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AAO continues to preserve the value of its members
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LAS VEGAS — The American Academy of Ophthalmology remains strong due to the committed loyalty of its members and is committed to preserving and enhancing the value of its membership, Russell N. Van Gelder, MD, PhD, president of the AAO, said here.
“We have nearly 32,000 members... 28% are international, representing 151 countries. Within the U.S., 93% of ophthalmologists belong to this Academy,” Van Gelder said during the opening session of the Academy’s annual meeting.
Russell N. Van Gelder
Despite recent changes in health care policies, the profession should continue to fight for its patients by attempting to confirm medical and surgical privileges by legislation rather than education, Van Gelder said.
“Never has there been a greater dissociation of health policy from economic and clinical reality. Despite these unattested mandates, I am optimistic about our future. Like every successful organization, the AAO has a unique culture,” William L. Rich III, MD, FACS, president elect, said. “Ours is defined by education, quality improvement and innovation.”
William L. Rich III
“As the Academy has become the public face of our profession, it is essential that our brand reflect our real commitment to improving the lives of our patients,” Van Gelder said.
“Regardless of all the uncertainty and frustration and even anger resulting from changes in health care delivery and payment, we still are all bound together by a shared sense of mission — the enjoyment of interacting with patients and the obligation that ensues from the trust they place in us,” David W. Parke II, MD, CEO of AAO, said.
As incoming president, Rich will see the continuation of the AAO’s IRIS Registry through its second year and into its third. As of November 1, the registry housed 61 million patient records from more than 17 million individual patients; more than 10,000 ophthalmologists from more than 3,500 practices participate in the registry.
“Only 20 months after its launch, IRIS is now the largest comprehensive specialty registry in the world,” Parke said.
The registry is expected to save participating physicians about $300 million in avoided PQRS and value-based modifier penalties, Parke said.
“This project has simultaneously eased reporting burdens on our members for value-based federal programs and provided performance and benchmarking information for individual ophthalmologists, which allows our field to stay at the leading edge of population- based medicine,” Van Gelder said. — by Nhu Te
Reference:
Van Gelder R, Parke D, Rich W. Opening session. Presented at: The Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting. Nov. 15, 2015; Las Vegas.
Disclosure: Van Gelder reports he receives grant support from the National Eye Institute, NovaBay and Theravance. Parke reports he receives lecture fees from Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals. Rich reports no relevant financial disclosures.