A Message From Newly-Installed FGS President, Dr. Michael Wallace
Dear FGS Members,For the past 15 years, I have enjoyed the wonderful privileges of being a gastroenterologist in Florida. I am now honored to give back, by serving as President of the Florida Gastroenterologic Society. As FGS president, my first responsibility is to serve the medical practice needs of our members. FGS was conceived in 1965 by James Borland and has flourished under many leaders, most recently our current President, Ben Pineau. While we have broad goals, I will focus my term on three main issues.
First, we will further knowledge of gastrointestinal diseases through continuing medical education, specifically to put on the outstanding CME/MOC courses that we have come to expect from FGS. As one of the largest state GI societies, we have an annual meeting that rivals the quality of any national or international conference. We will continue and extend that tradition of excellence, including expert lectures from our wider Americas such as the Caribbean and Latin America, didactic, hands-on, and remote learning opportunities to ensure that we all practice at the state of the art.
Second, FGS will continue to represent our member on key Legislative issues in Tallahassee and Washington. There are multiple active issues currently before the legislature that may impact GI practice including scope of practice/APP issues and credentialing.
Lastly, we will advocate for fair reimbursement for GI practice and procedures. As the complexity of our endoscopic procedure now approaches (if not surpasses) that of many invasive surgeries, it is necessary to update our reimbursement from both federal and private payers, as well as ensuring stable and fair reimbursement for standard procedures.
Sincerely,
Michael B. Wallace MD MPH
President, FGS