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WHAT’S HAPPENING
This Year’s Laureate: Bruce E. Spivey, MD
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| ACADEMY LAUREATE: DR. SPIVEY. The Laureate Recognition Award honors physicians who have made significant contributions to ophthalmology. |
The Board of Trustees of the Academy is proud to announce Bruce E. Spivey, MD, as the recipient of the Laureate Recognition Award for 2015.
Dr. Spivey’s passion for education led him on a lifelong journey to develop and enhance professional organizations, including the Academy and the International Council of Ophthalmology, and to promote the education of ophthalmologists and allied professionals. Through these efforts, Dr. Spivey has made an immeasurable contribution to the betterment of eye care, the preservation and restoration of sight, and the prevention of blindness throughout the world.
An ophthalmologist and a medical educator, Dr. Spivey has a wide range of physician and hospital management experience. He served as the Academy’s first Executive Vice President and CEO from 1978 to 1992, as well as being a departmental chairman for 16 years, a hospital CEO for 16 years, and the CEO of multihospital systems for more than 14 years.
Dr. Spivey graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine, where he did his ophthalmology residency. He holds master’s degrees from the University of Iowa and the University of Illinois in ophthalmic science and medical education, respectively.
Dr. Spivey has served on the boards of international, national, and regional health care organizations and ophthalmologic societies. His past positions include President of the American Board of Medical Specialties; President of the International Council of Ophthalmology; President of the American Ophthalmological Society; President of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies; member of the Graduate Medical Education National Advisory Committee; and member of the Board of the Voluntary Hospitals of America.
He has received a number of medals and awards in ophthalmology and medicine, such as the 2014 Kitty Carlisle Hart Award from the Glaucoma Research Foundation, the 2009 Jose Rizal International Medal from the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, and the Academy’s 2007 International Blindness Prevention Award.
Dr. Spivey has given more than 30 named lectures and is the author of more than 120 scientific education and management articles. Dr. Spivey is also a founding member of the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company and served a total of 19 years on its committees and Board of Directors.
In recognition of Dr. Spivey’s contributions to ophthalmology, the Academy will honor him as the 2015 Laureate during the Opening Session of AAO 2015.
At AAO 2015, read an in-depth profile of Dr. Spivey in Academy News.
FOR THE RECORD
Annual Business Meeting
Notice is hereby given that the Annual Business Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology will be held on Sunday, Nov. 15, in Venetian Ballroom F at the Venetian in Las Vegas, 10:00-10:30 a.m.
The order of business shall be:
- Call to order
- Report of the president
- Report of the CEO
- Election of fellows and members
- New business
- Announcements and notices
- Adjournment
As stated in the bylaws of the Academy, the order of business of each Annual Business Meeting may be amended by an affirmative vote of a majority of the voting fellows and members who are present and voting at the meeting.
Academy Election
The 2015 election for officers and trustee-at-large positions on the Board of Trustees, as well as proposed amendments to the Academy’s governance documents, opens on Nov. 16 and closes at noon EST on Dec. 15. Election materials will be sent to all voting Academy fellows and members. Results of the election will be posted on www.aao.org by Dec. 18.
Proposed Amendments
This year, the Board of Trustees is recommending amendments to the Academy Bylaws, Procedural Rules, and Code of Ethics for consideration and adoption by members. The amendments will be implemented by a majority vote. An official hybrid (mail and online) ballot will be sent to all voting members and fellows after the Annual Business Meeting on Sunday, Nov. 15, in Las Vegas.
To view the proposed amendment language, visit www.aao.org/about/governance/academy-blog/post/2015-proposed-bylaw-amendments.
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 ONE SPOTLIGHT: Improve eye care for older adults. With support from the American Geriatrics Society Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative, the John A. Hartford Foundation, and Atlantic Philanthropies, the ONE Network has added a new resource: the Eye Care for Older Adults section. It houses information to help you develop new approaches for your older patients. Listen to podcasts in which experts discuss common ailments of the aging eye and their diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment. You can also access guidelines and resources, including “What Every Ophthalmologist Needs to Know About Geriatrics” and “Psychosocial Impact of Vision Loss.” Finally, learn about delirium prevention and treatment in the geriatric population, as these patients are at greatest risk of postoperative delirium diagnosis.
To view, visit www.aao.org/eye-care-for-older-adults.
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TAKE NOTICE
The Foundation’s 2014-2015 Annual Report
Learn how the Foundation of the American Academy of Ophthalmology supported the Academy’s education, quality-of-care, and service programs from 2014 to 2015. Thanks to the generosity of donors to the Foundation, the following were made possible:
- The Ophthalmic News and Education (ONE) Network’s new Residents section.
- The ONE Network’s PASCAL photocoagulation simulator.
- Advancement of the IRIS (Intelligent Research in Sight) Registry, which has now received 2 Physician Quality Reporting System designations (qualified registry and qualified clinical data registry).
- The Rotary Club Host Project, which brought 8 ophthalmologists from developing countries to the United States for learning experiences.
- Sight-saving referrals through EyeCare America for 16,000 medically underserved seniors and others at risk for eye disease.
- The Museum of Vision’s acquisition of the Spencer E. Sherman, MD, Antique Ophthalmology Book Collection, which comprises more than 130 rare books and catalogs.
Read more in the Foundation’s annual report at www.aao.org/foundation.
EyeWiki International Ophthalmologist Contest
EyeWiki is the Academy’s collaborative online encyclopedia where physicians, their patients, and the public can view content written by ophthalmologists covering the spectrum of eye disease, diagnosis, and treatment.
The Academy invited ophthalmologists, residents, and fellows in training from outside the United States to post articles on EyeWiki as part of a new contest. The 4 winners received their choice of the Academy’s Basic and Clinical Science Course Complete eBook Set or a 2-year subscription to Focal Points Digital.
- Namrata Bhuta, MD, Sasoon General Hospital and B.J. Govt Medical College, Pune, India: Ocular Anesthesia
- João Breda, MD, Hospital de São João, Porto, Portugal: Nanophthalmos
- Hugo R. Salcedo, MD, Hospital Rodolfo Robles, Universidad Francisco Marroquin, Guatemala City, Guatemala: Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease
- Hussain Syed Faraaz Shahzad, MD, TN Medical College, BYL Nair Hospital, Mumbai, India: Biometry for Intraocular Lens Power Calculation
To read the winning articles and learn more about the annual U.S. and international ophthalmologist contests, visit www.aao.org/eyewiki.
PQRS: Sept. 30 Deadline for Cataracts Measures Group
What is at the top of your to-do list? If you are reporting the Cataracts Measures Group for the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), your 4 most urgent tasks are as follows:
- Identify 20 surgical cases. Of those 20, at least 11 patients must have Medicare Part B insurance. The remaining patients may have Medicare Advantage or commercial insurance. Tip: In case any of your cases get rejected, you are encouraged to report more than the bare minimum of cases.
- Provide patients with presurgical forms. Filling out the forms is a time commitment, so distribute them well before the day of surgery.
- Perform surgery. Only procedures performed on or before Sept. 30 can be used for reporting the Cataracts Measures Group in 2015.
- Provide patients with postsurgical forms within 90 days of surgery and input all required surgical outcome details via the IRIS Registry Web portal.
Although you have until Sept. 30 for the first 3 of those tasks, you are urged to get them done as soon as possible to allow time for possible rescheduling or other changes that could affect successful reporting.
If you don’t perform cataract surgery—or if you missed the Aug. 1 deadline to sign up for the Cataracts Measures Group—you can still use the IRIS Registry Web portal to manually report PQRS individual measures. To do so, you must sign up by Oct. 31.
Electronic health records (EHRs) are not required for reporting PQRS via the IRIS Registry Web portal. If you do have an EHR system, the easiest way to report PQRS is to integrate your system with the IRIS Registry, but the 2015 integration deadline has already passed.
For more information, visit www.aao.org/pqrs and www.aao.org/iris-registry.
New OTA Guidelines: Free
Ophthalmic Technology Assessment (OTA) of Mitomycin-C in Corneal Surface Excimer Laser Ablation Techniques reviews the efficacy and safety of mitomycin-C as an adjunctive treatment in corneal surface excimer laser ablation procedures. It is free to Academy members and Ophthalmology subscribers (see the June 2015 issue).
To view, visit www.aao.org/ota.
D.C. REPORT
MU—The Academy Pushes Back
The Academy has been at the forefront of discussions with political leaders and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) about improving the agency’s electronic health record (EHR) meaningful use (MU) program. This program penalizes physicians who do not meet its requirements. Nearly 60% of U.S. ophthalmologists—about 10,000 doctors—are being assessed a 1% Medicare penalty in 2015 for failing to achieve MU requirements by October 2014.
The Academy has advocated for increased flexibility under the MU requirements so that more ophthalmologists can avoid the penalty and potentially earn an incentive payment.
Thanks to efforts by the Academy, as well as other physician groups, CMS has indicated that it will reduce the reporting period to 90 days for 2015 and cut the number of overall measures required for stage 2 reporting.
It is expected that CMS will also, at least temporarily, decrease the number of patients required to electronically access their health information and communicate with their physician using a portal. These measures have proved troublesome for ophthalmologists, many of whom primarily see older patients.
The Academy continues to push for changes that would help protect ophthalmologists from unfair penalties. Major efforts are now focused on convincing congressional leaders to allow ophthalmologists who use an EHR-based clinical data registry, such as the Academy’s IRIS Registry, an exemption from MU penalties.
For more information, visit www.aao.org/advocacy/ehr-meaningful-use.
ACADEMY STORE
Preorder 2016 Coding Products on Oct. 1
Starting Oct. 1, which is the day ICD-10 launches, the Academy will begin taking preorders for its 2016 Coding Coach: The Complete Ophthalmic Coding Reference; 2016 Ophthalmic Coding: Learn to Code the Essentials; 2016 Retina Coding: Complete Reference Guide; and 2016 CPT: Complete Pocket Ophthalmic Reference. If you need these books prior to Oct. 1, the 2015 editions are available for purchase, as is the Coding Coach Online. The 2016 ICD-10 for Ophthalmology book and online subscription are also available now.
For more information, visit www.aao.org/store.
Enroll in the SimplifEye Ophthalmic Purchasing Program
Save on medical and surgical supplies through SimplifEye, a partnership between the Academy and Henry Schein Medical. This program offers products at discounted prices. In return, the Academy receives a 2% royalty on the sale of all products purchased through this program. The revenue goes to support the member services of the Academy and the American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives. Enrollment is free. There are no annual fees or minimum purchase commitments.
For more information, visit www.henryschein.com/aao.