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WHAT’S HAPPENING
Academy Launches AAOP for Clinical Teams
As a key pillar of its commitment to supporting the entire eye care team, the Academy has established a new membership group to support the professional interests of allied health professionals. The American Academy of Ophthalmic Professionals (AAOP) welcomes technicians, ophthalmic assistants, photographers, nurses, orthoptists, and other clinical staff.
As part of the Academy, AAOP members enjoy expanded opportunities for career advancement and access to the most up-to-date information in the field, including a new technician learning track at AAO 2023. (Learn more at aao.org/clinical-teams/annual-meeting.)
“Well-trained clinical teams play a vital role in delivering comprehensive, high-quality care to our patients,” said Academy CEO Stephen D. McLeod, MD. “As the principal source of continuing education and career development for all of ophthalmology, the Academy is eager to support allied health professionals who partner with physicians in protecting sight and empowering lives.”
The Academy’s new membership group launched with the integration of the former Association of Technical Personnel in Ophthalmology (ATPO), which had been representing allied health professionals since 1972.
All ophthalmic technicians and clinical team staff are encouraged to take advantage of the new training resources and benefits that are being made available, including discounted registration for AAO 2023 and members-only access to a community of supportive peers who are moving ophthalmology forward.
Visit aao.org/aaop to learn more about the new professional network for technicians and other clinical staff.
Two New Academy Vice Presidents
The Academy made two internal promotions to its executive leadership. Effective as of July 3, Jessica Kuo, MBA, succeeded Jane Aguirre as Vice President of Membership and Alliances and Gail Schmidt inaugurated the role of Vice President of Ophthalmic Society and Global Relations.
Ms. Kuo. Since 2016, Ms. Kuo has served as Academy director of membership and has been involved in the organization’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. She is a key contributor to the Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program and the Task Force on Organizational Diversity and Inclusion. In her new role, Ms. Kuo is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Academy’s member engagement programs with the goal of delivering irreplaceable value to members.
Ms. Schmidt. Since 2001, Ms. Schmidt has served as Academy director of ophthalmic society relations and has advanced the organization’s collaboration with local, national, and international ophthalmic societies. She is responsible for implementing and expanding the Leadership Development Program; ensuring grassroots input through the policy advisory body of The Council and annual Mid-Year Forum; and engaging young ophthalmologists globally.
Clarivate Releases 2022 Impact Factors for Ophthalmology Journals
Ophthalmology’s 2022 impact factor is 13.7, the highest among ophthalmology journals that publish original research. Ophthalmology Retina received a score of 4.5 and Ophthalmology Glaucoma scored a 2.9, making each the leading journal in its respective subspecialty. This is the first year Ophthalmology Retina and Ophthalmology Glaucoma received impact factors. The analytics company Clarivate shared this data in its annual “Journal Citation Report,” noting that impact factor “is a measure of the frequency with which the ‘average article’ in a journal has been cited in a particular year or period.”
Listen to the Museum of the Eye Spotify Playlist
The Truhlsen-Marmor Museum of the Eye has a brand-new Spotify account. Now you can follow along and listen to new eye-related playlists as you browse the galleries or relax at home. Throughout the year, the museum will publish new playlists related to the exhibits or themed around holidays and events. Right now, you can enjoy the inaugural playlist, “Eyes in the Wild,” a collection of songs with “eye,” “eyes,” or “vision” in the title.
Listen now at aao.org/spotify-eyes-wild.
FOR THE RECORD
Life Achievement Award Recipients
Individuals who have cumulatively earned 60 Achievement points and have made significant contributions to ophthalmology, as determined by the Academy’s Awards Committee, were nominated to receive the Life Achievement Honor Award. This year’s recipients are as follows:
Maria H. Berrocal, MD
Kenneth V. Cahill, MD, FACS
William S. Clifford, MD
Jeffrey P. Edelstein, MD
Brian A. Francis, MD
Carol L. Karp, MD
David Lee, MD
Stephanie Jones Marioneaux, MD
Cynthia Mattox, MD
Timothy W. Olsen, MD
Vadrevu K. Raju, MD, FACS, FRCS
Gaurav K. Shah, MD
Cynthia A. Toth, MD
Senior Achievement Award
Individuals who have cumulatively earned 30 points were nominated to receive this award.
Malena M. Amato, MD
Anas A. Anbari, MD, PHD, FACS
Jessica B. Ciralsky, MD
Thomas A. Ciulla, MD
Maria S. Cortina, MD
Marc Dominique De Smet, MD, PHD, FRCOphth, FRCSC
Uday Devgan, MD
Robert W. Enzenauer, MD, MPH
Amani Fawzi, MD
Jose Gomes, MD
Fumi Gomi, MD, PHD
Davinder S. Grover, MD
Judith E. Gurland, MD
David Rex Hamilton, MD
Sohail J. Hasan, MD, PHD
Tsontcho Ianchulev, MD
Stephen J. Kim, MD
Luiz Lima, MD
Cathleen McCabe, MD
Craig A. McKeown, MD
Joseph T. Nezgoda, MD, MBA
Kyoko Ohno-Matsui, MD
Yusuke Oshima, MD
Purnima S. Patel, MD
John D. Peters, MD
Lucia Sobrin, MD
Jennifer K. Sun, MD
Steven Yeh, MD
Achievement Award
Individuals who have cumulatively earned 10 points were nominated to receive this award.
Emilio A. Arce-Lopez, MD
Robert M. Beardsley, MD
Robert L. Bergren, MD
Jill E. Bixler, MD
Barry E. Breaux, MD
Susan Burden, MD
Craig J. Chaya, MD
Albert Y. Cheung, MD
Netan Choudhry, MD
Robert A. Clark, MD
Charles Cole, MD
Megan E. Collins, MD
Stephanie Collins Mangham, COA, MBA, OCSR
Jason N. Crosson, MD
Lional Raj Daniel Raj Ponniah, MD
Mohammad H. Dastjerdi, MD
Don Julian De Silva, MBBS
Ekaterina V. Denisova, MD
Eva DeVience, MD
Nancy D. Efferson-Bonachea, MD
Isaac C. Ezon, MD
Helena Prior Filipe, MD
Carla D. Ford, MD
Takeo Fukuchi, MD
Robert S. Gold, MD
Raquel Goldhardt, MD
Scott M. Guess, MD
Ying Han, MD, PHD
Ben J. Harvey, MD
Kathryn Masselam Hatch, MD
Andrew M. Hendrick, MD
Maria A. Henriquez, MD
David C. Herman, MD
Kourtney A. Houser, MD
Jean-Pierre Hubschman, MD
Cristos Ifantides, MD, MBA
Emily P. Jones, MD
Pavlina Kemp, MD
Shawn J. Khan, MD
Dooho Brian Kim, MD
Jimmy K. Lee, MD
N. Grace Lee, MD
Phoebe D. Lenhart, MD
Irene H. Ludwig, MD
Viraj Jayesh Mehta, MD
Mark Michels, MD, FACS
Heather Modjesky, COE
Daniel B. Moore, MD
Magdy S. Moussa, MD, MBBCH
Marion Ronit Munk, MD, PHD
William G. Myers, MD
Steven M. Naids, MD
Toru Noda, MD
Ghazala A. Datoo O’Keefe, MD
Seth M. Pantanelli, MD
Kristina M. Price, MD
Paul L. Proffer, MD
Rajaraman Revathi, MBBS
Kamran M. Riaz, MD
David R. Rivera, MD
Ho-Seok Sa, MD
Ahmed A. Sallam, MBBCH
Gerami D. Seitzman, MD
Juan Carlos Serna, MD
Steven R. Shields, MD
Sobha Sivaprasad, FRCS, MBBS
Jordana M. Smith, MD
Diego Strianese, MD, PHD
Manju L. Subramanian, MD
Victoria L. Tseng, MD
Irena Tsui, MD
Mitul R. Vakharia, MD
Sarah Van Tassel, MD
Kateki Vinod, MD
Basil K. Williams, MD
Alex Yuan, MD
Nazlee Zebardast, MD
Sandy X. Zhang-Nunes, MD
Nominees for approval by the Board of Trustees to receive the Academy’s Annual Secretariat Award in 2023
Each Secretary, with approval from their Senior Secretary, may nominate a maximum of five individuals to receive the Secretariat Award. The following nominations were submitted for the 2023 Annual Secretariat Award:
Clinical Education
Christopher J. Rapuano, MD, senior secretary for Clinical Education, Rahul Khurana, MD, secretary for Online Education, J. Timothy Stout, MD, PhD, MBA, secretary for Lifelong Learning and Assessment, and Ruth D. Williams, MD, Chief Medical Editor, EyeNet, nominate:
Richard C. Allen, MD, PhD
Jesse L. Berry, MD
Vatinee Y. Bunya, MD
Kathryn A. Colby, MD, PhD
Laura B. Enyedi, MD
Mary Lou Jackson, MD
Bennie H. Jeng, MD
Ajay E. Kuriyan, MD
Kevin E. Lai, MD
Moran Levin, MD
Colin A. McCannel, MD
Jeff H. Pettey, MD, MBA
Ankoor S. Shah, MD, PhD
Evan Silverstein, MD
Gianni Virgili, MD
Evan L. Waxman, MD, PhD
Quality of Care
Roy S. Chuck, MD, PhD, secretary for Quality of Care, nominates:
Stephen J. Kim, MD
Christie L. Morse, MD
Stacy L. Pineles, MD
Jeremiah P. Tao, MD
David K. Wallace, MD, MPH
Federal/State Affairs
George A. Williams, MD, senior secretary for Advocacy, John D. Peters, MD, secretary for State Affairs, David B. Glasser, MD, secretary for Federal Affairs, and Michael X. Repka, MD, Medical Director for Governmental Affairs, nominate:
Ninita H. Brown, MD, PhD
Jeffrey P. Edelstein, MD
Bradley Dean Fouraker, MD
Arjan S. Hura, MD
Jennifer L. Lindsey, MD
Bob Palmer
Michael A. Puente, Jr., MD
Emily Michelle Schehlein, MD
Diana R. Shiba, MD
Erin Shriver, MD
Christopher C. Teng, MD
Ophthalmic Practice
Ravi D. Goel, MD, senior secretary for Ophthalmic Practice, nominates:
Anthony Pruett Johnson, MD, FACS, OCS, OCSR
Natalie M. Loyacano, COMT, OCSR
Sara Burns Rapuano, MBA, OCS
Arvind Saini, MD, MBA
Annual Meeting
Bennie H. Jeng, MD, secretary for Annual Meeting, nominates:
Maria Mendicino Aaron, MD
Ronald Leigh Fellman, MD, OCS
Nicole R. Fram, MD
Andrew G. Lee, MD
Rachel K. Sobel, MD
Communications
Dianna L. Seldomridge, MD, MBA, secretary for Communications, nominates:
Elizabeth Shanika Esparaz, MD
Terry L. Forrest, MD
Meron Haile, MD
Michael A. Puente, Jr., MD
Arvind Saini, MD, MBA
Member Services
Aaron M. Miller, MD, secretary for Member Services, nominates:
Judy E. Kim, MD
Paul P. Lee, MD, JD
Viraj Jayesh Mehta, MD
Camille V. Palma, MD
Task Force and Sub-Task Forces on Disparities in Eye Care
Global Alliances
R.V. Paul Chan, MD, secretary for Global Alliances, nominates:
Renato Ambrosio, Jr., MD
Mitchell V. Brinks, MD
Jacquelyn A. O’Banion, MD
Jeff H. Pettey, MD, MBA
J. Bradley Randleman, MD
Ophthalmology
Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, PhD, Ophthalmology Editor-in-Chief, nominates:
Curtis E. Margo, MD
Ian Morgan, PHD
Kisha Piggott, MD, PhD
Divya Srikumaran, MD
Jason Yam, FRCS(ED), MBBS
Ophthalmology Glaucoma
Henry D. Jampel, MD, MHS, Ophthalmology Glaucoma Editor-in-Chief, nominates:
Inas F. Aboobakar, MD
Amanda Kiely Bicket, MD
Ta Chen Peter Chang, MD
Mary Qiu, MD
Nazlee Zebardast, MD
Ophthalmology Retina
Andrew P. Schachat, MD, Ophthalmology Retina Editor-in-Chief, nominates:
Allen Chiang, MD
Maria Vittoria Cicinelli, MD, MHA
Gilbert Lim, PhD
Nan Liu, PhD
Elias I. Traboulsi, MD
TAKE NOTICE
Young Ophthalmologist Wins Resident Knowledge Exchange Contest
In July, Nolan Adams, MD, won the 2023 Resident Knowledge Exchange contest for his collection of story mnemonics for Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease, sympathetic ophthalmia, ocular manifestations of sarcoidosis, extraocular muscle fiber types, Susac syndrome, and white dot syndrome. He was awarded a virtual reality headset and a chance to present at a Young Ophthalmologist (YO) event during AAO 2023 in San Francisco.
The Resident Knowledge Exchange is a web-based portal that provides residents with study materials and learning tools as they advance through their ophthalmic residency training. Academy members may use the site to view and share study materials for residents and engage in discussions with peers about resident education.
You can view an example from Dr. Adams’ submission at aao.org/sarcoid-ho-down.
Browse the Resident Knowledge Exchange at resident-exchange.aao.org.
EyeWiki Contest: Winning Articles
EyeWiki is the Academy’s collaborative online encyclopedia, where physicians, patients, and the public can view content written by ophthalmologists that covers the spectrum of eye disease, diagnosis, and treatment. Each year EyeWiki hosts two writing contests. One is for U.S. residents and fellows; the other is for ophthalmologists outside the United States. Original articles as well as articles with significant revisions are eligible for either contest.
Winners of the 2023 International Contest were recently announced:
- Ana I.M. Miguel, MD, FEBO, PhD; Private Hospital of La Baie, France, and Center Hospital at University of Caen, France: “Gonioscopy-Assisted Transluminal Trabeculotomy (GATT)—a glaucoma surgery”
- Kirandeep Kaur, MBBS, DNB, FPOS, MNAMS, FICO, MRCS; Children’s Eye Care Centre, Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, and Shri Sadguru Seva Sangh Trust, Chitrakoot, India: “Extraocular Muscles”
- Aarush Deora, MBBS, MD; Dr. R.P. Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi: “Strabismus Surgery, Cyclovertical”
Read the articles at eyewiki.org/International_Ophthalmologists.
Next contest deadlines. Submit or revise an article at aao.org/eyewiki for the U.S. Residents & Fellows Contest by Nov. 30, 2023, for the International Ophthalmologists Contest by May 31, 2024.
Volunteer: Promote Ophthalmology to URiM Students
Want to help diversify ophthalmology? You can recruit medical students to be a part of the Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program. The program was created by the Academy and the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology to provide tools, resources, and mentorship to help underrepresented in medicine (URiM) students (Black, Hispanic, Native American) become competitive ophthalmology residency applicants.
Volunteers are needed to help promote the program to interested students at local medical schools and college campuses. You’ll reach out to educational institutions in your area to promote the Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program. Volunteers are asked to familiarize themselves with the program and utilize PowerPoint presentations, flyers, and short videos from the Academy’s toolkit to speak about the many facets of ophthalmology, share their personal story about ophthalmology as a rewarding profession, and promote the program as a resource for URiM students.
Get started at aao.org/volunteering, then choose “Connect.” (This is just one of many Academy volunteer opportunities.)
Ask the Ethicist: What Constitutes Actual Testimony in an Ethics Challenge
Q: I submitted a challenge to the Academy Ethics Committee in which an expert witness provided false testimony by making false written statements about my treatment plan based on the patient’s initial presentation. The case settled before going to court. The Committee declined to accept my challenge. Was the settlement the cause of that decision?
A: No, the challenge was not accepted because the Academy member did not provide actual expert testimony. For purposes of Rule 16 of the Code of Ethics, expert testimony includes oral testimony provided under oath, affidavits, and declarations used in court proceedings and certificates of merit signed, ratified, or otherwise adopted by the physician. It does not include second opinion letters, informal communications, or an initial review or assessment of a potential case.
Your submission was based on a second opinion letter sent by the challenged member to the patient’s son explaining how he would have developed a different treatment plan. The deposition of the son, in which he verbally quoted from the letter, is hearsay and cannot be used as expert witness testimony under Rule 16. Because no actual testimony was given by the Academy member, your submission was determined not to be a valid and actionable challenge under Rule 16.
The submission form for expert testimony challenges is quite detailed and should answer questions like this. As with many legal matters, if there is a confidentiality or nondisclosure agreement or a protective order related to your case, you should consult your attorney before sending any material to the Ethics Committee.
Expert testimony submission forms can be found at aao.org/ethics-detail/how-to-submit on the AAO Redmond Ethics Center.
To read the Code of Ethics, visit aao.org/ethics-detail/code-of-ethics.
To submit a question, email ethics@aao.org.
OMIC Tip: Protecting Patient Confidentiality When Using Text or Email
While many patients and physicians enjoy the ease of corresponding by email or text messages, these methods of communication can pose patient confidentiality risks. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, medical practices are expected to use encrypted and secure systems to ensure confidentiality of protected health information (PHI).
Practices that fail to send PHI through a safe and secure platform run the risk of HIPAA violations and financial penalties. Once health information is received in a medical office, it becomes PHI. All outgoing communications must be sent through an encrypted or otherwise secure system unless the patient has been warned in writing and accepts the risk. Update the contact information preferences form to indicate whether patients have received a communication warning and provided their authorization signature.
If you have questions, contact OMIC for confidential risk management advice at riskmanagement@omic.com.
OMIC offers professional liability insurance exclusively to Academy members, their employees, and their practices.
ACADEMY RESOURCES
Don’t Miss the 2023 Update on Ocular Oncology
On Sept. 14, 8:30-10:00 p.m. ET, join moderators Erin Shriver, MD, Michael Yen, MD, and Michael Yoon, MD, for a webinar titled “2023 Update on Ocular Oncology.” Topics will include ocular surface neoplasia, retinoblastoma, targeted therapies for periocular tumors, and challenging surgical cases. This Academy program is free to members.
Learn more at aao.org/clinical-webinars.
Attend Core Knowledge Retina and Glaucoma Webinars
Identify gaps in care; target areas for clinical practice assessment and improvement; and earn self-assessment CME credits with two core knowledge clinical webinars.
Retina. On Sept. 26, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET, join moderators Sruthi Arepalli, MD, and Jeffrey D. Henderer, MD, for a webinar titled “Core Knowledge Retina” (2 CME credits). This Academy program was developed in coordination with the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) and is free to Academy and ASRS members.
Glaucoma. On Oct. 26, 8:00-10:00 p.m. ET, join moderators Jeffrey D. Henderer, MD, and Amenze Osa Oriaifo, MD, for a webinar titled “Core Knowledge Glaucoma” (2 CME credits). This Academy program was developed in coordination with the American Glaucoma Society (AGS) and is free to Academy and AGS members.
Learn more at aao.org/clinical-webinars.
EyeNet Hosts Nextech Corporate Webinar
On Sept. 18, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET, EyeNet is hosting an educational webinar, presented by Nextech. “The Cures Act, the Physician’s Role, and the Future of Information Sharing,” is intended for all U.S. ophthalmologists and practice management professionals.
Learn more at aao.org/eyenet/corporate-webinars.
Begin Your ABO/IRIS Registry Improvement Project
Is your electronic health record system integrated with the IRIS Registry? If so, you can use data from your IRIS Registry dashboard to design an improvement project that can earn you credit for both the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO)’s Continuing Certification (Maintenance of Certification) and the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). For the 2023 MIPS performance year, this project would count as a medium-weighted improvement activity. To get both MIPS and MOC program credit for the project, you must conduct the improvement activity over a minimum of 90 days, which means that you would need to start no later than Oct. 3.
Learn more at aao.org/iris-registry/maintenance-of-certification and https://abop.org/IRIS.
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Watch Dr. Osher’s Video Journal: Vol. 39, Issue 2
The Video Journal of Cataract, Refractive, and Glaucoma Surgery (VJCRGS), created by ophthalmic surgeon and educator Robert H. Osher, MD, has been publishing educational cataract, refractive, and glaucoma videos since 1985. The surgical videos are submitted from ophthalmologists around the world and are handpicked by the VJCRGS editorial board. Out now, the 90-minute second issue of 2023, titled “A Smorgasbord of Delicious Cases,” highlights 27 videos from the European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons meeting in Milan.
Watch vol. 39, issue 2 for free at vjcrgs.com.
D.C. REPORT
What the Academy Is Doing About Sustainability
As part of its commitment to advancing sustainable vision care, the Academy is advocating on several fronts to address waste.
Formalized leadership. First, the Academy launched a sustainability task force in February. Led by Jeff Pettey, MD, the task force formalizes prior efforts to address issues like surgical drug waste.
EyeSustain partnership. In October 2022, The Academy joined EyeSustain (www.eyesustain.org) as a sponsoring society, with Dr. Pettey as the Academy liaison. EyeSustain is a global coalition of eye societies that aims to make care delivery more sustainable, both economically and environmentally. In addition to offering a rich library of resources, EyeSustain gives ophthalmologists and their facilities the opportunity to take a pledge to reduce ophthalmic surgical waste.
Advocacy with policymakers. The Academy continues to build on its initial successes in addressing drug waste. Last year, the Academy’s leadership on this issue helped push the CMS to clarify its guidance on handling expiration dates for multidose eye drops.
This year, the Academy launched a similar effort to address waste in the 340B Drug Pricing Program run by the federal Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). The program helps reduce drug costs for community health facilities that serve patients who are uninsured or living on low incomes. But some of the requirements to become eligible for the program—such as detailed tracking of drug utilization—are so burdensome that they can lead to significant drug waste.
During a May meeting with agency officials, Academy representatives urged the HRSA to consider policy changes. Its staff promised to consider how policy reforms could help facilities use drugs more efficiently.
Legislative advocacy. Last, the Academy has begun to support state and federal legislation that addresses waste in health care.
For example, a 1962 federal policy requires drug makers to provide paper copies of prescribing information. This policy leads to significant paper waste. The Academy is supporting the Prescription Information Modernization Act of 2023, which calls for the option to provide electronic prescribing information.
At the state level, the Academy developed model language based on an Illinois law, passed in 2021, that allows patients to take home partially used topical medication for postoperative use. Now, other states are using the language to push for similar laws.
Learn more at AAO 2023 by attending Green Ophthalmology, Our Sustainability Mandate (Sym17). When: Saturday, Nov. 4, 2:00-3:15 p.m. PT. Where: West 2002. Access: With AAO 2023 registration, you can attend in person, via a live broadcast, or on demand.