Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE

provide “evaluation, examination, diagnosis, management and/or treatment” for hearing and/ or balance disorders. These are medically loaded terms used in medical terminology to define the work of physicians. These terms should not be used by nonmedical personnel to describe nonphysician work. Hearing and balance disorders are medical conditions and require, by necessity, a full history and physical examination by a physician and a medical diagnosis with medical management and treatment options presented and pursued by a physician. We believe that the best model of hearing healthcare is a team approach led by an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon. “We are diligently addressing scope-of-practice issues that could potentially affect your practice and the care given to patients with disorders of the ears, nose, throat, and related structures. It is our contention that those who provide services in this specialized anatomic and physiologic region should be well qualified to do so and should possess the proper education and training to render safe, effective, and appropriate care to the patient,” said G. Richard Holt, MD, MPH, Executive The need for an effective medical society was evident as the debate on the delivery of patient care continued as well as that for calculating physician payments. Dr. De la Cruz noted in the October 1997 Bulletin , “As regulations have an increasing influence on the practice of medicine, your Academy will continue to influence governmental healthcare decisions proactively for the benefit of patients and members. Ongoing monitoring of Health Care Financing Administration activities and direction is needed if we are to have a positive influence on decisions affecting our specialty. These efforts were successful in the past year, and we will build on that success. Increasing awareness and support of the ENT Political Action Committee will continue to be a major area of work.” After one-on-one meetings with Members of Congress and an accelerated voice for the specialty, when the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) released is Final Rule on the 1998 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, otolaryngologists saw their Medicare payments increase by 0.5% overall. This was Vice President, in the August 2001 Bulletin . An Increasing Voice on Capitol Hill

1999 Women in Otolaryngology (WORL) Study Group formed. During the 1998 Annual Meeting, the participants in the Women in Otolaryngology luncheon and discussion group drew up a mission statement and

list of goals that included the presentation of a Forum on Women in Otolaryngology at the 1999 Annual Meeting. Female leaders within the Academy, BOG, and major otolaryngologic societies, as well as some of the longtime participants in the annual Women in Otolaryngology discussion group were appointed by Dr. Pillsbury to form the WORL Study Group. After the forum, the Study Group applied to become a

full standing committee of the AAO-HNS that would be specifically geared toward addressing the needs of, and providing support for, both the female and the general membership of the AAO-HNS in areas of leadership, mentoring, diversity, and workforce concerns.

well as in state governments as they considered legislation that could dramatically affect patient care. Nonphysician providers, notably audiologists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons, persisted in using the state arena as a vehicle to expand their scope of practice. In 2000, the Academy adopted language recommended by the Health Policy Committee and approved by the Board of Directors on this issue. The following statement guided the Academy in lobbying activities on scope of practice issues: of otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons, are trained and experienced to provide “assessment and rehabilitative” services for “hearing and balance” disorders under a hearing healthcare team approach led by an otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon. Audiologists do not, and should not, attempt to Audiologists, professional colleagues

30