Last Updated: Dec 7, 2022
In the borough of Strasburg, during February 1823, a group of physicians met with the purpose of establishing a medical society for Lancaster County. The Lancaster Intelligencer published a synopsis of the meeting, highlighting, “On motion it was Resolved, that we constitute an association to be called The Medical Society of the City and County of Lancaster, whose object it shall be to promote harmony among the members of the profession and to improve medical science.”
Samuel Humes, MD, who would later be elected as the first President of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, was appointed as chairman and N.L. Boulden, MD was named secretary.
Although several committee meetings were held over the course of a few years, this initial attempt of forming an association ended up dissolving and the idea wasn’t revisited again for over two decades.
In 1844, Ely Parry, MD invited several local physicians to a meeting in his home to discuss re-establishing a county society. This time their objective took hold, with Humes being named president again and a charter membership of 43 physicians of the newly created Lancaster City and County Medical Society (LCCMS).
Despite difficulties with issues like jealousy and infighting, the developing society would play a pivotal role in the formation of the Pennsylvania State Medical Society (PAMED), which was established in 1848. Now an experienced medical organizer, Humes was selected as president, and five more Lancaster natives would go on to serve in this role.
The formation of the Philadelphia County Medical Society (PCMS) was a lengthy start and stop process as well, with an initial incorporation occurring in 1792. Meetings were suspended, however, for many years before its official establishment in 1848. The society was made up of junior members (students), senior members (graduates and practicing physicians), and honorary members, and frequently assembled for meetings at the Masonic Hall in Philadelphia.
Five delegates from PCMS attended the second session of the American Medical Association in 1848, at which time the Committee on Public Hygiene was initiated, encompassing the cities of Concord, Portland, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Lowell, Baltimore, Charleston, New Orleans, Louisville, and Cincinnati. This committee was tasked with subdividing Philadelphia into districts and appointing members in each section to supervise over the sanitary conditions of each area and noting the existence of anyone practicing medicine illegally.
PCMS initially opposed the admission of women physicians as members, with an 1867 resolution stating, “That, in conformity with what they believe to be due to the profession, the community in general and the female portion of it in particular, the members of this Society cannot offer any encouragement to women becoming practitioners of medicine, nor, on these grounds, can they consent to meet in consultation such practitioners.
However, barely twenty years later, the society changed its stance and elected its first female member in 1888: Mary Willits, a graduate of the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania.
Today, Pennsylvania has over 60 county medical societies, each tasked with offering physicians a local organization to deal with local and regional health care issues. These county societies form a network that helps the Pennsylvania Medical Society advocate on a statewide level, with Lancaster and Philadelphia being two of the oldest.
“Since physicians can’t unionize, organized medicine is the best option they have in terms of advocating and bettering the relationship between physicians and their patients,” says Mark Austerberry, Executive Director of Philadelphia County Medical Society.
The county societies offer a wide array of services to help support physicians, including educational programs, scholarships, community partnerships, networking, and legislative advocacy. These efforts are designed to not only reach current members, but also to establish relationships with physicians who may not be aware of resources at the county level.
“When I first began, we reviewed our membership data and determined that we had significant opportunities to reach both female and early career physicians. As a result, we developed some programming and communications specifically for these groups and were able to see increases in membership, leading to engagement of additional physicians in the community,” shares Beth Gerber, Executive Director of Lancaster City & County Medical Society. “We also worked to connect with independent practices, as we saw that group declining. We wanted to ensure they were aware of the resources available to them and help them develop a peer group that they could lean on, to share information as they saw fit.”
Over the past twenty-five years both PCMS and LCCMS have faced unprecedented challenges due to the rapid, and often confusing, changes in health care and how medicine is being practiced. The creation of a marketplace, an opioid epidemic, Medicare changes and the conversion to Electronic Medical Records (EMR) have all contributed to physician overwhelm and burnout.
“The county societies help physicians tackle more universal issues; ones that are not necessarily related to a certain specialty. As a whole, the society works with insurance companies, puts policies and procedures in place to make sure the physicians are paid adequately, focus on medical liability reform, as well as reimbursement,” continues Austerberry.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also permanently altered the landscape, taking a hefty toll on physicians in particular. “As difficult as it was to get the attention of physicians prior to the pandemic, they had no time for anything ‘extra’ while fighting on the front lines and worrying about their colleagues, families, and friends,” says Gerber. “The role of LCCMS has become more supportive over the last few years, and we sought other ways to provide value and assistance to the physicians.
Initially we became a procurement office and distributor of PPE (especially to smaller, independent practices). Our efforts then focused on mobilizing the various health systems to work together with independent physicians to get them vaccinated. We then moved broadly to assist with coordinating efforts to meet the vaccination needs of our community members.”
Despite all these upheavals, both PCMS and LCCMS continue to carry on their missions of representing physicians as they treat patients, advance science, maintain the standards of the profession, and protect the health of the public.
“That’s what the county associations are there to do: help to improve the doctor-patient relationship. Physicians are always concerned about making their practice work for everyone, and wanting to be there for their patients,” says Austerberry. “Over 22 years that’s what I’ve learned, that there’s no finer opportunity than taking care of others.”