President's Report
Another year has flown by and my impression is that it has gone by quicker than ever…maybe it is advancing age, or perhaps the World Cup in the middle changed the apparent time on either side ?
For the society, it was another year of triumphs and sadness, of successes and challenges. It is with great sadness that we record the passing of Dr. Jacques Morrison after a long illness. Prof Peter Hull now residing in Canada has expressed his willingness to write an obituary for him which will be published in the SAMJ as well as placed on the Dermatology website. Aesthetics Aesthetic issues are becoming part and parcel of the dermatology scene. The Dermatological Surgical Society subsection under Dr Mark Roscher has made great strides and held a very successful congress. They have also set up training programs. The intention is to have these recognized by the HPSCA. The competition from general practitioners is growing and there are now 6000 GPs involved with aesthetic work. We are working towards ensuring control of the use of laser equipment in South Africa. To this end courses leading to certification have been arranged. We have also written to the HPCSA to complain of general practitioners claiming to be “Aesthetic practitioners”. There is no subspecialty of Aesthetic medicine and under the HPSCA regulations they may not make these claims. Vitiligo Society Thaks to the initiative and enthusiasm of Dr Raboobee, this subsection is running successfully in most major centers. EXCO extends it’s thanks to those involved . Constitution changes. Dr P Naidu has drawn up changes to the DSSA constitution. No objections were lodged and thus in accordance with the resolution taken at the AGM in May 2010, the new constitution is accepted. Complaints about colleagues. Once again we have received letters of complaint about colleagues who seem to be practicing outside of the accepted norms. As we have no recourse to a peer review system, we will try to resolve complaints internally via letters informing them of the issues. In addition complaints have been received about younger colleagues who are accused of overcharging. This matter will be dealt with at the AGM. DSSA website. We urge colleagues to utilize the website which has many features for all. Enhancements are in progress to further improve it. The guidelines for the treatment of melanoma, psoriasis, eczema (adult and childhood) and the biologics will be on the website soon The MELISA website access was provided by Adcock Ingram. We questioned whether the high expense of this was worth it since very few relevant journals are accessible. Feedback from members will be welcomed As a result of prudent investing by our treasurer and a very successful congress, our finances are in good shape. There are currently 166 members of the Derm society, 14 of whom are over 70 years old. Some members have still to pay fees and we urge them to do so without delay. It was decided at the AGM in May 2010 that a levy of R1400 would be exacted from all members and paid to the society. This would be towards the cost of the court action taken by the SPPF on behalf of private practitioners against the Department of Health. So far 19 people have not paid this levy. It was decided that full time academics who do no patient billing will be absolved from this fee but the amount will then be deducted from the total allocated to the department in which the academic works. Academics who do part time practice will benefit from the findings of the case and will be expected to pay the levy. New members : We welcome Dr.’s B Clur, Pakmile Magigaba, Mrijana Popara, Ishaan Ramkissen and associate member Amichand Moodley. Heads of Department Report. Major changes to the examinations and accreditation are taking place. The College of Medicine examinations have been streamlined. From 2011 the College examination will be the only exit examination recognized by the HPCSA for specialist registration. In future all candidates will be expected to submit a thesis. In the part 2 paper the medical question will be set by dermatologists and will be relevant to the field of dermatology. An attempt will be made to standardize the examinations such that there will be a representative from a different centre on the examination panel. In addition the convener of the examination in one year will become the moderator of the examination in the following year. The moderator will see all papers and check that the questions are fair and relevant. Congress 2010. A very successful congress was organized by the Tygerberg group under the beady eye of Dr Dagmar Whittaker. We thanked her and her team for all the work put in on our behalf. Congress 2011. Next years congress to be held at the CSIR in Pretoria from April 27th -30th Continental Congress. We are honoured to have been invited to host this event in South Africa in 2013. This congress is organized by the International Society of Dermatology (ISD). Their first congress was held in Columbia in 2010 and the second will take place in St Petersburg in 2011. The DSSA has accepted that it will be held in Cape Town from 15th -17th November 2012 and Drs Naidu and Todd will be the main South African organizers. It was decided that the Cape Town congress scheduled for 2013 will be linked to the ISD congress and will last 2 days either immediately before or immediately after the ISD congress. Thus the double congress will last 4 days. The Durban congress, scheduled for 2012 will then be held in April\May 2013. Tariff codes. ON the recommendation of Dr.’s Hartdegen and van Heerden, it was decided that the codes as they are at present suit the needs of dermatologists and need not be updated and made more complicated. SPPF and subscription fees. The executive committee of the Dermatology society of South Africa strongly recommends that those in private practice join the SPPF\FCPA. The SPPF is the umbrella body and dermatology falls under the FCPA as a medical subspecialty. EXCO representative Dr Hilary Carman has negotiated with Healthman to bring the annual fee down to R3000 a year for dermatologists. This is less than that expected from some of the other specialties . You are not obliged to join this organisation. I wish to stress that in these changing times it is vitally important for your professional and financial future that you are represented by this dynamic and highly skilled professional organisation. You have no other effective representation. The SPPF\FCPS therefore represents all practitioners who bill patients. This includes dermatologists both in full time and part time private practice. Joining the organisation is voluntary. It is to your advantage that you pay this extremely reasonable subscription such that your interests may be served. Other issues A thoroughly unnecessary incident took place after a Johannesburg IPA meeting. The agent for Thermage verbally attacked Dr Peter Scott, a Johannesburg plastic surgeon who was invited by the IPA to speak. Dr Scott was also threatened with legal action for expressing the opinion that he preferred the Fraxel laser to the Thermage. This matter has been taken up on Dr Scotts behalf by the Plastic Surgery society and a letter expressing indignation has been drawn up by the chairman of the Dermatology IPA, Dr Selwyn Schwartz. We will strive to ensure that our Society retains the high standing in the community it deserves . I would personally like to extend our gratitude to our secretary Dr Hilary Carman and our treasurer Dr Jonathan Smith for the incredible amount of work done on our behalf. Wishing all colleagues a peaceful and successful 2011 Sincerely Robert Weiss |
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