AAOS president sees opportunity in COVID-19 challenges
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
As the COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges for businesses and organizations around the world, the president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons said these unprecedented times can present opportunities for progressing the AAOS member experience, to strive for strategic goals and to grow as an organization.
Joseph A. Bosco III, MD, FAAOS, gave his incoming presidential address: “Every Challenge an Opportunity” virtually, as the 2020 AAOS Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida was canceled due to concerns about the novel coronavirus.
“We would have all had preferred to be in Orlando, catching up with friends, visiting the vendor exhibits and attending talks. But as we all know, life does not always go according to plan. The COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to challenge us all,” Bosco said in his address.
However, he said these challenges have offered him and the AAOS a chance to step back and continue to focus on the AAOS member experience.
“We consider this pandemic as an opportunity to grow and [we] will continue to move our ambitious agenda forward,” Bosco said. “Delivering a personalized and seamless member experience is vital to our organization. Our new membership, council led by Dr. Elizabeth Matzkin, is leading the effort to better understand who you – our members – are, so that we can tailor our services to meet your interest, no matter what specialty practice type or career stage you're in.”
“We have also directed the educational council to work with the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery to update the orthopedic in-service exam — something frankly, which has not been done in over 20 years,” Bosco added. “We are partnering with the board, leveraging their experience to improve our in-service exam, and more closely align it with part one of the board examination. This result will be a better academy administered in-service training exam.”
For some AAOS specialties it is still business as usual, as Bosco said the pandemic will not hinder the academy’s goals for 2020.
“Our registry program will accelerate its growth in 2020. We are enhancing the shoulder and elbow registry with the launch of the rotator cuff repair and elbow replacement modules. We're also partnering with the American Academy of Neurologic Surgeons to establish the American Spine Registry,” he said. “We continue to discuss new industry opportunities with our subspecialty colleagues and the next year we'll see several others come online.”
Bosco said the AAOS Council on Research and Quality has formed “the biologics and regenerative medicine committee.”
“This committee will use the academy's research and advocacy expertise to develop educational content, organize and host symposia and conduct evidence-based reviews,” Bosco said. “This robust initiative will be 100% academy funded. We will provide our members with the data they require to make informed decisions and how to best incorporate biologics into their practices.”
Bosco also explained three ways the AAOS plans to use this disruption of health care as a competitive advantage.
“One: health care industry consolidation, including hospitals and insurers; two: creation of new health care entities, such as Walmart care and the Aetna CVS health; and three: the federal government's expanding role in health care,” Bosco said. “We are forging relationships with the new health care players to ensure that our interests and those of our patients are protected.”
“Despite this pandemic, it is an awesome time to be an orthopedic surgeon. Our profession is well positioned to thrive in this rapidly evolving health care environment. I remain as dedicated to the academy's mission as I was when I first joined over 30 years ago,” Bosco said. “We have had an extremely productive 2019 and believe me, we will do it again in 2020.” – by Max R. Wursta
Reference:
https://www.aaos.org/annual/meetings-events/your-academy/your-academy-videos/
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts