This week, the Florida Podiatry Association held their annual “scientific meeting”.  The meeting is called the SAM meeting.  Selling and Marketing.  That’s what this program is.  One big sales pitch.  Science ?  Yep, if it’s paid for by a corporation.  Lots of dermatology lectures.  Paid for by a supposed “unrestricted grant” from BAKO.  By coincidence, 3 speakers all of whom lecture for BAKO.  Coincidence I’m sure.  Unrestricted marketing of BAKO services that is.  Let me summarize the lectures if you missed them:

1. Do more biopsies.

2. Spend more money on fungus nails.

3. Do more worthless nerve biopsies.

4. Send more cultures.

There.  Look at the time you just saved.  Funny, I suppose there are no dermatologists in Florida to lecture.  Just use the “unrestricted grant” to pay flunky podiatrists who just happen to lecture for BAKO.

Then there are the mandatory coding lectures.  Given by people who make their living running coding consulting services that you pay them for.  The best are the lectures on why you should never use an on line free coding reference.  You know, look it up on line.  Why ?  Because if you do these hucksters won’t get your money.  That’s why.

Summary:

1. If you treat toenails, do this or you will go to jail.

2. For the tenth time here are the biopsy codes.

3. Here’s why you should pay me to consult for you because you are really stupid.

4. I know secret things from CMS that you don’t know.

5. I’m on APMA committees and have had sex with the executive director.

For you wound healing gurus, there is an endless parade of graft lectures paid for by companies making the grafts.  Or selling creams and dressings.  And don’t forget bone healing products !  Bones need love too, and corporations making those products will be unrestricted granting lectures that just happen to be highlighting their products.

Summary:

1. Use more amniotic grafts. They pay well.

2. Use more AMERIGEL.  It pays well.

3. Use wound care products you can dispense for money.  They pay well.

The mandatory lectures from interventional cardiology, send me your patients also included.  Well at least if you recognize PAD and send the patients to a real doctor they might have a chance to heal.  OK.

The Florida State Podiatry Association SAM meeting.  Sales and marketing.  What a pathetic joke of a meeting.  Is this the best we can do here in Florida ?  Sales but no science unless approved by some company ?  Itinerant speakers and hucksters ?  Why do we allow this here in Florida ?  Who put this crap of a program together ?  Who approved this meeting ?  Do you really get CME for this ?  The good news ?  Some of the itinerant hucksters are entertaining.  Block and Lehrman are comedians and entertaining.  At least you get that for your money.  Might as well laugh and learn.

This is the difference between medicine and podiatry.  Medicine ?  Patient care and well being.  Real studies and results.  Advancing science.  The FSPMA (and the APMA in general); show me the money. 

Sorry Leonard Levy.  Almost equal ?  Equal to what ?  USMLE ?  Really ?  The SAM meeting.  A classic nothing-burger.  Unless you are a speaker picking up some “unrestricted grant” cash.  SAM is nothing more than educational prostitution.   And we pay for it in more than one way.