Every year, the Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC) creates a fabulous education experience with new wrinkles designed to enhance attendees’ opportunities and value at our Annual Meeting & OTO Experience.
James C. Denneny III, MD AAO-HNS/F EVP/CEO
Every year, the Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC) creates a fabulous education experience with new wrinkles designed to enhance attendees’ opportunities and value at our Annual Meeting & OTO Experience. Daniel C. Chelius, Jr., MD, Annual Meeting Program Coordinator, and the AMPC have not disappointed this year. As we move back fully into in-person meetings, there was a record number of submissions for presentations and posters. In addition to the standard program and late-breaking presentations, I have the extreme pleasure and opportunity to identify and select unique topics of special interest to the advancement of the practice of otolaryngology.
This year has presented continued challenges affecting the day-to-day practice of medicine and the increasing need for aggressive advocacy and additional tools to help change the downward trajectory physicians are experiencing in today’s environment. The Spotlight Series in Philadelphia will include different looks at private practice concerns; a review of the FDA proposed rule on over-the-counter hearing aids; a new look at the otolaryngology workforce; a look at how our clinical data registry, Reg-entSM, can be an advocacy tool; and if things progress as expected, a look from the FDA perspective at the future of cochlear implant investigation and advancement.
Independent Private Practice Paradigms that Continue to Thrive in the Current Healthcare Environment
Sunday, September 11 | 4:00 – 5:00 pm (ET) This panel discussion put together by the Private Practice Study Group should be one of the most interesting presentations of the entire meeting. At a time when both political parties are interested in re-engaging in healthcare reform following the November 2022 elections, it is timely that otolaryngology can present experience and success in incorporating different models of practice. The presentation of the following four panelists, Marc G. Dubin, MD, Daniel R. Gold, MD, David E. Melon, MD, and Annette M. Pham, MD, reveals creative solutions to the onslaught of new requirements in both the public and private payer worlds.
What I Know Now That I Wish I Understood Then!
Monday, September 12 | 3:45 – 4:45 pm (ET) The title says it all for this presentation. At a time in history when the ability to recognize the future direction and trends in healthcare delivery are at a premium, the knowledge gained by Robert A. Glazer, MPA, and Daniel R. Gold, MD, as they have directed one of the most innovative and influential otolaryngology practices in the United States is priceless. As the practice environment continues to change in a rapid pace, the wisdom they offer will be helpful to all who attend.
The Otolaryngology Workforce
Tuesday, September 13 | 9:15 – 10:15 am (ET) President Ken Yanagisawa, MD, created the Workforce and Socioeconomic Task Force to identify and study methodologies to accurately characterize the current otolaryngology workforce and longitudinally collect the data necessary to identify trends and needs that will be critical for future planning. Andrew J. Tompkins, MD, MBA, will present the recommendations of the Task Force and the preliminary findings of this year’s survey. Dr. Tompkins will also cover the areas where this information will be a potent tool for advocacy for the organization going forward. I will also present the preliminary numbers from the accompanying socioeconomic survey.
Maintaining a Viable and Effective Dispensing Program in the OTC Hearing Aid Era
Tuesday, September 13 | 2:15 – 3:15 pm (ET) The FDA is scheduled to release the proposed regulations for the sale of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids in July 2022. I will review the pertinent elements of the proposed regulations, including the Academy’s comments and recommendations back to the FDA. AAO-HNS/F President-elect Douglas D. Backous, MD, and Dan Quall, AuD, CCC-A, will then present a summary of the ramifications of government dispensing programs, commercial insurance coverage, and the OTC availability of hearing aids on your practice. They will reveal and discuss strategies and options at your disposal for maintaining your practice as a viable option for patients with all degrees of hearing loss.
How Reg-ent Can Create Advocacy Tools
Time Still to Be Determined Many of today’s private and public healthcare policy decisions seem arbitrary. Our clinical data registry, Reg-ent, gives us the opportunity to develop and promote evidence-based solutions that can help change healthcare delivery for the better. Vikas Mehta, MD, MPH, Jean Brereton, MBA, and I will present results of several studies that will be influential in policy change.
As a group and individually these presentations offer an opportunity to gather insights into practice-related areas that can be difference makers in whatever type of practice you have. I hope you will take the opportunity to attend this year’s EVP/CEO Spotlight Series.
