Download ACMS 150th Anniversary - Allegheny County Medical Society

150 Y
EARS
OF
LEADERSHIP
&
ADVOCACY
FOR
PATIENTS
AND
PHYSICIANS
1865-2015
150
YEARS
2015 ACMS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
ACMS ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
President
Executive Director
John P. Williams, MD
John G. Krah
President-elect
Assistant to the Director
Lawrence R. John, MD
Dorothy S. Hostovich
Vice President
Bookkeeper
David J. Deitrick, DO
Susan L. Brown
Secretary
Bulletin Managing Editor
Robert C. Cicco, MD
Meagan Welling
Treasurer
Assistant Executive Director,
Adele L. Towers, MD
Director of Member Relations
James D. Ireland
Board Chair
Kevin O. Garrett, MD
Member Relations Manager
Nadine M. Popovich
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2015
2016
2017
Vijay K. Bahl, MD
David L. Blinn, MD
Peter G. Ellis, MD
Patricia L. Bononi, MD
Robert W. Bragdon, MD
David A. Logan, MD
M. Sabina Daroski, MD
Thomas B. Campbell, MD
Jan W. Madison, MD
Sharon L. Goldstein, MD
Douglas F. Clough, MD
Matthew B. Straka, MD
Karl R. Olsen, MD
Jason J. Lamb, MD
Angela M. Stupi, MD
150
I
YEARS
t is hard to comprehend that the roots of the Allegheny County Medical Society extend back
to the Civil War. Physicians practiced against a backdrop of circumstances almost unimaginable
today.
Minutes of Society meetings are replete with concerns for public health issues including clean
water, air, milk and communicable diseases. Early Society members came to ACMS to hear the
latest on smallpox and tuberculosis. The Society continues to be a leader in community efforts
targeting today’s health threats — substance abuse, AIDS, infant mortality, obesity, and early
childhood development.
Over the years, the
Society and its members
joined forces with likeminded organizations to
encourage medical and
nursing education, to initiate
emergency medical services,
health planning, utilization
review, and shared computer
services.
The ACMS Foundation,
born of a community
immunization drive, returns
that investment in the form
of grants for local charitable,
educational, and scientific
projects in the interest of
better health.
Numbered in the ACMS
ranks are nationally and
internationally
known
medical pioneers in fields
of radiology, immunology
and transplantation. Of
equal importance is the
commitment of time and
expertise on committees and
task forces that affect change.
Virgin Alley (now Oliver Avenue and Wood Street) was the site of the first ACMS meeting.
From hospital to hospital,
organization to organization,
member to member, ACMS
bridges the thinking of
individual
constituencies,
combines the energies of
many for a stronger, common
good, and meets with friends
as well as adversaries to
achieve mutual goals.
The Society provides
the means to connect and to
make a difference.
A Legacy
of Caring
1
150
YEARS
In the Beginning...
1865:
Nineteen physicians and surgeons gather
at Pittsburgh’s Board of Trade on the corner of Wood
Street and Virgin Alley to form the Allegheny County
Medical Society with $57 from member initiation fees.
1871: Pittsburgh has a difficult year with outbreaks
of smallpox and cholera infantum.
1874: Drs. James McCann and S.N. Benham speak
out against the prevalent practice of immediately
amputating badly fractured limbs.
1876:
Dr. McCann reports on the antiseptic
treatment of wounds and surgical incisions, as
recommended by Dr. Joseph Lister. He is ahead of his
time; Lister’s work is still largely rejected in England,
Scotland, France and Italy.
1885: The Society adopts a resolution urging
the state to create a board of medical examiners. Dr.
James C. Dunn warns members of the habit-forming
effects of cocaine, previously welcomed as a great
boon to medicine.
1886: The Western Pennsylvania Medical College
opens on Brereton and 30th streets with 55 students
and staffed almost entirely by Society members,
usually paid little or nothing. Allegheny General
Hospital opens with 76 beds and an average per
patient maintenance cost of 97 cents per day.
1867:
The Society’s first scientific meeting is held.
The germ theory is still virtually unknown. Dr. James
King makes front-page news by presenting the dangers
of drinking river water polluted “by the percolations and
overflow of innumerable cesspools and privies” and
connects typhoid fever outbreaks to the polluted water.
1869:
A state committee on medical education
raises standards of medical schools.
1870: Dr. E.A. Wood presents a paper on placenta
previa, and is brusquely reminded by a fellow
physician that the Society’s scientific meetings are for
“only cases, not theory.” Tracking Pittsburgh’s vital
statistics dates back to this year.
2
1888: Dr. W.T. Burleigh analyzes a South Side
typhoid epidemic of 1,351 cases in eight months,
demonstrating that it and a parallel epidemic in
Allegheny are due to water pollution. Pittsburgh
moves its water intake up the Allegheny River and
has no epidemic, while towns pumping water from
inside the city limits suffer greatly.
150
1890s:
Tuberculosis is dubbed “the master killer.”
1891:
There is “considerable merriment” over a “lady doctor” who has opened an office on Arch Street.
YEARS
1892: Dr. C. Jane Vincent is the Society’s first female member. Dr. Adolph Koenig’s paper “The Medication of
the Future” suggests many improvements including legally set standards of purity, dating containers of perishable
medicines, government inspection, and government grants for pharmaceutical research.
1896: Dr. E.B. Haworth demonstrates the newly discovered Roentgen Ray’s usefulness for surgery. The
Society plans to provide such equipment to all city hospitals.
Combatting Communicable Diseases
In the early 20th century communicable diseases were considered more important than other
diseases that were deemed “the order of nature.” It wasn’t until the mid-1900s when acute
infectious diseases were considered under control that a shift to problems of the aged –
arthritis, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and mental illness – came into sharper focus.
1900: The Society believes the
greatest health threats to Pittsburgh
and its environs are polluted water
and air.
1911:
The ACMS BULLETIN
is founded, with Dr. W.H.
Cameron as first editor. (The
BULLETIN has had uninterrupted
publication ever since.)
1915:
1904: The Society continues to
do battle against quacks and other
illegal practitioners. One “doctor”
with neither license nor diploma is
warned to desist. A Society report
states, “The ‘Doctor’ thereupon
ceased practicing and disappeared
by the light of the moon.”
1907: The Society becomes
convinced that the area’s milk
supply needs supervision and forms
a Milk Commission that certifies
clean dairies until governmental
entities take over the job.
University of Pittsburgh, in which
the visionary doctor lays the
groundwork for modern blood
vessel surgery and transplants.
1912: A London publisher
issues “Blood Vessel Surgery” by
Dr. Charles C. Guthrie of the
The Society celebrates
its
50th
anniversary.
The
BULLETIN comments favorably
on a resolution of the Schuylkill
County Medical Society, which
says in part, “The largest problem
facing the medical profession today
is that of getting their services to
the sick person of average means.
All medical services should be
available to any citizen at public
expense; and not as charity, but as a
right given him by his citizenship.”
1917: Narcotic drug control is
an issue.
3
150
YEARS
1918:
Nearly half the Society’s membership enters military service.
Along with civilian colleagues they cope with the terrible influenza epidemic,
which peaks the week of October 26 with reports of more than 5,500 cases
and 576 deaths. By December 17, there were more than 3,000 deaths.
1936: Society members respond
in force to a disastrous flood. A
local newspaper says, “In such
crises the doctors are always in
the first line of defense, working
unselfishly, heroically. . .”
1937:
Iron lungs are still the
treatment for polio in 1937.
1919: Physicians who served in the military return with an infusion
of new knowledge. Dr. J.W. Robinson presents a paper on treatment
of shock for war wounds and using methods previously little known,
e.g., spinal anesthesia and the intravenous administration of glucose and
saline solutions.
1922: Dr. Walter F. Donaldson becomes Society president. He is regarded
by many as a medical statesman and a mainstay of organized medicine:
for 35 years permanent secretary of the State Medical Society, an ACMS
director for more than 30 years, and BULLETIN editor from 1928-1947.
1925: The ACMS Auxiliary is established to support Society
goals through medical education and charitable projects.
1928: Penicillin is introduced.
1930:
Dr. T. Lyle Hazlett gives the first public demonstration of a
portable electrocardiograph, which he and Dr. A.P. D’Zmura helped
Westinghouse engineers design.
1931: The Depression is at its worst. A group of physicians and nurses
volunteers free medical services to penniless men at the Helping Hand
Association, set up to accommodate thousands passing through Pittsburgh
in search of work.
4
1941:
Pearl Harbor spurs
America’s entry into war. Over
time more than 700 Society
members answer the call. Dr.
John McAleese, stationed in New
Guinea, replaces the prevailing
“pressure” treatment of burns
with the “kleenex-penicillin”
approach. The results are so
positive that the Surgeon General
adopts the method as standard
practice.
1944:
Dr. Allison Johnston
becomes the first woman to head
the Society. In 1936, she was the
first woman to head the American
Radiological Society.
Members Mark Medical Milestones
150
YEARS
Society members make international medical
news over the new decade: Dr. Jonas P. Salk
and his coworkers develop the first successful
vaccine against poliomyelitis, Dr. Benjamin
Spock teaches at the Pitt Medical School,
Dr. William McD. Hammon demonstrates
that gamma globulin will provide temporary
immunity against many diseases, Dr.
Edward Rynearson becomes a world-famous
endocrinologist, and Dr. Jessie S. Wright is
honored by the Argentine government for her
work during an epidemic there.
1958:
The first local intensive care department
opens at the Western Pennsylvania Hospital.
1960:
The Allegheny County Medical Society
Foundation is established to provide grants for
educational, scientific and charitable projects.
1964: The Society sponsors a campaign in which
more than a million persons receive Sabin polio
vaccine free.
1965: During its centennial year, Society
membership totals more than 2,000, a far cry from the
19 who founded it a century before.
1968:
Issues of informed consent are on the
ACMS agenda. The Allegheny County Council on
Emergency Medical and Health Services and the
Hospital Planning Association are established.
1969:
Courses
in
management and control
of tuberculosis are offered.
The Comprehensive Health
Planning Association of
Western
Pennsylvania
evolves. Montefiore Hospital
joins the University Health
Center. National health
insurance proposals surface.
H. David Moore, Jr. is named ACMS executive
director, serving nearly 20 years in this role.
1970:
The Society moves from downtown’s
Jenkins Arcade to current North Side headquarters.
Professional Standards Review Organizations
(PSROs) are proposed by Sen. Wallace Bennett
(D-Utah).
1966: The Department of Public Welfare increases
fees to $4 for an office visit and $5 for a house call.
1967:
Dr. Francis S. Cheever becomes Vice
Chancellor of Health Professions at the University of
Pittsburgh.
5
150
YEARS
1971: ACMS conducts a survey
on non-physician assistants in
private practice.
1972:
The AMA proposes
“Medicredit” national health plan.
1973: Pre-disposition Utilization
Review (PDUR) is established by
the Department of Public Welfare.
The ACMS Public Relations
Committee drafts press guidelines
for physicians.
1974: Local physician director
proclaims “PSRO is our last, best
hope.”
1975: The Auxiliary celebrates
its 50th anniversary. A BULLETIN
editorial comments on the Karen
Ann Quinlan case regarding
withdrawal of life support. The
Health Systems Agency is born
via the National Health Planning
Resources Development Act
of 1974. Act Ill, establishing a
malpractice arbitration panel, is
enacted in Pennsylvania.
1976: ACMS marks the nation’s
Bicentennial with a patriotic
theme for its installation of Dr.
Lawrence D. Ellis as president.
The Federal Trade Commission
sues the AMA, the Connecticut
State Medical Association and
the New Haven Medical Society
for restraint of trade relative to
physician advertising.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society
Liability Insurance Company
(PMSLIC), a physician-run
insurance program, is organized in
response to the state professional
6
liability crisis. The Thyroid
Irradiation Project attempts to find
persons who received a childhood
radiation treatment, which though
acceptable at the time may cause
future health problems. Swine flu
is a public health issue. The ACMS
Friends of Medicine Committee
is established to address issues of
impaired physicians.
1977:
St. John’s Hospital
proposal is the first to go before
the Health Systems Agency.
ACMS and the Allegheny County
Bar Association develop the
Interprofessional Code. A spate
of weight loss programs prompts
ACMS to issue a statement on
bariatrics. Allan Bakke’s reverse
discrimination suit is editorialized
in the BULLETIN.
1978: Health Maintenance
Organizations and Independent
Practice Associations are topics of
discussion. The Voluntary Effort,
an AMA/American Hospital
Association plan, addresses
health care cost containment.
ACMS issues statements on
second surgical opinions and
in-vitro fertilization. Hospice care
gains attention.
1979: Dr. Howard Mermelstein,
a pediatrician, is Society president
when ACMS joins local pediatric
groups for projects marking the
International Year of the Child.
The Society co-hosts dialogue
on health care priorities with
the United Steelworkers. ACMS
member Dr. Gordon K. MacLeod
becomes state Secretary of Health
and deals with the Three Mile
Island Accident.
The New Medical Marketplace
150
YEARS
The fee-for-service model gradually erodes as alternative insurance plans purported to contain
costs and provide better quality medicine. Preservation of that quality care continued to be the
common bond of members while the marketplace widened the margins of employed physicians and
those in fee for service, each with unique perspectives about the future of medicine.
1980:
Corporate and health care leaders form the
Health Policy Institute to objectively evaluate health
care issues as they affect cost. ACMS joins WPXI-TV
and other groups for “Health Spirit ’80” providing free
medical screenings. The ACMS Foundation conducts
“Patient’s Perceptions of Medical Care” survey.
1985: Under the leadership of Society President Dr.
Daniel Brooks, ACMS is the catalyst for the Physicians
Health Plan (PHP) of Western Pennsylvania, which
over the years evolves into the Partners Health Plan.
1981: CAT scanners are the hot topic. ACMS and
the Allegheny County Health Department provide the
“Envelope of Life” home emergency medical record.
1982: Cardiac transplantation articles appear in the
BULLETIN. ACMS President Dr. Abraham Twerski is a
proponent of substance abuse diagnosis and prevention.
1983:
Unemployment waves hit Pittsburgh as
the steel industry declines. ACMS urges members
to treat patients with sensitivity to their financial
needs. Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act
(TEFRA) changes the system of Medicare hospital
reimbursement. Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs)
and case mix methodology become buzz words.
The Society starts to “fight city hall” to re-zone its
property for expansion.
1984: Dr.
H. Lee Dameshek makes “caring” his
presidential theme. ACMS and WTAE-TV team for “4
Your Good Health.” Medicare Mandated Assignment
is proposed.
1986: The BULLETIN celebrates its diamond
jubilee. Dr. Ralph Gaudio, Jr., succeeds Dr. Macy I.
Levine as editor.
1987: Medical care at the jail is re-examined and
policy developed. ACMS and its Foundation sponsor
“Medicine in Action,” a hands-on health exhibit to bring
medicine closer to the public. Act 89, the Health Care
Cost Containment Act, is passed. Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) headlines the news.
1988:
New Medicare regulations are part of the
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. House Bills
1828-1834 prompt major PAMED tort reform efforts.
The Journal of the American Medical Association
publishes “It’s over, Debbie” raising questions about
physician-assisted suicide.
1989: Substance abuse is the focus of “Diagnosis
’89,” a multi-disciplinary symposium to raise
awareness and build cooperation in dealing with
alcohol and other drug problems. The Hippocrates
Society is established to tap the knowledge and
experience of ACMS past presidents.
7
150
YEARS
An Explosion of Clinical Knowledge and Medical Advances
The period of 1991-2015 is marked by an explosion in clinical knowledge and medical advances –
laparoscopy, robotics, imaging, bioengineering, telemedicine, joint replacements and remarkable drugs.
Transplantation, neurosurgery, oncology, and the treatment and management of HIV stand out. But with
these medical miracles comes the ongoing challenge – how to pay for care and make it accessible to all.
1990:
The
Allegheny
County Medical
Society celebrates
its 125th year.
The
ACMS
Foundation turned 30 and the
Society marked 20 years at its
North Side location. The National
Committee for Quality Assurance
(NCQA), a private, not-forprofit organization, is founded to
elevate the issue of health care
quality on the national agenda,
developing quality standards and
performance measures for a broad
range of health care entities.
real validation in the Institute of
Medicine’s (IOM) 1991 report
“The Computer-Based Patient
Record: An Essential Technology
for Health Care.”
1992:
Medicare’s Resource
Based Relative Value Scale
(RBRVS) is implemented in
January. The ACMS Medical
Exchange brings together a broad
range of medical, insurance,
business, legal and community
leaders to provide insights into
challenges facing physicians and
their patients.
1991:
Medicare reimbursements,
hospital/HMO negotiations and
physician joint ventures were
among the topics of the time. The
National Practitioner Data Bank
is established for credentialing.
The “Confidentiality of HIVrelated Information Act” goes
into effect. Blue Cross of Western
Pennsylvania
announces
its
Medicenters. Physicians enter
the Persian Gulf conflict. The
AMA released results of its
Health Access America survey:
58 percent support a system
to cover uninsured; 80 percent
feel employers should provide
coverage; and 68 percent feel the
poor are unable to access health
care. The Electronic Medical
Record (EMR) received its first
8
Abuse and others – champion
issues that impact physicians
and patient care. The Bio-Ethics
Advisory Committee institutes
discussions about HIV/AIDS.
The Third Party Reimbursement
Committee works with the
PAMED Council on Medical
Economics, medical specialty
societies
and
Management
Professionals in Healthcare to
address members’ third party
reimbursement issues.
1995:
The ACMS Managed
Care Committee is formed to
assess the evolution of managed
care, develop relationships with
stakeholders and focus on the cost/
quality relationship. Allegheny
MedCare offers group purchasing
and other services to members.
1996:
1993:
Healthcare
reform
resurfaces with the introduction
of the Healthcare Security Act on
October 27. Physicians reacted
in an AMA survey: 44 percent of
physicians voted “negative” while
22 percent reported a positive
reaction, which helped form the
AMA Position on Healthcare
Reform.
1994:
The work of ACMS
Committees – Occupational and
Environmental Health, Substance
ACMS President Dr.
Richard Harris says, “While
national healthcare issues are
important, local and regional
issues now have the biggest
impact on the everyday practice
of medicine. . . .Help us win
one victory at a time and not get
overwhelmed by the big picture.”
The consolidation of Blue Cross
of Western Pennsylvania and
Pennsylvania Blue Shield is
approved by the Pennsylvania
Insurance
Department
on
November 27, resulting in a new
150
YEARS
company – Highmark Inc. AMA House of Delegates opposes physician-aided suicide and creates an International
Medical Graduates section. Dr. Judith Black warns that when/if to withhold treatment in geriatric care will be a
major issue of the 21st century as Allegheny County’s senior population grows in the 1990s – citing a 21 percent
rise in the over-85 population.
An Assurance of Quality
The insurance industry introduces capitation, outcome measures, quality reports, referrals,
pre-authorization, valued-based medicine, and pay for performance (P4P or PFP). Various
regulatory agencies – PHC4, AHQRS, JCAHO, CMS -- attempt to develop quality measures.
EHR (electronic health records) and e-prescriptions are part of the “paperless office.” Health
care reform, tort reform, managed care, physician reimbursement and quality of care are
recurrent themes.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society
honors Dr. George J. Magovern for
50 years in
medicine Dr.
Magovern, the
cardiovascular
surgeon who
pioneered
artificial
heart valves
and
helped
establish Allegheny General Hospital
as a leader in open-heart surgery, is
widely regarded as one of Pittsburgh’s
medical icons, in the company of polio
vaccine maker Dr. Jonas Salk and
transplant great Dr. Thomas Starzl.
Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, founder of
Gateway Rehabilitation Center and
an internationally respected authority
on the treatment of alcohol and
other drug dependencies, received
the Pennsylvania
Medical Society’s
Distinguished
Service
Award
for his work in
treating chemical
dependency.
1997: As a member benefit, ACMS introduced a credentials verification
service to comply with JCAHO and other requirements. Highmark BCBS
capitation for primary care physicians is among topics tackled at ACMS
member workshops. HCFA restructure of Medicare payments provoked
a letter writing campaign by ACMS members. PAMED Education and
Scientific Trust’s Physicians’ Health Programs medical director Thomas
Hobbs, Ph.D., M.D., exhorts, “It’s more convenient to believe that a
physician’s addiction is none of our business but we all have a responsibility
to help a colleague in need. We owe it to ourselves, our colleagues and our
patients to deal with physician impairment as early as possible.”
1998: The $1.3 billion bankruptcy of the Allegheny
Health, Education, and Research Foundation (AHERF)
in July was the nation’s largest nonprofit health care
failure. ACMS offers assistance to physicians affected
by the AHERF crisis. Dr. Alvin Shapiro called the
passing of ACMS member Dr. Jack D. Myers “an end
to an era in Pittsburgh medicine and the discipline
of internal medicine in this country which will not be seen again.” Dr.
Myers, who developed one of the first computer programs to help doctors
diagnose complex cases, was widely regarded as one of the nation’s
premier diagnosticians. Physician unions is the spring ACMS Business
Meeting topic.
9
150
YEARS
1999: Dr.
John G. Kokales echoes the sentiments of many in a BULLETIN article: “Is there nothing we
physicians can do these days that is not questioned, changed, denied, altered, corrected, or subject to possible
criminal prosecution?” With pressure to provide health care at a lower cost, legislation to expand the role of
limited license practitioners is introduced. ACMS joins the “Working Together Coalition,” a group of physicians
and business leaders focusing on quality of care. ACMS President Dennis Hurwitz calls on members to contact
legislators in support of the Quality Health Care Coalition Act of 1999, allowing physicians to act collectively on
behalf of their patients.
The New Millennium
This is the era of Y2K, 9/11, myriad pieces
of legislation, unrest in the middle east, an
influx of tsunami and hurricane refugees, the
aftermath of the collapse of AHERF and the
merger of Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania
and Pennsylvania Blue Shield, and the clash
of Highmark and UPMC. HIV, tobacco and
opiate use, medical marijuana, end-of-life
decisions, obesity, domestic and gun violence,
and an aging population weave in and out of
the headlines. The pace at which changes
occurred saw physicians turning more and
more to the Allegheny County Medical
Society for help to sort it all out.
2000: Y2K preparations avert computer chaos as
the world transitions to a new millennium. An active
Speakers Bureau and initiatives such as the “Straight
Talk about Health Care” radio commercials and
“Dear Doctor” column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
involve dozens of members.
2001: Tort reform and the privatization of the CAT
fund ignite discussion at the Pennsylvania Medical
Society sessions across the state, with 100 local
doctors attending a meeting in Cranberry. BULLETIN
Editor Dr. Jack Wilberger warns: “Many outside
of medicine dismiss this (malpractice) crisis as the
selfish plaints of physicians. However, this issue is
driving good physicians away from our state.” UPMC
purchases Children’s Hospital, announcing plans to
10
build a new hospital at the site of the
former St. Francis Health System in
Lawrenceville with financial support
from Highmark. Domestic violence
is the focus of the Spring Business
Meeting. The aftermath of 9/11
results in calling up of troops, including physicians,
and anthrax scares. Dr. Carol E. Rose becomes the
Pennsylvania Medical Society’s first female president.
2002: The Pennsylvania Medical Care Availability
and Reduction of Error Fund (Mcare), the successor
to the Medical Professional Liability Catastrophe Loss
(CAT) Fund, is signed into law on March 20. Mcare is
designed to ensure compensation for persons injured
due to medical negligence among other provisions. The
nursing work force shortage is predicted to intensify as
baby boomers age and the need for health care grows.
2003:
A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette headline in
December asks: “Is the collapse of employmentbased health insurance inevitable?” ACMS President
Dr. Alan Yeasted terms the times “The Age of Medical
Activism,” calling on members to unite for change
in the interest of patients. ACMS and more than 35
coalition partners – including insurers, specialty
150
societies and other regional
medical societies – unite for “Code
Blue Week,” attracting more than
3,000 doctors to Harrisburg to
continue to rally for tort reform
and visit legislators. Health
Savings Accounts are proposed as
an alternative to insurance.
2004:
The
Medicare
Prescription Drug Improvement
and Modernization Act of 2003
(MMA) is called “the most
dramatic and innovative changes
to the Medicare program since
its inception in 1965.” ACMS
supports Tobacco Free Allegheny,
a smoking cessation program
funded by the state “cigarette tax.”
2005:
Sen. Jane Orie warns
of a potential Medicaid crisis in
Pennsylvania with statistics from
The Congressional Research
Service estimating that the state
ranks fourth in state tax revenue
spent on Medicaid (19.2 percent in
2004). The position of coroner in
Allegheny County was abolished
and retitled Medical Examiner.
Longtime coroner and nationally
renowned forensic pathologist Dr.
Cyril H. Wecht has the distinction
of serving as coroner and medical
examiner in
one term as a
result. Members
of A C M S ,
along with the
Pennsylvania
YEARS
Medical Society and many specialty societies, are successful in their appeal to
have Highmark withdraw its plan for Security Blue capitation of specialty care.
2006:
The proposed merger
of Highmark and Independence
Blue Cross prompts the passage
of Senate Bill 550, giving the
Pennsylvania Department of
Insurance greater oversight
of nonprofit health insurers.
Hospitals revise policies to use cell phones in lieu of pagers. The “Donut
Hole,” the portion of Medicare Part D sandwiched between the Initial
Coverage Limitation (ICL) and Catastrophic Coverage, causes confusion
and concern for physicians and seniors alike. The Western Pennsylvania
Diversity Initiative brought together ACMS and a broad spectrum of civic
groups to promote diverse working environments.
2007: Roger Mecum, Pennsylvania Medical Society executive vice
president, updated the ACMS board on Governor Ed Rendell’s health care
reform proposal. The plan includes accessibility, affordability, quality and
lifestyles, executive orders, and Mcare.
2008: ACMS President Dr. Krishnan Gopal in his 2008 inaugural address
aptly stated: “. . . many of the administrative and financial changes began
in the days of President Lyndon Johnson. Medicare and Diagnosis Related
Groups (DRGs) were thrust on us. Under President Bill Clinton, ‘managed
care’ accelerated, as did the various acronyms -- HMO, PPO, IPO and IPA.
Paradoxically, methods designed to increase
access to medical services often result in
attendant financial cost increases that limit
access. Again, physicians are left to manage
within these systems and are often cast as the
problem rather than being asked to help in
designing health care plans.”
2009: ACMS President Dr. Douglas Clough reports growing interest in
the diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since
the terror attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001: “Devastating natural
disasters, wars, accidents and personal assaults are a few of the traumas
witnessed over the past 10 years. Somewhere between 10 and 25 percent
of people exposed to such traumatic events will develop ongoing difficulties
meeting the criterion for post-traumatic stress disorder.” The Allegheny
County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) seeks volunteers from the medical
and allied health professions to strengthen the emergency response.
11
150
YEARS
2010: “. . .Most of us are referred to as
Dr. Bruce W. Dixon passes away
at age 74 in 2013. Dr. Dixon, head
of the Allegheny County Health
Department for 20 years, instituted
a number of innovative programs in
disaster planning and preparedness,
inmate medical services at the
county jail, and the Pennsylvania
smallpox vaccination program. He
also was a nationally recognized
authority on public health and
infectious diseases, which he taught
at the University of Pittsburgh.
2012:
On June 28, a sharply
divided United States Supreme
Court ruled that The Patient
Protection and Affordable Care
Act (PPACA) is constitutional.
The Allegheny County Medical
Society’s Primary Care Coalition
conveys concern about the
primary care shortage to large
audiences in meetings with
medical school administrators,
insurance providers, governmental
representatives, medical students,
lobbyists, representatives from
organized medicine, and leaders
in primary care. As UPMC and
Highmark contract issues impact
patients and members on both
sides, ACMS President Dr. Rajiv
Varma advocates for patient access
and open dialogue among parties.
12
health care providers and not physicians.
Perhaps we are seen as just that: a device
that delivers care, and not the physician
who knows the science of medicine as well as the art of medicine, and
also has learned to apply it to people,” ACMS President Dr. John Delaney
notes in his inaugural address. He also says: “The decision by Highmark
and the approval by the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance to move
business from the non-profit Highmark entity to a wholly-owned, for-profit
subsidiary (Highmark Health Insurance Company) has resulted in premium
increases that are startling in the percentage of the increase and the actual
dollar amounts.” The ACMS Foundation marks its 50th anniversary!
2011:
ACMS President Dr. Leo McCafferty writes: “The stalemate
involving the region’s three major corporate health care organizations—
Highmark, UPMC and West Penn Allegheny Health System —is a looming
problem for the community, patients and physicians. These large corporate
enterprises have a huge economic impact, and patients want to know how
current negotiations and corporate relationships among these entities will
affect their accessibility to health care.” Dr. Frank Vertosick offers this
perspective on the rising concern about concussions in youth sports: “...
the mother frankly admits she’s letting her son electively play a sport that
carries the risks of a car crash.”
2013:
While most major
causes of preventable death are
declining, overdose deaths are an
exception, taking a life every 19
seconds, prompting public health
experts to characterize Opioid Use
Disorder (OUD) as an epidemic.
With expanding telemedicine and
mobile health applications usage,
the FDA considers guidance on
the standards and usage of mobile
devices.
2014:
Dr. Antoine Douaihy,
medical director of Addiction
Medicine Services at Western
Psychiatric Institute and Clinic,
writes in a BULLETIN article:
“Research at both individual and
societal levels is needed to better
understand the consequences
of marijuana use, the effects
of various types of policy
change on rates of problematic
marijuana use, and its medicinal
applications.” A bill legalizing
marijuana for medicinal purposes
in Pennsylvania passed the State
Senate in October. Concerns about
e-cigarette advertising surface.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society
and the Hospital Association of
Pennsylvania settle litigation with
the Commonwealth regarding
the Mcare Fund, appealing prior
assessments and challenging the
transfer of $100 million to the
general fund from Mcare in 2009.
This resulted in a return of $164
million in insurance premiums for
physicians and hospitals.
150
YEARS
2015: Congress
passes legislation to prevent a 21 percent pay cut to Medicare physicians. The Medicare
Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA – dubbed the “SGR fix”) addresses physician reimbursement
problems of the last 18 years, eliminating yearly negotiations triggered by drastic cuts in Medicare’s physician
reimbursement rates. The Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) system is a means to regulate spending on
Medicare physician services. Without MACRA, many physicians could have been forced to leave the Medicare
system, causing a significant gap in patient care.
Beyond Office and Operating Room
Dr. Terrence Starz, 2006 ACMS president, believes
“health is impacted by our environmental experience.”
Healthy living, diversity and mentoring mark the
Society’s ongoing community outreach projects,
engaging medical students and partnering with the
University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public
Health, the Allegheny County Health Department,
Carnegie Mellon University and many others.
Throughout the years, ACMS members stay connected
with the community through participation in the
“HealthLine” call-in program and the “Straight Talk
about Health Care” campaign on KQV radio (1999),
“Healthy 4 Life” on WTAE-TV, and the “Dear Doctor”
column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1997). The
“POWER of Prevention” initiative was introduced.
“Health Capsules” on KDKA-TV provided tips to stay
healthy with brochures available at local drug stores.
ACMS became a founding partner of Mayor Sophie
Masloff’s Pittsburgh Community Health Challenge.
Dozens of physicians
participated in Days of
Caring, filled hundreds
of community speaking
engagements, and relaxed at
Kennywood family picnics.
Memorable to 2002 ACMS
President Dr. Gerald Pifer was building an accessible
playground at the YMCA’s Camp Kon-O-Kwee.
For 55 years, the ACMS Foundation has extended the
reach of physicians into the community through $2.3
million in grants for an extraordinary array of programs
and projects, enabling hundreds of nonprofit organizations
to fulfill the Foundation’s mission of “supporting home and
community environments that nurture and develop healthy
children and families for a healthy Allegheny County.”
The tireless efforts of the ACMS Auxiliary, now the
ACMS Alliance, contribute to the work of ACMS and its
Foundation.
Leadership and Advocacy for Patients and Physicians
“Leadership and Advocacy for Patients and Physicians” is not just a catch phrase, it is a call to action! ACMS and
its members initiate, respond, collaborate and fight for essential issues like public health, access to care, appropriate
reimbursement and tort reform, keeping the patient at the center of their efforts. Reminisce about all you have
experienced, supported and accomplished through your ACMS membership in these 150 years and be proud!
A Legacy
of Caring
“Among the changing medical landscape of hundreds of insurers, exchanges
and other issues, ACMS provides one clear, focused voice. Otherwise it’s all just
noise – people complaining. I’m so excited about medicine and I’d recommend it
to anyone. It is a gift.”
Dr. Amelia Paré, 2013 ACMS President
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150
YEARS
Past Presidents
A.H. Gross
1865-66
C.B. King
1885
J.E. Rigg
1903
Walter F. Donaldson
1922-23
R.B. Mowry
1867
J.B. Batten
1886
T.M.T. McKennan
1904
E.W. Willetts
1923-24
A.M. Pollock
1868
Thomas Mabon
1887
E.B. Heckel
1905
H.A. Miller
1924-25
H.T. Coffee
1869
W.M. Brinton
1888
E.W. Day
1906
H.A. Mayer
1925-26
Thos. J. Gallaher
1870
W.V. Knox
1889
R.W. Stewart
1907
Hugh E. McGuire
1926-27
E.A. Wood
1871
W.S. Foster
1890
L. Litchfield
1908
Charles H. Henninger
1927-28
G.D. Bruce
1872
T.D. Davis
1891
X.O. Werder
1909
Robert H. Anderson
1928-29
J.C. Maginni
1873
J.C. Lange
1892
M.C. Cameron
1910
James I. Johnston
1929
M.O. Jones
1874
W.S. Huselton
1893
J.D. Heard
1911
James McCann
1875
J.J. Green
1894
Theodore Diller
1912
Thomas W. Shaw
1876
J.M. Duff
1895
John W. Boyce
1913
N. McDonald
1877
F. Lemoyne
1896
John A. Hawkins
1914
A. Flamming
1878
Adolph Koenig
1897
E.B. Haworth
1915
S.N. Benham
1879
George W. McNeil
1898
W.W. Jones
1916
James King
1880
J.A. Lippincott
1899
J.M. Thorne
1917
William H. Daly
1881
Charles S. Shaw
1900
E.S. Montgomery
1918
J.M. Stevenson
1882
J.D. Thomas
1883
J.B. Murdoch
1884
14
(Died before installation)
J.W. McFarlane
1900
J.S. Mabon
1901
J.C. Dunn
1902
J.P. McKelvy
1919
J.J. Buchanan
1920
C.J. Vaux
1921-22
(Died before installation)
Thomas C. Grieg
1929-30
Alexander H. Colwell
1930-31
I. Hope Alexander
1931-32
Thomas B. Carroll
1932-33
George W. Grier
1933-34
Wilton W. Robinson
1934-35
R.J. Behan
1935-36
Sidney A. Chalfant
1936-37
William H. Guy
1937-38
C.L. Palmer
1938-39
Henry T. Price
1939-40
150
YEARS
Past Presidents Continued
Frederick M. Jacob
1940-41
William F. Brennan
1958-59
Joseph V. Caliguiri
1978
Alan A. Axelson
1997
John R. Griffith
1941-42
John S. Donaldson
1960
Howard A. Mermelstein
1979
David S. Zorub
1998
Samuel R. Haythorn
1942-43
William A. Barrett
1961
Harold E. Swensen
1980
Dennis J. Hurwitz
1999
Charles C. Rinard
1943-44
J. Everett McClenahan
1962
James R. Dornenburg
1981
Jitendra M. Desai
2000
Zoe Allison Johnston
1944-45
C. William Weisser
1963
Abraham J. Twerski
1982
Paul W. Dishart
2001
Harold B. Gardner
1945-46
William R. Hunt
1964
Ralph Gaudio, Jr.
1983
Gerald W. Pifer
2002
George Lang
1946-47
William R. Kelly
1965
H. Lee Dameshek
1984
G. Alan Yeasted
2003
T. R. Helmbold
1947-48
Gilmore M. Sanes
1966
Daniel H. Brooks
1985
Edward Teeple, Jr.
2004
Thos J. Sheppard
1948
Matthew R. Marshall, Jr.
1967
Phillip R. Levine
1986
Mark A. Goodman
2005
Eugene A. Conti
1968
Gilbert A. Friday
1987
Terence W. Starz
2006
Robert J. Carroll
1969
Richard E. Deitrick
1988
Krishnan A. Gopal
2007
William F. Donaldson
1970
Daniel H. Gregory
1989
Adam J. Gordon
2008
Fred C. Brady
1971
George F. Buerger, Jr.
1990
Douglas F. Clough
2009
Ralph C. Wilde
1972
Stanley M. Marks
1991
John F. Delaney, Jr.
2010
Ralph J. Stalter
1973
John A. Burkholder
1992
Leo R. McCafferty
2011
David W. Clare
1974
George J. Gerneth
1993
Rajiv R. Varma
2012
Michael P. Levis
1975
Lee H. McCormick
1994
Amelia A. Paré
2013
Lawrence D. Ellis
1976
Nancy S. Nieland-Fisher
1995
Kevin O. Garrett
2014
A. Linn Weigel
1977
Richard N.Harris
1996
John P. Williams
2015
(Died before installation)
Thomas McC. Mabon
1948-49
Paul G. Bovard
1949-50
N.C. Ochsenhirt
1950-51
William A. Bradshaw
1951-52
John A. O’Donnell
1952-53
John W. Shirer
1953-54
John W. Fredette
1954-55
Wendell B. Gordon
1955-56
Leo R. Sheedy
1956-57
David Katz
1957-58
15
150
YEARS
Pennsylvania Medical Society Presidents
from Allegheny County
James King
1866
Thomas C. Simonton
1928
William J. Kelly
1977
A.M. Pollock
1872
William H. Mayer
1931
Matthew Marshall, Jr.
1980
Robert B. Mowry
1876
Alexander H. Colwell
1935
Michael P. Levis
1983
E.A. Wood
1885
Charles J. Henninger
1939
Gordon K. MacLeod
1991
J.B. Murdoch
1888-89
Robert L. Anderson
1942
Donald G. Ferguson
1993
William S. Foster
1895
Harold B. Gardner
1950
Lee H. McCormick
1998
Thomas D. Davis
1900
John W. Shirer
1957
Carol E. Rose
2001
Adolph Koenig
1904
J. Everett McClenahan
1966
Jitendra M. Desai
2004
Edward B. Heckel
1913-14
William A. Barrett
1969
Ralph Schmeltz
2011
Lawrence Litchfield
1922
Ralph C. Wilde
1973
Bruce A. MacLeod
2014
ACMS Past Presidents with
1995 ACMS President Nancy Nieland-Fisher
16
ACMS Board of Directors - 2015
150
YEARS
Affiliated with the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) and the American Medical Association (AMA)
The 150th Anniversary History combines the previously published 125 years with additions to complete the
150-year legacy of ACMS. Credits reflect contributors to the past and present editions.
WRITERS
Susan Cosgrove - 125 years
Diane C. Wuycheck - 125 and 150 years
REFERENCES
BULLETIN of the Allegheny County Medical Society
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Department
“The First One Hundred Years,” George Swetnam, Ph.D.
“Milestones to Health in Pennsylvania,” B.W. Kunkel, Ph.D., Sc.D.
“The People of Progress: The Sesquicentennial History of the Western Pennsylvania Hospital, 1848-1998,”
Hax McCullough
PHOTOS
ACMS and the Western Pennsylvania Hospital Archives
BULLETIN of the Allegheny County Medical Society
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Gerald F. Ellson
Ric Evans
DESIGN
Steve Schwartz Associates, Inc.
SPECIAL THANKS
ACMS Past Presidents
John G. Krah, James D. Ireland and Meagan K. Welling, ACMS staff
Mary Beth Green, former ACMS Communications Assistant
Robert C. Grom
.
17