Newsletters

POSTED: April 19th, 2018
POSTED IN: EPIC - The Official Newsletter of MOCEP, March/April 2018,

Dear MOCEP members,

It is hard to believe, but this letter is the last I will be writing to you as president of the Missouri College of Emergency Physicians.  The past two years have been quite eventful and passed by quickly.  At the start of my term, I would never have anticipated the challenges we would face with unreasonable CME requirements, a push to legislate clinical practice, attacks on the value of emergency medicine, and attempts to drive patients away from the emergency department without regard for their well-being. 

Even though these challenges have appeared quickly and unexpectedly, I can attest that MOCEP leaders across the state have also quickly arisen to all of these challenges.  At one point a representative from an insurance company stated, “we could never anticipated how loud the response would be from the ER doctors.”  MOCEP has now been quoted in multiple national media outlets including the NY times, the LA Times and the NBC national news.  Despite all of these unanticipated challenges, I can state that I always had full confidence that emergency physicians in Missouri would arise to meet any challenge.  I am proud and fortunate to have you as colleagues!

As we approach warmer weather (despite the Easter snow), I also wanted to remind you of upcoming MOCEP events.  Please make every effort to attend the MOCEP annual meeting Thursday, April 26, 2018 at the Hammons Heart Institute in Springfield, MO.  At this meeting you will have the chance to learn about the projects MOCEP is working on, meet other ED physicians from across the state and have the opportunity to join a committee or even run for the board of directors.  Please register here.

From June 4 – June 7, MOCEP will also again be participating in the ACEP SEC conference in San Destin Florida.  This educational conference is a great venue for CME in a relaxed, family friendly setting. 

Finally, as we head towards the last couple of months of the legislative season, please watch your email closely for action alerts from MOCEP.  We will need all of your voices to help push items forward that are important to emergency physicians and our patients. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions, otherwise I will look forward to seeing everyone at a conference this spring!

Jonathan Heidt MD, MHA, FACEP
jonathan@mocep.org