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WHAT’S HAPPENING
Cataract Surgery: Telling It Like It Is!
The annual “Cataract Surgery: Telling It Like It Is!” conference, developed by Robert H. Osher, MD, and managed by the Academy, updates ophthalmologists on the latest in an innovative and entertaining format. Dr. Osher said, “The emphasis is for every level of cataract surgeon to become better and more competent. It doesn’t matter if you’re a resident or a senior citizen—this conference covers pretty much all aspects of cataract surgery. This meeting will make you a better surgeon!”
The encyclopedic conference features lectures, video presentations, and vendor exhibits. Attendees can get hands-on practice with new technology and techniques in wet labs to learn about intraocular devices, anterior vitrectomy, MIGS, OCT, aberrations, phakic lenses, and more. Senior faculty include Richard Mackool, MD, Warren Hill, MD, Ike K. Ahmed, MD, William J. Fishkind, MD, FACS, Michael Snyder, MD, Douglas D. Koch, MD, and Lisa B. Arbisser, MD. The keynote, “Critical Oculoplastic Diagnoses,” will be given by Robert Kersten, MD.
The conference takes place Jan. 25-29, 2017, in Naples, Fla. The days are long and jam-packed, running from 7:00 a.m. to after 10:00 p.m. Sessions include the following:
- Routine and Challenging Cases
- Complication Management
- IOL Selection and Essential Decisions
Dr. Osher said, “A big draw is that because there is no CME offered, the instructors are able to speak freely, and from the heart—completely uncensored, the way teaching is meant to be. Aside from that and the outstanding faculty and comprehensive subject matter covered, the financial value is significant. This meeting is half the price of most winter meetings, and OMIC gives you a discount if you attend. And Naples, Fla., is a gorgeous place to be in the winter!”
TAKE NOTICE
PQRS Deadline—Enter All of Your Data by Jan. 15
For practices without electronic health records (EHRs), the IRIS Registry Web portal provides a convenient way to participate in the 2016 Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS)—but the clock is ticking. You have until Jan. 15 to enter your data into the portal, and you must already have met all the earlier deadlines. The Jan. 15 deadline does not apply to practices that integrated their EHR system with the IRIS Registry—their data are automatically transmitted to the IRIS Registry throughout the year.
If you missed the deadline to sign up with the IRIS Registry for 2016, consider signing up for 2017. Submit your paperwork now to be at the front of the queue when registration reopens in the spring. Next year, PQRS will be replaced by the quality performance category of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), and the Academy expects the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid to approve the IRIS Registry as an option for MIPS reporting.
For more information, visit aao.org/iris-registry and aao.org/pqrs.
Consider a Gift to the Foundation
This is the perfect time of year to make a meaningful gift in honor or memory of a mentor, colleague, or family member. Your tax-deductible donation will help fund Academy programs, including the ONE Network, the IRIS Registry, and EyeCare America for the benefit of our patients and profession.
To donate, visit aao.org/foundation.
Nominate a Colleague for the Laureate Award
The Academy is accepting nominations through Jan. 31 for the 2017 Laureate Recognition Award. This award recognizes an outstanding individual whose significant scientific contribution has shaped modern ophthalmology.
To submit a nomination, visit aao.org/laureate.
FOR THE RECORD
Election Results
On Oct. 17, voting opened for 5 positions on the 2017 board of trustees. The election results are as follows:
- President-Elect: Keith D. Carter, MD, FACS
- Senior Secretary for Ophthalmic Practice: Robert E. Wiggins Jr., MD, MHA
- Secretary for Annual Meeting: Maria M. Aaron, MD
- Trustee-at-Large: Sanjay D. Goel, MD
- Trustee-at-Large: William F. Mieler, MD
For more information, visit aao.org/about/governance/elections.
ACADEMY STORE
Codequest 2017 Is Coming to a City Near You
Register for the Academy and AAOE’s ophthalmology-specific coding seminar for accurate, up-to-date instruction from the Academy’s coding experts. This 4-hour in-person seminar will cover significant CPT and ICD-10 coding changes, information on MACRA, MIPS, the IRIS Registry, and more.
For upcoming locations and to register, visit aao.org/codequest.
Register for the 2017 Coding Update Webinar
Improve coding accuracy by attending the 2017 Coding Update, an Academy and AAOE 60-minute webinar on Jan. 17. If you can’t attend, a recording is available for purchase. Save up to 40% when you buy 2 or more practice management webinars.
To register, visit aao.org/store.
Now Available: 2017 Focal Points
Focal Points is an Academy publication that provides clear, concise, and credible information that you can apply to your daily practice. Each issue tackles a specific topic and discusses diagnosis, treatment, and the latest standards of care. Subscribe to Focal Points Digital for a new topic every month plus access to the digital archive of more than 130 topics—all issues are downloadable, printable, and searchable. Print subscribers get all the benefits of Focal Points Digital, plus 12 print issues from January to December 2017.
To subscribe, visit aao.org/focalpoints.
MEETING MATTERS
2017 Abstract Deadlines
To present at AAO 2017, you must submit an abstract online. The abstract submitter for instruction courses and new Skills Transfer labs closes on Jan. 10, 2017.
Visit aao.org/presentercentral.
AAO 2017 in New Orleans
AAO 2017 will take place Nov. 11-14 and will be preceded by Subspecialty Day, Nov. 10-11. Join the Academy at New Orleans’ Ernest N. Morial Convention Center for the world’s most comprehensive ophthalmic meeting, featuring game-changing research, techniques, and technologies.
For more information, visit aao.org/2017.
Claim CME for AAO 2016
Registrants whose attendance was verified at AAO 2016 and/or Subspecialty Day can claim CME credits online. As a service to members only, the Academy maintains a transcript of Academy-sponsored CME credits earned, provided that the member reports those credits to the Academy. CME transcripts that include AAO 2016 and/or Subspecialty Day credits entered in Chicago are available at aao.org/cme-central.
MEMBERS AT LARGE
People
Dr. Tsaousis
The Cornea Society awarded Konstantinos T. Tsaousis, MD, the 2016 Cornea Society/Richard C. Troutman, MD, DSc (HON) Prize during the Cornea Society/Eye Bank Association of America Fall Educational Symposium on Oct. 14. The award includes a $5,000 honorarium from the Troutman Endowment. It is bestowed annually by the society for the paper published in Cornea during the previous year that was judged to be most outstanding and innovative and was authored by an investigator 40 years of age or younger. This year’s winning paper was titled “In Vitro Study of the Deturgescence Ability of Cultivated Human Corneal Endothelial Cells.” Dr. Tsaousis said, “It is a tremendous honor for me to receive this influential award from the Cornea Society and Dr. Troutman. I would like to express my deep gratitude and, further, to extol my peers for their brilliant joint effort. This praise helps me to maintain my effort, since this is the way to unlocking our sheer potential.”
Dr. Coleman
Anne L. Coleman, MD, PhD, was selected to receive the 2016 Women in Ophthalmology (WIO)/Suzanne Véronneau-Troutman Award. The award was presented to Dr. Coleman during AAO 2016 in Chicago. It recognizes the ophthalmologist who has done the most in the preceding year to promote the role of women in ophthalmology, and includes a $1,000 honorarium from the Troutman Endowment. Dr. Coleman said, “What a wonderful honor to be the 2016 recipient of the Suzanne Véronneau-Troutman Award from WIO! This award is very dear to me because I was president of WIO when Suzanne decided to create this award. Her generosity, vision, and belief in the power of women made this award possible. It is noteworthy that now 3 of these awards have been bestowed on faculty from UCLA. I follow in the footsteps of my predecessors, Bronwyn Bateman and Lynn Gordon. It is truly rewarding and even humbling to now be a recipient.”
Dr. Kling
The International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS) awarded Sabine Kling, PhD, the 25th Annual Richard C. Troutman, MD, DSc (HON) Prize during the ISRS Awards ceremony on Oct. 14. This prize recognizes the scientific merit of a young author publishing in the Journal of Refractive Surgery and includes a $5,000 honorarium from the Troutman Endowment. Dr. Kling said, “I am truly honored and grateful to have been selected as a recipient of the 2016 Troutman Award. Dr Troutman’s dedication and important contributions to ophthalmology are a great inspiration for me. I hope that our study about corneal cross-linking and oxygen dependency will help in reducing the current thickness limitations and give more patients the possibility to receive this treatment.”
North Carolina Society Joins Forces With Academic Departments
Early in her involvement with the North Carolina Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons (NCSEPS), Sara E. Stoneburner, MD, current president, served as membership chair. In that capacity, she participated in the Academy’s 2013 Membership Development Meeting in Rosemont, Ill. One strategy that she brought home from that meeting, and from discussions with Academy past president Paul Sternberg, Jr., MD: Embark on a concerted outreach to the ophthalmology academic department leaders at Duke University, Wake Forest University (WFU), and the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. “Sometimes, budget constraints force universities to choose between the state and national membership organizations,” said Susan K. Burden, MD, past president of NCSEPS and currently on faculty at WFU. “By offering discounted state ophthalmology society membership to entire university groups, NCSEPS was able to increase its membership ranks as well as engage these new members in the mission of our organization.”
Culmination of this partnership was seen at the NCSEPS Sept. 23-24, 2016, annual meeting in Greensboro: All 3 academic department chairs, along with Academy President-Elect Cynthia A. Bradford, MD, were featured speakers on the program. Duke University ophthalmology chair and vice dean for education Edward G. Buckley, MD, UNC ophthalmology chair Donald L. Budenz, MD, MPH, and WFU ophthalmology chair Craig M. Greven, MD, were all on hand for a panel discussion titled Training Future Leaders in Ophthalmology: Present Challenges and Vision for the Future.
“It was fantastic to have the 3 chairs at our meeting, and the feedback from our attendees was outstanding,” said Dr. Stoneburner.
D.C. REPORT
Landmark Report on Vision Health
On Sept. 15, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and a handful of other organizations unveiled a 500-page national blueprint aiming to pursue eye health and equitable access to it on a national scale. This first-ever report of its kind is the outcome of a 9-month study (cosponsored by the Academy) and calls for the elimination of correctable and avoidable vision impairment by 2030.
The report acknowledges and seeks to mitigate the long-standing deprioritization of eye disease and well-being by public health leaders (relative to many other conditions). “This report highlights the importance of improving eye health in our nation,” said Michael X. Repka, MD, the Academy’s medical director for Governmental Affairs. “We expect that it will serve to elevate eye care on the nation’s public health agenda.” The report makes recommendations on the following important issues:
- The epidemiology of eye disease
- Access to eye care
- Unmet needs
- Research priorities
- Public health concerns
- Population health in eye care
After careful review, Academy leaders and public policy experts believe that this report will usher in ample opportunity for active involvement and leadership by ophthalmology, and will set actions in motion that can mitigate the looming eye health crisis brought on by a large aging population. Foremost is the clear declaration that eye health and vision must become a top national public health priority. The Academy will take great care to advance the report’s recommendations and ensure that the results are in the best interest of your patients, your communities, and your profession.
To read the report, visit http://nationalacademies.org/hmd/Reports/2016/making-eye-health-a-population-health-imperative-vision-for-tomorrow.aspx.