THE WEEKLY DOSE

March 31, 2019

Vol. 8, No. 13

In this Issue…
Order Your BCMS Physician and Medical Directories
Social Security Alert: Telephone Impersonation Scheme
San Antonio Medicine Magazine Submissions
Next First Tuesday is April 2
Please Support Dr. Silva for AMA Alternate Delegate
CME Opportunity

Support BCMS Circle of Friends Sponsors
BankMD
New York Life Insurance
CapitalCDC
Sol Schwartz and Associates PC

Order Your BCMS Physician and Medical Directories

Beginning this year, BCMS will not automatically send each physician member a printed Directory. BCMS has enhanced its online “Find a Doctor” directory that is searchable by various criteria (i.e. Name, Specialty, Zip Code, etc.). It can be accessed through www.bcms.org and on the “Bexar County Medical Society” Phone App (available in your app store).

Though many BCMS members do their physician searches online, some still prefer the convenience and usefulness of having a printed directory. We are sending you this note to see if you need or want a new printed directory. As before, each member will be entitled to one free printed directory each year from BCMS.

The first, main printing of the new Directory will be mid-year 2019 and will be printed quarterly after that (as demand dictates). If you want additional copies beyond your first, free copy, the cost is $99+ tax per book. You can order copies now or quarterly hereafter. Please tell us your preference for a printed directory this year by clicking here.

Social Security Alert: Telephone Impersonation Scheme

Social Security and OIG Launch Public Service Announcement Campaign

The Social Security Administration (SSA) and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) launched a joint Public Service Announcement (PSA) campaign addressing a nationwide telephone impersonation scheme. Social Security and the OIG continue to receive reports from across the country about fraudulent phone calls from people falsely claiming to be Social Security employees. Calls can even “spoof” Social Security’s national customer service number as the incoming number on the caller ID. The new PSAs will air on TV and radio stations across the country to alert the public to remain vigilant against potential fraud. “We urge you to always be cautious and to avoid providing sensitive information such as your Social Security number or bank account information to unknown people over the phone or Internet,” said Nancy A. Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security. “If you receive a call and are not expecting one, you must be extra careful – you can always get the caller’s information, hang up, and contact the official phone number of the business or agency the caller claims to represent. Do not reveal personal data to a stranger who calls you.”

Social Security employees do occasionally contact people – generally those who have ongoing business with the agency – by telephone for business purposes. However, Social Security employees will never threaten a person or promise a Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information. In those cases, the call is fraudulent and people should not engage with the caller. If a person receives these calls, he or she should report the information to the OIG Fraud Hotline at 1-800-269-0271 or online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report. “These calls appear to be happening across the country, so we appreciate SSA’s partnership in this national public outreach effort,” said Gail S. Ennis, the Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “Our message to the public is simply this: If you or someone you know receives a questionable call claiming to be from SSA or the OIG, just hang up.”

The new PSA addressing the telephone impersonation scheme is available online at www.youtube.com/socialsecurity.

San Antonio Medicine Magazine Submissions

The BCMS Publications Committee is seeking article submissions for San Antonio Medicine magazine in the next few months looking at health issues around topics including corporate medicine and transitional medicine. Click here to see more coming themes.
BCMS members with an interest in those topics and other areas are encouraged to submit articles for consideration. Articles can be informative or advocative in nature, but not self-promotional.

San Antonio Medicine relies on its member doctors for most of its monthly content. Please consider taking advantage of this valuable resource and benefit to members. Articles are due at least one month in advance of the publication date. There is no length requirement, but 500 to 1,000 words is about average.

If you are interested in writing an article, have something to submit or have any questions, please contact Mike Thomas, BCMS Director of Communications, at mike.thomas@bcms.org. All submissions must be approved by the Publications Committee which meets on the first Tuesday of every month in the BCMS building at 4334 N. Loop 1604 W., Ste. 200.

Next First Tuesday is April 2
It’s Not Too Late to Register

Dr. Zeke Silva candidate for AMA Alternate Delegate

The Bexar County Medical Society (BCMS) and the BCMS Delegation to the Texas Medical Association (TMA) announce the candidacy of Ezequiel “Zeke” Silva III, MD, for TMA Alternate Delegate to the AMA. Dr. Silva has been a member of TMA for over 25 years and has been engaged in organized medicine for more than 15 years.

He has been a private-practice diagnostic and interventional radiologist since 2002. In addition, he is an adjunct professor of radiology at UT Health San Antonio, a fellow of the American College of Radiology (ACR), the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) and the Radiology Business Management Association.