Skin date: 4/28/14
Hello, and welcome to my inaugural post to the President’s Road Warrior Blog. Why road warrior? That is a big part of my job as AAD president — traveling all over the country, engaging with others on many important topics to the specialty.
That’s what I want to share here with you. What topics are we as dermatologists most concerned about and what is the AAD and AAD Association doing with them?
I recently concluded my first few trips as AAD President on the road, which included stops at the Noah Worcester Dermatological Society in California, then to Chicago for the Scientific Assembly Committee planning meeting for the AAD’s 2015 Annual meeting , and then on to the Florida Society for Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery (FSDDS). It was a whirlwind tour, but a productive one.
Attendees at the Noah Worcester Annual Meeting expressed concern about the future of graduate medical education funding for residents and frustration with ACGME’s strict standards on pay and resident support. I explained that we — the AAD, and more importantly, the ABD — are aware of these concerns and have had discussions about how to make dermatology residencies more self-supporting if graduate medical education funding is cut. Certainly, residents are the life blood of a specialty.
We also had a discussion about the CMS data release. I emphasized that office expenses could represent up to two-thirds of dermatologists’ Medicare payments and that most of the general population is not aware of this. This is a point you should make if patients ask you about your Medicare payments — that a lot of the money goes to keeping the lights on and paying staff.
My next stop was the AAD Scientific Assembly Committee meeting, which met in Chicago to plan our next Annual Meeting. Like many of you, I have attended the Annual Meeting for years and been impressed by the entire experience. It was fascinating to see a meeting born from the concept stage. I was excited to see how speakers are chosen — based on high satisfaction scores and attendance, as well as the best fit for the educational gaps for CME as identified by our members. The AAD is going to start providing aspiring speakers with a list based on these gaps to attract presentations that address members’ most-pressing educational needs. This is what a data-driven future looks like!
After attending the FSDDS assembly, I determined that the state of Florida is not going to explode this month, though there is anxiety about the forthcoming new Mohs local carrier directive. I explained to the assembly that if I were a big Medicare biller, I would want to make sure I was giving my share of support to the work of the Academy. I also pointed out the strong need for data registries; without good data we are defenseless in front of bureaucrats and insurance companies, and that is not a good position for the future of our specialty. With good data we can demonstrate the significant value we add to the health care system to policymakers and payers.
I will leave you with that cheerful thought. Next time I hit the road I am bound for Phoenix, where I will give similar messages to the American College of Mohs Surgery.
The American Academy of Dermatology 