Legacy of Excellence Digital Flipbook

LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE

Madigan General Hospital. He got that assignment and recalled, “I was lucky. It was like being in an ENT academic department for two years.” Later, when he was invited to speak at the program’s 25th anniversary, he not only saw the residency thriving, but the hospital expanded to an established 10-story hospital. Finished with his military commitment, Dr. Lee joined the private practice of the renowned Howard W. Smith, MD, in New Haven, Connecticut, a business relationship that extended to Dr. Lee’s retirement in 2012. There he championed the idea of bringing services closer to patients offering ancillary services such as hearing aids, vestibular diagnosis and treatment, and allergy care. As his economic knowledge grew and the understanding of the critical link between a well-run practice and patient care developed, so did Dr. Lee’s relationship with physician education. First, he published a text for otolaryngologists, Essential Otolaryngology , now in its 12th edition. In 1988-1989 he joined the AAO-HNS Board of Directors, served for three years, then ran and was elected as Secretary Treasurer, serving consecutive three-year terms. During that time, the organization maintained financial stability and expanded development activities. His significant contributions in many different areas led to his election as President-elect in 2000, and he took office immediately following the Annual Meeting and the September 11, 2001, tragedy. Dr. Lee recalls the horror of the events of September 11, 2001, with deep sadness. He remembers, however, the pride of seeing the response of his colleagues and the comfort given and received as challenges of that event unfolded. Prior to assuming the presidency, Dr. Lee began working with colleagues to help them recognize and utilize all available resources to help improve their practice. This strategy foreshadowed the rapid evolution of practice management services seen over the last decade. Dr. Lee was also planning his areas of focus for his presidency, which included increasing member value, promoting the full scope of otolaryngology practice, increasing the endowment, and augmenting the organization’s income. He planned to use his own experiences in private practice to help guide others as they needed to adjust to changes in evolving care delivery models. He promoted the advantage of pooled resources and the use of a single-tax-ID along with the formation of larger group practices.

He also had great interest in improving electronic medical record systems. Unfortunately, he notes that 20 years later the struggles with information input are still a ubiquitous frustration. During Dr. Lee’s term, scope-of-practice issues with primary care and audiology began to accelerate leading Dr. Lee to state in the July 2002 Bulletin , “United we negotiate, divided we beg,” as he highlighted the advantage of a unified specialty advocacy approach. The AAO-HNSF introduced the Certificate Program for Otolaryngology Personnel (CPOP) formulated by James C. Denneny III, MD, as Chair of the Coalition for Hearing and Balance to train office staff in audiology procedures. The concept of creating medical otolaryngologists to take over that portion of specialty practice was being debated. Dr. Lee highlighted the significant downside to the specialty in the February 2002 Bulletin . That concept faded away rather quickly and was never enacted. An advocate for international collaboration and the sharing of education and practice experiences, Dr. Lee was hoping to increase Academy and Foundation’s engagement with its international colleagues. In this endeavor, he acknowledged that there were some members who preferred that resources be applied to domestic investment. Dr. Lee’s response was two-fold. He hoped both to support AAO-HNSF humanitarian service that was widely supported domestically and build more interest among international physicians in AAO-HNSF education and meetings. In time, both changes did occur. Dr. Lee continued his service to the organization and specialty after his presidential year. He served as Coordinator for International Affairs and International Editor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery from 2003-2009, and has been very influential in the international program, as well as regarding issues related to electronic health records and practice management.

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