Viewpoint
Viewpoint headline: think about something
As I wrote in this column last year, the MMA Board of Trustees has been developing a strategic plan that will help the MMA respond to our changing times. Although our core purpose and mission are unchanged—to provide advocacy, information, education and leadership for Minnesota physicians and their patients—our long-term goals have been substantially modified.
In developing our new goals, the board outlined a new vision for medicine in Minnesota, focusing on issues that matter most to you and to your patients. Our three- to five-year goals include:
- Making Minnesota the healthiest state in the nation,
- Making Minnesota the best place to practice medicine, and
- Making the MMA the source for advancing physician professionalism in Minnesota.
To me, these goals are the very hallmarks of a strong medical association, and I am confident that they will position us to navigate the challenges we face regarding health care reform, cost pressures, clinical practice, and attitudes about joining organizations.
As we develop strategies for achieving these goals, we will need your help.
We recently sent out a survey asking for your opinion about the important issues outlined in the new MMA goals. I hope you responded. Your voice is vital to helping us chart our course for making Minnesota the healthiest state and the best place to practice.
Membership organizations like the MMA are experiencing tremendous change. We realize many factors influence the decision to join. To better understand what these are, we’re attempting to learn more about members’ and nonmembers’ values and needs. We’re asking members what they value most about membership and their reasons for joining, and we’re asking nonmembers about the reasons that might lead them to become a member. We have started by talking with small groups of physicians, and we will continue to ask for your feedback during the coming months.
Going hand-in-hand with the new strategic plan is a new look for the MMA. We unveiled our new brand identity at the annual meeting, and you will be seeing our updated identity on all future MMA materials.
This is an exciting time for the MMA. I am proud of the work we have done to retool our strategy and implement a new, more modern brand identity. We see a future in which the MMA will play a significant role in the lives of Minnesotans and the physicians who provide their medical care. These steps will get us there.