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WHAT’S HAPPENING
Grayson W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, Joins AMA Board
On June 8, the American Medical Association (AMA) elected Grayson W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, a resident in ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School, to its Board of Trustees Resident and Fellow seat.
“I am honored to be chosen by my colleagues to represent them on the Board of Trustees,” said Dr. Armstrong. “The resident and fellow perspective will be vital as health care evolves and medical education shifts to develop young physicians poised to promote the health of the nation.”
Dr. Armstrong was an AMA delegate in medical school. He has served as a board member on AMPAC, the AMA’s political action committee, and he also serves on the executive committee of the Massachusetts Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons.
After medical school, Dr. Armstrong pursued a Master of Public Health and went on to advise Jordanian governmental and other organizations regarding the Syrian refugee crisis. He also founded a teleophthalmic medical device company to bring eye exams to patients in remote areas globally.
“Grayson is the first ophthalmologist in a long time to serve on the AMA Board—and the first Academy Member in Training! He is knowledgeable about the issues and the role of the AMA, and he will articulately and passionately reflect the interests of our profession and our patients. We could not be better served,” said David W. Parke II, MD.
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, Oct. 13, in West 3002 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California, from 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Board Nominees
In accordance with Academy bylaws, notice is hereby given of the nominations for elected board positions on the 2020 board. The nominees are listed at aao.org/about/governance/elections.
These nominations were made by the Academy Board of Trustees in June. If elected, the individuals will begin their terms on Jan. 1, 2020.
Elections to fill the seven open positions on the 2020 Board of Trustees will take place by ballot after the Oct. 13 Annual Business Meeting.
Additional nominations. To nominate a candidate by petition, submit a written petition to the Academy’s CEO no later than Aug. 14. The petition must be signed by at least 50 voting Academy members and fellows.
To suggest a nominee for the 2021 board, watch for the call for nominations that will be published in January’s EyeNet Magazine.
Read the rules in full at aao.org/about/governance/bylaws/article5.
TAKE NOTICE
Meet the Aug. 1 Deadline for IRIS Registry–EHR Integration
Stressed about the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)? The least onerous way to report quality measures is to integrate your electronic health record (EHR) system with the IRIS Registry. You may do so this year if:
- you registered for IRIS Registry–EHR integration by June 1, 2019, or
- you had previously registered for the IRIS Registry web portal and then notified the IRIS Registry vendor (FIGmd) by June 1, 2019, that you wanted to migrate to IRIS Registry–EHR integration.
In addition, you need to complete the integration process by Aug. 1, 2019. Meeting this deadline requires that you are actively involved in the process and respond promptly to emails from FIGmd.
The IRIS Registry is your one-stop shop for MIPS reporting. You also can use the IRIS Registry to manually attest to promoting interoperability (PI) measures and improvement activities, and—if you aren’t able to report quality via IRIS Registry–EHR integration—manually enter data for quality measures.
Free for members. Why pay fees to your EHR vendor for MIPS reporting and consulting? IRIS Registry is a free benefit for U.S. Academy members.
Learn more at aao.org/iris-registry.
Donate to the Truhlsen-Marmor Museum of the Eye
The generous Academy community has raised three-quarters of the funds needed to launch the Truhlsen-Marmor Museum of the Eye in 2020. Ground has broken on the new space at Academy headquarters, and interactive exhibits are in production. Donate toward the Foundation’s $12 million goal at aao.org/museumcampaign.
Advice From OMIC: Responding to Reviews on Social Media
Not all reviews on social media and physician rating sites will be positive. For handling critics online, the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company (OMIC) recommends the following:
- Maintain confidentiality when responding in order to comply with HIPAA. Do not acknowledge that the reviewer is a patient.
- Conduct an internal review of the person’s care.
- Determine if the comments violate the website’s policies. If they do, ask to have them removed.
- Respond politely to the effect of: “We appreciate the feedback. We take patient satisfaction seriously. In order to protect patients’ privacy, we prefer to handle situations like this offline. Please contact our office.”
- Reach out to the reviewer privately.
- Develop a written social media policy for your practice so there is a consistent process for responding.
Read more best practices at www.omic.com/social-media-liability.
OMIC offers professional liability insurance exclusively to Academy members, their employees, and their practices.
Submit Your Phase 3 Trial Results to Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology has established an expedited review and publication pathway for phase 3 clinical trials. Upon acceptance, with author agreement, the manuscript will be posted online within seven days.
Ophthalmology has a 7.47 Impact Factor and a print circulation of 27,000 subscribers. Contact the journal early with plans for submission.
Submit your manuscript by visiting https://www.evise.com/profile/#/OPHTHA/login.
ACADEMY RESOURCES
Find the Right Forms
AAOE has compiled a variety of ophthalmic medical practice documents shared by AAOE members. Accessible through the Practice Forms Library, this collection includes sample forms, policies, checklists, and procedures that can be used for business/financial operations, patient information, examinations, HIPAA, human resources, job descriptions, and practice protocols. All forms are de-identified and can be modified to suit your practice.
The Practice Forms Library is an AAOE member benefit. AAOE will feature new additions in its weekly e-newsletter. For access, visit aao.org/practice-management/practice-forms-library. To contribute, send an email to aaoe@aao.org.
D.C. REPORT
FTC Revises Contact Lens Rules Proposal
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed changing the long-standing Contact Lens Rule governing prescriptions and sales. In a departure from the 2015 iteration, the FTC is outlining new pathways for prescribers to confirm prescriptions’ release. The pathways are designed to better reflect today’s market.
Under the new proposal, confirmation occurs when the patient:
- acknowledges receipt of the contact lens prescription by signing a separate confirmation statement;
- signs a prescriber-retained copy of the prescription that contains a statement confirming they received it;
- signs a prescriber-retained copy of the sales receipt for the examination that contains a statement confirming they received the prescription; or
- is provided with a digital copy of the prescription, and the prescriber retains evidence that it was sent and received or made accessible, downloadable, and printable.
A prescriber would have to keep evidence that it satisfied the Confirmation of Prescription Release requirement for at least three years. The proposal also includes a new exemption for prescribers who do not have a financial interest in lens sales operations. For example, ophthalmologists who do not sell contact lenses would not be subject to these requirements.
Several of the FTC’s other proposed changes would place a greater onus on contact lens sellers. These include new parameters for automated telephone verification requests. The FTC is also proposing a 40-hour period for prescribers to issue secondary copies of contact lens prescriptions to patients.