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The California Medical Association (CMA) released an ambitious strategic plan that will empower physicians to lead and transform the healthcare system. “This plan, which is the distillation of months of stakeholder meetings and conversations, has identified actions to avoid stagnation,” said CMA President  Peter N. Bretan, Jr., MD.  “Throughout the strategic planning process, participants were encouraged to think big and envision the type of future they want for CMA. Ultimately, we want to be champions of a vibrant, diverse physician pipeline; innovators in medical practice tools and resources; and leaders in increasing physician professional satisfaction.” The  2020-2025 CMA Strategic Plan  is based on extensive research conducted from January to August 2019 with four strategic themes identified: Advocate for physician practice, accessible healthcare and public health legislation Champion a vibrant, diverse California physician workforce Innovate medical practice tools, support and resources Lead efforts to improve physician professional satisfaction To read the full article, click  here . Yours in service, Wendy Young, Executive Director (and the entire Team from the Sonoma County Medical Association and Mendocino/Lake County Medical Society) (707) 525-4141 | exec@scma.org

Awards Gala and Comedy Night - Cyber Monday Discount! Save 25% this week! LOCATION Santa Rosa Golf & Country Club DATE AND TIME 01/24/20 6:00pm - 01/24/20 9:30pm Purchase your tickets the week of Dec. 2-6, 2019 and receive 25% off the ticket price! Must contact (707) 525-4375 for discount pricing. I am calling Rachel right now! I will purchase my tickets later. Sadly, I can't make it

2020 SCMA Business Partnership Program SCMA offers a number of ways for local businesses to connect with physicians and the local medical community through, one of which is our comprehensive Business Partnership Program. The program provides local physicians with vetted and committed professional and personal business resources. We ask our partners to commit to a benefit or pricing structure that is unique to SCMA members. [Click the cover image to the left to view the partnership details.] Apply to become a Partner using this application.

2020 ICD-10 CODING UPDATES ATTENTION Physicians Office Managers Coders Billers TOPIC  2020 ICD-10 Coding Updates Date: Wednesday, December. 11, 2019  Time: 12:00 - 1:30pm LOCATION: Partnership HealthPlan 495 Tesconi Cir, Santa Rosa COST: NO CHARGE BROWN BAG LUNCH

Presenter:  Daniel W. Turner, CPC, CEMC, CPEDC, Certified ICD-10 Analyst Mr. Turner has been in the healthcare industry for over 35 years in Santa Rosa, CA. He has been a certified professional coder since 2000. He has been a community college coding instructor and hospital data analyst. His clinical experience includes being an X-ray technician and an 8-year career as a radiation therapist. Currently, Mr. Turner is enjoying himself as a Remote Medical Coder.

Seeking aspiring authors/writers who would like to see their work PUBLISHED! Articles/writers sought for the next issue of  Sonoma Medicine Sonoma Medicine  is the journal for the Northern California medical community, written by the local physician members (and non-members), local and regional experts and retired physicians. While there is generally a theme to each issue (for example, the fall/winter issue coming out soon will be focused on the environment), we also strive to tap into the talent and interests of local physicians by featuring topics of local interest. For the spring/summer 2020 issue of Sonoma Medicine (theme not yet selected), we are seeking: • Suggestions for topics/articles. • Volunteers to write articles on the selected theme for the issue. • Volunteers to read and write book reviews (open to suggestions on books you wish to review) as they pertain to the topic of the issue.  • SCMA and/or MLCMS physician featured articles sharing the hobbies and/or activities that you engage in to break up the stress of practicing medicine. (We have had some spectacular contributions of local physicians' winemaking, painting, woodworking, stone carving and some amazing photography.) What is your hobby? Care to share it?  • “Mystery cases!” Tap into the latent “Sherlock Holmes” in all of us and share your mystery and how it was resolved. Give it a thought. Give it a try. We can help you through the process.  — Allan L Bernstein, MD Chairperson of the Editorial Board,  Sonoma Medicine Email your suggestions by Wednesday, Dec. 18 to Sonoma Medicine editor, Tim Burkhard at tpburk@aol.com . Want to join the Editorial Board? Our next Editorial Board Meeting is: January 14, 2020 Please email your interest to tpburk@aol.com and we will keep you posted! 

Request Your Free Copy of  The Incident: A Physician’s Guide to Navigating Adverse Outcomes, Claims, and Lawsuits An adverse patient outcome can happen to any physician at any time, no matter how diligent or skilled. All physicians should have a plan for handling unexpected patient outcomes to help reduce the chances that more serious allegations can occur.  With the support and expertise of its risk management, claims, and legal teams, the Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc., (CAP) created   The Incident: A Physician’s Guide to Navigating Adverse Outcomes, Claims, and Lawsuits  to help physicians understand how to reduce the likelihood of legal action following an adverse event and know what to expect should a claim or lawsuit occur. The Incident  will help physicians: •            Recognize when an adverse event occurs •            Mitigate a negative situation before a malpractice claim is made •            Understand how to handle a claim •            Know what to expect if a claim turns into a lawsuit •            Cope with the stress associated with a claim or lawsuit You are not alone if and when you experience an unexpected patient outcome. Learn more about how CAP can support your practice by requesting your free copy of  The Incident: A Physician’s Guide to Navigating Adverse Outcomes, Claims, and Lawsuits here.

For sale: Internal medicine practice in Northern California Wine Country Concierge Medical Practice with annual revenue averaging $600,000, seeing 8–10 patients per day. Seller’s net income is near the 90-percentile for IM. Long established in the area, moved to newly renovated 1,440 sq. ft. location in 2015; great proximity to hospital. EMR in place. Photos and third-party appraisal available. Offered at only $497,000. Contact Medical Practices USA for more information: Info@MedicalPracticesUSA.com or 925-820-6758 .

Have an item to submit for the News Briefs Bulletin Board? Free for SCMA and MLCMS members; $1 per word for nonmembers. Contact Susan Gumucio at 707-525-0102 or susan@scma.org .

Northern California Medical Associates (NCMA) Physicians:  I-Tsyr Shaw, MD Isha Shrestha, MD Estrelania Williams, MD Sebastopol Physician: Shelleen Denno, MD Internal Medicine | Hospital Medicine SCMA & MLCMSJoin Today!

2020 SCMA Business Partnership Program Click the image to the left to view the partnership brochure. Apply to become a Partner using this application.