2628 Wilhite Court, Suite 201
Lexington, KY 40503
PH: (859) 278-0569 FAX: (859) 277-3919
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Khalil Rahman, MD
LMS President 2021
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July 4th Message, Let's Make Our Healthcare System Better
By: Khalil Rahman, MD
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Happy 4th of July! I want to wish everyone in the Lexington Medical Society a happy Independence Day, I hope you get some much-needed rest from all the hard work.
Since our nation gained independence nearly 250 years ago, the United States has defied the odds, going from a small cluster of colonies to the leader of the free world. As an industrial and intellectual powerhouse, this country has created a vast and impressive healthcare system of which we are all a crucial part. America leads the world in research for medical equipment, treatment protocols, and surgical procedures. Robust federal and philanthropic investments into research and development have made this country a global leader in fighting diseases such as cancer. America has attracted intelligent physicians and researchers from across the world, allowing this nation to be at the forefront of advancements in life sciences.
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Douglas Scutchfield, MD passed away Monday, May 23, 2022 in Lexington. Dr. Scutchfield received his medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine & trained at Northwestern University & the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. He was one of the founders of the College of Community Health Science at the University of Alabama. After spending time in California, Dr. Scutchfield returned to his home state of Kentucky and started the College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky. Throughout his years in medicine, he received numerous awards and was very active with the AMA, serving in the House of Delegates. Dr. Scutchfield was a member of the Lexington Medical Society since 1997.
Dr. Scutchfield is survived by his wife, a son, and two grandchildren. A celebration of life will be held at a future date at the University of Kentucky. San Diego State University is establishing a scholarship for SDSU public health students in memory of Dr. Scutchfield. To donate, go to
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Register Today for the 2022
KMA Annual Meeting
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Registration is now available for the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Kentucky Medical Association (KMA). The event will be held Aug. 26-28 at the Louisville Marriott East and will include education sessions, the KMA House of Delegates, elections for the KMA Board of Trustees, as well as opportunities for networking and socializing.
The KMA Annual Meeting was held virtually in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but will return to an in-person format this year.
“We’re excited to welcome back attendees to our Annual Meeting face-to-face this year,” said KMA President Neal Moser, M.D. “While we were pleased to have been able to offer our meeting virtually during the pandemic, there is something very beneficial to physicians being able to come together in person that fosters connection and fellowship.”
The theme of this year’s meeting, “Caring for the Commonwealth: Physician Led. Patient Focused.” commends the work of Kentucky physicians, particularly over the last two years, and emphasizes the tremendous leadership roles they play in communities across the state.
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Thank you to Senator Ralph Alvarado, MD who gave a legislative update at our LMS May meeting, and special thank you to Bayer HealthCare & MedPro Group for sponsoring this event. |
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Senator Ralph Alvarado, MD |
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Sponsors: Bayer HealthCare (above)
& MedPro Group (below)
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Become a Mentor
"You will be affected and changed for the better."
By David Bensema, MD & Marian Bensema, MD
LMS Mentors since 2016
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The ninth and final enumerated statement of the DECLARATION OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY: MEDICINE’S SOCIAL CONTRACT WITH HUMANITY, embraced by the American Medical Association since 2001, states, “Teach and mentor those who follow us for they are the future of our caring profession.” This is something that was modeled for us in our training by; Abner Golden, MD, John Thompson, MD, Deborah Powell, MD, and Phillip DeSimone, MD, among others. Mentorship continued in our practice careers through our partners and colleagues. It shaped us as physicians and as members of our community at large. We have striven to provide mentoring to others throughout our careers, whether Marian showing prospective medical students what pathology is all about, or Dave helping a younger colleague develop their gift for leadership in organized medicine.
When the Lexington Medical Society (LMS) began its formal mentorship program five years ago, it was a natural fit. We signed up immediately and were impressed with how well the process matched the interests of our students with what we had to offer. As with so many of the opportunities to serve that we have encountered in our lives, mentoring has provided more benefit to us than we can even hope our students have experienced. We have been intellectually stimulated, found some of our long-held dogmas challenged, and had our enthusiasm for the profession recharged. Our students have gained the benefit of our experience in the provision of care to patients, in supporting colleagues through formal consultation and informal friendships, in the byzantine realm of the business aspects of medicine, and in a wide variety of leadership roles.
To Read More From Drs. David & Marian Bensema CLICK HERE
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Bensema Mentees from multiple years - Margaret Kelly, Megan Higgins, Abigail Lawson, Caitlyn Arno, with Mentor Marian Bensema, MD (photo courtesy of David Bensema, MD) |
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· What: Register as a mentee for the 2022-2023 LMS Mentorship Program (September 2022 to May 2023)
· Who: UK College of Medicine 3rd year medical students
· How: Take a short survey to enable us to pair you with a mentor.
· Where & How often: You and your mentor decide how to meet (virtually, telephonically, text, email, in-person) and how often. Most of our mentor/mentee pairs, in past years, had contact once a month.
· Why: Provide our medical students a source of encouragement, advice, and support as they transition from academic to clinical phase of medical school
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Physician Health & Well-Being
By John A. Patterson, MD, MSPH, FAAFP, ABIHM
Founding co-chair LMS Physician Wellness Program
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As I sit at my desk, I am surrounded by framed diplomas, certificates and gifts from patients, colleagues, and staff. Among them are two anonymous Physician’s Prayers. Reading them feels like good medicine.
Health professionals are struggling under the weight of the viral pandemic. We ourselves are suffering, even drowning, as we battle our society’s epidemics of loneliness, depression, anxiety, chronic disease, substance abuse, suicide, domestic violence and crimes of hate and race. Our own children are afraid and at risk as firearm-related injuries (suicide, homicide, unintentional, and undetermined) have become the leading cause of death in children and teens.
The stress, burnout and moral injury among physicians is unprecedented. As we serve our patients and our society, we are learning the importance of helping each other. We are mending our own wounds through the healing power of community, following our own lifestyle prescriptions and being inspired by our patients’ stories. Relationships are a foundation of good medicine- relationships with our patients, staff, colleagues, family, friends, pets, nature- and our relationships with ourselves and a power greater than ourselves.
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Report on AMA Annual Meeting
By David Bensema, MD
Delegate to the AMA for the Kentucky Medical Association
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Thank you to each of my colleagues from the Lexington Medical Society for once again providing me with the privilege and opportunity to represent you and our KMA at the AMA Annual Meeting. This marked the completion of my eleventh year on the Kentucky Delegation. I was honored this meeting to complete my service on Reference Committee F which deals with finance and governance issues, serving as chair to cap my three years of service. My major takeaway from my service on this committee is that AMA dues are a good value. We have not seen a dues increase in over twenty-five years yet our AMA has expanded their efforts in public and preventive health, medical education, advocacy, and equity. Our AMA has worked with other stakeholders to identify and validate patient-focused treatment of diabetes and hypertension, improving treatment plan adherence and outcomes in challenging populations. Our AMA has funded innovation efforts in medical education, now supporting initiatives at over thirty medical schools to update curriculum and instructional methodology. Our AMA is in Washington, DC daily representing the interests of our profession and our patients, and, as will be detailed below, has developed the AMA Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians. The Center for Health Equity, formed two years ago in response to resolutions passed by our House of Delegates (HOD), has hit the ground running, providing a number of online forums and educational programming, and at this year’s Annual Meeting hosting a very well-received equity session with both didactic and open forum opportunities.
The activities and passed resolutions from the HOD have continued to reflect the increasing diversity of our medical community. Substantial input from the Women’s Physicians Section, the Minority Affairs Section, the Medical Student Section, and the Resident and Fellows Section, has been added to the more traditional voices in crafting resolutions that reflect the diversity of society and medical community and respond to social issues impacting the health of our patients and healthcare delivery. I would urge you to review the work product (Miranda Mosley will provide the link as soon as the AMA has published the Official Proceedings of the House of Delegates in the next day or two) that resulted this year from our diligent efforts in the HOD to review and act on 312 items of business (the largest volume of business in our history). A sample of the breadth of our deliberations includes resolutions addressing KMA legislative priorities prior authorization and scope of practice, as well as impacts of private equity, responding to the potential repeal of Roe vs. Wade, school safety, food deserts, compensation for mandated activities like electronic prescribing of controlled substances and engaging with state prescription monitoring programs, eliminating the revenue neutrality stance of CMS payment regulations, and efforts to preserve independent private practices. This is just a minute sampling of the issues addressed and new policies created during our meeting. Our passed resolveds create the policies of the AMA and direct the activities of the Board of Trustees as they develop and operationalize the strategic plan of the AMA .
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THANK YOU TO OUR NEWSLETTER ADVERTISERS:
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