We join together with other county medical societies and specialty societies to strengthen the South Carolina Medical Association (SCMA), which is the voice of healthcare in our state.

For more on the legislative priorities of the SCMA for 2024, watch this short video What to Know Ahead of the Legislative Session

and visit

http://www.scmedical.org/advocacy/legislative-initiatives/

Policy and Legislative Committee

Let us know of your interest! Current members include Howard Farrell and Joseph Hoyle. Article III of our Bylaws list three purposes for the committee:

1) Monitor policy development at the national, state, and local levels that is of importance to the public health and profession of medicine, and notify the Executive Committee of advocacy opportunities for members of this Society.

2) Promote meaningful interactions among regional state legislators and this Society throughout the year, and especially during the annual policy forum.

3) Support any member desiring to write a resolution for the SCMA annual meeting, and recommend a position on such resolution(s) to the Executive Committee.

SCMA Policy Process

A Town Hall is an open forum for SCMA members to discuss and propose policy changes for healthcare in South Carolina.
While we will still host an in-person Town Hall at the Annual Meeting, to increase engagement and flexibility, SCMA is adding two Virtual Town Halls each year, giving members more opportunities to shape the future of healthcare policy. The Nov. 4 Town Hall Meeting will be the first Town Hall event.

2022-2023 Annual Report

Other Leadership from our District

Dr. Allison Foster, SCMA Legislative Delegate Committee
Dr. Rodney Alan, SCMA Trustee
Drs. Deepak Chowdhary and John Ropp, Trustees of the SCMA Political Action Committee (SCMedPAC) www.scmedical.org/advocacy/sc-medpac/
Dr. Gabe Simpson, SCMA Bioethics Committee
There are many other ways to get involved at the state level, including standing committees such as Bioethics and Continue Medical Education. Committees - SCMA (scmedical.org)
Volunteer for the SCMA's Doctor of the Day Program at the South Carolina State House

2020 SCMA District Five Survey Report by Dr. Hoyle

Although membership in the SCMA has continued to decline, especially in the last ten years, the number of physicians in South Carolina has increased relative to the population. 1 These trends are troubling, especially as the lack of support from other physicians is linked to physician burnout, which is – at it’s core emotional exhaustion, and has a strong bidirectional dose-response relationship with medical errors. Burnout is also a leading reason for physicians to leave a health care organization, resulting in the need for recruitment and training of a new physician.

Please click on this link to view the full report.