MEDICAL SOCIETY PROVIDES FORUM FOR CAPE COUNTY PHYSICIANS

We go to them for answers.

But where do they go to share information and learn from one another?

For more than 60 years, one way many local physicians have chosen to go about the business of improving medical care has been through participation in the Cape Girardeau County Area Medical Society.

The local arm of the Missouri State Medical Society and the American Medical Association provides "a forum where physicians from all specialties can meet together," explained Dr. S. Kent Griffith, society president

Providing a forum for the interchange of ideas is but one of the many functions of the local medical society whose membership consists of some 142 physicians from the Cape Girardeau area.

The society also links members with avenues of continuing education and provides a way area physicians can become involved, as a group, in local health-related issues, Griffith noted.

Working closely with the local hospitals is another important function of the medical society.

"We work a lot with the hospitals," Griffith said. "If we're going to promote quality health care in this area, there needs to be some forum that works with all physicians in harmony with the hospitals."

A new way the medical society is striving to meet that need and to insure quality health care both now and in future years is through a coordinated effort with Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Through the collaboration, approximately a half a dozen medical students are currently receiving clinical experience in the Cape Girardeau area. Several of the students attended the February meeting of the CGCAMS.

"They work with various doctors in various specialties to obtain clinical experience," Griffith noted.

Kate McDermott, a KCOM third-year medical student from Perryville, explained that through the 18-month program, the students rotate through various specialties including the five core areas of surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, pediatrics, family practice and general internal medicine.

The medical society's projects are coordinated through the organization's office at 1005 N. Kingshighway, under the leadership of Lois Kasten, the CGCAMS executive director.

Equipped with extensive information about the medical services available in the area, the office is also a liaison between the medical profession and local residents.

"Answering questions from people in the community" is an every day activity at the medical society office, Kasten said. Typical inquiries range from who is taking new patients to requests for referral information.

A monthly publication called the Cape County Medical Journal is one tool the medical society uses to keep the lines of communication open.

With a circulation of approximately 950, the journal is mailed to physicians, hospitals, libraries, universities, businesses and individuals throughout the four-state region. It contains columns and articles written by local physicians, along with health-related information from state and national levels.

Additionally, the medical society office produces an annual pictorial directory of the organization's membership. The information is available to the public.

Sponsoring symposiums through which physicians can continue their education is another element of the medical society.

Education regarding national issues, likewise, holds prominent spotlight among medical society members in 1994.

"Our focus this year," Griffith said, "will be on the changes that are coming to health care, to make sure we're up to date and to be ready to deal with them, rather than react."