Corporate Supporters Gather at the Industry Round Table
The corporate supporters who make up the Industry Round Table (IRT), held their second annual meeting at the 2011 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO to discuss topics important to the corporate community and to advancing the specialty. Recognition through the IRT program is achieved by giving annual charitable gifts in support of our mission, Continuing Medical Education (CME) grants, and through corporate support for the Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO. There are three levels of participation in the IRT program, and the program year runs from annual meeting to annual meeting. Through these collaborative relationships with industry, the AAO-HNS/F can appropriately leverage their important work to further shared goals and thus better serve and communicate with the otolaryngology specialty, its practitioners, and patients. The Industry Round Table meeting was attended by 15 IRT company representatives, half a dozen members of the AAO-HNS/F Board, and most of the staff executive leadership team. Following a welcome by David R. Nielsen, MD, and introductions, the program kicked off with an AAO-HNS update on membership by Eve Humphreys, Senior Director of Membership. The AAO-HNS membership is vibrant and growing, with total current membership of 11,797. There was also good news reported based upon the results of the 2010 AAO-HNS Voice of the Member Survey that reflected high member satisfaction (85 percent) and retention (96+ percent). In addition, member engagement has been increasing, as reflected in increased voter turnout, more applications to serve on committees, and strong annual meeting attendance numbers, as evidenced by this year’s strong turnout (more than 9,500 at the 2011 annual meeting). Turning to the important matter of guidelines that dictate how the AAO-HNS/F is able to interact with the corporate world, Dr. Nielsen explained to the IRT partners that at the Board of Directors meeting the previous day (Saturday, September 10) they adopted the AAO-HNS/F Code for Interactions with Companies. The Board’s actions were in line with the Council for Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) task force in developing a “code of conduct” for medical specialty societies to “enhance professionalism and to disclose, manage, and resolve relationships with industry.” It was shared that certain aspects of the AAO-HNS/F Code are more rigorous than the CMSS Code recommendations. Discussion was held about important changes taking place with regard to Continuing Medical Education (CME) and what the implications for these changes are for AAO-HNS members, including quality measurement, changes in training toward learner-centered educational systems and simulation, and decision support systems which are interactive and integrated, just to name a few. An overview of the just-released 2011 Socioeconomic Survey by AAO-HNS’ Director of Health Policy Jenna Kappel, MPH, MA, revealed several interesting findings by respondents, including that 67 percent use an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system and 75.4 percent indicated that they were planning to participate in the Medicare HER Meaningful Use Incentive Program. An interesting trend noted was a 5-percent increase since 2008 in providing in-office imaging services. For more on the survey, contact Jenna Kappel at (703) 535-3724 or jkappel@entnet.org. Mark E. Zafereo, Jr., MD, representative, Section for Residents and Fellows (SRF), led a discussion on enlightening data revealed through the SRF survey. Completed by 341 residents and fellows, 45.5 percent were between the ages of 30 and 33 and a third between 25 and 29 years old. The key trends identified in the survey were: increasing home call responsibilities, popularity in pursuing a subspecialty fellowship (69 percent), slight preference for academic practice setting (46.7 percent), and increasing levels of higher education debt (55.3 percent with debt exceeding $100,000). Also, the most important factors determining choice of practice mentioned were location (64.5 percent) and lifestyle/call schedule (46 percent). The survey confirmed that AAO-HNSF Resident Leadership Grants provide an important resource for resident attendance at meetings (46.5 percent surveyed were not likely to attend the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO without a grant). The meeting closed with an open forum among corporate participants. This lively discussion was insightful and thought provoking. Some of the main areas of discussion included: levels of corporate support at meetings, comments on the educational changes that Dr. Nielsen outlined earlier in the presentation, the process for introducing technology, actions to provide advocacy and support of new technology, and trends with congressional actions pertaining to CT imaging. The consensus was that all should continue to work together to ensure the best patient outcomes through interaction and support. The second annual IRT meeting concluded with thanks for the corporate support of the AAO-HNS/F Industry Round Table companies, and for the active participation of the individuals taking part in the meeting.
The corporate supporters who make up the Industry Round Table (IRT), held their second annual meeting at the 2011 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO to discuss topics important to the corporate community and to advancing the specialty. Recognition through the IRT program is achieved by giving annual charitable gifts in support of our mission, Continuing Medical Education (CME) grants, and through corporate support for the Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO. There are three levels of participation in the IRT program, and the program year runs from annual meeting to annual meeting. Through these collaborative relationships with industry, the AAO-HNS/F can appropriately leverage their important work to further shared goals and thus better serve and communicate with the otolaryngology specialty, its practitioners, and patients.
The Industry Round Table meeting was attended by 15 IRT company representatives, half a dozen members of the AAO-HNS/F Board, and most of the staff executive leadership team. Following a welcome by David R. Nielsen, MD, and introductions, the program kicked off with an AAO-HNS update on membership by Eve Humphreys, Senior Director of Membership. The AAO-HNS membership is vibrant and growing, with total current membership of 11,797. There was also good news reported based upon the results of the 2010 AAO-HNS Voice of the Member Survey that reflected high member satisfaction (85 percent) and retention (96+ percent). In addition, member engagement has been increasing, as reflected in increased voter turnout, more applications to serve on committees, and strong annual meeting attendance numbers, as evidenced by this year’s strong turnout (more than 9,500 at the 2011 annual meeting).
Turning to the important matter of guidelines that dictate how the AAO-HNS/F is able to interact with the corporate world, Dr. Nielsen explained to the IRT partners that at the Board of Directors meeting the previous day (Saturday, September 10) they adopted the AAO-HNS/F Code for Interactions with Companies. The Board’s actions were in line with the Council for Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) task force in developing a “code of conduct” for medical specialty societies to “enhance professionalism and to disclose, manage, and resolve relationships with industry.” It was shared that certain aspects of the AAO-HNS/F Code are more rigorous than the CMSS Code recommendations.
Discussion was held about important changes taking place with regard to Continuing Medical Education (CME) and what the implications for these changes are for AAO-HNS members, including quality measurement, changes in training toward learner-centered educational systems and simulation, and decision support systems which are interactive and integrated, just to name a few.
An overview of the just-released 2011 Socioeconomic Survey by AAO-HNS’ Director of Health Policy Jenna Kappel, MPH, MA, revealed several interesting findings by respondents, including that 67 percent use an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system and 75.4 percent indicated that they were planning to participate in the Medicare HER Meaningful Use Incentive Program. An interesting trend noted was a 5-percent increase since 2008 in providing in-office imaging services. For more on the survey, contact Jenna Kappel at (703) 535-3724 or jkappel@entnet.org.
Mark E. Zafereo, Jr., MD, representative, Section for Residents and Fellows (SRF), led a discussion on enlightening data revealed through the SRF survey. Completed by 341 residents and fellows, 45.5 percent were between the ages of 30 and 33 and a third between 25 and 29 years old. The key trends identified in the survey were: increasing home call responsibilities, popularity in pursuing a subspecialty fellowship (69 percent), slight preference for academic practice setting (46.7 percent), and increasing levels of higher education debt (55.3 percent with debt exceeding $100,000). Also, the most important factors determining choice of practice mentioned were location (64.5 percent) and lifestyle/call schedule (46 percent). The survey confirmed that AAO-HNSF Resident Leadership Grants provide an important resource for resident attendance at meetings (46.5 percent surveyed were not likely to attend the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO without a grant).
The meeting closed with an open forum among corporate participants. This lively discussion was insightful and thought provoking. Some of the main areas of discussion included: levels of corporate support at meetings, comments on the educational changes that Dr. Nielsen outlined earlier in the presentation, the process for introducing technology, actions to provide advocacy and support of new technology, and trends with congressional actions pertaining to CT imaging. The consensus was that all should continue to work together to ensure the best patient outcomes through interaction and support.
The second annual IRT meeting concluded with thanks for the corporate support of the AAO-HNS/F Industry Round Table companies, and for the active participation of the individuals taking part in the meeting.