King County Medical Society

10/14/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫'𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓, when millions of people worldwide will participate in earthquake drills at work, school, or home!

At 10:15 a.m. (local time) on 10/15, you can join millions of people practicing earthquake safety.

If you live or work in a coastal area, ShakeOut day is also a great time to practice your tsunami evacuation routes. In Washington, ShakeOut is also the one day of the year the tsunami sirens are tested with the actual wailing sound.

Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills help people in homes, schools, and organizations worldwide improve preparedness and practice how to be safe during earthquakes. Register to participate in your state or country's drill at www.ShakeOut.org.

10/13/2026

𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬.
KCMS member . Vania Rudolf co-authored a resolution on inpatient stabilization and rapid MOUD initiation for pregnant patients with opioid use disorder. It was adopted at the Washington State Medical Association House of Delegates this month and is now WSMA policy.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭.
"Pregnant patients using fentanyl deserve rapid, evidence-based stabilization. Not stigma, not delayed care, not discharge into preventable risk. Too many families fall through the gaps when hospitals lack clear admission, MOUD, and reimbursement pathways.
This makes compassionate inpatient care standard: faster methadone or buprenorphine initiation, extended trauma-responsive support, better parent-infant bonding, and sustainable reimbursement so every birthing hospital can offer dignity-centered care."

Any KCMS member can write a resolution. Join Us Today! https://ow.ly/TcFa50ZSu0p

10/10/2026

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐲. 𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭.
Physician Support Line connects you with volunteer psychiatrists: 1-888-409-0141, weekdays, no appointment needed. In a crisis, call or text 988.

10/07/2026

𝐅𝐥𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. Vaccination now means protection through the holidays, when people are indoors and traveling.

Public Health lists vaccination locations across King County, including clinics that see patients without insurance.
Where to get vaccinated in King County: https://ow.ly/eM9W50ZOs1P

10/04/2026

𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡. The most useful thing most people can do this month is check whether they are current on screening, and help one other person check too.

Screening guidelines have changed in recent years. If you are not sure what applies to you, ask your doctor rather than the internet.

10/01/2026

"𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐂𝐔𝐬, 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬, 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬."
Dr. Nancy Connolly wrote our Universal Primary Care resolution. It was adopted at the Washington State Medical Association House of Delegates this month and is now state medical association policy.
"𝑇𝑜𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚. 𝐼𝑡 𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚, 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐸𝐷 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒.
𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑎 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚. 𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚."

Any KCMS member can write a resolution. Join Us! https://ow.ly/lVBM50ZStT6
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09/28/2026

𝟐𝟏 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝟏𝟗 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝.
That's what KCMS physicians brought home from the WSMA House of Delegates in Spokane. Some of our resolutions:
*Prior authorization, on three separate fronts
*Who's liable when clinical AI fails
*Medical debt interest
*Universal primary care
*Clinical trial access for immunocompromised patients
*Screen time in schools
*Protecting adolescent access to gender-affirming care
*Kratom regulation
*Federal research grant integrity

𝗘𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
We're working with our KCMS lobbyist through the interim and into the 2027 session to turn these positions into bills and rules.

Next year the House of Delegates meets in Bellevue. King County holds 53 delegate seats.

If something in your practice is broken, let us help you. The resolution cycle restarts in the spring. You don't need experience. Bring us the problem. 𝑱𝑶𝑰𝑵 𝑼𝑺! https://ow.ly/AKb350ZSrZo

09/27/2026

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐞.
Our delegates spent yesterday in reference committees defending resolutions written by KCMS physicians. Today they take them to the floor.

What passes here becomes policy. What becomes policy is what our lobbying team carries into the next legislative session in Olympia.
That is the whole chain, and it starts with a physician deciding to write something down.

09/26/2026

𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲.
KCMS delegates are in the room right now with 21 resolutions written by our own physicians. Prior authorization. Medical debt. AI in insurance denials. Kids and phones in schools. Care for patients who keep getting left out of clinical trials.

Every one of these started with a Washington physician who saw a problem in practice and decided to do something about it.

This is what your membership does.

09/25/2026

𝐵𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑒.
Questions caught. Interactions prevented. Guidance given at the right moment.

Pharmacists are a critical part of care—and often one of the most accessible.

That partnership matters more than people realize.
💊 Like this to recognize the role pharmacists play every day