The American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives® has replaced its popular listservs with a new user-friendly online community for resource sharing and networking. The three listservs (E-talk and E-retina and E-code) have merged into a single online community, AAOE-Talk.
Access to the new community is a free benefit to all current AAOE® members. Not a member? Join today!
Why you should be a part of this online community
AAOE-Talk provides administrators, office managers and managing physicians with a place to openly exchange ideas and discuss the business issues facing modern ophthalmic practices. You can use AAOE-Talk to receive answers to your questions about coding, human resources, financial management and many other practice management issues.
How to participate
To participate in the online community, you must be a member of AAOE and use the link to register to gain access to the community. If you have any questions, email us at aaoe@aao.org.
Already a subscriber? Access AAOE-Talk.
Rules of participation
No Discussion or disclosure regarding salaries, fees or collective action in the online community
From the perspective of federal and state enforcers of antitrust laws, AAOE members participating in the online community are doing so as members of an organization of competitors. While one ophthalmologist can ask a colleague what she or he pays staff or charges to perform Lasik, these issues cannot be discussed in a forum sponsored by a professional society. The government views such pricing and other economic discussions as a way that competitors can fix prices, supply costs, salaries, and other economic measures in a noncompetitive manor that violates state and federal antitrust laws.
Participants can discuss CPT and ICD-10 codes. Discussions about concerted action towards private payers, insurance contract clauses and private payer reimbursement cannot be discussed. These rules protect AAOE, its members and the Academy from costly legal actions and potential fines by the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice. For this reason, a poster who violates the rules will be barred from participating in the AAOE online community (AAOE-Talk) and may, at the sole discretion of the AAOE Board of Directors, lose his or her membership in AAOE.
Netiquette
AAOE-Talk is intended for discussion of business issues. Members should refrain from posting forwarded emails, contests and other emails that are not relevant to the business aspects of ophthalmology practice.
Here are some important netiquette dos and don’ts:
- Be forthcoming in your messages about any potential financial conflict of interest.
- If you repost something from another source, it is only ethical and helpful to give credit to the original poster along with the full citation.
- DO NOT post any copyrighted material to any of the lists unless you have acquired permission to do so from the holder(s) of the copyright.
- Keep your messages short and clear to encourage others to read your messages.
- Remember, emphasis and emotional tone are difficult to convey through text. Jokes and sarcastic comments may be insensitive to others. Any criticism, personal attacks, and use of profanity are unwanted and will result in your removal from the AAOE-Talk. You are responsible for what you post.
- Use a descriptive subject line. Avoid subject lines such as “question” or “coding question.” Most people decide whether they want to read a message based on the content of the subject line, and vague subject lines are less likely to surface when users search.
You must agree to the terms and conditions outlined in the Academy Online Community Standards, Guidelines and Disclaimer.