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WHAT’S HAPPENING

Academy Members Assist Veterans Group

In May, Academy members Glenn C. Cockerham, MD, Kimberly Cockerham, MD, FACS, and Robert A. Mazzoli, MD, FACS, flew to London to participate in Project Gemini. Partially sponsored by the Academy, Project Gemini began in 2010 as a joint initiative of the Blinded Veterans Association and Blind Veterans U.K. to enable veterans to convene and discuss topics such as rehabilitation and readjustment training, vision research, and adaptive technology for the blind.

Project Gemini’s May seminar, “Life Beyond Sight Loss,” took place at the Victory Services Club in London and featured discussions and presentations on veterans’ rehabilitation, eye trauma, visual conditions related to traumat­ic brain injury, and vision trauma research. Dr. Glenn Cockerham, Dr. Kimberly Cockerham, and Dr. Mazzoli made presentations during the meeting and participated in discussions on how to improve military management of eye trauma, traumatic brain injury vision disorders, research, and rehabilitation. Dr. Kimberly Cockerham and Dr. Maz­zoli are retired from the U.S. Army, and Dr. Glenn Cockerham is retired from the U.S. Air Force.

“LIFE BEYOND SIGHT LOSS.” The seminar was the first in a series looking at research and innovation relevant to blind veterans. Back row, left to right: Dr. Glenn Cockerham; Renata Gomes, PhD, director of research and innovation for Blind Veterans U.K.; and Dr. Mazzoli. Front row, left to right: Heidi A. Baseler, PhD, principal investigator and lecturer in imaging sciences, Centre for Neuroscience, University of York; Dr. Kimberly Cockerham; Tom Zampieri, Blinded Veterans Association Board Member; and Major-General Nicholas John Caplin CB, CEO of Blind Veterans U.K.

TAKE NOTICE

List a Training Opportunity

The Academy’s Global Directory of Training Opportunities is an online resource for ophthalmologists seeking training experience, and it’s the best way for institutions or practices to reach the broadest pool of candidates. If you have a fellowship or observership available to ophthalmologists outside your coun­try, list your opportunities in this free directory—it only takes 2 to 3 minutes to post.

1. Visit aao.org/gdto-submission.
2. Click “Submit a Training Opportu­nity.”
3. Log in (this will save you time).
4. Enter opportunity information.

For more information, visit aao.org/training-opportunities.

2017 MIPS: Oct. 31 Deadline to Sign Up for the IRIS Registry Web Portal

Use the IRIS Registry web portal to report:

• MIPS quality measures, which replace PQRS
• Advancing care information (ACI) measures, which replace the meaning­ful use program
• Improvement activities

Deadlines. If you haven’t already signed up for the IRIS Registry, you must do so by Oct. 31, 2017, to use its web portal for 2017 MIPS reporting. By Jan. 15, 2018, you must enter all the required data into the web portal and submit a signed consent form permit­ting the Academy to send your data to CMS. (Note: If you have already signed up for IRIS Registry/EHR integration, you don’t have to sign up separately for the web portal.)

You will manually enter your data into the web portal. Quality measures, ACI measures, and improvement activities can all be reported manually via the IRIS Registry web portal. But this year’s deadline has already passed for signing up for automated reporting of quality measures via IRIS Registry/EHR integration. (You will have the option to integrate your EHR with the IRIS Registry for 2018 MIPS quality reporting.)

Why report MIPS? If you fail to participate in MIPS this year, your 2019 Medicare payments will be subject to a –4% penalty.

To sign up for the IRIS Registry web portal, visit aao.org/iris-registry and click “Sign up.”

ACADEMY STORE

Subscribe to Ophthalmolo­gy Retina

Ophthalmology Retina is the Academy’s first new peer-reviewed journal in over 100 years. This journal prioritizes retina papers that teach clinicians how to make better diagnoses, select preferred treatments, and follow best practice patterns with the goal of delivering optimal outcomes for patients. A sub­scription is available to members for $299 (12 issues).

For more information and to sub­scribe, visit store.aao.org/ophthalmology-retina.html.

How to Handle a Physi­cian Departure (and Earn an OMIC Dis­count)

Ophthalmologists leave practices for many reasons: retirement, illness, or alterna­tive employment. In the new webinar, Strategy: What to Do When Ophthalmologists Leave a Practice, the Academy’s expert panel reviews case studies loosely based on real Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company (OMIC) cases and shares tools to help you manage the risks involved with a physician departure. If you are an OMIC policyholder, you are eligible for a discount of up to 10% with renewal.

For more information about the OMIC discount and to register, visit store.aao.org/webinar-exit-strategy-what-to-do-when-ophthalmologists-leave-a-practice.html.

Now Available: 2018 ICD-10-CM for Ophthalmology

Maximize your reimbursement and avoid claim denials with the updated edition of ICD-10-CM for Ophthalmol­ogy. Developed by the Academy’s and AAOE’s ophthalmology coding experts, this coding reference book helps you find the precise diagnosis codes and gives you the valuable coding clues you need. Also available and always up to date is the online version with easy-to-use code/keyword search and valuable coding clues.

For more information and to order, visit aao.org/codingproducts.

FOR THE RECORD

Annual Business Meeting

Notice is hereby given that the Annu­al Business Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology will be held Sunday, Nov. 12, 8:30-10:30 a.m., in the Great Hall of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Board Nominees

Dr. Williams.

In accordance with Academy bylaws, notice is hereby given of the following nominations for elected board positions on the 2018 board. These nominations were made by the Academy Board of Trustees in June. If elected, the follow­ing individuals will begin their terms on Jan. 1, 2018.

President-Elect:

George A. Williams, MD

Senior Secretary for Advocacy:

Daniel J. Briceland, MD

Trustee-at-Large:

William S. Clifford, MD

Council Chair:

Lynn K. Gordon, MD, PhD

Council Vice Chair:

Sarwat Salim, MD

Board Appointments

During the June Board of Trustees meeting, the following individual was appointed to the 2018 Board of Trust­ees and will begin his term on Jan. 1, 2018.

International Trustee-at-Large:

Kgaogelo Edward Legodi, MD

Nomination Procedures for the Academy Board

Elections to fill the 5 open positions on the 2018 Board of Trustees will take place by ballot after the Nov. 12, 2017, Annual Business Meeting.

To nominate a candidate by petition, submit a written petition to the Acad­emy’s CEO no later than Sept. 13. The petition must be signed by at least 50 voting Academy members and fellows.

To suggest a nominee for the 2019 board, watch for the call for nomi­nations that will be published in the January EyeNet.

To read the rules in full, visit aao.org/about/governance/bylaws/article5.

D.C. REPORT

New Taxonomy Codes for Value-Based Health Care

The Academy has spent more than 2 years on efforts to add taxono­my codes that put subspecialty ophthalmologists on a better footing in federal programs and possibly with insurance companies. To use the codes, physicians must meet specific definitions. To that end, the Academy, subspecialty partners, and the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology worked to develop definitions accept­able to the National Uniform Claim Committee. As a result, taxonomy codes are now available for glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, oculoplastics, pediatric ophthalmology, retina, and uveitis.

An example. For instance, by self-designating as a pediatric oph­thalmology and strabismus specialist, you are defining yourself within Medicare as “An ophthalmologist who specializes in pediatric oph­thalmology and strabismus management.” The definition continues: “The subspecialty includes the medical and surgical management of eye disorders found in children. Some of the more common disorders include amblyopia, strabismus, refractive error, cataract, and glauco­ma. These disorders may be related to neurological and endocrino­logical diseases, trauma, or aging changes in the extraocular muscles requiring medical, optical, and surgical management.”

Why this matters. These special designations position subspecial­ists for fairer cost comparisons under Medicare because, in the future, they should allow subspecialist users to be evaluated among their counterparts, which is more appropriate than being compared with all ophthalmologists. This is important because practitioner resource use will be measured in MIPS (the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System) under Medicare’s new Quality Payment Program.

The Academy is seeking similar opportunities for other ophthalmic subspecialties, including cornea.

For more information, visit aao.org/taxonomy.

2017 AWARDS

Announcing the 2017 Academy Awards

It is with great pleasure and pride that the Board of Trustees and the Awards Committee announce this year’s award recipients.

SPECIAL AWARDS

Individuals who are honored with these Special Awards will attend AAO 2017 as guests of Academy President Cynthia A. Bradford, MD, and will be formally recognized during the Opening Session.

■ Laureate Award

The Academy’s highest honor, this award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the betterment of eye care, leading to the prevention of blindness and restoration of sight worldwide.

Irene H. Maumenee, MD

■ Guests of Honor

Recognizes individuals chosen by the president for their contributions to ophthalmology.

Reagan H. Bradford, MD

Michael W. Brennan, MD

Amalia M. Miranda, MD

■ Distinguished Service Award

Recognizes individuals or organizations for ongoing notable service to ophthal­mology and the Academy. Two awards will be bestowed this year:

David A. Karcher

Pan-American Association of Oph­thalmology

■ Special Recognition Award

Recognizes an individual or organi­zation for outstanding service in a specific effort or cause that improves the quality of eye care.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

■ Outstanding Humanitarian Service Award

Recognizes Academy members for out­standing humanitarian efforts through their participation in charitable activ­ities, care of the indigent, and involve­ment in community service performed above and beyond the typical duties of an ophthalmologist.

Howard C. Cohn, MD

Stephen T. Petty, MD

■ Outstanding Advocate Award

Recognizes an Academy member for participation in advocacy-related ef­forts at the state and/or federal level.

Gregory P. Kwasny, MD, OCS

■ International Blindness Prevention Award

Recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to reducing blindness and/or restoring sight world­wide.

Sheila K. West, PhD

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PROGRAM

The Achievement Award program recognizes individuals (members and nonmembers) for their time and con­tribution to the scientific programs of the Annual Meeting, and this program recognizes those who serve as Academy committee members, representatives, trustees, councilors, authors, coauthors, and reviewers of educational material.

■ Life Achievement Award

Individuals who have cumulatively earned 60 points and have made signif­icant contributions to ophthalmology as determined by the Academy’s Awards Committee were nominated to receive this award.

J. Fernando Arevalo, MD, FACS

Ralph Eagle, MD

Karl C. Golnik, MD

M. Bowes Hamill, MD

Dennis P. Han, MD

Mark W. Johnson, MD

Robert C. Kersten, MD

Baruch D. Kuppermann, MD, PhD

Paul P. Lee, MD, JD

Marian S. Macsai-Kaplan, MD

Kevin M. Miller, MD

Jay Stuart Pepose, MD, PhD

Jody R. Piltz-Seymour, MD

Jonathan B. Rubenstein, MD

Alfredo A. Sadun, MD, PhD

Mark B. Sherwood, MD

■ Senior Achievement Award

Individuals who have cumulatively earned 30 points were nominated to receive this award.

Hamid Ahmadieh, MD

Renato Ambrosio Jr., MD

Valerie Biousse, MD

Carl C. Claes, MD

Ali R. Djalilian, MD

Emilio M. Dodds, MD

Christina J. Flaxel, MD

Robert N. Frank, MD

JoAnn A. Giaconi, MD

Paul H. Gilwit, MD, FACS

Kenneth M. Goin,s MD

Kristin M. Hammersmith, MD

Amy K. Hutchinson, MD

Gordon E. Johns, MD

Malik Y. Kahook, MD

Alan E. Kimura, MD, MPH

Regis Kowalski, MS

George D. Kymionis, MD, PhD

Timothy Y. Lai MD, FRCOphth, FRCS

William Barry Lee, MD

Anthony J. Lubniewski, MD

Jeff S. Maltzman, MD

Gerrit RJ Melles, MD, PhD

Ramon Naranjo-Tackman, MD

Florentino E. Palmon, MD

Thomas A. Rice, MD

David S. Rootman, MD

Sarwat Salim, MD, FACS

Vinay A. Shah, MD

Neda Shamie, MD

Paul A. Sidoti, MD

Thomas L. Steinemann, MD

Angelo P. Tanna, MD

Celso Tello, MD

Tara A. Uhler, MD

Geeta K. Vemuganti, MD

Robert W. Weisenthal, MD

Richard G. Weleber, MD

■ Achievement Award

Individuals who have cumulatively earned 10 points were nominated to receive this award.

Marie D. Acierno, MD

Levent Akcay, MD

Hamed Mofeez Anwar, MD

Yonca O. Arat, MD

Ahmed H. Assaf, FRCS

Darron A. Bacal, MD

Gordon A. Balazsi, MD, FRCSC

Andrew J. Barkmeier, MD

Nikolaos E. Bechrakis, MD

Allen Boghossian, DO

Yasmin Bradfield, MD

Paul W. Brazis, MD

Larry R. Brooks

James A. Bryan III, MD

Florence A. Cabot, MD

Shu-Hong Chang, MD

Felix Y. Chau, MD

John J. Chen, MD, PHD

Ching-Yu Cheng, MD

Gemmy Chui Ming Cheung, MBBCHIR, FRCOPHTH

Chai-Teck Choo

Bennett Chotiner, MD

Mina Chung, MD

Jonathan G. Crowston, MBBS, PhD

Jeffery Daigrepont

Mary K. Daly, MD

Karim F. Damji, MD

Gabriela De Feo, MD

Gustavo De Moraes, MD

John J. DeStafeno, MD

James B. Dickey, MD

Troy R. Elander, MD

Mays A. El-Dairi, MD

Jay C. Erie, MD

Arnaldo Espaillat, MD

Gabriela Espinoza, MD

Christiane I. Falkner-Radler, MD

Mitchell S. Fineman, MD

Jasmine H. Francis, MD

Beatrice E. Frueh, MD

Constance L. Fry, MD

Virgilio Galvis, MD

Sumit Garg, MD

Jawahar Lal Goyal, MD

Ninel Z. Gregori, MD

Andrzej Grzybowski, MD

Preeya K. Gupta, MD

Michael A. Hater, MD

Gena Heidary, MD

Elise Heon, MD

Mary Ellen Hoehn, MD

Sang H. Hong, MD

Jason Hsu, MD

John J. Huang, MD

Thomas Hwang, MD

Yoko Ikeda, MD

David D. Ingvoldstad, MD

Timothy L. Jackson, MBChB

Andrea Kara-Jose, MD

Marsha C. Kavanagh, MD

Mahmoud A. Khaimi, MD

Sudarshan K. Khokhar, MD, FRCS(ED)

Rosa Y. Kim, MD

Noriko Koizumi, MD

Rim Korbaa Kahloun, MD

Florian T. A. Kretz, MD

Lance J. Kugler, MD

Derek Y. Kunimoto, MD, JD

Pete A. Lagouros, MD

Theodore Leng, MD

Marc H. Levy, MD

Susan Liang, MD

Vasilios S. Liarakos, MD

Tock H. Lim, MBBS, FRCSE

Nils A. Loewen, MD

Cze Hong Low, MD, FRCS, FACS

Heather G. Mack, MD

Robert E. MacLaren, MBChB

Masahiro Maeda, MD

Tamer H. Mahmoud, MD

Noelle S. Matta, COT

Thomas F. Mauger, MD

Collin M. McClelland, MD

Harold R. Merle, MD

Zofia Michalewska, MD

Jose R. Montes, MD

Eve E. Moscato, MD

Mansi B. Parikh, MD

Lisa Park, MD

John Steven Parker, MD

Scott E. Pautler, MD

Lynn Polonski, MD

Heather A. D. Potter, MD

Leela V. Raju, MD

Rajiv Raman, MBBS

Thulasiraj Duraisami Ravilla, MBA

Ravilla D. Ravindran, MD

Deepthi M. Reddy, MD

Stanislao Rizzo, MD

Linda Rose, MD, PhD

Michael Saidel, MD

Arvind Saini, MD, MBA

Hirokazu Sakaguchi, MD

Christopher S. Sales, MD

Tatsuhiko Sato, MD

Robert M. Schertzer, MD

Scott K. Schultz, MD

Leonard K. Seibold, MD

Yasir Jamal Sepah, MBBS

Farrukh A. Shamsi, PhD

Pradeep Sharma, MD

John D. Shepherd, MD

Weiyun Shi, MD, PhD

Paolo Antonio S. Silva, MD

Rajesh Sinha, MBBS

Rachel K. Sobel, MD

Jonathan C. Song, MD

C. Diane Song, MD

Julia Song, MD

David R. Stager Jr., MD

P. Dee G. Stephenson, MD, FACS

Gangadhara J. K. Sundar, MBBS

Hitoshi Takagi, MD, PHD

George H. Tanaka, MD

Troy M. Tanji, MD

Kristina Tarczy-Hornoch, MD

Hungwon Tchah, MD

Andrew W. Tharp, MD

Chieh-Chih Tsai, MD

Stephen H. Tsang, MD, PhD

Vaishali Abhay Vasavada, MS

Peter B. Veldman, MD

Anthony J. Viti, MD

Brittney Wachter, CPC, OCS

Nadia Khalida Waheed, MD

Taku Wakabayashi, MD

Kelly Walton Muir, MD

An-Guor Wang, MD

Elias L. Warrak, MD

Akihide Watanabe, MD

Laura L. Wayman, MD

William F. Wiley, MD

Andre J. Witkin, MD

Sebastian Wolf, MD, PhD

Wai T. Wong, MD, PhD

Tammy L. Yanovitch, MD

Fei Yu, PhD

Manfred Zierhut, MD

SECRETARIAT AWARDS PROGRAM

The Secretariat Awards program recognizes individuals for contributions outside the scope of the Achievement Award program. Each of the Academy’s secretaries and senior secretaries can submit nominees to the Academy’s Awards Committee

Nominated by the Secretaries for Curriculum Development, Lifelong Learning and Assessment, Online Education, Editor ONE Network, and Senior Secretary for Clinical Education:

Richard C. Allen, MD, PhD

Susan H. Forster, MD

Sunir J. Garg, MD, FACS

Jacqueline D. Griffiths, MD

Sharon L. Jick, MD

Stephen C. Kaufman, MD, PhD

Nick Mamalis, MD

Thomas A. Oetting, MD

Paul M. Pender, MD

Samuel Solish, MD

Sharon D. Solomon, MD

Michael S. Vaphiades, DO

Robert W. Weisenthal, MD

Matthew W. Wilson, MD

Charles M. Zacks, MD

Nominated by the Secretary for Quality of Care:

Jack T. Holladay, MD, MSEE, FACS

Henry D. Jampel, MD, MHS

Stephen J. Kim, MD

Nominated by the Senior Secretary for Ophthalmic Practice:

Ravi D. Goel, MD

Robert F. Melendez, MD, MBA

Nominated by the Secretaries for State Affairs and Federal Affairs, and Senior Secretary for Advocacy:

William S. Clifford, MD

Kathryn A. Colby, MD, PhD

Jeffrey P. Edelstein, MD

Suzanne M. Everhart, DO

L. Neal Freeman, MD, MBA, FACS

John B. Holds, MD

Shan C. Lin, MD

Rachel C. J. Reinhardt, MD

Joshua D. Stein, MD

Sara E. Stoneburner, MD

Nominated by the Secretary for the Annual Meeting:

Amar Agarwal, MD

Purnima S. Patel, MD

Jonathan B. Rubenstein, MD

R. Michael Siatkowski, MD

Nicholas J. Volpe, MD

Nominated by the Secretary for Communications:

Devin A. Harrison, MD

Rahul Khurana, MD

J. Kevin McKinney, MD

Dianna L. Seldomridge, MD, MBA

Rebecca J. Taylor, MD

Nominated by the Editor of Ophthalmology:

George B. Bartley, MD

James D. Brandt, MD

Harry W. Flynn Jr., MD

Xinxing Guo, MD

Andrew G. Lee, MD

Nominated by the Secretary for Member Services:

Steven M. Christiansen, MD

Susan H. Forster, MD

Samuel Masket, MD

Mildred M. G. Olivier, MD

S. Grace Prakalapakorn, MD, MPH

Nominated by the Chief Editor of EyeNet:

M. Tariq Bhatti, MD

Steven J. Gedde, MD

Gary N. Holland, MD

Christopher J. Rapuano, MD

Joel S. Schuman, MD

Nominated by the Secretary for Global Alliance:

Dupe S. Ademola-Popoola, MBBS

Xiaoxin Li, MD

Donald Tan, MD, FRCS, FRCOphth

Kenneth D. Tuck, MD, FACS

Jialiang Zhao, MD