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WHAT’S HAPPENING
EyeNet’s New Chief Medical Editor: Dr. Williams
As of March 1, 2016, the position of Chief Medical Editor of EyeNet will be transferred from Richard P. Mills, MD, MPH, to Ruth D. Williams, MD. A glaucoma specialist at Wheaton Eye Clinic, Dr. Williams is past president of the Academy and was the Academy Secretary for Member Services from 2005 to 2010.
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Dr. Williams attended medical school at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago. She interned at West Suburban Hospital Medical Center in Oak Park, Ill., and completed her residency in ophthalmology at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. She also completed glaucoma fellowships at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine and at Shaffer Associates in San Francisco.
David W. Parke II, MD, Academy CEO, said, “Ruth brings a wonderful perspective to EyeNet. She is a clinically active and outstanding glaucoma and anterior segment expert. Ruth is also the managing partner of one of the nation’s largest and most distinguished private practice groups. Finally, as a past president of the Academy, Ruth has a keen understanding of the major issues that face ophthalmology, and she has been a forceful and effective advocate for the best in our profession.”
White House Postpones Ceremony Honoring Dr. Humayun
Due to stormy weather, the White House postponed a Jan. 22 ceremony in which Mark S. Humayun, MD, PHD, was scheduled to receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation—the nation’s highest award for technological achievement. He will be presented with the award at a later date. (This postponement was announced on Jan. 22, after the February EyeNet had gone to press.)
Dr. Humayun is codirector of the University of Southern California (USC) Eye Institute and director of the USC Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics. He is best known for developing the Argus II, the only FDA-approved retinal implant for treatment of advanced retinitis pigmentosa. David W. Parke II, MD, Academy CEO, said, “Mark Humayun is a gifted clinician and a profoundly impactful investigator. His sustained pursuit of one of the Holy Grails of ophthalmology—to generate a sense of vision where none naturally exists—has changed forever our options in managing some forms of retinal blindness. The profession is proud of his accomplishments and delighted that they have been nationally recognized and celebrated.”
TAKE NOTICE
March 1 Deadline for IRIS Registry and Meaningful Use
If you want to use the Academy IRIS Registry clinical database to satisfy the meaningful use (MU) program’s Objective 10: Public Health, Option 3—which involves electronically submitting data to a specialized registry—then you must register for it by March 1. You will then be in the queue to integrate your electronic health records with the IRIS Registry.
What if you register after the March 1 deadline? You can still use the IRIS Registry to participate in the Physician Quality Reporting System and to satisfy the MU clinical quality measures, but—unless this is your first year of MU participation—not Objective 10.
To register, visit www.aao.org/iris-registry.
The Academy’s Year in Review
Academy staff, leadership, and countless volunteers work hard to provide the best member experience. Find out what the Academy achieved in the last year on all fronts, including advocacy, education, public service, and more. Protecting Sight, Empowering Lives: The 2015 Year in Review provides answers to the following:
- What new educational centers and interactive tools were established on the ONE Network?
- What resources has the Academy provided to help members implement ICD-10, satisfy meaningful use requirements, and reduce malpractice risk?
- What did the Academy do to fight for ophthalmology’s best interests in state and federal affairs?
Read about these and more at www.aao.org/yearinreview.
MEETING MATTERS
Enjoy the Virtual Meeting
The AAO Virtual Meeting, a free component of AAO 2015, contains 20 hours of educational content from 13 sessions that were streamed live from Las Vegas. It is available for viewing online until Feb. 15, 2016.
Visit www.aao.org/virtual-meeting.
AAO 2015 Archives
Visit the Meeting Archives to download course handouts, find scientific poster abstracts, watch Videos on Demand, view syllabi from Subspecialty Day, check out AAO TV, and more. You can also find listings of Best Original Papers and Fan Favorite Video winners.
Visit www.aao.org/aao-archives.
2016 Abstract Submissions
To present at AAO 2016, you must submit abstracts online. The online submitter for AAO 2016 paper/poster and video abstracts opens March 10 and closes April 12.
To review the abstract guidelines, visit www.aao.org/presentercentral.
D.C. REPORT
Politics, Policy, and Practice Management at the Mid-Year Forum
One of the Academy’s most important yearly meetings, the Mid-Year Forum (MYF) will be held April 13-16 in Washington, D.C. Leaders within the ophthalmology community will discuss how ophthalmologists can use politics, policy, and practice management to their best advantage in ensuring the highest quality of care for patients. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to directly advocate for your profession, learn about changes that impact how you practice, and develop key strategies for successfully implementing new approaches in your patient care.
Congressional Advocacy Day (CAD). Advocate on Capitol Hill for your patients and practice. Attendees are briefed on the Academy’s key legislative priorities and will learn how to successfully lobby Congress for quality patient care. On April 14, participants will meet with members of Congress and congressional staff.
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CAPITOL HILL IN 2015. Rep. Susan Brooks (right, R-Ind.) meets with the Indiana delegation, which includes the following members (from left to right): Louis B. Cantor, MD, Senior Secretary for Clinical Education; Yara P. Catoira-Boyle, MD, Leadership Development Program participant; Kimberly S. Williams, MBA, executive director of the Indiana Academy of Ophthalmology; and Tina G. Damarjian, MD, and Matthew S. Zore, MD, Advocacy Ambassador Program participants.
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Practice management and policy panels. Learn about key health policy initiatives and how physicians and practice managers can successfully implement innovative strategies to navigate them. Key topic areas will include the future reimbursement landscape, from alternative payment models to the merit-based incentive payment system; effective use of the IRIS Registry to benefit your practice; and the impact of public reporting of outcome data and ways to ensure that the information being released is accurate, clinically relevant, and risk adjusted.
Keynote Speech. Bob Woodward, award-winning journalist and Washington Post associate editor, will deliver a keynote presentation titled Presidential Leadership and the Price of Politics during dinner on April 14.
Academy Council meeting. Unite with your colleagues from ophthalmic subspecialty and state societies to discuss key issues facing our profession. The Council serves as an advisory body to the Board of Trustees and conveys members’ top recommendations for the good of the profession.
Register. The MYF is open to all Academy members. Preregistration is available until March 21. The registration fee is $200 until March 1 and $250 after March 1 and onsite. The fee includes MYF materials and event-specific meals. Academy members may register to attend only CAD, which is free.
For more information and to register, visit www.aao.org/myf.