The Orange County Medical Association hosted a Physicians Advocacy Forum on Saturday, Feb. 25, in Irvine that attracted more than 90 physicians from Orange County and surrounding areas. The forum highlighted issues facing medical staffs.

The program agenda brought together an impressive lineup of speakers. William Monnig, MD, chair of the American Medical Association Organized Medical Staff Section, gave a national update on the challenges and issues medical staffs confront in today's healthcare environment.

Medical staff attorney Tom Curtis spoke about SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) lawsuits and medical staff self-governance. He was followed by John Hill, MD, who discussed lessons learned while he was chief of the medical staff at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura. He was chief during the time when medical staff governance was taken over by the hospital administration.

Howard Lang, MD, advised participants about the importance of constructing staff bylaws in a manner that supports the mission and goals of the medical staff. Bob Pugach, MD, discussed the outside influences on medical staffs, while Lytton Smith, MD, outlined the lessons that physicians could apply from the forum in their own medical staffs. Finally, Jack Lewin, MD, CEO of the California Medical Association, addressed the work the CMA is doing to assure medical staff independence statewide.

State Sen. Joe Dunn also attended, speaking to physicians during the lunch break and sharing his perspective on the current climate in Sacramento and the impact Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has had on the political landscape. Sen. Dunn, who is running for State Controller, has been a longtime friend of organized medicine.

The forum concluded with a panel discussion, including questions from participants about how to navigate the medical staff self-governance issue in their hospitals.