Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

Chapter 2: 2002 – 2006

Improvement Committee and the Outcomes Research and Evidence-based Medicine Committees. The scope of work for this Task Force was to plan and prioritize future guideline development activities. Dr. Nielsen noted in the August 2006 Bulletin , “The foundation for a valid and reliable physician performance measure is an equally rigorous and actionable clinical practice guideline. To ensure that the recommendations in a clinical practice guideline are translated into performance measures and adopted by other stakeholders on a national level, the guideline must be systematically developed, transparent, and evidence-based.”

As the work expanded through the NCPRO, the Academy embraced the fact that research, education, and advocacy were interlocked—resulting in advances that benefitted patients, the specialty, and members Dr. Miyamoto noted in the November 2006 Bulletin , “In this age of evidence-based medicine and pay-for performance, research is becoming even more important. Research holds the key for future medical breakthroughs and lays the groundwork for continually improving patient care. The Academy offers members multiple research resources to stay informed and involved.” EDUCATION: NEW EFFORTS TO LIFELONG LEARNING This timeframe had a great impact on the direction of the education program both in the short-term for meeting members’ ongoing continuing education needs and in the long-term for enhancing value for the changes on the horizon. New initiatives for member education featured the latest advances in otolaryngology. Effective in 2002, otolaryngologists completing the American Board of Otolaryngology certification process needed to renew certification at the 10-year intervals. No longer would the board certificates be valid for a lifetime. The year 2002 also saw the first Daiichi Clinical Scholars Program graduates in September. It was one of the Academy’s educational initiatives launched in September 2001 in Denver, Colorado. The program was web-based and included seven e-learning modules. This unique educational program trained a selected group of clinician/investigators in evidence-based research through a one-year, interactive online curriculum. The AAO-HNSF accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) was up for renewal at the end of 2002. In 2003, the AAO-HNSF’s Continuing Medical Education program received a four-year re-accreditation by ACCME. Throughout 2003, the Academy continued to initiate new efforts to support lifelong learning and provide members with a course of continuing education with new products and services, the awarding of CME J. David Osguthorpe, MD Coordinator for Education, 2001-2007

To streamline this process, Dr. Rosenfeld—along with Richard N. Shiffman, MD, MCIS, of the Yale Center for Medical Information—authored “Clinical Practice Guidelines: A Manual for Developing Evidence-based Guidelines to Facilitate Performance Measurement and Quality Improvement.” Published as supplement to the October issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery , their “step-by-step approach” intended to help other organizations create their own guidelines, from planning to completion. A guideline panel on sinusitis, which followed the step-by-step process laid out in the manual, was formed in the summer 2006. The panel was composed of Dr. Rosenfeld, Chair; Neil Bhattacharyya, MD; and Timothy L. Smith, MD, MPH, Co-chairs, and many others including representatives from rhinology, allergy, family medicine, emergency medicine, pulmonology, and nursing. The process that had been defined, incorporated review by Yale medical informatics and guideline methodology specialists to ensure that the recommendations were workable and would facilitate real quality improvement efforts.

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