There are so many issues that affect our daily practice. And the OCMA sorts them out and identifies which are at the forefront, so we as individuals can take a stand for our patients and our chosen profession. So stand up and speak out. The small efforts by many make a huge difference.

Physician offices have benefited greatly from the technology available to speed communication and improve documentation. However, each of us can think of an instance when we rued the day that we improved our systems. My office is on a search for the perfect system to convert to electronic medical records, and I both look forward to and dread the day that we have such a system in place.

I am always proud to read about physicians who travel to distant lands to donate their time and expertise to the underserved around the globe. Many stories have been about physicians from Orange County. Still, I have often thought that there are people in the United States who could use help and more doctors could participate if the volunteerism were local. The time for this type of program may be near.

America has a lovely, long tradition of a fall holiday whose only purpose is to give thanks. I would like to use this article to offer up my thanks to our partners at the American Medical Association, the California Medical Association and the Orange County Medical Association for fighting the good fight.

After 29 years of service to the OCMA, Marika Bonner, executive director, has resigned and will be leaving in February. As a special thank you for her contributions to the OCMA, I asked several of her friends and colleagues to share memories and good wishes.

"Don't find fault, find a remedy."--Henry Ford

Remedies are often few, but the search for them takes place in earnest during the California Medical Association House of Delegates. The goal is to address the current challenges physicians face. By passing "resolutions," physician delegates direct CMA advocacy efforts so problems can begin to be corrected.

To spur you to respond to the state's healthcare reform proposal, I am sharing excerpts of the letter I sent Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in January. I encourage you to write to him as well. 
I start: "Your health reform plan is misguided. Physicians are not the deep pockets you should be enlisting to pay for your proposed state insurance program."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger certainly got everyone's attention with his proposal for healthcare reform in California. Moving physicians past the inflammatory particulars of the proposal and toward thinking outside the box to share constructive concepts will be the challenge. Still, Orange County Medical Association leaders are impressed with the number of doctors who responded to the California Medical Association's request for reform ideas.

The OCMA formed the committee during its Strategic Planning Session in January. It was created in response to a request by Joe Dunn, the new CEO of the California Medical Association. Dunn recommended that the OCMA consult with Orange County physicians and get their input on healthcare reform in California. Ideas and suggestions from doctors countywide were compiled in February for possible inclusion in the healthcare reform plan under development by the CMA.

I would like to thank all those physicians who contributed ideas to the Orange County Healthcare Reform Committee. In addition, thank you to Drs. Richard Pitts, Michael Hurwitz, James Strebig, Jerry Jew and Mark Langdorf, and Orange County Medical Association President-Elect Satinder Swaroop, MD. They served on the committee soliciting, discussing and finally collating the suggestions that came from the physician community at large.

One day of advocacy isn't enough. Don't forget to contact your own legislators on a regular basis. Know who they are and visit their county offices. Making that person-to-person connection helps with today's causes and tomorrow's issues.