325 W. College Ave.
Tallahassee, Florida
32301

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Infographics allow us to integrate creative content with specific data points, providing clients with a new tool to more effectively educate their target audiences in a much more memorable way (think legislators, or grasstops stakeholders.)

Our first infographic displays the differences in education levels of ophthalmologists and optometrists.  We took a complex set of data and made it easier to understand. 

Check it out here: FMA Infographic

Does this get your attention?

Tallahassee—

The Florida AHEC Network launched a website today highlighting the AHEC Network’s achievements in treating Florida patients and training Florida’s future health care workforce.  The website, http://www.86000patients.com/, tells the AHEC story and encourages patients, students, and other concerned Floridians to take action to save the Network’s funding.

“Everyone has heard of The Social Network, but perhaps not the AHEC Network,” said Andrée Aubrey, President of the AHEC Network. “Taking a cue from The Social Network’s tagline— ‘You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies’—the AHEC Network has an equivalent message: ‘You don’t treat 86,000 patients without legislative funding.’

“The Florida AHEC Network provided services to well over 86,000 individuals in Florida last year, even with a 60% cut in our budget,” explained Aubrey. “To continue providing services to Florida’s neediest patients—including children, the elderly, and pregnant women—we are requesting level funding from the Florida Legislature this year. This website allows us to better explain how the AHEC Network treats patients, trains students, and saves taxpayer dollars in Florida.”

Florida’s AHEC Network provides primary care services directly to patients in Florida’s underserved areas and trains the state’s future health care workforce.  Comprised of five Programs and ten community-based Centers across the state, the AHEC Network is the only program in which Florida’s medical schools collaborate to provide direct primary care services to patients in their surrounding communities. The AHEC Network focuses on empowering patients and encouraging them to take more personal responsibility for their own health care, which drives down costs and keeps patients out of expensive emergency rooms.   

“Instead of asking the thousands of Floridians who have benefitted from the AHEC Network to send a pre-written letter or canned email, http://www.86000patients.com/ allows individuals to tell their own story about AHEC by emailing legislators, using Twitter to contact them, or posting a note on their Facebook page,” continued Aubrey.  “It’s important not only to tell the AHEC story, but to encourage others to tell their stories too.  This website is a forum to educate Floridians and lawmakers about why it is critical to preserve the Network and allow us to continue treating underserved patients.”

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Contact:  Erin VanSickle
(850) 339-3184 

Tallahassee—The Florida Medical Association (FMA) launched a website today that aims to get Florida’s physicians involved in the FMA’s efforts to pass medical liability reform. DoctorsForTortReform.com encourages physicians to support House Bill 479, a substantial medical liability reform bill supported by the FMA. The full site can be viewed at http://www.doctorsfortortreform.com/home/.

“Passing meaningful medical liability this Session is the FMA’s number-one priority,” said Timothy J. Stapleton, Executive Vice President of the FMA.  “We launched DoctorsForTortReform.com to educate patients about the effects of Florida’s dangerous medical liability climate, and most importantly, to get physicians across the state involved in our grassroots efforts to pass major reforms.”

The FMA, which represents over 20,000 physicians in Florida, will use the DoctorsForTortReform.com site to educate patients and physicians about House Bill 479, one of the most significant pieces of medical liability reform legislation in Florida in many years.  The bill would improve Florida’s out-of-control litigation system by reducing costly and unnecessary testing for defensive purposes and requiring out-of-state expert witnesses to obtain a Florida certificate to prevent fraudulent or deceptive testimony.  Additionally, it would ensure equal access to witnesses in medical liability suits, leveling the playing field in these cases, and authorize insurance policies that give physicians control over settlement decisions. This common-sense legislation is key to patient access and economic development opportunities.

“The FMA exists to make Florida a better place to practice medicine,” continued Stapleton.  “That is extremely difficult to do when published reports on ‘where to practice medicine’ list Florida among the states to avoid because of our state’s bad litigation climate. DoctorsForTortReform.com is a tool that allows us to highlight Florida physicians’ concerns about the pending access to care crisis in our state, which will occur if we don’t pass medical liability reforms now.” 

Additional information about Florida’s medical liability climate:

• Florida ranks among the worst states in the nation for paid malpractice claims and payouts. In 2009, Florida had 770 paid medical malpractice settlements compared to the national average of 180. 
• Florida medical liability premiums are by far the highest in the nation. The average primary care physician in Florida pays $41,946 for liability insurance, while the national average is $16,042. The average specialist in Florida pays $171,231 for liability insurance, while the national average is $65,489.
• Florida’s physicians are retiring faster than they are being replaced. In 2009, Florida was ranked 50^th among the states for “access to emergency care.”
• Texas passed medical liability reform in 2003. Since then, it has gained more than 21,000 new physicians, an increase of 37 percent, representing many high-risk specialties such as emergency medicine, neurosurgery, pediatric intensive care, and pediatric infectious disease.

 Sign the Doctors For Tort Reform petition at: www.DoctorsForTortReform.com

Follow Doctors For Tort Reform on Twitter at: @FloridaMedical

Follow Doctors For Tort Reform on Facebook

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Contact:  Erin VanSickle
(850) 339-3184

FMA Statement on Governor Scott’s First State of the State Address

Tallahassee—Florida Medical Association (FMA) President Madelyn Butler, M.D., released the following statement today regarding Governor Rick Scott’s first State of the State Address:

“Governor Scott got it right tonight.  He noted that Florida’s current liability system, full of frivolous lawsuits, is bad for the economy, bad for small businesses, and bad for job creation. 

“Sky-high liability premiums—by far the highest in the nation—are driving physicians out of the state and discouraging new physicians to locate in Florida.

“The Governor also correctly noted that frivolous lawsuits destroy job opportunities. This year, private practice physicians’ offices will support more than 486,700 jobs statewide, and generate nearly $62 billion in overall economic impact for Florida. Those jobs will depend on our ability to make Florida a better place to practice medicine.

“The FMA applauds Governor Scott for his commitment to passing comprehensive medical liability reform, making it easier for patients to find the care the need and generating new jobs for Floridians.”

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“Governor Scott was absolutely correct in his State of the State address when he said that Florida must provide a ‘modern, health care safety net for our low-income and disabled citizens,’” said Andrée Aubrey, President of the AHEC Network. “Governor Scott was also correct in pointing out that the costs of providing these services have spun out of control.  The AHEC Network stands ready to assist Governor Scott and the Legislature in cutting red tape, saving taxpayer dollars, and returning a focus to the patient. At the AHEC Network, we do this every day.”

Florida’s AHEC Network provides primary care services directly to patients in Florida’s underserved areas and trains the state’s future health care workforce.  Comprised of five Programs and ten community-based Centers across the state, the AHEC Network is the only program in which Florida’s medical schools collaborate to provide direct primary care services to patients in their surrounding communities. The AHEC Network focuses on empowering patients and encouraging them to take more personal responsibility for their own health care, which drives down costs and keeps patients out of expensive emergency rooms. 

 “The AHEC Network looks forward to working with Governor Scott and the Florida House and Senate to save more taxpayer dollars and treat more patients,” concluded Aubrey.  “We can do this through our existing infrastructure of affiliated community clinics and our collaboration with Florida’s Medical Schools, which allows us to deploy health professions students, residents, and faculty to sites across the state to treat patients.”

To learn more about the Florida AHEC Network, visit www.flahec.org.

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Congratulations to Dave Bitner, new chair of the RPOF (now with instant analysis)

“It starts now. We are taking our country back. Folks, there is unity here,” – Dave Bitner.  

In the end, former State Rep. Dave Bitner, the most polished candidate won the race to be the next Chair of the Republican Party of Florida.  I can’t say how much the revelations about Deborah Cox-Roush hurt her, but the results are obvious.  A month ago, she was the front-runner.  Then, this blog found a mugshot.  Post hoc, ergo propter hoc.

My immediate reaction is that one of the big winners is Erin VanSickle, who helped Bitner navigate the treacherous waters of the RPOF voting process.

The big-ticket candidates, like Mike Haridopolos and George LeMieux, can breathe a sigh of relief, now that a more effective RPOF Chair is now in charge, rather than an event planner like DCR.

Florida’s new media played a decided role in this race.  This blog, The Shark Tank, Irreverent View and the Sunshine State News all provided much more nuanced coverage of this race than the traditional media.

Give credit to Joe Gruters for running a very solid race and making a statewide name for himself.

Obviously, one of the biggest disappointments is for my friend Tony DiMatteo, who ended up garnering just 7 votes.  Most of the RPOF seemed to blame him and his associate, Barry Edwards, for a lot of the skullgduggery which emerged in this race.

We’ve been writing annual reports, launching microsites, briefing reporters, engaging bloggers, studying our clients’ issues, and getting ready for Session. And now…it’s here.

Do you have a rally planned at the Capitol or “Capitol Days” coming up for your organization or association? Need to place op-eds in target media markets or establish a social media strategy?  Have a press conference or roundtable to plan? Need to respond to a crisis situation or secure positive media coverage?

Is it time to energize your message?

Call me at (850) 339-3184, email me at evansickle@capitolenergy.net, or tweet me at @ErinVanSickle.