The California Medical Association (CMA) Organized Medical Staff Section (OMSS) held the 2019 Annual Assembly on Friday, October 25, 2019, in Anaheim, immediately prior to the CMA House of Delegates (HOD).

The OMSS Assembly consisted of a business portion—during which proposed resolutions were discussed and a new slate of OMSS Executive Board officers were elected—and an educational portion during which faculty presented on issues of interest to organized medical staffs.

2019-20 OMSS Executive Board:

• Chair – John Luster, M.D.
• Vice-Chair – Vimal Nanavati, M.D.
• Secretary – Steve Kmucha, M.D.
• Delegate – Tom Tremoulet, M.D.
• Delegate – Catherine Ferguson, M.D
• Alternate Delegate – Raman Poola, M.D.
• Alternate Delegate – Vimal Nanavati, M.D.
• Trustee – Damodara Rajasekhar, M.D.

The 2019 CMA House of Delegates meeting was conducted using the “major issues” format. The OMSS Assembly considered the recommendations from each of the three “major issues” reports and provided direction and feedback to the delegates regarding how to vote on behalf of OMSS. The major issues this year were:

• Augmented Intelligence: Explored pragmatic solutions that address medical decision-making, new liabilities and privacy concerns inherent with augmented and artificial intelligence in health care, with a focus on keeping physicians at the center of health care delivery.
• Homelessness: Discussed evidence-based solutions that address the health care and social needs of those at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
• Cannabis: Considered health impacts associated with cannabis use, public health protections, federal legalization, data and surveillance efforts, high-quality research, marketing and advertising practices, cannabis equity programs and more.

The meeting also included educational presentations on a range of issues impacting medical staffs, including:

• Local Advocacy: Engaging Your Medical Staff to Build Influence for Better Patient Care
• Responding to Organizational Change in Hospitals: The Role of the Medical Staff in Preserving Independence and Autonomy
• Bylaws: The Medical Staff’s Best Tool for Protecting Patient Care

Members received CME credit for their participation in the educational portion of the event. Presentations from the 2019 OMSS Assembly are available on the CMA website.

Suggestions for educational topics for the 2020 OMSS Educational Conference—to be held on October 23, 2020, in Los Angeles—can be submitted to medstaffhelp@cmadocs.org.

Save the Date for the 2020 OMSS Assembly and Educational Conference – October 23, 2020 in Los Angeles at LA LIVE!