Who and What We Are

Our Name History
We have had a number of name changes in our history. Our first Sacramento Medical Society (SMS) got started in 1860! But it was not until 1868 that we incorporated and took the name Sacramento Society for Medical Improvement (SSMI) as our legal name. In fact, SSMI is still our legal name. We have also used Sacramento County Medical Society in the 50's and 60's and in the 70's we added El Dorado to our name, which you may remember as Sacramento-El Dorado Medical Society (SEDMS). In the early fall of 2000, the Yolo County Medical Society, which was organized in 1940, and the Sacramento-El Dorado Medical Society merged and created the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society. This time we chose a name that is not dependent on county boundaries and encompasses the region we represent.

Who Are We?
We are a voluntary, non-profit organization of medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy. Membership in the medical society is voluntary. Our member physicians agree to abide by our Bylaws and Article Of Incorporation and the American Medical Association's Principles of Medical Ethics. Our members cooperate with us in settling patient complaints, and they participate in a broad range of committees. Our members are also members of the California Medical Association. Membership in the American Medical Association is voluntary but highly encouraged. With over 1200 physician members in active practice and several hundred retired members, we are the largest physician organization in our region.

Our Mission
The following is the official Mission Statement of SSVMS:

Mission
The Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society is dedicated to upholding the authority and autonomy of physicians in the delivery of professional and ethical medical care.

Principles
In carrying out the mission of the Society, we recognize the following principles:

• All physicians, regardless of mode of practice, are uniquely qualified and committed to compassionate treatment of patients.
  
  
• Physicians share a commitment to uphold the law, standards and principles of the profession and will take action against any violation thereof.
  
  
• Physicians unified by this commitment resist the divisive stresses, which threaten to fracture the shared values of our profession.
  
  
• The Society helps physicians reject the intrusions of undue economic pressures into medical issues.
  
  
• Through membership in the Medical Society and participation in its committees and community health activities, physicians promote the art and science of medicine and defend the public health.

Our Committees
In addition to our Board of Directors and Executive Committee, the Society has a number of committees responsible for carrying out our mission.

Many of the activities of our committees result in recommendations to the Board of Directors, County Health Departments, Board of Supervisors, City Councils, local agencies and legislators. Over the years, many serious or chronic problems affecting the practice of medicine and patients have been quietly and efficiently resolved as a result of the work of our chairs and committee members.

In 2000, SSVMS, as a matter of convenience for our committee members, began experimenting with the use of telephone conferencing for those committee members who cannot easily schedule time out of their offices.

Child & Adolescent Health Services: Serves as liaison with public and private agencies and reviews issues and problems related to programs and services involving children and adolescents.

Editorial: This committee is responsible for planning, soliciting articles, editing, and publishing the Society's official publications, Sierra Sacramento Valley Medicine and The Directory, our pictorial membership directory.

Emergency Care: This committee studies issues related to emergency care facilities, trauma, patient transport and triage, disaster preparedness and on-call issues within the region. Also serves as liaison with government agencies responsible for emergency services, transport and disaster planning.

Public Health and Environmental: Studies public health and environmental issues as they affect the health and well-being of our community.

Historical: The main interest of this committee is the maintenance and collection of historical artifacts relative to the history of medicine. The committee helped to develop a medical archive and museum at Society headquarters and is involved with operational activities.

Judicial Council:The duties of the Judicial Council are set forth in the Bylaws of the California Medical Association. This is a peer review committee.

Medical Review and Advisory: This committee is responsible for reviewing selected liability suits involving the quality of medical services rendered by physicians in preparation for defense. This is a peer review committee.

Membership Committee: The committee reviews and processes new member applications and verifies credentials. The committee also reviews requests for changes in membership status and assists in member recruitment and retention. This is a peer review committee.

Professional Conduct & Ethics: This committee reviews complaints filed by patients against physicians and physicians against physicians. Reviews accusations filed against physicians by the Medical Board of California. The committee periodically reviews and publishes opinions regarding questions of conduct and ethics. The committee also conducts peer review services for local correctional facilities. This is a peer review committee.

Scholarship & Awards: This committee administers the William E. Dochterman Medical Student Scholarship Fund and recommends to the Board special awards for members of the Society such as the Golden Stethoscope and Medical Community Service Awards.

What Do We Really Do?
First of all, because we represent the profession as opposed to a health system, community organizations and others often call upon us for opinions, assistance and involvement with a broad range of community and public health projects. We also have a process in place to assist in solving disputes between patients and physicians.

Secondly, we are here to assist both individual members and medical groups with settling issues and problems. These can be very simple or complex problems. A simple task might be helping a member answer a question about regulations regarding the release of medical records. A complex issue might involve helping a medical group or the entire medical community, cope with the bankruptcy of an HMO or another medical group.

For greater details on what we do click here.

The Benefits of Belonging
Both SSVMS and the CMA are constantly adding new benefits for our members to enjoy. For example in 2007 we have added Prudential Travel Accident and AXA Travel Assistance Policies for all members in good standing at no charge to the member! We have a broad range of health, dental, life, disability and other programs available for those that need them. We frequently negotiate special discounts for our members on products and services.

In numerous surveys, member and non-member physicians have repeatedly identified three major activities that they want most from SSVMS and the CMA:

1. Legal and Legislative Advocacy
2. Member Insurance Benefits
   Click here for more information about health, dental and other insurance available to our members.
3. Public Relations for the Profession

Communication, Communication, Communication!
The pace of change in medicine and the need to stay abreast of political, economic and scientific issues is a major concern of SSVMS, the CMA and AMA. Member physicians receive a wide variety of publications and electronic communications. We strongly encourage all members to devote a little time each week to staying abreast of what their investment in dues is returning.