Published: August 31, 2015

BOARD OF GOVERNORSEach of us is a leader

It is the end of the July 4 weekend, and as I sit here with the thought of returning to work tomorrow morning, the memories of family, friends, fireworks, and Independence Day distract me from the task of writing my BOG piece. A holiday weekend like this causes me to reflect on how I fit into the greater scheme of family, life, and our country. It gives me a moment to celebrate my chosen career of physician and otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon.

calendarWendy B. Stern, MD, chair, Board of Governors

It is the end of the July 4 weekend, and as I sit here with the thought of returning to work tomorrow morning, the memories of family, friends, fireworks, and Independence Day distract me from the task of writing my BOG piece. A holiday weekend like this causes me to reflect on how I fit into the greater scheme of family, life, and our country. It gives me a moment to celebrate my chosen career of physician and otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon.

John H. Krouse, MD, PhD, MBA, editor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, reflects in “An era of uncertainty in healthcare” in the June Bulletin that we have an opportunity for leadership and proactive change. He couldn’t be more right. We are more than healers of the body. Promoting health requires more than what we do in our offices and operating rooms.

We are witnessing a time of great change in the house of medicine. On April 16, 2015, H.R. 2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, passed. This included the repeal of Medicare’s flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) payment formula. It brings with it a period of stability, but also the unknown. On one hand, we see a 0.5 percent yearly increase for fee-for-service physician payments over the next five years, but it also sets up a 5 percent added incentive payment for physicians in new alternative payment models (APMs). What will those APMs be? What will value-based medicine look like? What will be our quality metrics? Who will define value in otolaryngology? It must be us.

On June 25, 2015, the Supreme Court, with a 6-3 vote, upheld a key provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowing participants without state-based exchanges to continue receiving federal subsidies to purchase healthcare plans. The GOP is reconsidering its plans to challenge other ACA-related provisions. Right now 14 individuals have announced their intention to run for the Republican presidential nomination, while Hillary Clinton faces four contenders. What will the field look like by the time you are reading this article, and how will the elections of November 2016 impact the practice of medicine? There is so much to think about, so much to do.

The Board of Governors offers the perfect venue for all of us to be leaders and to be that proactive voice. You are represented through your local, state, or specialty society. Your experiences, ideas, and concerns are brought forward through your Governor and your representatives to the BOG Socioeconomic and Grassroots Committee and the Legislative Affairs Committee, as well as your regional representatives and the BOG Executive Committee. The BOG has established pathways of communication with 3P, the Physician Payment Policy Workgroup (see www.entnet.org/content/BOG-3Pprocess), the Academy’s Executive Committee, and the AAO-HNS/F Boards of Directors. Our Rules and Regulations Committee stands by to help those not represented by a BOG Member society become engaged and represented.

Remember, the BOG is not just responsive. It also offers direction and pathways through advocacy programs (I-GO, the ENT Advocacy Network, and ENT PAC), as well as mentoring and leadership opportunities.

As an Academy Member, you are a welcome guest at any BOG meeting. After all, you are our leaders. The BOG holds its committee meetings on Saturday, September 26, 11:00 am – 4:45 pm, Dallas Ballroom A of the Omni Dallas Hotel during the AAO-HNSF 2015 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPOSM. Please make sure that your BOG representatives know your message. Also, ensure your Governor attends the BOG General Assembly on Monday, September 28, 5:00 -7:00 pm in the Dallas Ballroom BC, Omni Dallas Hotel, and votes on your behalf. See you there!

 

 

More from September 2015 - Vol. 34 No. 08
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Our international journey
In 1995, when I was AAO-HNSF president, I recognized the need for a coherent international program. In 1996 at a Strategic Planning Meeting of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, a recommendation to create a department of international affairs was endorsed and I was offered the position of coordinator.
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AcademyU.org: anatomy of a learning platform
The new AcademyU® Learning Platform launches this month and is being showcased at the Annual Meeting & OTO EXPOSM in Dallas. Read on for a sneak peek into the features of this exciting new education resource.
Sonya Malekzadeh, MD
Leadership change in Foundation education
Beginning October 1, 2015, Richard V. Smith, MD, will become the new AAO-HNS Foundation education coordinator; assuming the position as Sonya Malekzadeh, MD, ends her four-year term.
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Foundation launches professional development eNewsletter
The first issue of the eNewsletter Professional Development News was released in July with the next issue coming out in October and then to be released quarterly. The aim of the eNewsletter is to keep Members engaged with AcademyU®, your otolaryngology learning source.
Products from the new AcademyU® Learning Platform
Foundation copublishes two books with Thieme As part of an ongoing agreement with Thieme Publishers, the Foundation has just added two more titles to its book and eBook collection. The first book, Otolaryngology Lifelong Learning Manual (OLLM), is an update to the Maintenance Manual for Lifelong Learning. Through the hard work of the eight education committees, under the leadership of Education Coordinator Sonya Malekzadeh, MD, this will become a valuable resource for all otolaryngology clinicians. OLLM serves as a great resident resource and certification study guide. Practicing physicians can use it for a refresher on a topic and for recertification through MOC. Nonphysician clinicians will also benefit from the comprehensive scope of the book. The second book, Geriatric Otolaryngology, was edited by Robert T. Sataloff, MD, Michael M. Johns III, MD, and Karen Kost, MD. This book is much more than a revision to the previous book of the same title. It is a comprehensive and timely discussion of the otolaryngology concerns of the elderly population. Both books are available in print and eBook formats and can be ordered through the Thieme website at www.Thieme.com. You can search by specialty or title. The AAO-HNS Foundation is proud to have worked with Thieme on these two essential otolaryngology publications and looks forward to continuing its copublishing partnership. AcademyQ® CME: otolaryngology knowledge self-assessment tool AcademyQ® CME offers learners the opportunity to hone their knowledge skills through a series of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery-specific self-assessment questions. Derived from the 800 knowledge assessment questions available in the AcademyQ® app for Apple and Android, this activity provides the opportunity to enhance knowledge of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery with hundreds of study questions to test recall, interpretation, and problem-solving skills while earning CME credit. Drawing on the same questions released on the Academy® app in 2012 and 2014, nine modules contain 50 questions specific to each specialty. The physician learner will read and analyze otolaryngology-specific questions and rationales developed by otolaryngology experts. Included in each module is thorough feedback for each question, additional reading references, and appropriate images and videos to enhance the learning experience. Pediatric Otolaryngology eLectures Pediatric Otolaryngology eLectures, coproduced by the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) and AAO-HNSF, offer learners education opportunities designed to address pressing patient care concerns facing pediatric and general otolaryngologists. The webinars in this series are: Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis Diagnosis and Management of Vascular Malformations Update on Allergic Rhinitis—A Burdensome Disease Down Syndrome: Otolaryngologic Manifestations Evaluation and Management of Sialorrhea in Children Hearing Tests and Hearing Aids: More Interesting Than You Thought Complications of Acute Rhinosinusitis in Children Otitis Media Update Assessment and Management of Velopharyngeal Dysfunction Evaluation of Pediatric Sensorineural Hearing Loss Unilateral Hearing Loss In Children Caustic Ingestion Management of Pediatric Vocal Fold Immobility Head and Neck Masses in the Pediatric Population Quality and Safety in Surgery: How to Become a Better Surgeon Choking and Aspiration in Children: Evaluation and Management Pediatric Sleep Medicine 2014: A Roundtable Discussion Eustachian Tube and Evolution Social Media—A Blessing or a Curse for the Otolaryngologist Genetics and Pediatric Otolaryngology These archived recordings are be available for AMA PRA Category 1™ credit. ENT for the PA-C eLecture Series The annual ENT for the PA-C Conference is jointly presented by the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation and the Society of Physician Assistants in Otorhinolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery. The primary audience for the conference is nonphysician clinicians, especially physician assistants, and nurse practitioners who specialize in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. This eLecture Series, recorded at the 2015 ENT for the PA-C Annual Conference, includes the following presentations: Healthcare Reform Audiogram Interpretation: 10-minute Dizziness Evaluation Evaluation and Management of Facial Nerve Paralysis Everything You Ever (and Never) Need to Know About Salivary Glands Differential Diagnosis and Management of Conductive Hearing Loss Non-otologic Sources of Otalgia Diagnosis and Treatment of Anaphylaxis Evaluation and Management of Pediatric Neck Masses OSA: Improving Treatment Outcomes Vocal Fold Paralysis Diagnosis and Treatment Assisting in ENT Procedures These archived recordings will be available for AAPA CME credit. Visit www.academyU.org for these new activities along with the entire catalog of education opportunities offered by the AAO-HNS Foundation.
Education by the numbers
125 articles spanning four sections of the Home Study Course. Specialties covered this year were Rhinology and Allergic Disorders; Laryngology, Voice Disorders, and Bronchoesophagology; Neoplastic and Inflammatory Diseases of the Head and Neck; and Otology and Neurotology. 1,128 Patient Management Perspective courses completed during the year.
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A fresh look at education
This has been an exciting year for Foundation Education. From wrapping up the two-year Education Needs Assessment to the launch of the new AcademyU® Learning Platform much work has been done by the education volunteers.
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Presidential Citations
Bobby R. Alford, MD, is founder and chairman of the board of directors of NASA’s National Space Biomedical Research Institute and Distinguished Service Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. After residency at Baylor, he completed a clinical fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, and special NIH fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.
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ICD-10 countdown resource checklist
Make sure you’re prepared for ICD-10 by taking these steps as the countdown to implementation draws near.
Robert R. Lorenz, MD, MBA
Get ready for ICD-10
In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced efforts to limit the burden on providers for the ICD-10 transition slated for October 1. What are the effects on the average otolaryngology practice, and should you alter your own “go-live” plan?
Hearing health community seeks EHDI reauthorization
It was an exciting spring. The physician community saw major legislative victories relating to repeal of the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula, as well as rescission of a proposed policy change for global surgical payments. After such a windfall, many Members of Congress and staffers were posing the question, “Well, what’s next?” For the AAO-HNS and others in the hearing health community, the answer was simple: (hopefully) teeing up another legislative “win” for the fall.
Collectively, we have a voice.
Project 535 brings politics home
My parents lived in John F. Kennedy’s congressional district. When JFK moved up to the U.S. Senate in 1952, Tip O’Neill decided to run for the open seat. He won the election and later became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Rebuilding ears, self images, and hope in Cambodia: the first collaboration between Face to Face and Operation SmileExpanded from the print edition
As we walked into the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in February, Kathleen Sie, Sie, MD, pediatric otolaryngologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital, turned and quietly reminded me to look carefully in the ICU so we might be mindful of what our potential highest level of care would look like.
AAO-HNSF receives ACCME Accreditation with Commendation
The AAO-HNSF has recently been awarded the distinction of Accreditation with Commendation by our accrediting board, the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). This status is awarded to only a fraction of all organizations who seek to become an accredited provider and represents acknowledgement of a program that delivers the highest quality of practice-relevant, physician-focused education. The AAO-HNSF is honored to receive this distinction and share this achievement with our dedicated membership, without whose contributions and leadership this would not be possible.
denneny
Annual Meeting outshines Big Tex
As the 2015 Annual Meeting in Dallas rapidly approaches, I have enjoyed reliving many memorable moments in Dallas. I traveled back and forth from Oklahoma City to Waco through Dallas often while I was attending Baylor University and had many friends who lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I looked forward to the State Fair of Texas, which I attended in conjunction with the Oklahoma-Texas Red River Rivalry with Fair Park’s beloved 52-foot-high character “Big Tex” towering over the proceedings.
Gayle E. Woodson, MD, AAO-HNS/F President
Real-life learning, better care
When I passed the exam for the American Board of Otolaryngology 34 years ago, I felt very proud. I had excellent residency training and I felt well prepared to go out and take care of my patients. But the certification exam had merely sampled my knowledge—it was not really a test of competence. Like almost every other physician I know, I learned more during my first year of practice than in any prior year in my life!