NOTE: This article has been updated since print publication. In the original article, EyeNet announced the availability of the 2023 Foundation Annual Report. However, this report has not yet been published. The article below corrects this mistake.
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MEETING MATTERS
Take Advantage of the Virtual Meetings
Whether you attended the annual meeting in San Francisco or stayed home, there is ample reason to check out the virtual programs for AAO 2023 and Subspecialty Day. They provide recordings of onsite sessions and programming developed in advance of the meeting specifically for the online platform.
AAO 2023 Virtual. View more than 200 sessions recorded in San Francisco and 14 instruction courses developed specifically for the virtual meeting. In addition, you can access over 300 scientific posters and videos.
Subspecialty Day Virtual. Subspecialty Day Virtual–Friday (which includes glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, ocular oncology and pathology, refractive surgery, and retina content) and Subspecialty Day Virtual–Saturday (which includes cornea, oculofacial plastic surgery, and retina content) give you access to all sessions that were recorded in San Francisco for the Subspecialty Day meetings taking place on the same date.
Access. If you registered for AAO 2023 or Subspecialty Day in San Francisco, you automatically have access to the corresponding virtual content for those meetings. If not, you can still register for AAO 2023 Virtual, Subspecialty Day Virtual-Friday, and Subspecialty Day-Saturday through Jan. 31, 2024.
The virtual meeting platform will be open until March 1, 2024. After that time, visit the Meeting Archives section of the Academy website to download handouts and Subspecialty Day syllabi and view the scientific videos and posters. The recorded content will no longer be available.
Learn more at aao.org/registration.
Claim CME through March 29, 2024
Claim CME credits for attending the live meeting or viewing virtual sessions through March 29, 2024. You can claim some credit in 2023 and some in 2024, or all in the same year.
Claim limits. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Limits are up to 50 credits for AAO 2023 and up to 12 credits per day for Subspecialty Day. You do not need to track which sessions you attend, just the total number of hours you spend in sessions for each claim.
Proof of attendance letter. When you claim CME credits, you will be asked to complete a short evaluation of the meeting. Then, you will be able to view and print a certificate/proof of attendance letter. Your certificate will also be emailed to you.
For more information, visit aao.org/annual-meeting/cme.
Your Opinion Matters! Evaluate Sessions
Help the Academy plan for AAO 2024 by evaluating the courses and sessions you experienced.
Use the Mobile Meeting Guide. Go to aao.org/mobile then use the “Program Search” feature to look up sessions you attended. Select the “Eval” icon and answer the questions.
Evaluations open through March 1, 2024. The Mobile Meeting Guide will close on March 1, so be sure to share your thoughts before the deadline.
Mark Your Calendar for AAO 2024
AAO 2024: Elevate will take place in Chicago, Oct. 18-21. Subspecialty Day meetings begin on Friday, Oct. 18. Look for more meeting information, including the American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives (AAOE) Practice Management Program and the new American Academy of Ophthalmic Professionals (AAOP) Technician Learning Track in the coming months.
Learn more at aao.org/2024.
Call for Abstracts
The online abstract submitter for AAO 2024 instruction courses and new Skills Transfer labs opens Dec. 14 and closes Jan. 9, 2024.
Learn more at aao.org/presentercentral.
FOR THE RECORD
Participate in the Academy Election
The election for open positions on the Board of Trustees begins on Nov. 6 and closes on Dec. 5 at noon EST. Election materials were mailed or emailed to all voting Academy fellows and members. By Dec. 7, results of the election will be posted on the Academy’s website at aao.org/about/governance/elections.
TAKE NOTICE
By Jan. 31, Nominate a Colleague for the 2024 Laureate Award
Every year, ophthalmologists distinguish themselves and the profession by making exceptional scientific contributions toward preventing blindness and restoring sight worldwide. The Academy Board of Trustees recognizes these extraordinary contributions with its Laureate Award, the Academy’s single highest honor. The award recipient is announced each fall, and the Laureate is recognized during the Opening Session of the annual meeting.
Nominate a colleague by Jan. 31 using the application at aao.org/laureate.
By March 31, Recognize Outstanding Ophthalmologists
Would you like to nominate a colleague for an Academy award? Submit your nomination by March 31, 2024.
Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award. This award recognizes Academy members for significant contributions to humanitarian efforts, such as participation in charitable activities, care of the indigent, and community service. It acknowledges those who have performed above and beyond the normal duties of an ophthalmologist.
Outstanding Advocate Award. This award recognizes Academy members who have demonstrated a pattern of advocating for the profession at the state and/or federal level. Nominees must perform advocacy functions in their capacity as an ophthalmologist.
Learn more at aao.org/about/awards/humanitarian or aao.org/about/awards/advocate, or email awards@aao.org.
EyeWiki Contest: U.S. Residents and Fellows Contest Articles Due Nov. 30
If you are an ophthalmology resident or fellow in training in the United States, the Academy invites you to contribute a new article or to revise an existing article and enter it in the EyeWiki U.S. Residents and Fellows Contest by Nov. 30. Submissions will be judged on clarity, accuracy, and completeness, as well as writing quality and appropriate use of EyeWiki style. Qualifying entries will be considered for an all-expenses-paid trip to the Academy’s Mid-Year Forum 2024 in Washington, D.C.
Learn more at eyewiki.org/Residents_and_Fellows.
Global Video Contest Winners Announced
The Academy’s Global ONE Network Advisory Board members have chosen the winners of the 9th Global ONE Network Video Contest:
Grand Prize: Gerardo Garcia-Aguirre, MD, (Mexico) for “The Diabetic TRD Playbook”
Second Place: Priya Narang, MD, (India) for “Reverse Four Throw Technique for Pupilloplasty”
Third Place: Ashvin Agarwal, MD, (India) for “Traumatic Iridodialysis With Aphakia”
Watch the videos at aao.org/education/browse-go-guide-multimedia.
Celebrate Giving Tuesday With a Gift to the Academy Foundation
After you finish your holiday shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, kick off your year-end charitable donations on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28. During this globally recognized day of philanthropy, you are encouraged to donate to initiatives that are important to you. This year, consider supporting Academy programs such as the Ophthalmic News and Education Network, the Minority Ophthalmology Mentoring program, EyeCare America, and the Parke Center Campaign through a donation to the Academy Foundation. Your tax-deductible gift can be made in honor or memory of someone special, or it can be a recurring gift.
Give today at aao.org/foundation/giving-options.
Ask the Ethicist: Crisis in On-Call Coverage
Q: Our regional hospital is the busiest Level 1 trauma center in the state. In order for it to maintain Level 1 status, it needs ophthalmology coverage, so we have negotiated generous payments in exchange for those services. Even with the pay-for-call situation, very few ophthalmologists provide coverage, but we do it because of our ethical obligation to our patients and the community.
I know that some colleagues refuse to take call or provide ER coverage because of the time commitment and red tape involved. However, that freedom from responsibility ignores community needs, penalizes under- and uninsured patients, and unjustifiably overburdens those of us who feel morally obligated to care for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay or the time of night that they need care.
Additionally, because of ophthalmologists who will not accept Medicaid patients, approximately 20% of the local population is without any ophthalmic care. These underserved patients end up in the ER seeking care. Can on-call/ER coverage be mandated?
A: Not surprisingly, this is a question that comes up time and again. An enforceable mandate could only come from an entity that contracts for those physicians’ services, such as a local hospital or health care system. It is not per se unethical if one wishes to avoid on-call or emergency coverage and is willing to relinquish hospital privileges. However, withdrawal may diminish the local health care system’s ability to provide emergent eye care with particular impact on vulnerable populations. For the individual ophthalmologist, there may be implications for recredentialing from certain third-party payers and potentially adverse effects on practice volume, professional reputation, and collegiality with nearby colleagues.
Hospitals have a certain level of responsibility in this situation. If hospitals have the resources to support considerable payments for on-call arrangements, they likely have the resources to tangibly support minimum standards in terms of equipment and technical staff, to hire ophthalmic hospitalists (hospital-based ophthalmologists) or locum tenens to fill the on-call/ER coverage gaps, and to develop creative and sustainable models for after-hours care—all of which might make on-call service more appealing.
It is an ethical precept that a physician’s fiduciary duty is to hold patients’ interests above those of the physician. Ideally, physicians’ responsibilities would extend beyond care provided during business hours in medical offices or hospitals to any patients who are in medical need in times of emergency. Ophthalmologists should certainly provide after-hours care for their established patients, or arrange for such by others. To routinely direct their own patients to an emergency room for after-hours care is likely not in the patient’s best interest nor in the interest of preserving a meaningful physician-patient relationship.
While there are no specific ethical guidelines for those who choose not to provide on-call or after-hours care for their patients, the potential for important consequences should be considered when making this decision.
To read the Code of Ethics, visit aao.org/ethics-detail/code-of-ethics.
To submit a question, email ethics@aao.org.
ACADEMY RESOURCES
Order Your Updated 2024 Coding Books Today
Accurately coded claims are more important than ever for avoiding costly denials. The Academy’s 2024 ICD-10-CM for Ophthalmology coding guide is now shipping with all the updates and revisions that took effect Oct. 1. Preorder other coding materials, including Ophthalmic Coding Coach, Fundamentals of Ophthalmic Coding, the Coding Assistant series for subspecialties, and Academy-developed references for retina coding and CPT.
Learn more at aao.org/codingtools.
D.C. REPORT
Seize the Opportunity to Impact Medicare Reimbursements
If your practice receives an invitation from the American Medical Association (AMA) to participate in its Physician Practice Information (PPI) survey, be sure to participate!
PPI survey. The survey, which will be sent to only 300 ophthalmology practices, provides an opportunity for physicians to accurately communicate the cost of running a practice to policymakers. The AMA will share the survey data with CMS, and the results could affect Medicare physician payment beginning in 2026. It’s worth noting that when the survey was last conducted in 2007 and 2008, the responses contributed to a 13% boost in ophthalmology payments relative to other physician specialties.
Your response is also important to the Academy and the AMA, which continue to advocate for legislation that indexes annual Medicare physician payment updates to inflation. The survey provides their staff with critical data on your practice’s increased operational costs in recent years.
Keep an eye on your inbox. Participation is critical because each response will have a significant impact. Clinical office staff are permitted to assist physicians in responding to the survey. The AMA may also offer a stipend for staff time spent completing the survey.
Check the email associated with your practice’s TIN: Over the coming months, be sure to keep checking the email—including your junk folder—that is associated with your practices’ Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and encourage ophthalmologists in your personal network to do so as well.
Look for this subject line: American Medical Association requests your input on physician practice expense and patient care hours.
Look for this sender: PPISurvey@mathematica-mpr.com.