New Forums Provide Online Meeting Place for Regional Members.

ACPE's online forums provide exceptional opportunities for members to "meet" and converse in Cyberspace.

1. Colleagues who share similar job titles and responsibilities confer with their counterparts in Positional Forums.

2. Topical Resource Centers--online repositories of knowledge and information on subjects of interest to physician leaders--provide updates to the Positional Forums and others.

3. Now there's a third component in ACPE's online community: Regional Forums that bring together members who live in the same geographic areas.

Regional Forums representing ACPE members in Ohio and Wisconsin already are up and running.

What are these physicians talking about online?

Recent discussions in the Ohio Forum addressed informatics, quality, medical records, occupational medicine and physician relations. With several dozen members already on its roster, the Ohio group is operating under the leadership of member/facilitator Thomas Weisman, MD, MS, CPE.

Wisconsin ACPE members, who also hold live member get-togethers, have an online forum, as well. James Casanova, MD, CPE, FACPE, is serving as facilitator for the group.

As the online Regional Forums grow, others may take a cue from the Wisconsin members and organize occasional live meetings to supplement their electronic interactions.

Other states forming groups include:

* Georgia, under the direction of Gary Fleming, MD, CPE, FACPE

* Iowa, led by Brian Tugana, MD, MBA, FACPE and James Lehman, MD, MBA, FACP, CPE, FACPE

* California (Los Angeles), spearheaded by Paul Torrens, MD, MPH

Would you like to bring together ACPE members in your region? Facilitating a group can be a great way to exercise your leadership skills. The time commitment isn't extensive and ACPE provides training and ongoing support.