DSPS moves to email communication for license renewal notification

Physician license renewal is coming up and the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) is moving their notification process online. Due to this change physicians will need to be certain that their profile contains a valid email address to ensure they receive accurate and timely information from DSPS. As a part of the online renewal process, the Medical Examining Board is requiring physicians complete a set of questions relating to fitness to practice. These questions can also be found on form #4570.

Online renewals and notifications will begin the week of September 13 and are due by October 31, 2021.

For assistance in the renewal process, or for other questions please contact dsps@wisconsin.gov.

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Meet WisMedPAC Board Member Dr. Hartman

John Hartman, MD

John Hartman, MD, is a board-certified nephrologist with an extensive background in technology. He is the chief executive officer of Visonex, LLC, former Vice Chair of the Wisconsin Medical Society Board of Directors, Treasurer of Brown County Medical Society and Chair of WisMedPAC. Dr. Hartman shared some thoughts about being politically active.

How long have you been politically active?

About 17 years.

How does being politically active make you a better physician advocate?

If we are not part of organized medicine, we have no voice. Therefore, to be a true advocate we need to think long term about how and what is happening in medicine and how it impacts our ability to practice medicine.

What’s your advice for physicians on how to get more involved in issues that affect their profession?

Volunteer. Start locally. If you understand the local issues, that helps the conversation at the state level, and ultimately the national level. Give to our PAC and WisMedDirect. By using our PAC we get double credit, your donation and our collection of it. It matters not which party you give to – medicine is a bipartisan issue. But give to and use the PAC. Have conversations.

If you can’t give money, give time. No time, then give money. It is too important not to be involved. Physicians don’t like politics by a general nature. However, politics impact our ability to deliver high quality care.

Other than politics, what interests you at the moment? 

I am a voracious reader. I also love to mentor companies and am involved in the Green Bay Packers Mentor Protégé program as a founding member. I have separately mentored other companies and enjoy the entrepreneurial process.

What is the best part of being a physician advocate?

I believe in the mission of the Wisconsin Medical Society and the importance of the physician-patient relationship. By working to advance that mission, patient care is directly impacted. Physicians have greater ability to provide the best care possible and patients benefit. At the base of it all, it is about patient care and how we can provide the highest, most compassionate care possible.

What have you gained by being involved in the Wisconsin Medical Society (organized medicine/PAC)? 

I have had the honor of being in the leadership and working to improve the lives of my fellow physicians and thereby the patients they serve. Through volunteering over many years and fighting for and with my fellow physicians I have gained a better understanding of the importance of the struggle to preserve the patient-physician relationship and that physician advocacy is desperately needed. Enterprise Health Systems are not inherently bad, but the Wisconsin Medical Society and our PAC advocate for the physician and the patient-physician relationship. That is a worthwhile goal.

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Physician Wellness Program pilot

The LifeBridge Physician Wellness Program for Dane County Medical Society Members launched in July as a partnership of the Wisconsin Medical Society (Society) and Dane County Medical Society. The Society encourages other county medical societies to contact Jim Lorence for information about offering the wellness program in your county.

This pilot program provides up to six free telemedicine counseling/coaching sessions per year from a psychologist with Cornerstone Counseling Services, Inc. or Marshfield Clinic Health System, Inc. The sessions are completely confidential.   

The well-being of physicians is of paramount importance to the Wisconsin Medical Society. As we monitor this pilot, we anticipate that this program will be able to serve more physicians throughout the state.

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Prescription labeling survey to improve patient care

The Wisconsin Medical Society (Society) is working with Wisconsin Health Literacy on their important initiative to make prescription drug labels easier to understand for patients. Wisconsin Health Literacy, a division of Wisconsin Literacy, works to promote clear communication between those who give and those who receive health care services. To gain feedback on current awareness of medication directions and the Universal Medication Schedule (UMS), Wisconsin Health Literacy has created a 7-question survey, that takes less than five minutes to complete.

Physicians dedicate a substantial amount of time and effort into providing high quality clinical care. However, when a patient goes home, they typically rely on their memory to follow through on their care plan. Wisconsin Health Literacy believes that it is important to have systems in place to support physicians in communicating their care plan to aid in patient compliance on that plan. This survey will help determine facilitators and address barriers to UMS adoption.

The survey will be open through the month of September. The information gathered will be used to further the initiative.

Contact Jim Lorence for more information.

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Life insurance can change lives

By Tom Strangstalien, Insurance Advisor with WisMed Assure

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. It's a reminder of the many times I’ve experienced the life changing impact of life insurance.

Even though I’ve been a life insurance agent for more than two decades, there are times when even I take for granted this extraordinary tool within our financial toolbox. There are dozens of stories I can tell about how life insurance has truly made a difference for someone’s family. Four of these stories stand out in particular because they had a direct personal impact on me. Here is one of them.

My Friend Randy

Randy was my best friend. We went to high school together, were college roommates for four years, and his brother married my sister. I recruited Randy to join our team in the “insurance business.” After some hesitation, Randy joined the team, and we spent many nights together learning the business. I encouraged him to write a policy for himself as part of his training. 

I’ll never forget the call I received from my mother one beautiful April spring morning. She uttered, “Are you sitting down?” As I sipped my morning coffee at my kitchen table, I replied an affirmative yes. “I have some news. Your friend Randy woke up yesterday, and was going to read the morning paper, but he couldn’t. He was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and has about 6 months to live.” Those words shook me to my core.

I took Randy shopping for his groceries one day. That was the last time I saw him. Six months from the date of the initial diagnosis, Randy was gone. He left behind two children, ages 5 and 7, and his wife Michelle who was a nurse. Michelle cried when she got the check for the life insurance. She was able to purchase a home for the family, continue her career in the medical field, and eventually put both boys through college because of it.

If you would like to read the other three stories, click here.

Contact Tom Strangstalien, insurance advisor for WisMed Assure, the Wisconsin Medical Society’s insurance agency, at 608.442.3730 or tom.strangstalien@wismedassure.org.

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