Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE: ANTONIO DE LA CRUZ, MD PRESIDENT FROM 1997 – 1998

A ntonio De la Cruz, MD, was raised the youngest of nine children in Costa Rica. According to a 2009 press release from the House Ear Institute and House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles, he “received his Doctorate in Medicine in 1967 and completed his specialty training in otolaryngology at the University of Miami Hospitals in 1973. After completing his Fellowship at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles in 1974, he joined the practice as an associate in January 1975. “In addition to being a world-renowned neurotologist at the House Ear Clinic, Dr. De la Cruz served as the House Ear Institute’s Director of Education, leading professional training programs for hundreds of visiting physicians from around the world in otology/ neurotology surgical procedures and practices. He also was an active member of the House Ear Institute’s Board of Trustees since 1984.” Dr. De la Cruz also held the position of clinical professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. By the time Dr. De la Cruz became AAO-HNS/F President in 1997, managed care was transforming healthcare and the delivery of patient care. There was considerable concern by patients and physicians about the financial incentive not to deliver care that created heated political discussion in the United States resulting in pressure for the Academy and other specialty societies to address growing demands for change. In June 1998, the Academy released its “1998 Clinical Indicators.” Accompanying the release of the indicators, Dr. De la Cruz noted, “I have always believed that the benefit of a professional medical society is that no other organization has more of a vested interest ensuring that you are able to practice the highest quality medicine.”

Advocating for quality medical care would become a hallmark of his career. In his September 1998 Bulletin column he wrote, “I, and other members of your leadership, had the privilege of testifying before influential Congressional committees and speaking directly to many Members of Congress. The access provided by these one-on-one visits gave us the opportunity to express our concerns at a point in the legislative process where we could make an impact on legislation pertinent to our daily practice and patient care.” As the Academy sought to assert itself in how healthcare is delivered, it also expanded its clinical

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