Upcoming Meetings
Upcoming Meetings
HPMA Virtual meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of each month at 5:00 p.m. Please see the event calendar for more details.
Follow us on twitter! 
2015 President's Message
February 9, 2015 I now want to take this opportunity to provide a few important updates for all members. First, we have been working on some much needed structural changes at HPMA, involving taking advantage of web access to enhance member communication. We have greatly expanded the HPMA website (http://www.hawaiipsychiatry.org), where members can access information on our monthly meetings, special announcements, and materials pertinent to our various educational events. The log-in information should be the same as your APA membership login. In addition, starting with the February meeting, I am very excited to say that we will have capacity for remote access and participation by members not able to attend in person, such as those not on Oahu. I am aware that this has been a lingering concern by many members, and I want to thank Dr. Alex Serghi in particular for navigating through all the technological challenges to make this possible. There will be instructions on the monthly meeting announcement on how you can join the meeting, together with a contact phone number if you encounter problems. We realize this very much is still a work in progress, with possible glitches, so please be patient and give us your feedback. I do look forward to hearing from more of you at our meetings from now on. Second, there are legislative actions in Hawaii that are likely to have long-lasting impacts on our practice of psychiatry. The most important issue deals with psychologists asking to have prescriptive authority, in a manner that some of our members referred to as a “crash course” with many safety concerns. Our HPMA legislative representatives, Dr. Michael Champion and Dr. Jeff Akaka, are closely following this development. We are also discussing to what extent HPMA can help to shape the outcome of these legislative initiatives, in as much a manner consistent with the overall view of our members. We will devote a substantial amount of time at our February meeting on this, and, if you are not able to make it, please let our legislative representatives know your views and how you may be able to assist. Lastly, we have continued to expand the tradition of our “Hot Topics” talks, inviting special guests to our monthly meeting to talk about pertinent issues in an informal, collegial, and interactive manner. Some recent topics have ranged from latest clinical advances to meeting challenges in the ongoing healthcare reform. For our membership at large, we will continue to have special educational talks (DSMV in 2014, MOC in 2015), with the next one scheduled in March of 2015 on pharmacogenomics in psychiatry. I hope you can join us as well as suggesting any future topics or special guests. Again, we are planning to have live remote access for all of these events. Thank you again for your continued support and membership. The HPMA officers and I hope to be able to meet more of you in person, to hear your views and suggestions on how HPMA can further serve the interests of its members. We will be present to host a members event in Maui in February, with plans to have similar events on other islands. You will be receiving an invitation from the HPMA representative for each island, once we have determined a date. There will also be opportunities for HPMA officer positions for the 2015-16 year, and, if you are interested in becoming a nominee for this worthy, all-volunteer effort, please contact Dr. Celia Ona, who heads the nomination team, or let me know. You should soon be receiving our February meeting agenda, which contains many of the items I have alluded to in this letter. Sincerely and with warmest Aloha,
Brett Y. Lu MD/PhD
|
