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New AOA president sets goals, urges solidarity among members
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WASHINGTON – In addition to setting out his goals for his 2009-2010 term as American Optometric Association president, Randolph E. Brooks, OD, urged the AOA House of Delegates to step outside its “comfort zone” and work together to move forward with board certification for optometry.
“Over the past 2 years, and especially over the past 6 months, the entire profession of optometry has been asked to step out of our comfort zone and face reality in an imperfect and volatile health care landscape,” Dr. Brooks said in his presidential address. “It is not an environment of our choosing. We can affect it to a certain extent, but we do not have the opportunity to control it.”
He urged not only AOA members, but the entire profession, to be inclusive, not divisive. “While protecting our patients’ sight and lives is a charge that we take seriously, we need to protect optometry’s future in order to do that,” he said.
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“No matter what side of the board certification/maintenance of certification debate you have argued, the profession has spoken,” Dr. Brooks said. “Now is the time to come out of your comfort zone.
“Two-way dialogue at regional and state meetings is not only desirable, it is vital,” he continued. “I am asking every single affiliate to pledge to give your AOA visiting trustee not 20 minutes for an AOA report, but several hours to hold a town hall meeting to understand the concerns of members and what to expect from the new program.”
Dr. Brooks added that in addition to the AOA reaching out to its members, it also reaches out to members of Congress to continue efforts to ensure that optometry can deliver care to patients in a “patient-centered, nondiscriminatory health care environment.”
The new AOA president stressed the important role of the AOA’s Third Party Center in working to develop partnerships and alliances within the ophthalmic payer community. “Comprehensive wellness should be included in every patient’s medical plan with reimbursement paid in a nondiscriminatory manner,” he said. “We are working with employers to develop the data that show the cost savings that result when comprehensive eye care is a mainstream covered benefit for all patients.”
Dr. Brooks pointed to portability of licensure as one of his goals for his presidency. “Over the coming year, the AOA will increase our efforts to remove obstacles so that optometrists can be licensed in the state of their choosing without artificial restrictions,” he said.
Membership growth is another priority. “Membership is Job 1,” he said. “Our members are the reason the AOA exists. They are our purpose.”