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American Academy of Ophthalmology Web Site: www.aao.org
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Academy Notebook
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National Media Gets EyeSmart, Now It’s Your Turn The goal of EyeSmart is to empower Americans to take charge of their eye health. The Academy launched this national public awareness campaign in late July in New York City, and the media responded with both positive and widespread coverage. CBS Evening News, Good Morning America and USA Today were among the top-tier media covering the story, with reports emphasizing the Academy’s new recommendation that all adults have a baseline eye exam by age 40. More than 200 television stations nationwide aired an EyeSmart story. What you can do. The Academy’s ability to build on this start depends on you. The Academy is calling on its members to help make the EyeSmart campaign a success. Participation is critical to ensure that as many people as possible become aware of the risk factors for eye disease and to emphasize the unique value of ophthalmologists in eye care. Promote EyeSmart in your office and your community by ordering free materials to educate patients about eye disease and risk factors. The Academy is taking orders for office materials, which will be shipped this month. The free EyeSmart office kit includes:
For more information about the EyeSmart campaign, visit www.aao.org/eyesmartcampaign. To order the free EyeSmart office kit (#060-0105), please visit www.aao.org/store or phone the Academy Service Center at 866-561-8558 (toll-free in the United States) or 415-561-8540. Materials are not available for shipping outside the United States. Participate in the Benchmarking Survey The Web-based Academy/ AAOE benchmarking survey allows you to compare your practice to others and, thus, identify ways to make your practice more efficient. It only takes a few hours to gather data, and entry is fast and secure. Customized reporting will provide you with the ability to generate online reports by region, practice type, subspecialty and number of physicians. For more information, visit www.aao.org/benchmarking.
Proposed Amendments to the 2007 Bylaws and Procedural Rules The American Academy of Ophthalmology board of trustees recommends the following proposed amendments to the Academy Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Procedural Rules for consideration and adoption by voting fellows and members via official mail ballot to be forwarded to the voting fellows and members after the Annual Business Meeting on Sunday, Nov. 11, at the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. New language is underlined, and deleted words and phrases are indicated by Board of Trustees Statement: It is recommended that the Academy Bylaws regarding the payment of dues be amended to allow for multiple year dues payments, at the discretion of the Board of Trustees. BYLAWS 1.21. Fees, Dues and Assessments. Board of Trustees Statement: In order to appropriately identify all individuals who are not ophthalmologists under a single member category, combining the Associate member and Research Scientist class of membership will simplify our membership categories and alleviate any confusion for nonophthalmologists interested in applying for membership. BYLAWS 1.11. Associate Members. A person who holds a degree of Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Osteopathy, or Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or Doctor of Philosophy in science, and who is not an ophthalmologist but is engaged in a field allied with or in a basic science related to ophthalmology or engaged in full-time research in a science related to ophthalmology, or a person who, in the judgment of the Board of Trustees, has made significant contributions to ophthalmology, shall be eligible for nomination to receive an invitation for membership as an Associate Member. A person thought to be an eligible candidate for invitation may be nominated by two (2) Active or Life Fellows or Members, on the form prescribed by the Board of Trustees. If the Board of Trustees, in its sole discretion, determines that the candidate should be invited for membership as an Associate Member, an acceptance form prescribed by the Board of Trustees shall be furnished to the candidate. A certification attesting to the person’s continued satisfaction of all the requirements for eligibility for nomination to membership in that class shall be required annually.
Board of Trustees Statement: The following change to the Academy’s Bylaws will make all trustees participate as a member of the Executive Committee at some point during their Board of Trustees tenure. Article VI. Committees Of The Board Of Trustees 6.02. Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall be composed of: Board of Trustees Statement: The following change will make all references to the Academy’s Foundation consistent in the Bylaws. Article III. Board Of Trustees 3.02. Composition of the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees shall be composed of: 3.03. Terms. …(e) The Chair of the 3.04. Duties and Responsibilities of Trustees (a) The Past President serving on the Board of Trustees, the Chair of the Council, the Vice Chair of the Council, the Chair of the
Mark Your Calendars for CODEquest AAOE’s Codequest Ophthalmic Coding College is a convenient one-day seminar to get you up to speed on state- and specialty-specific coding information. Find out what’s new in 2007 and what’s coming in 2008. Learn about CPT, ICD-9, OIG investigations and more. For a complete schedule and registration instructions, visit www.aao.org/codequest. International Ophthalmologist Education Award Are you an international member of the Academy? If so, you can qualify for the International Ophthalmologist Education Award. First go online to apply for the award. You then need to complete 90 continuing medical education (CME) credits over a period of three years. Half of the credits must be Academy-sponsored CME. You must use the Academy’s online transcript service to record both your Academy and non-Academy CME. If you complete 90 CME credits within three years of applying for the award, you will receive a certificate and will be listed on the Academy Web site, in the Annual Meeting Final Program and in EyeNet. For more information or to apply for the award, visit www.aao.org/international. To access the online CME transcript service, visit www.aao.org/cme.
Stay on Top of Coding Challenging Cases Code This Case (#012180) features examples of usual and unusual surgical cases for all subspecialties in ophthalmology and provides appropriate CPT, ICD-9 and HCPCS codes for surgeons, as well as coding for ambulatory surgical centers. This book also provides excellent examples of operative reports for young ophthalmologists. Code This Case costs $145 for members and $175 for nonmembers. For more information or to place an order, please visit www.aao.org/store or phone the Academy Service Center at 866-561-8558 (toll-free in the United States) or 415-561-8540. Improve Practice Efficiency Through Patient Flow Mastering Patient Flow: Lean Thinking to Increase Efficiency & Earnings (#012181) gives proven tools for benchmarking, and creating action plans and self-assessments, along with worksheets, tips and case studies. Learn how to take efficiency to a new level by centering workflow around the patient. Gain sound and timely techniques for reducing patient cycle time, streamlining scheduling methods, managing telephones, maximizing space capacity and utilization, and controlling costs. Mastering Patient Flow costs $102 for members and $112 for nonmembers. For more information or to place an order, please visit www.aao.org/store or phone the Academy Service Center at 866-561-8558 (toll-free in the United States) or 415-561-8540. Animations for Patient Education Digital-Eyes Ophthalmic Animations for Patients (#050116) offers a collection of more than 40 high-quality animated segments showing and discussing a wide variety of eye anatomy and treatment topics. These brief videos can be used on your Web site and in your office, and are offered in a variety of digital formats, from Flash presentations to basic high-resolution files. Digital-Eyes Ophthalmic Animations for Patients costs $280 for members and $355 for nonmembers. For more information or to place an order, please visit www.aao.org/store or phone the Academy Service Center at 866-561-8558 (toll-free in the United States) or 415-561-8540. New OTA Related to Glaucoma Management The Ophthalmic Technology Assessment of Optic Nerve Head and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Analysis (#112061), published in Ophthalmology this month, evaluates the use of optic nerve head and retinal nerve fiber layer imaging devices in the management of glaucoma to provide quantitative assessment of these structures. This product costs $11 for Academy members and $16 for nonmembers. To place an order, visit www.aao.org/store or phone the Academy Service Center at 866-561-8558 (toll-free in the United States) or 415-561-8540. OTAs can also be downloaded for free online. Visit www.aao.org/education and click “Ophthalmic Technology Assessments.”
Florida Society Teams With ECA for Hispanic Heritage Month “The partnership between the Florida Society of Ophthalmology (FSO) and EyeCare America (ECA) provides an excellent opportunity to educate Florida’s Hispanic citizens on the risk factors for glaucoma,” said FSO president David B. Cano, MD. Dr. Cano was referring to the collaboration with ECA on promoting glaucoma awareness in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month. Each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, the United States celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month to recognize the economic, cultural and social contributions of the more than 41.3 million Hispanics residing in the country. Given the increased risk for glaucoma in Hispanics, ECA and the FSO will promote the former’s Glaucoma EyeCare Program in Florida’s Hispanic community. This program promotes early detection and treatment of glaucoma while raising awareness of glaucoma risk factors. Working with ECA, the FSO hopes to inform and educate English- and Spanish-speaking Hispanics about the risk factors for glaucoma, including the link with ethnicity, diabetes, family history and age; increase and reinforce Hispanic understanding of the importance of regular eye exams toward improving overall health; and inform Hispanics that, if undetected, glaucoma can lead to permanent blindness. “Of the nearly three million people who have glaucoma, half do not realize it due to the lack of warning symptoms. Hopefully, our Hispanic citizens in Florida will get the message of their increased risk through this collaborative effort,” Dr. Cano said. For more information on both EyeCare America and the Glaucoma EyeCare Program, visit www.eyecareamerica.org. People David H. Aizuss, MD, has been elected president of the Los Angeles County Medical Association. Dr. Aizuss has previously served as president of the Los Angeles Society of Ophthalmology as well as the California Academy of Ophthalmology, and is currently the chairman of the Academy’s Bylaws and Rules Committee. The Intraocular Implant and Refractive Society of India has awarded Richard J. Fugo, MD, PhD, the Special Gold Medal for his contribution of the Fugo Blade for plasma ablation surgery. The award was bestowed on Dr. Fugo at the July 2007 meeting of the society in Chennai, India. Who’s in the News Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania’s The Time’s Leader featured Thomas S. Boland, MD, on pterygium and the potential damage of excessive sun exposure on the eyes. “A lot of different things in the eyes can be affected by the sun,” Dr. Boland said. “I do several surgeries a month for pterygium. I just had two people in their 30s scheduled for pterygium removal.” Sunglasses are an important element of maintaining healthy vision, he added.
Soldiers on Sight-Improving Surgery Since April, Manus C. Kraff, MD, has been providing refractive surgery free of charge to servicemen and women who have served in Afghanistan or Iraq since 9/11. His patients tell how the surgery has improved their ability to serve. For most people, glasses are a minor inconvenience. For Alfred Saucedo, a 37-year-old platoon sergeant in the U.S. Marines, glasses were more than just problematic. They were uncomfortable and even hazardous. Whenever he stood guard for his command post or went on patrol, he needed good or near-perfect eyesight. In the severe sandstorms of Iraq, Sgt. Saucedo made do with military-issued glasses. “The glasses were amazingly uncomfortable, especially in a country as hot as Iraq, where the temperature frequently gets to over 100 degrees. You are always sweating around your eyes and nose, and the glasses slip around quite a bit, and on 18-hour missions that can be quite uncomfortable,” he said. He was always worried that the glasses would break—as they often did—and he would be left without a way to see. “If you can’t see, you’re the weak link in your unit’s security,” he said. However, the worst situations arose when Sgt. Saucedo rode in vehicle convoys and had to wear goggles over his glasses. As a result, his glasses would fog up so that he couldn’t see—a situation that could be potentially dangerous if the convoy was in enemy territory. Now serving as a reservist in Chicago, Sgt. Saucedo will return to Iraq in a few months. But on this tour he’ll be more ably equipped to deal with his work—after having received custom PRK vision correction. Before the surgery, he had high myopia and astigmatism. Now he sees 20/20 without astigmatism. “It will be great to be able to function without glasses in Iraq—not to worry about having them break in the middle of an operation. It will make an amazing difference in my life,” he said. Sgt. Saucedo received his correction from Dr. Kraff, of the Kraff Eye Institute in Chicago, who has been performing free custom LASIK with IntraLase as well as PRK surgeries for active military personnel who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan since 9/11. So far he’s performed 100 operations, and over 100 more are scheduled. Patients have come from as far as Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Kentucky to have the surgeries. Dr. Kraff got the idea for offering the surgeries after performing LASIK on a highly myopic (–8 D) Chicago-area serviceman home on leave, who had served in Iraq and was going back for a second tour of duty. They have been e-mailing since the surgery. Through their correspondence, Dr. Kraff learned of the difficulties that military personnel face with glasses and contact lenses when serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I thought, ‘What can I do for these guys and gals?’—they are doing so much for us,” Dr. Kraff said. “This was my way of giving back.” “It’s so satisfying,” Dr. Kraff said. “I’ve even done a vision correction for a soldier who detonates IEDs [improvised explosive devices] at the roadside—for whom good eyesight is a matter of life and death.” For Karen McMillan, a platoon sergeant in the Army, her eye surgery—LASIK for mild myopia and astigmatism—made it possible for her to more ably do her work. After serving in Iraq, she now writes Standard Operating Procedures that govern the supply operations of the Army’s maintenance facility in North Riverside, Ill. She also does the research and numbers crunching to acquire repair parts for 65 separate military units in the northern region of Illinois. But her LASIK surgery has done much more for her. Sgt. McMillan now has the 20/20 eyesight she’ll need when she goes to Afghanistan in 2008. She said, “While serving in Iraq, contact lenses were prohibited due to the sand and dust that were in constant motion. Wearing glasses cut down on my peripheral vision, which was especially needed during convoy and escort missions.” Another serviceman, Calvin Banks, age 50, is a technician with the Army National Guard. Now stationed in North Riverside, Ill., he served in Iraq for several months from 2003 to 2004. While he was there, the severe sandstorms took a toll on his vision. “It’s a desert environment and the wind is constantly in motion, stirring up sandstorms, scratching your eyes and making seeing very uncomfortable,” he said. He now has almost perfect vision and is grateful that he’ll be able to see without glasses if he returns to Iraq. “When you’re operating in an environment of sand and dirt like Iraq, driving in convoy operations, it’s a blessing to see without glasses,” he said. —By Barbara Boughton
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Copyright © 2009 American Academy of Ophthalmology
