DCMS 2021 President Beth Kassanoff-Piper, MD, FACP
I’m honored to be installed as the
138th president of the Dallas County
Medical Society.
Since the formation of the DCMS in
1876, our physician leadership has guided
the residents of Dallas County through
a number of crises. In my career, we’ve
seen the West Nile and Ebola crises as
well as several devastating hurricanes.
The current COVID-19 pandemic is the
largest crisis in a century. The scope of
its impact in terms of loss of life, loss of
employment, loss of health insurance, and
loss of physician practices is not yet fully
known. Our leadership through 2020 – our
president, Dr. Mark Casanova, and our
CEO, Jon Roth – have worked tirelessly to
guide us through this crisis.
As we move into the second year of the
pandemic, DCMS will continue to serve as
the trusted voice of medicine – the source
of up-to-date, evidence-based information
for our members and the community. I
will continue my role as vice chair of the
North Texas Medical Society Coalition,
which provides that information to North
Texas as a whole. DCMS will continue to
2 DALLAS MEDICAL JOURNAL • February 2021
2021 DCMS
Presidential
Inauguration
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partner with the TMA, county public health
experts, and community leaders such as
our special honoree Judge Clay Jenkins.
And we will continue to help our physicians
with issues related to the practice of
medicine in a pandemic, including financial
concerns, telemedicine, payment issues,
and physician mental health.
We are now armed with the experience
of multiple months of COVID-19 care
and research, and good information
about prevention strategies, and we
have new, promising treatment options.
And COVID-19 vaccines are coming.
One important goal I have for DCMS
is to improve the public’s acceptance
of vaccines – both COVID-19 and non-
COVID-19. The AMA also recognized
combating vaccine misinformation as
an important goal at its recent House of
Delegates Special meeting.
We need to also recognize other
important issues DCMS will face in 2021.
This is a legislative year in Texas, and our
members will, with the TMA, participate in
virtual meetings with legislators, replacing
First Tuesdays for this year. The lack
of face-to-face interactions means that
learning about and communicating with
legislators individually is more important
than ever. Important issues this year will
include telemedicine payment parity, prior
authorization, and care for the uninsured
and vulnerable. I urge members to get
involved in this worthwhile effort. We
have an opportunity, right now, to make a
difference.
DCMS will also be enacting our twoyear
strategic bridge plan, with several
important priorities. These include
charging the new diversity and inclusion
committee to educate physicians on the
importance and richness of diversity and
to highlight opportunities for us to be
more inclusive of all our members. We
will work to expand our communication
sophistication to provide relevant
information to our members through
different platforms, meeting physicians
where they like to get information and
providing education for physicians in all
healthcare payment models. We also want
to increase member engagement and
expand our community outreach by working
with other local groups, such as the DCMS
Alliance.
I want to thank Dr. Casanova and the
other past presidents for their outstanding
leadership. And to thank our CEO, Jon
Roth, and all the DCMS staff for their
commitment to serve our medical
community.
I would like to send a special thank
you to my husband, Mick Piper, and my
parents, Jerry and Pat Andrews, for their
constant encouragement and support. And
to my children for their understanding and
patience during this hectic time. Four of
our six children, including the triplets, are
high school seniors this year, and I can’t
wait to see what wonderful contributions
they make to our world.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve
you. 2021 will be a year like no other and
DCMS will be right alongside you, just
as we have been for the last 145 years.
Please contact me, or any of our board
members or staff, if you see an opportunity
for DCMS to make a difference. DMJ
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
We are now armed
with the experience
of multiple months
of COVID-19 care and
research, and good
information about
prevention strategies,
and we have new
promising treatment
options.