President Snyder stays busy as he represents the South Carolina
Medical Association across the state and even nationally at the AMA. Tune into
The Voice as Dr. Snyder describes his adventures each month.
June is turning out to be a busy month as president of the South
Carolina Medical Association. I had an opportunity to participate in an
interview with a reporter from the Spartanburg Herald Journal this week to give
the physician perspective about the recently announced guidelines from the U.S.
Preventive Care Task Force of the CDC regarding HIV testing for all adults aged
15 to 65. As many of us know, the previous recommendation was for testing of
high risk adults and all pregnant women. The new guidelines published at the
end of April are designed to remove the stigma of HIV testing and to identify
as many of the estimated 200,000 individuals unaware of their positive status
to allow early treatment. The goal by antiviral treatment is to improve
longevity for the individuals themselves as well as to reduce transmission of
the virus to others. Since this is a Grade A recommendation, the testing for
insured individuals would be performed at no expense to the individual but
instead would be borne by the insurer (and likely passed along through premium
cost increase). As a Vascular Surgeon, I had to go back and "hit the
books" to discuss the subject. The most interesting information I learned
was that transmission of the virus to women is overwhelmingly caused from
heterosexual activity with an infected partner, obviously not suspected by the
woman carrying the HIV virus. What are your thoughts about the expansion of the
guidelines? Is the benefit vs the cost a value in South Carolina? To read my
comments in the news article, click here.
I traveled to the Lexington Medical Society this week as well and
had an enjoyable dinner with several members and their spouses. This is an
active and enthusiastic county society. I was pleased to learn of the number of
members who have spoken at local schools regarding health related issues.
Likewise, there have been numerous individuals who have authored op-ed pieces
and letters to the editor. Clearly, they are an active group in their community.
This is exactly the dedication I am looking for through my Leadership Campaign,
which you'll hear more about soon.
Lexington Medical Society is well represented in the SCMA by their
Trustee, Dr. Leon Bullard, and the Vice-Speaker of our House of Delegates, Dr.
March Seabrook. I discussed the benefits of SCMA membership as well as Medicaid
expansion and the APRN scope of practice issue in a presentation before dinner.
I am looking forward to traveling and speaking to other county societies
throughout the state as the year progresses.
As I write this, I am sitting in the GSP airport awaiting to board
my flight to Chicago to attend the AMA Annual Meeting. Unfortunately, although
we routinely see the airline industry used as an example of quality that medicine
should emulate, the two hour delay for the flight doesn't seem high quality
service today. I wonder what United's HCAPS scores would be today. I suspect
not very good. The AMA meeting will run from Friday through noon on Wednesday.
We will all be there in support of our own Dr. Gerald Harmon in his election
campaign for AMA Trustee!
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