PCMS_Philadelphia_Medicine_Spring2017 - 4

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Letter from the president

hen we published our first article on the Affordable Care Act in our
summer edition of Philadelphia Medicine, last year, all the people in
the know we talked to were convinced that the November election

would produce more of the same divided government in Washington, with Hillary Clinton
getting elected President and the Republicans holding onto at least the U.S. House of

Representatives. The experts said that with continued divided government, there would be
either more gridlock on health care, or some movement toward compromise to improve

Daniel T. Dempsey,

the ACA.

MD, MBA, FACS
President

Boy, were those experts wrong, but they certainly were not alone. Many other analysts
and pollsters, who have spent careers gauging the electorate, were stunned by the election
of Donald Trump. Among them were supporters of the ACA, also known as Obamacare.
Alan Miceli's article on the ACA in this issue looks at the possibility of Republicans

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repealing Obamacare, and if that happens, what will replace it. Will a new health care
law ensure that people who have health insurance through the ACA, continue to keep it?
The article includes interviews with Delaware County Congressman Patrick Meehan, Dr.

They should be sent

Richard Snyder, chief medical officer of Independence Blue Cross, and Wharton health

to our email address at

care management professor Mark Pauly. I think you'll find their insights thought-provoking.

editor@philamedsoc.org.

For the first time in 56 years, the NFL draft is being held in Philadelphia. The late April

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gathering is expected to draw about 200,000 people to the home town of the Philadelphia

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Eagles. The draft takes place amidst growing concerns over a possible threat to the future

publication, please

of football - concussions. Dr. Michael DellaVecchia's wide-ranging article includes an

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interview with the man who broke the NFL concussion story to the world - Dr. Bennet
Omalu. His story is the basis of the movie "Concussion," starring Philadelphia native
Will Smith. Dr. Omalu, along with other experts, discusses what if anything can be done
to drastically reduce the number of concussions in the sport.
Chances are you will be surprised by our article on Temple University Hospital. It's
not breaking news, of course, that the institution is essential to the wellbeing of our city.
But what might astonish you are the sheer numbers involving the hospital. They are
staggering. Last year, about 134,000 patients were treated in its emergency room, 10,600
were treated in the psychiatric crisis response center, 541 people landed in the hospital
with gunshot wounds, 230 in its burn center, and there were 246 transplants and 2,900
deliveries. That's an impressive year of work.

Philadelphia Medicine : Spring 2017

http://philamedsoc.org/

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