Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

Chapter 5: 2017 – 2021

As Reg-ent advanced so too did the sense of urgency regarding the need for pragmatic, meaningful, and relevant quality measures not only to assist AAO HNS members with payers’ demands, but to allow Academy members to utilize Reg-ent for research, quality improvement, and maintenance of certification purposes. In 2017 the Reg-ent Executive Committee had the foresight to start looking at the most appropriate way to incorporate how quality is measured and what should be measured. They saw early on how the rapidly expanding field of Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) undoubtedly would be an important portion of the equation, so they ensured the necessary data would be available to members by the time it was required. To advance the established prioritization of topics by the Reg-ent Clinical Advisory Committees (CACs), AAO-HNSF initiated five projects for measures development: 1. Age-Related Hearing Loss (ARHL). A cross specialty, multidisciplinary panel convened in June 2017 for the development of de novo measures for this prioritized topic. This published in March 2021. 2. Project Jumpstart Measures. These measures were developed utilizing key action statements from existing AAO-HNSF clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). With CPGs on otitis media with effusion, Bell’s palsy, voice outcomes after thyroid surgery, and tympanostomy tubes, the CACs and the REC approved a process to prioritize the key action statements of these CPGs as measures concepts for the specialty.

3. ECRI Pilot Measures. AAO HNSF entered into a pilot with the ECRI Institute for development of measures utilizing ECRI’s GEM-cutting software, which developed e-specified measures from guideline action statements. Measures were developed for the AAO-HNSF allergic rhinitis and cerumen impaction CPGs through this process. This published in May 2021.

2017-2021: The Resident Review Development Program was

expanded under the direction of Deputy Editor Jennifer J. Shin, MD, SM.

4. AAO-HNSF/AAN. Using the AAO-HNSF 2017 CPG: Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, AAO-HNSF and the American Academy of Neurology partnered for the development of neurotology measures. This published in August 2018. 5. AAO-HNSF/ASPS/AAFPRS. AAO-HNSF partnered with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery to develop rhinoplasty measures based on the AAO-HNSF 2017 CPG: Improving Nasal Form and Function after Rhinoplasty. This published in February 2021. Incorporating key action statements from the AAO HNSF CPGs was an essential component in the measures development process. These evidence-based CPGs played a tremendous role in the continuation of the Academy’s measures development initiatives. Measure development continued to benefit from the

2019: The AAO-HNS launched the new Student Program and new membership category for Medical Students. The AAO HNS collaborated with individual members, otolaryngology training programs, and grassroots to offer, organize, and support local student interest days, attendance at meetings, and observerships. leaders through the Board of Governors

Panelists of the AAO-HNS 2021 Virtual Student Forum introduced medical students to the field of otolaryngology. It was moderated by Dr. Randolph and had more than 750 participants.

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