AAO president ready to tackle chaos of health care system

Creating an efficient way to handle the impending influx of older patients is another objective of the AAO.

As health care continues to experience uncertain times, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, under its new president, plans to educate and prepare the ophthalmic community for the challenges ahead.

“Health care reform presents uncertainties and challenges to our profession and our patients. There are tremendous pressures from Medicare and the government to decrease reimbursements to medicine in general, and I’m sure ophthalmology will experience some of that pressure,” Ruth D. Williams, MD, president of the AAO, said in an interview with Ocular Surgery News.

“In the last year, we’ve experienced a consolidation of large integrated health care systems all around us. And ophthalmology, for the most part, exists outside of large integrated health care systems,” she said.

Helping in health care

To account for the uncertain and potentially volatile health care environment, Dr. Williams has promised help from the AAO.

“[AAO will give] groups strategic advice about how to organize and position themselves, about the impacts large [accountable care organizations] are going to have on individual practices; we’ll help ophthalmologists to understand the health care environment in a time of accelerated change, give advice on how they can negotiate,” she said.

Dr. Williams expects a supply and demand issue in the ophthalmic field in the form of a higher patient-to-practitioner ratio.

“Since we’re going to have a lot more seniors, since people are living longer and since most eye problems are more common as people age, we’re expecting the number of patients who need ophthalmic care to really blossom over the next decade,” Dr. Williams said.

“And, interestingly, we’re not ‘making’ that many more ophthalmologists, so there are more patients for the same number of doctors to take care of them. It means we’re all going to have to work harder, or at least smarter,” she said.

Focuses of the AAO

Dr. Williams, who was installed as president at the AAO meeting in Orlando, Fla., said that her election was a surprise, but she is confident that she will help the organization meet the demand for smarter ophthalmic practice.

“I really thought that my time with the Academy was coming to a close, so it caught me by surprise, but it’s a wonderful surprise. It’s such a privilege to be able to meet and work with ophthalmologists in the U.S. and around the globe. I look forward to meeting people and getting to know more of my colleagues,” she said.

Dr. Williams is focused on the AAO’s long-term strategic directions, but she also wants to work on facilitating community and communication among ophthalmologists worldwide.

“One role of the Academy is to develop a community where we can share information and collaborate. We have such a diverse community now. I want the Academy to reflect that diversity, both in this country and globally,” she said.

“In a time of chaos, which the health care system is in, it is an extraordinary opportunity for us to lead as a profession,” she said. “Ophthalmologists are smart, innovative people who are willing to change and want to do things well. That’s why I think ophthalmology is going to succeed,” she said. – by Daniel R. Morgan

• Ruth D. Williams, MD, can be reached at Wheaton Eye Clinic, 2015 N. Main St., Wheaton, IL 60187; 630-668-8250; email: ruthwilliams@wheatoneye.com.
• Disclosure: No products or companies are mentioned that would require financial disclosure.