Farewell address

Friday, November 01, 2013 12:08 PM

Outgoing CMS president Dr. Jan Kief thanks delegates

Jan Kief, MD, CMS Immediate Past President

Mr. Speaker, fellow Colorado Medical Society members, staff and guests,

Thank you for the opportunity to address you for the last time as your president. I will be leaving you in very good hands as I have worked with Dr. Bender this year and know he will be an excellent leader for CMS.

The only words adequate to describe this year are incredible and inspirational.

Physicians are resilient. They are always present in their communities in times of need. This was quite evident recently in northern Colorado, Boulder, Estes Park and Aurora with the horrible flooding that occurred. My heart goes out to you and your communities and thank you for always being there.

There has been so much progress and many activities and accomplishments at CMS this year. One only needs to read the board reports, Colorado Medicine or check our website to see the great work that has been done by CMS staff and thousands of hours of physician work.

I want to highlight a few of the initiatives and issues that have meant the most to me. My theme, REV: Relationships, Evolution and Voice has guided my actions and yielded success as we have worked on these issues.

I really appreciated the opportunity to be at the state Capitol this legislative session, interacting frequently with our legislators on many issues. We advocated for Medicaid expansion and reform in accordance with our CMS vision of access to health care for all Coloradans. We worked diligently to get the Prior Authorization bill passed to simplify your ability to get needed treatments for your patients. I advocated that we need “less red tape and more real-time care” when it comes to our patients. We adhered to our patient safety principles as we opposed the rule that would have allowed chiropractors to deliver injections of non-FDA-approved substances. We helped our allied health professionals in testifying for the critical care paramedic certification program and the continuing of the physician assistant program at Red Rocks Community College.

It was inspirational to work extensively with the directors of the seven Medicaid Regional Care Collaborative Organizations to explore actionable ways to coordinate care, improve access and quality, and reduce costs.

I learned so much working with the governor’s office and our task force as we fought to understand and set up initiatives to overcome the prescription drug abuse epidemic in Colorado. I ask you to please become aware of the causes, proposed solutions and do what you can, including registering with and using the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, to personally combat this problem.

A recent program that has great potential was working with One Colorado to address health disparities in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) population of over 200,000 in Colorado. Through the process of surveying the LGBT community, then Colorado physicians, an educational course has been developed and was just released on our cms.org website that can be used for physician and staff training to help offices become more culturally competent and develop awareness of this problem. Because of this groundbreaking work and collaboration between One Colorado, the Denver Medical Society (DMS) and the Colorado Medical Society, we were awarded the Ally Award by One Colorado last month and this work was just presented at the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association National Conference in Denver. I personally want to thank DMS President Curtis Hagedorn, MD, and DMS Executive Director Kathy Lindquist-Kleissler for their contributions. The Ally Award is for both of us!

Another incredible area of activity was working with the medical students and residents, our great leaders and physicians of tomorrow. I presented a talk to the residents and students as they did their one-week rotation through COPIC about the importance of being involved in organized medicine, using their voice and never forgetting physician wellness as an important issue. I also listened to their concerns and ideas about how we can advocate on their behalf in the areas of graduate medical education expansion, patient safety, team-based care and more. The most fun official activity during my presidency was to help hood the medical school graduates at my alma mater last May.

I have drawn inspiration from visiting your communities around the state. I thank you for hosting me as I have seen the important work you are doing in your communities and as I have tried to bring forth the needs you have back to the CMS home office.

So what is next for me? I am continuing to work with Sen. Irene Aguilar on a workforce issue and continue to attend fundraisers for our legislators and foster relationships and dialogue with them about medical issues. I will be representing Colorado in Washington, D.C. at the American Medical Association/American Hospital Association Leadership Conference on New Models of Care, exploring in detail the financial, cultural and operational considerations of these models. I am running for the American Medical Association’s Council on Constitution and Bylaws in June, as I am passionate about policy, governance and advocacy. I will finish my sixth and final year on the Colorado Hospital Association Board of Trustees and begin a term as a member on the University of Colorado School of Medicine Alumni Board.

I wish to thank my board of directors, committees, councils and especially the Colorado Medical Society staff for their support, dedication and countless hours of work for the physicians of Colorado and the patients we serve.

Finally, on a personal note, most of you know that due to myasthenia gravis, I am unable to be in my office practicing medicine. I believe that there is no better profession in the world than being a physician and I admire you so much for working each day helping your patients. Always follow your passion, use your voice for positive change, and keep moving forward. I pledge to continue to work for you, our patients and for this great organization. Thank you for one of the best years of my life as your president.