WisMed’s PolicyLink empowers members to help shape the organization’s policies via an online resource available 24/7/365. The tool further enhances the Society’s status as a health care leader, offering member physicians an accessible and convenient way to promote high quality patient care and support physicians’ ability to practice medicine.

PolicyLink fosters a more free-form method of identifying issues and submitting ideas for official WisMed policy than previous procedures, which required in-person voting once per year of just a small sample of the membership. The electronic submission format allows the user to share information about the proposal, why it’s needed, and how the new policy’s language should read. Members can also attach background information or other materials that help justify the proposal’s merit.

Once an idea is submitted into PolicyLink, other members can review the proposal and provide reaction. After that comment period, the proposal and feedback will be analyzed by the WisMed Policy Review Committee (PRC), made of members from around the state. The PRC will make a recommendation to the Society’s Board of Directors (BOD) on whether the proposal should be approved, rejected or amended. Members will be able to vote on whether they think the BOD reaches the correct conclusion.

The Society is the latest in a growing list of state medical societies to transition to a more modern and inclusive policymaking process. You must be logged in through your member credentials in order to access PolicyLink. Contact us for assistance with logging in. Contact Mark Grapentine, JD with any questions or suggestions.

2024 Policy Cycles

Cycle 1 | Cycle 2 | Cycle 3

2020 Governance Modernization

At the 2019 House of Delegates (HOD) meeting in April, 2019, the Society’s Board of Directors (Board) unanimously introduced a potential amendment to the Society’s Constitution aimed at improving the Society’s policymaking structure. The HOD approved a change from the one-time-per-year policymaking approval process to a year-round endeavor, better reflecting the pace at which health care policy is debated and voted on in Madison and Washington, D.C. The change also allows more members to regularly engage in the policymaking process through use of the Society’s technology platforms at times when convenient for members – not a specific set of dates at an annual event in a specific location.