Urge the Senate Health and Human Services Committee to Protect Patients from Unsafe "Medicine": Vote No on HB1171
House Bill 1171 seeks to establish a board to regulate “emerging complementary health professionals” who have no current state regulatory board. The bill defines an “emerging complementary health professional” as a person practicing, or seeking to practice, a nationally recognized health profession not currently regulated in South Dakota.
This bill sets a dangerous precedent for licensure in South Dakota. Nowhere else in South Dakota law are health care providers licensed where they aren’t first defined by the legislature.
Please visit our Voter Voice Action Center to urge the Senate Health and Human Services Committee to vote NO on HB1171.
2012 South Dakota Legislative Session: Make Your Voice Heard!
The 2012 South Dakota legislative session kicked of f January 10, and the SDSMA is representing our members' interests in Pierre.
Please visit our Advocacy: Take Action page to learn who your lawmakers are, how to contact them and where to find them across the state at legislative coffees and cracker barrels throughout the 2012 legislative session.
You can also find current legislative news and information throughout session at our Facebook page and by following @SDSMA on Twitter.
Exercise: Prescription for Health
 Ready for a healthy challenge? The Exercise: Prescription for Health challenge encourages everyone to be physically active to improve your health.The SDSMA is working with the South Dakota Department of Health to improve the health and wellness of South Dakotans through exercise.
As a health care provider, you play a vital role in encouraging, motivating and prescribing exercise for your patients. We’re sending out Prescription Exercise pads to physicians to aid you in your efforts to encourage patients to exercise.
The challenge will run January 15 to February 29. Your patients can sign up and participate in this six-week challenge by visiting www.healthysd.gov/Competition/Index.asp.
Start the year off right by increasing your physical activity. Exercise is indeed medicine!
Mark Your Calendar for the 2012 SDSMA Annual Meeting!
The 2012 SDSMA Annual Meeting is scheduled for May 30 through June 1, 2012, at the Ramkota Hotel in SIoux Falls. 
With presentations, continuing medical education seminars and social events/fundraisers for good causes, the SDSMA Annual Meeting is a great time to share ideas and learn from fellow SDSMA members. All SDSMA members, from medical students to residents to active physicians and honorary members, are encouraged to attend.
The Annual Meeting is a benefit of your annual SDSMA membership, and all educational programming is included with your annual dues.
Order Your 2012 SDSMA Physician Directory Today!
Reach more than 2,000 South Dakota physicians across the state in a valuable resource that's reached for all year long.
To order copies of the 2012 SDSMA Physician Directory, please contact Donna Toay at 605-336-1965 or download an order form.
Enforcement of Law Requiring 72-Hour Waiting Period and Mandatory Counseling Before Abortion Halted by Federal Judge
A federal judge has issued an injunction to stop enforcement of the South Dakota state law requiring a 72-hour waiting period and mandatory counseling between consultation and the performance of a surgical or medical abortion except in a medical emergency.
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota Karen Schreier said in the ruling that the law's three-day waiting period and mandatory counseling requirements would violate a woman's right to free speech and that the law would be a "substantial obstacle" for women seeking an abortion in the state.
Law Requiring Mandatory Reporting of Elder Abuse Effective July 1
Effective July 1, South Dakota law requires individuals in the medical and mental health professions and employees or entities that have ongoing contact with and exposure to elders and adults with disabilities, to report knowledge or reasonable suspicion of abuse or neglect.
Anyone deemed a “mandatory reporter” who knowingly fails to make the required report may be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor.
2011 South Dakota Medicine Special Issue Available
 The 2011 special edition of South Dakota Medicine, "Obesity in South Dakota: An Expanding Epidemic", is available to SDSMA members and the public online.
Individual copies of the special issue are also available for purchase by contacting Megan Myers at 605.336.1965.
2011 SDSMA Annual Meeting Presentations Available
The 2011 SDSMA Annual Meeting was held June 8-10 at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center in Rapid City.
This year's meeting was held in conjunction with the South Dakota Quality Collaborative 2nd Annual Conference on Quality, Safety and Value: Practicing Quality Medicine - Celebrating Success, Measuring Progress and Moving Forward.
Were you unable to attend the Annual Meeting or missed a session? A number of presentations are now available to download via PowerPoint on the 2011 Annual Meeting page.
Health System Reform Information
Looking for reliable information on the implementation of the health system reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)?
Check out HealthCareandYou.org.
Click here for South Dakota-specific information.
Have You Liked the SDSMA on Facebook Yet?
The SDSMA is on Facebook! We're sharing information about upcoming  meetings, links to news stories featuring the SDSMA, physicians throughout South Dakota and developments that affect the practice of medicine.
By hitting the "Like" button on the SDSMA Facebook page, you'll receive this news and information in your Facebook news feed. Click here to visit the SDSMA's Facebook page and "Like" us today!
New to the SDSMA?
The SDSMA has a number of benefits that help foster personal and profession development for its physician members.
- Click here to see how the SDSMA's member-driven focus is at work for you!
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