newsletter titled “What has ISMS Done for Me Lately”?  There is so much ISMS has done to make our lives better but what about making our patients lives better? ISMS was behind the creation of a new law in which children with undiagnosed life threatening allergies will now have access to emergency epinephrine should the need arise. ISMS was instrumental in negotiating this law, which also protects physicians from incurring liability if they provide standing protocols or prescribe supplies of emergency epinephrine to schools. This law will save the lives of many Illinois students. This is something in which to be proud.

It is exciting to once again have the privilege of welcoming our U.S. Congressman, Rep. Randy Hultgren as our keynote speaker at the Annual Meeting on November 10th. When do you get the chance to speak with a U.S. Congressman on a personal level, ask him questions, and voice your opinions? You have that opportunity, thanks to the Kane County Medical Society. Come and support the society and hear what’s going on. Invite non-members to attend. It is important for our Congressman to see and hear from us as an organized group, passionate and concerned about our future. We hope to see you all there!

Larry Johnson, MD,

President Kane County Medical Society