Colorado Medical Society
http://dev.cms.org/articles/moving-cms-forward-for-physicians-and-patients/Cover: Moving CMS forward for physicians and patients
Tuesday, November 01, 2016 12:00 AMI am honored and excited to be working for you as your president. I consider this service to be a natural and necessary extension of my career, and a legacy passed down from my father and grandfather. My father served for many years on the school board, and has served in Rotary for as long as I have known him, including as president. My grandfather served as Rotary president, treasurer of his county medical society, and as the sole counselor representing his state in his national specialty society for years.
My grandfather, who trained in radiology in the 1930s, taught me to always think of the patient behind the film. In these modern days, I always have a genuine concern for the real person behind the hundreds of MR images or thousands of CT images I see as I take care of patients as a radiologist. Likewise, my highest priority in organized medicine is the patient. This was reinforced by a great mentor of mine, Dr. Jeremy Lazarus, past AMA president, who taught me that it’s very easy to consider whether policy issues have merit by considering the following: How does this help patients?
I have been told many times in my training and in my career that I am too nice and too ethical. As your president, I won’t be mean or unethical, but I will be tough. I’m certain you can be tough and nice at the same time.
CMS members have voiced a strong desire for effective advocacy, bilateral communication and an organization that helps them engage across the spectrum of practice settings in policy development and advocacy; drawing on member expertise from the exam room level to the boardroom; linking membership directly to the board of directors; inviting vigorous, evidence-based, peer-to-peer evaluation of policy options; and cultivating physician activists and leaders who reflect the evolving demographics, interests and diversity of Colorado physicians.
Days after returning from a very successful annual meeting, I met with key CMS staff and leadership to craft this year’s work plan. This plan is developed with strong direction from our members and years of work by my predecessors, and incorporates issues and tactics about which I’m very passionate. It’s for that reason that I’m recommending to the board a pro-patient and pro-physician strategy for 2016-2017. With approval by the board, we will:
- Continue transitioning CMS to a 21st century state medical society by growing member awareness of involvement opportunities, features and milestones.
- Take full advantage of the post-election public policy environment to advocate changes in the multi-payer system, both public and commercial, at the state and national level, particularly those changes that reduce barriers to cost-effective, quality care and increase our professional satisfaction serving patients.
- Increase efforts to ensure access to compassionate, evidence-based care for patients who suffer from acute and chronic pain while reducing the potential for medically inappropriate use and diversion of prescribed medications.
- Maintain a focus on physician wellness and ensure members feel supported.
Very soon CMS will launch Central Line, a first-in-the-nation, web-based communications platform designed to empower members to give input before and after all policy votes by the board of directors, give input on any policy proposal submitted to CMS that interests you, and submit policy proposals at any time from your computer or phone. This is a truly revolutionary application because it not only provides members with an unparalleled voice in CMS; it will also make CMS a more grassroots responsive and effective organization. Read more about Central Line on page 16.
To make our organization the best it can be, we need medicine’s best and brightest to run for elected office in our society. We held our first all-member election in August 2016 and the Nominating Committee is beginning recruitment efforts for the next slate of nominees. I encourage all physicians to explore CMS leadership opportunities and consider nominating yourself or a colleague for president-elect, AMA delegate or AMA alternate delegate. The nomination period is open until Jan. 31, 2017 for the upcoming election in August 2017. We can provide more information on how to join the CMS board of directors. Read more about the all-member elections on page 15.
Those unsure of where to start in organized medicine leadership can find the guidance they need through our new Physician Leadership Skills Series (PLSS). This series will provide physicians with the training and skills to lead organizations with diverse membership and unique goals. We know future governance will need to be even more connected on a grassroots level, given available technologies, and hopefully will be even more relevant and effective for members. Developing and supporting new physician leaders who are enthusiastic about applying their skills to achieve the goals of CMS and component medical societies is critical. Read more about the series on page 19.
In-person meetings are imperative, particularly during a time when more physicians are feeling isolated and desire more frequent peer interaction. I am committed to continuing the regional forums that we started during Mike Volz’s presidency; we held seven around the state in 2016. The regional forums connect members with CMS leadership and, in turn, make CMS a much stronger, better-connected and more responsive organization. If you are interested in organizing a regional forum in your area – whether or not you have an active or staffed component society – please email me at president@cms.org.
Thank you so much for letting me work hard for you as your president. Please don’t hesitate to contact me or one of our dedicated staff on any issue of concern to you.
Best Regards,
Katie Lozano, MD, FACR
Meet your new president
Dr. Lozano is board certified by the American Board of Radiology and is a private practice musculoskeletal radiologist with Radiology Imaging Associates and Invision Sally Jobe Imaging in Englewood, Colo.
Dr. Lozano has a decorated record of service in organized medicine, having dedicated countless hours of time serving on numerous committees and in leadership positions for the following organizations:
- Colorado Medical Society, including as treasurer, and member of the board of directors for eight years,
- Arapahoe-Douglas-Elbert County Medical Society, including as president,
- American Medical Association, including as chair of the Young Physician Section and sole delegate representing the YPS at the AMA,
- American College of Radiology, including on the Council Steering Committee and as chair of the Resident and Fellow Section,
- Colorado Radiological Society, including as president, and
- Colorado Physicians’ Congress on Health Care Reform.
Dr. Lozano currently volunteers on the board of directors for Doctors Care, a nonprofit Denver clinic for uninsured and underinsured patients, and served on the scientific advisory council for Engaged Benefit Design, a collaborative effort in Colorado providing resources and incentives for patients and their health care providers to make health care decisions based on patient values and medical evidence.
She served on the American College of Radiology Ethics Committee for over a decade, on the CMS Council on Ethics and Judicial Affairs for seven years, and is currently on the Ethics Committee at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff, Neb., one of her group’s partner hospitals.
Dr. Lozano also served as co-director of the St. Vincent Student-Run Free Clinic in Galveston, Texas, as a medical student and on the Patient Advocacy and Ethics committees at Christus St. Joseph Hospital in Houston as an intern. Among her many honors, she was awarded the American Medical Association Young Physician Leadership Award in 2007, fellowship in the American College of Radiology in 2015, the American Medical Women’s Association Janet M. Glasgow Memorial Award and Achievement Citation in 1998, and Alpha Omega Alpha membership. She received honorable mention as one of five nominees for the Gold-Headed Cane award at the University of Texas at Galveston, the highest honor for graduating medical students.
She was awarded a medical degree with honors by the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, completed a transitional internship year at Christus St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, completed a radiology residency at the University of Washington in Seattle where she was chief resident, and completed a musculoskeletal imaging fellowship at the University of California – San Diego where she was chief fellow.
In her free time, she enjoys doing all the volunteer activities listed above, as well as hiking on the High Line Canal Trail with her husband, John, and their three dogs, Reagan, Ziegi and Winston.