MMA Viewpoint
Defining Alignment
What does alignment mean for organized medicine? The dictionary defines it as “agreement or cooperation among groups with a common cause or viewpoint.” The MMA and its local component societies certainly have an overarching common cause—speaking for Minnesota physicians and their patients. But sometimes we have different slants on an issue and different ideas about its importance. How closely should we be aligned?
We know it’s important for us to present a united front to legislators. If lawmakers hear different messages from physicians, they tend to dismiss them.
That’s why the MMA has identified “alignment” as one of the major goals in our strategic plan. Our challenge is to define clearly what alignment should mean for the MMA and its component societies.
Toward that end, the Board of Trustees has created a task force of MMA and component medical society leaders that will recommend a process for improving the way the MMA and the component societies work together.
The task force has been asked to identify how we want to be aligned in our mission, vision, strategies, tactics, communications, and operations as well as on advocacy issues, particularly those that have a statewide impact. The group may also explore other opportunities for cooperation such as sharing resources and working together on membership recruitment and joint services.
I believe that the MMA and its component medical societies are aligned on the vast majority of issues; but there are times when we need a process to help us clarify our priorities or coordinate our approach to a problem. We want to avoid talking at cross-purposes and sending conflicting or confusing messages to policy makers and the public.
This does not mean that we all have to think and act alike. We need to have vigorous discussions among ourselves and consider arguments both pro and con on health care policies. There are many controversial areas in medicine, especially now as the details of health care reform are being developed.
For physicians to speak with one voice to an external audience, we need clear internal communication. The new task force will foster better communication between the MMA and its component societies.
The MMA also wants to make sure that you as a member have the information you need to form opinions as well as opportunities to give us your input. That’s why we’ve added a new regular feature to Minnesota Medicine, a column tracking health care reform as it takes shape in Minnesota, and more information on our website. When you visit www.mmaonline.net and click on “Health Care Reform” under Key Issues, you’ll find all the news stories, names of physicians who are participating in work groups, and other information about the efforts to reform health care in Minnesota. Please send us your questions and comments.
We want to know your opinion on health care reform, alignment, and other issues as we move forward. We welcome vigorous discussion within the house of medicine. But once we agree on policy, we should present a united front if we are to be truly effective. When we represent our association to legislators, policy makers, or the public, we need to express a clear message.