Sermo CEO on a mission...

The CEO of Sermo - a leading online community for physicians is now in a fight with the AMA and Doctors for America - an organization run by some friends of ours supporting the Obama health care reform effort.

Details at
Sermo CEO: AMA 'screwing' physicians - Modern Medicine Community Blog post and at the bottom of this email (a facebook message from DFA)

An interesting point raised in the first article is that the AMA receives a lot of money for the CPT coding system - a fact I did not know about:

"The AMA receives approximately $70 million in 'licensing fees' from anyone who needs to use those codes. Add to that insurance companies (who pay the AMA many of those millions) who can use the CPT coding system to further their own gains at the expense of the physicians, and it starts to make you realize why CPT codes have been so conveniently left out of the current debate."

The CEO of Sermo also supposedly went onto CNBC early this week saying that physicians opposed health care reform based on a survey they did on their online community.

I had blogged about this survery earlier this month. It seems spurious at best, though I agree with the general premise that the AMA does not speak for all physicians. However, I'm not sure what the motivation is for the CEO of Sermo - is he trying to supplant the AMA as the "voice of physicians"? It all seems like a bizarre sideshow about doctor power instead of the real debates on health care reform.

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From DFA on facebook:

Dear Friends,

(If you haven't already, come be a fan of our Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Doctors-for-America/94559877688?ref=ts for updates on the latest in health reform and other fun.)

The CEO of Sermo plans to announce on national television that doctors oppose health reform legislation.

**Don't let him speak for you. Click to take our quick poll today!**
(www.drsforamerica.org/pol

l/house.php)

The claim is based on a misleading survey of Sermo members. It will be unveiled on Monday, July 27th on CNBC and shared with Congress. However, we know from the comments and actions of thousands of fellow physicians across the country that doctors want and need health reform this year.

**Do you have 2 minutes? Help us tell the truth about reform today!**
(www.drsforamerica.org/poll/house.php)

Doctors are the most trusted voice in health reform - you can make the difference. Just this past week, Doctors for America members in 30 states picked up their phones to call Congress in support of reform, and physicians from Kansas to Wyoming, from Alaska to New Mexico, have signed up to volunteer. You can help today with a quick poll on whether you like various aspects of the reform bill.

**Answer this quick poll today!**
(www.drsforamerica.org/poll/house.php)

After you have voted, please send this link to 5 friends. We will give preliminary results to CNBC and other media early Monday morning. We have made great progress toward achieving meaningful health reform, but those gains are only temporary until reform legislation lands on the President's desk. We need to do everything we can to help make sure we have good reform and that it passes this year. I know we can count on you.

Thanks,
Alice