MEMBERSHIP NEWS & EVENTS

Oaken BBQ

Lane Stafford, MD

Join the Lexington Medical Society in highlighting Lane Stafford, MD, a diagnostic radiologist with Baptist Health Lexington & owner of Oaken BBQ.

My name is Lane Stafford. I am a fourth-generation native Texan, physician and father of 3, juggling life with my wife Whitney, who also works in healthcare. My first memory of BBQ involves slices of brisket from a legendary restaurant called Black’s BBQ in Lockhart, Texas. My father and I ate those perfectly smokey tender slices off the console of a 1987 diesel Suburban on our way to fish the Texas gulf coast, and 30 years later I’m still chasing that ‘perfect slice’! To Read More About Dr. Stafford & Oaken BBQ CLICK HERE

Report on the 2026 AMA House of Delegates Annual Meeting

By Lee Dossett, Kentucky AMA Delegate

Earlier this month I attended my first Annual Meeting of the AMA’s House of Delegates. After going to my first interim meeting last November, I was excited to get back to the HOD with a little more knowledge of the process and experience under my belt. The meeting featured the usual debate on resolutions and we also held elections for President Elect, multiple board positions, and other council positions.Overall, it set the tone for the direction of the AMA and organized medicine over the next year.

This year’s meeting was notable not only for the breadth of issues addressed, but also for an underlying theme: the profession is navigating a period of rapid change marked by technological disruption, financial instability, and increasing challenges to public trust in science and medicine.

1. The Expanding Role of Artificial Intelligence

Perhaps the most visible and heavily discussed topic was the growing role of artificial (or “augmented”) intelligence in healthcare. The House of Delegates adopted multiple policies emphasizing that AI must support—not replace—physician judgment, and must be transparent, evidence-based, and subject to physician oversight. These policies reflect a clear stance that, while technology can enhance care delivery and efficiency, clinical decision-making must remain firmly in the hands of physicians. To Read More CLICK HERE

Compassion is Good Medicine

By John A. Patterson, MD, MSPH, FAAFP, ABIHM, LMS Physician Wellness Program (2016), Co-founder

Though compassion exists inside every one of us by virtue of our human birth, we could all do a better job of feeling and expressing that innate inner resource for ourselves, other people, animals and planet Earth. Health professionals need a healthy balance of the compassion patients need and expect and the self-compassion that protects us from burnout and provides the foundation for our compassion for others.

Compassion is present among the religious and the spiritual as well as the agnostic, the atheist – and even among serial killers. Convicted murderer and FBI most wanted, Whitey Bulger, regularly fed a homeless cat he named Tiger and serial killer Ted Bundy exchanged marriage vows and conceived a child while awaiting execution. To Read More CLICK HERE

Beyond the Luxury Car: Avoiding the Costliest Financial Mistakes in Medicine

By Catherine Richmond, MS, Financial Advocate at Ballast

One advantage of working with physicians is that their financial mistakes tend to follow predictable patterns. Trust me, I am married to one. We bought the luxury car as soon as the fellowship ended and took the same expensive ride that many physicians take after training. But the encouraging news is that most of these mistakes are avoidable if you are willing to think a few steps ahead and follow the guidance of those who have seen it before.

Early Career: When Income Arrives Faster Than a Plan

For most physicians, the long-awaited transition from residency or fellowship to attending income creates an understandable temptation to upgrade lifestyle. That larger paycheck feels well deserved. The problem is that many physicians make lifestyle upgrades before building a comprehensive financial plan. The result is often a surprising feeling of being "cash poor" despite earning several hundred thousand dollars annually. Most are ready for financial freedom, but it can quickly become financial pressure. To Read More CLICK HERE

Let’s Talk About Talkspace: An Intersection of AI and HIPPA

By Sarah R. Angelucci, J.D.

For physicians and other healthcare providers, AI is no longer a distant innovation. It is already reshaping how patients seek care, how records are created, and how sensitive health information is stored and shared. While these technologies can offer convenience and clinical efficiencies, they also carry privacy risks that are easy to underestimate.

Whether and to what extent these platforms comply with HIPAA privacy requirements can be a moving target. While you surely keep these considerations in mind in everyday communications with colleagues, family, and friends, you may not think that information shared with private online accounts will be stored, saved, and potentially discoverable in litigation. To Read More CLICK HERE

Thank You to Our 2025-2026 Physician Mentors

The Lexington Medical Society extends its sincere gratitude to the physicians who have generously volunteered to serve as mentors for University of Kentucky medical students during the 2025–2026 academic year.

By sharing your time, experience, and professional insight, you are helping shape the next generation of physicians. Your willingness to guide students as they navigate medical education and career decisions provides invaluable support and inspiration that cannot be learned in the classroom alone.

Thank you for investing in the future of medicine and for demonstrating the leadership, compassion, and commitment that define our profession. We are proud to have such dedicated mentors within our medical community.

Volunteers included Drs. Azhar Aslam, Mary Bedinger, Jonathon Burns, Hope Cottrill, Charlie Dawson, Nick Demas,

Monica Ferrante, Rachel Fine, Rebecca Fine, Coy Flowers, Rylee White Fowler, Tyler Gabrielson, Carly Galan, Erica Gregonis, Mahathi Gudapati, Matthew Hall, Lee Hicks, Katrina Hood, Harrison Labban, Alyssa Lambrecht, Katelyn Maglinger, Mohammad Malik, Jasmine McDowell, Garrett Oberst, Madeline Porter, Brandon Pruitt, Thomas Quisenberry, James Ratliff, Catherine Scocca, Soumya Shrigiri, Steve Stack, Adithya Sunil Kumar, Janak Talwalkar, Amy Tiu, & Megan Yadav.

The Power in the Pause

By Matt Kincaid, PhD, VP/Head of Coaching

Most conflict doesn’t begin with bad intentions—it begins with unchecked assumptions. We fill in gaps, assign motives, and decide what’s “true” before we ever slow down long enough to test it. In a world that rewards instant reactions, the pause has become a lost discipline. And yet, it may be one of the most powerful things leaders can do.

To Read More CLICK HERE