Every year, hospitalists across the country receive SHM membership renewal notices in the mail. For the vast majority of them, the decision to renew is an easy one.
For the others, hospitalist Mike Hawkins, MD, FACP, FHM, recommends a tried-and-true approach in the field: Evaluate the risk-to-benefit ratio.
“As they say in medicine, the risk-to-benefit ratio is a no-brainer,” says Dr. Hawkins, the Southeast region medical director for Brentwood, Tenn.-based Cogent Healthcare.
Dr. Hawkins should know about membership benefits; he’s been an SHM member since 1996. In fact, he was one of the first 200 members of SHM’s original incarnation, the National Association of Inpatient Physicians. He joined for the resources that helped his new hospitalist program grow and for the access to people who were doing the same thing he was in his hospital. He also recognized the potential for networking and the sharing of ideas from such industry leaders as Bob Wachter, MD, MHM, and John Nelson, MD, MHM.
Since then, the membership benefits that Dr. Hawkins and more than 10,000 other hospitalists receive have evolved along with their careers and the specialty as a whole.
SHM membership and the HM specialty have become nearly synonymous to most hospitalists. “I can’t imagine a true hospitalist that wouldn’t be an SHM member,” Dr. Hawkins says. “Most of the hospitalists on my teams are members. As a company, we strongly encourage our physicians to be SHM members.”
Membership: The Basics
Hawkins’ enthusiasm for becoming an SHM member is no surprise to Todd Von Deak, MBA, CAE, vice president of operations and general manager for SHM.
“Thousands of hospitalists join SHM for the many tangible benefits like discounts or subscriptions to the Journal of Hospital Medicine and The Hospitalist,” Von Deak says.
As SHM has evolved, so have the benefits it offers to members. The original society publication sent to members was only four pages; today, members receive both The Hospitalist and the Journal of Hospital Medicine, one of the top peer-reviewed journals in healthcare—and the only peer-reviewed journal for HM.
A Hospitalist Voice on Capitol Hill
Access to other hospitalists and leaders in healthcare is just the beginning for SHM members. SHM membership also gives members a chance to bring their professional perspectives straight to Capitol Hill.
With the critical role that hospitals play in healthcare reform, members of Congress and others in Washington are eager to hear from experts like hospitalists. In May, members of SHM’s Public Policy Committee took their message directly to members of Congress. Hospitalists engaged in a series of one-on-one meetings with legislators, relating their personal experiences in patient care and QI to the continued public dialogue over healthcare reform.
In early June, SHM past president Scott Flanders, MD, SFHM, along with representatives of Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan and the American Hospital Association, conducted a briefing with about 50 legislative aides. The briefing was intended to educate members of Congress and their staffs about Project BOOST and the need to reduce unplanned readmissions.
“Hospitalists bring a very important perspective to the policy conversation about improving healthcare in America,” says Eric Siegal, MD, SFHM, an SHM board member and former chair of the Public Policy Committee. “SHM helps to facilitate that conversation.”
Even if they can’t make it to Washington, SHM members can stay on top of the issues affecting them and make their opinions known, Dr. Siegal says. Members can use SHM’s Legislative Action Center in the advocacy section of www.hospitalmedicine.org to learn more about current legislation and activities by the members of Congress in their area. The Legislative Action Center also makes contacting members of Congress easy by supplying contact information and tips for effective outreach.
“This is an important time to be a hospitalist,” Siegal says. “As a unified society, we can influence decisions that will shape healthcare for decades to come.”