Every January, Orange Coast Magazine publishes its annual health and beauty issue and lists Orange County's Physicians of Excellence. The Physicians of Excellence program was started by the Orange County Medical Association in 2004 to take the place of the flawed Best Doctors program previously used by the magazine. (The Best Doctors list was compiled by an East Coast company that asked just one question of doctors in a particular community to determine which doctors are "best.")

The OCMA's purpose in creating the Physicians of Excellence was to localize the selection process and to have defined, easy-to-measure selection criteria. The magazine liked the idea and a new community partnership was formed.

Now in its third year, the POE program has become recognized as a fair, unbiased selection process identifying those physicians who have exhibited the skills, training and commitment to their patients and the community to stand out above their peers.

About the Selection Process
All physicians who meet the POE selection criteria are eligible for nomination. It's that simple. There is very little subjective discretion used in the process since every application is measured only against the criteria. Below is some advice for future applicants.

1) Make sure someone nominates you. Since anyone can submit a nomination, that should be easy.

2) If nominated, make sure that you meet the criteria before taking the time to complete an application.

3) Fully complete the application and answer every question thoroughly. Put yourself in the shoes of the reviewer and determine whether your responses are clear and meet the criteria.

4) Don't try to fudge on your qualifications. The reviewers can spot this easily.

Timeline and Background
The POE process starts almost a year in advance of the list being published. Nominations generally open in March or April and close in late May. Interested nominees are then required to submit an application by the end of July.

The Selection Committee meets twice, in August and September, to review the applications and to make the selections. The list of doctors recommended for selection is then given to the OCMA board for review and final approval in late September. Finally, the list is turned over to Orange Coast Magazine in order to meet the publication deadline.

Please understand that the POE list will change every year and that it is not intended to include everyone worthy of recognition. While many believe that once selected they should always be selected, the fact of the matter is that if you do not submit a complete and thorough application each year, you will not be selected.

We encourage you to participate next year if you believe you qualify for selection. Listed below are the criteria used for the 2007 list. Please be advised that these criteria may change for 2008.  However, they will give you a good idea of what is required.

Selection Criteria
The physician nominee must meet all four of these criteria:

* Board certified by an ABMS member.
* In good standing with the Medical Board of California.
* In practice within field for more than five years.
* Primary practice location in Orange County.

The physician nominee must meet at least three of the following six criteria:

* Serve as a physician leader.
* Hold a faculty appointment and/or be involved in teaching of other physicians, medical students or healthcare professionals.
* Be active in peer-reviewed clinical research.
* Have unique skills within the field of nomination.
* Volunteer serving the indigent or underserved population.
* Serve a special population of patients.

If you would like more information on the POE program, please contact me at the number or e-mail below.

Perry Cain is director of public affairs and communications at the Orange County Medical Association. He can be reached at 714/978-1160 or pcain@ocma.org