Welcome to the Women and Children's Health Issue of MD-Update

LEXINGTON It is a challenging time for OB-GYNs, adolescent behavioral health providers, and pediatricians as well as 54% of Kentucky physicians, according to a recent Kentucky Medical Association members survey. In the most recent 2023 KY legislative session a bill, SB 12, sponsored by Senator Donald Douglas, MD, was passed. The legislation encourages physicians to seek care for mental health when needed and the bill ensures that a record of care is kept confidential with additional legal protections.

Read more about other topics of interest in the KY legislative session that affect physicians in our recap provided by Amber Laflin, KMA director of governance and policy analyst, on page 4. James Schack, MD, president of the Northern KY Medical Society, shares his personal experience with work-related stress and counseling on page 6.

A New Look at BMI

In case you missed it, the AMA has a new policy on Body Mass Index based on a report which identified “a problematic history with BMI…as an imperfect way to measure body fat in multiple groups given that it does not account for differences across race, ethnic groups, sexes, genders, and age-span.”

I’m grateful that age is considered a factor because it’s harder than ever to get into the pants that I’ve kept in my closet for the last 15 years, thinking how one day I’ll be able to wear them again.

Kentucky Otolaryngologist Chosen as AMA President-Elect

Congratulations to Bruce A. Scott, MD, who was voted president-elect of the AMA at the annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates. After a year as president-elect, Dr. Scott will be installed as AMA president in June 2024. Based in Louisville, Scott is board-certified in otolaryngology and president of Kentuckiana Ear, Nose & Throat. He is medical director of Premier Ambulatory Surgery Center and holds a clinical appointment at the UofL School of Medicine. Dr. Scott has been president of and continues to serve on the board of the Greater Louisville Medical Society and the Kentucky Medical Association. As a leader of these associations, he has fought for access to care for vulnerable populations, improvement in public health and reduction of administrative burdens in health care.

Baseball and Father’s Day

I had a great Father’s Day weekend. I heard from my son Chris in Maryland and spent Saturday in Detroit enjoying the USPBL, an independent league baseball team, watching my son Chandler play for the Eastside Diamond Hoppers. We split a double header, had barbecue and local Detroit craft beer. I love summer nights, watching baseball. I hope you had a good Father’s Day as well.

Fall Issues of MD-Update

Please look at the fall line-up of MD-Update editorial topics on the preceding page. If you see your specialty, give me a call. I’m sure you have an interesting story to tell or an update on your medical practice to share. My door is open for your view on any topic that concerns healthcare in Kentucky, such as the one shared in this issue by Wanda Gonsalves, MD, on the importance of oral health.