Protecting the Future of Ophthalmic Care and How You Can Help 07/11/2011
A push by optometrists to perform surgery started in Oklahoma 13 years ago with the passage of laser surgery legislation, and it hasn’t stopped since. Organized optometry began a state-by-state campaign to extend its scope of practice to include surgical as well as prescriptive privileges. While scope of practice affects all ophthalmologists, YOs have the most to lose. These battles dictate a YO’s ability to practice medicine for the next 30 years.
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One Cool CATT: David W. Parke II, MD, Responds to Results 04/29/2011
One Cool CATT: David W. Parke II, MD, Responds to Results
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YO Perspective: A Chance to Lobby for Loan-Repayment Assistance, Other Changes 04/18/2011
At approximately 5:35 p.m., train 84 from Washington, D.C., once again passes the small town of Ashland, Virginia. I am currently on my way home from D.C after attending this year’s Mid-Year Forum on behalf of the American Academy of Ophthalmology as one of the four EyeWiki Resident Contest winners. The event not only met but greatly exceeded my expectations and is certainly something that I am honored and humbled to have been a part of.
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YO Perspective: Why I’m Hopeful About the Future of Health Care 04/18/2011
Arriving at Union Station in Washington, D.C., on the evening of April 6 for the welcome dinner of the Academy’s Mid-Year Forum, one could be excused for feeling pessimistic. The whole city anticipated a government shutdown by the end of the week, as Republicans and Democrats plodded through marathon negotiating sessions, seeking to cut billions from the federal budget and taking partisan swipes at each other in newspapers and on news websites. With the mood on Capitol Hill so apprehensive, it did not seem like an auspicious time to begin a lobbying effort arguing against reduced payments to physicians. However, it’s hard to keep a hopeful, young ophthalmologist down, so off I went to begin my first experience on Capitol Hill with a sense of cautious optimism.
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No MD Degree Needed for Eye Surgery - What Happened in Kentucky? 03/14/2011
Within just days, organized optometry in Kentucky was able to push a bill through the state legislature and have it signed into law by the state governor on Feb. 24. The bill was detected by the Kentucky Medical Association and the Kentucky Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons a mere 16 hours before the first committee hearing on the bill.
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Will this Year’s Congress Decide Your Future? What You Can Do to Have Input 02/14/2011
Every year, the Academy’s Mid-Year Forum in Washington, D.C., is an opportunity to make a difference for ophthalmology. This year that chance coincides with a particularly important historical moment. For the first time since 1939, there are more than 100 new members of Congress. That’s 20 percent new members and staff, all of whom very likely don’t know the difference between an ophthalmologist and optometrist.
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YO Perspective: Change Will Happen Whether or Not You Speak Up 05/26/2010
Being a non-sponsored Advocacy Ambassador (the designation given to members-in-training who participate in Advocacy Day), and given Baltimore’s proximity to Washington D.C., I elected to commute to the Hill from home on Advocacy Day. My day started bright and early as I caught the 7:40 a.m. MARC train to ensure that I would be on time for our 9:30 a.m. meeting at the office of Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.
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YO Perspective: The Forces that Brought Me to Mid-Year Forum and Advocacy Day 05/26/2010
Sitting in California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office on Congressional Advocacy Day, I was surrounded by up-and-coming residents and fellows, as well as venerable ophthalmologists whose names I’d read in articles but never met until now. And as I sat there, I couldn’t help but wonder about the force that compelled me to come to the Mid-Year Forum in Washington, D.C.
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Academy Leadership Wants to Hear From You! 04/12/2010
Taking call, sitting through long resident lectures, staying late at work to learn the ins and outs of really running a practice — all while getting married, having a young family and trying to find time for dinner with your partner. How do you do it all? Now throw in making time for the Academy? Why should you? Maybe you’re thinking, why would the Academy want to hear from me?
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Are You Ready for EHR Reform? 03/15/2010
As we discussed last month, there are a variety of presentations and hearings at this year's upcoming Mid-Year Forum that address critical issues facing ophthalmology today. All sessions provide helpful information and advice for YOs and practicing ophthalmologists alike, but one in particular discusses a topic that is critical to your practice: the session on getting paid for using an electronic health record (EHR) system, chaired by Michael Chiang, MD.
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Medicare Reform, EHR and Ethical ‘No-Fly Zones’: A Preview of the Mid-Year Forum 02/08/2010
Concerned about how health care reform will change how you practice medicine? Are cuts to Medicare keeping you up at night? Do you wonder what the line between ophthalmology and optometry will look like 20 years from now? For insight on all these questions and more, you won’t want to miss this year’s Mid-Year Forum.
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Resident Perspective: YOs on Capitol Hill 06/15/2009
When my twin sister and I started our residencies in ophthalmology, we never predicted that less than a year later we would be in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill, meeting with legislators to preserve the quality of eye care in our nation. We did not imagine we would be presenting to the Council of the Academy, expressing our gratitude for their efforts in preserving the future of our profession. This is how it happened...
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Eye M.D.-Led Eye Care Teams: A Preview of the Mid-Year Forum’s Hot Topics 03/16/2009
With an economic gloom that seems to deepen every week, it might seem a little counterintuitive to be preparing for increased workloads. Yet that’s one of the key topics Academy, state and subspecialty society leaders attending next month’s Mid-Year Forum will be looking at: what the coming influx of baby boomer patients means for practices. In particular, the forum’s closing session, “Physicians First: A Team Approach to Primary Eye Care,” will explore the importance of closely integrated, collaborative eye care teams led by ophthalmologists. Here’s a more detailed preview of a few of the forum’s highlights.
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Advocacy Day: Change You Can Be a Part Of 02/10/2009
What exciting times we are living in. While our country is facing serious financial and international uncertainty, we are seeing a renewed optimism in our government. And, for the first time in years, there is a growing interest in politics and political involvement. But your involvement doesn’t have to be over just because the election is. In fact, in many ways, involvement is more important than ever. The perfect way to jump in is by attending the Mid-Year Forum and Congressional Advocacy Day.
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Medicine Under Obama: The Impact for Ophthalmology 01/12/2009
As the new administration takes office this month, there seems to be a great deal of anxiety among ophthalmologists regarding the possibility of a single-payer system. Let’s take a look at how this could play out.
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CAR: Your Inside Connection to the Board of Trustees 07/16/2008
One of the most interesting and intriguing aspects of the Academy is its governance. For example, did you know that the Academy has a Council made up of representatives from 52 state societies, as well as 29 subspecialty and specialized interest societies? The Council has 102 Eye M.D. members, and their role is to advise the Academy’s Board of Trustees on a wide variety of issues. Issues are brought to the Board via the Council Advisory Recommendation (CAR) process.
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An Inside Look at the Mid-Year Forum 04/23/2008
For this issue of YO Info, Stephen Khachikian, MD, shares his experiences at the 2008 Mid-Year Forum. Dr. Khachikian is a third-year resident in Albany, N.Y., and will be entering a cornea fellowship in Albany in July. He was sponsored by the Cornea Society through the Academy’s Advocacy Ambassador Program.
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Ambassador Program Takes Members-in-Training to Washington 01/25/2008
For the fifth year in a row, the Academy and several partners are giving members-in-training a chance to get firsthand exposure to critical issues facing ophthalmology and the face-to-face meetings Academy advocates hold with their national legislators during Congressional Advocacy Day and the Mid-Year Forum in Washington, D.C.
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Help Raise the Profile of Eye M.D.s – Get EyeSmart! 10/12/2007
As you are probably aware, the American Academy of Ophthalmology launched the EyeSmartTM Campaign this past July. This new initiative is intended to raise public awareness about eye diseases and their risk factors, as well as the role ophthalmologists play in treating illness and injury.
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Drastic Medicare Physician Pay Cuts Looming 06/13/2007
According to the Congressional Budget Office, Medicare physician payment rates will drop significantly in the foreseeable future, starting with an alarming 10 percent cut in 2008 if Congress does not intervene. The cuts are expected to total 40 percent by the year 2015 due to a flawed statutory formula, states the 2006 Medicare Trustees report.
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What Does Your State Society Do? 06/13/2007
For a young ophthalmologist or member-in-training, all of the opportunities and responsibilities you face can be quite overwhelming. Add to that navigating the options the Academy has to offer and you very likely don't know where to begin. One great place to start is your state ophthalmology society. |
