Academy Notebook NEWS • TIPS • RESOURCES

WHAT’S HAPPENING Register for AAO 2020 and Book Your Hotel AAO 2020 Opening Session: Starting April 8, Academy and Ameri- Don’t Miss These Lectures can Academy of Ophthalmic Executives Mark the Opening Session on your members can register and make hotel calendar. Highlights will include talks reservations for Subspecialty Day (Nov. by and Michael X. 13-14), AAO 2020 (Nov. 14-17), and Repka, MD. The AAO 2020 Opening half-day AAOE Coding Sessions (Nov. Session starts at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, 14) in Las Vegas. Nonmembers can do Nov. 15, in Las Vegas. so starting April 22. Find more infor- Malcolm Gladwell will give the key­ mation at aao.org/registration and aao. note speech. He is an internationally org/hotels. known journalist, writer, and cultural Remember: Registration for AAO observer. He has been included in OPENING SESSION. Mr. Gladwell’s key- 2020 is free if you are a member and the Time 100 Most Influential Peo- note will be one of many highlights at your 2020 membership dues have been ple list and has appeared in Foreign AAO 2020. For information on the Sub- paid. Join or renew today at aao.org/ Policy magazine’s list of Top Global specialty Day program, course passes, member-services. Thinkers. His work, which focuses and ticketing, see page 64. Avoid scams: Book hotel rooms and on human psychology and sociology, register only through links provided appears in The New Yorker where he Michael X. Repka, MD, will present by the Academy. Several fraudulent has been a staff writer since 1996. He is the Jackson Memorial Lecture. His companies pretending to be associated also the author of six New York Times talk is titled “Improving Amblyopia with the Academy and AAO 2020 may bestsellers: , Blink, Outcomes Through Clinical Trials and appear in web searches or may have , What the Dog Saw, David and Practice Measurement.” already contacted you via email. They Goliath, and his recently published Dr. Repka is internationally recog- claim that they can book hotel rooms book, . nized for his contributions in the fields or register you for the Academy’s an- Mr. Gladwell is also the cofounder of pediatric ophthalmology, strabis- nual meeting, but they are unaffiliated of Pushkin Industries, an audio content mus, retinopathy of prematurity, and with the Academy. The official hotel company that produces podcasts, such pediatric neuro-ophthalmology. His reservation provider for AAO 2020 is as Solvable, Against the Rules, and The clinical practice includes an interest Expovision. Happiness Lab. He also hosts Revision- in the management of strabismus and If you are ever in doubt, email meet- ist History, which “reconsiders things amblyopia. [email protected], call 1-415-561-8500, both overlooked and misunderstood,” Dr. Repka is the David L. Guyton, or contact Expovision at aaohotels@ and cohosts Broken Record, where he MD, and Feduniak Family Professor expovision.com or toll-free at 1-866- interviews musicians. of Ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins 774-0487. University’s Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore. He is also the Academy’s Mid-Year Forum News medical director for Governmental This year’s Mid-Year Forum (MYF) Affairs and the ophthalmology advisor takes place April 22-25 and puts the on the American Medical Association’s focus on policy, politics, and practice CPT Advisory Committee. management.CANCELED Hear the keynote speech

EYENET MAGAZINE • 61 by U.S. Surgeon General Jerome M. Ad- Start reviewing improvement activ­ Media. If you are

® ams, MD, MPH, meet your legislators ities. New this year: Groups only get a fan of EyeNet, EyeNetJANUARY 2020 during Congressional Advocacy Day credit for an improvement activity if please partici- A Growing Pandemic What to Do (see Volunteer Opportunity below), at least 50% of the clinicians meet the About Myopia pate and make attend the Academy Council meetings reporting requirements of that activity. your opinion (April 24 and 25), pick from a range of Start reviewing the promoting inter­ known. Being discussion sessions, and more. For the operability measures. Make sure you ranked among

AMD Patients See Benefits full schedule, visit aao.org/myf. understand the measure requirements. From IOL Surgery the most widely Shingles on the Rise A Clinical Guide to HZO

MIPS 2020 Not registeredCANCELED yet? The deadline for For detailed descriptions of those What’s New on Jan. 1 and thoroughly advance registration is April 6, but you measures, plus the Academy guide to 01_Cover_F.indd 1 12/4/19 11:08 AM read ophthalmic can also register onsite. Learn more at understanding their specifications, visit publications enables EyeNet to secure aao.org/mid-year-forum/registration- aao.org/medicare/promoting-inter funding for projects that help you in travel. operability/measures. the clinical realm and in your practice, Get the latest news. Reports from Who in your practice is taking the like the MIPS manual (aao.org/eyenet/ the Mid-Year Forum will be posted at lead on MIPS? Given the amount of mips-manual-2020). aao.org/mid-year-forum/news. money at stake, you need to make sure that your practice has at least one staff Volunteer Opportunity: TAKE NOTICE point person and has named a physi- Become a Congressional cian as its MIPS champion. Advocate MIPS—Are You on Schedule Is your staff point person signed up Participate in the Academy’s Congres- With Your 2020 Reporting? with the AAOE? The AAOE is the prac- sional Advocacy Program and help There are several ways to report MIPS tice management arm of the Academy. drive a pro-ophthalmology legislative quality measures this year, but no mat- AAOE members enjoy access to all the and regulatory agenda. ter which option(s) you choose, you Academy’s MIPS resources (see below) Become an effective physician should have already made a start on and, just as importantly, they are part advocate. With assistance from the reporting quality. of an active community that frequently Academy, you’ll develop relationships Reporting via Medicare Part B uses its listserv to share MIPS tips. with lawmakers to provide important claims. Reporting via claims needs to Use the Academy’s resources: constituent input and represent the be done in real time. If you plan to • The MIPS hub page at aao.org/ Academy’s key priorities. As a Con- meet the 70% data completeness crite- medicare, which includes the “Small gressional Advocate, you will commu- ria, you probably should have already Practice Roadmap” and “Large Practice nicate with members of Congress and started reporting quality measures. Roadmap.” congressional staff through email as Reporting manually via the IRIS • The IRIS Registry User Guide at aao. well as face-to-face meetings in both Registry. Have you already entered org/iris-registry/user-guide/getting- Washington and their congressional your quality measure data from Janu- started. district. Join this national network of ary, February, and March into the IRIS • EyeNet’s MIPS 2020: A Primer and ophthalmologists, which has the power Registry? If not, you should start catch- Reference, which has been posted on­ to influence legislation. ing up. Although manual reporting via line ahead of print at aao.org/eyenet/ Start this month at Congressional the IRIS Registry doesn’t have to be mips-manual-2020. (When the print Advocacy Day (CAD). The Academy’s done in real time, reporting through- edition arrives, make sure to give it to Mid-Year Forum (April 22-25) kicks off out the year—even each day, on a your MIPS point person.) with a dinner briefing on April 22 to patient-by-patient basis—will make the Check your email each week. Get prepare attendeesaao.org/cad for their April 23 ap- process much more manageable. the latest MIPS news in Washington pointments with members of Congress. Check Reporting via IRIS Registry–EHR Report Express (Thursdays) and, for Advance registrationfor the virtual for the Mid-Year integration. Although the IRIS Registry AAOE members, Practice Management Forum (aao.org/myfadvocacy) closes day. on April uses an automated process to extract Express (Sundays). 6, but you also will be able to register quality measure data from your elec- If you haven’t started yet, begin onsite. tronic health record (EHR) system, it is soon. You can sign up for the IRIS Reg- More on volunteering. Learn about still your responsibility to check your istry at aao.org/iris-registry/sign-up. If dozens of Academy volunteering oppor- measures at least quarterly to look for you are already signed up with the IRIS tunities aao.org/volunteering. potential problems. For example, are Registry, make sure your practice and the correct patients being pulled for a provider information is up to date. Year of the Eye: Watch for measure? Are staff entering data into the Ophthalmology Special the correct field of the EHR? If there A Request From EyeNet Supplement are issues with your data mapping or You may have received an email in- In celebration of the year 2020, Oph- workflow, they need to be identified and vitation to participate in a magazine thalmology has published a commemo- addressed as soon as possible. readership sur­vey conducted by Kantar rative supplement that will arrive in the

62 • APRIL 2020 mail with your April issue of the blue D.C. REPORT journal. Titled 2020 Retrospective of Landmark Contributions, the supple- Academy Members Call for Action on mental publication includes 12 studies published over the history of the Prior Authorization journal that have had a major impact Earlier this year, Academy members from across the United States took on the field, including “Prevalence of part in the Regulatory Relief Coalition’s national “day of action” to press Age-Related Maculopathy: The Beaver Congress to end prior authorization abuses by Medicare Advantage plans. Dam Eye Study” by Klein et al., “Her- More than 200 Academy members sent messages to their elected offi- petic Eye Disease Study: A Controlled cials to urge support for the bipartisan Improving Seniors’ Timely Access Trial of Topical to Care Act.

Volume 127 | Number 4S | April 2020 Elsevier | ISSN 0161-6420 Corticosteroids This bill aims to increase transparency and reduce costly burdens in for Herpes Sim­ Medicare Advantage’s prior authorization process. It would: plex Stromal • streamline the electronic prior authorization process; Keratitis” by • minimize the use of prior authorization for routinely approved services; Wilhelmus et • ensure prior authorization requests are reviewed by qualified medical al., and others. personnel; These articles • require transparency from Medicare Advantage plans on the extent of were selected their use of prior authorization and rates of delay and denial; and

2020 Retrospective of Landmark Contributions by the Ophthal- • prohibit additional prior authorization requirements for medically nec- mology editorial essary services performed during preapproved surgeries or other invasive board. Companion commentaries procedures. accompany each article; these are writ- The bill is sponsored by Reps. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., Mike Kelly, ten by well-known experts in the field, R- Pa., Ami Bera, D-Calif., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan. Since its introduc- including Emily Y. Chew, MD, Joan W. tion, more than 160 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives have Miller, MD, and others. The supplement signed on in support as cosponsors. is available online at aaojournal.org. For the latest Advocacy news, visit aao.org/advocacy.

Advice From OMIC: Protect Against Giant Cell Arteritis justify new staff hires, and more. ACADEMY RESOURCES Claims Benchmarking Survey. The Academy/ A review of OMIC records shows that New: International Retina AAOE AcadeMetrics practice manage- malpractice lawsuits for delay in diag- Journal Club Webinars ment benchmarking survey opens April nosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA) often A new retina journal club is starting up 15 and closes July 31, so act quickly to involve ophthalmologists who had suc- at the Academy. These webinar-based benefit from this valuable tool. Enter cessfully treated patients with GCA in discussions of important retina papers your 2019 practice manage­ment data the past, knew its signs and symptoms will take place quarterly. by the deadline and use the AcadeMet- well, and understood that emergent The inaugural webinar, developed in rics benchmarking tool throughout the treatment is needed to prevent immi- conjunction with the Sociedad Pana- year to compare your financial data to nent, bilateral vision loss. What, then, mericana de Retina y Vitreo, will take that of similar practices. Get valuable led these ophthalmologists astray? place April 29 at 8 p.m., U.S. Eastern insight into optimal staffing levels, The OMIC article “Giant Cell Ar- Time, and is titled Treatment-Naïve, number of satellite offices, and more. teritis Claims Are Costly and Difficult Non-Exudative Macular Neovascu- Ophthalmic Salary Survey. Another to Defend” can be found in the 2015 larization in AMD. Moderators Drs. AcadeMetrics tool—the Ophthalmic OMIC Digest at omic.com/news-2/ Christopher Henry and Lihteh Wu will Salary Survey—is open year-round publications. It explores the reasons discuss three papers with authors Drs. and tracks specific benchmarks related for these poor outcomes, the standard Luiz Roisman, Joao Rafael De Oliveira to optometrist, midlevel provider, and to which medical experts hold physi- Dias Sr., and Philip J. Rosenfeld. staff salary data to help you benchmark cians who treat these patients, and the Participation is free of charge. compensation and benefits packages. measures ophthalmologists can take Register at aao.adobeconnect.com/ Get started at aao.org/academetrics. to improve the likelihood of a correct rjc04292020/event/event_info.html. and timely diagnosis. It also points to Access Trusted Business a downloadable checklist at omic.com/ Benchmark Your Practice Expertise giant-cell-arteritis-checklist. OMIC Academy and AAOE members can The Ophthalmic Advisors Group— offers professional liability insurance access two key benchmarking tools composed of the Academy’s senior exclusively to Academy members, their and garner valuable analytics that coding and practice management ex- employees, and their practices. have helped practices increase revenue, perts—offers a comprehensive suite of

EYENET MAGAZINE • 63 consultation services to help solve your Subspecialty Day presentation taking practice’s complex business challenges. place on Friday or Saturday. In addi- They’ll set you up for success with tion, those registered for a Subspecialty chart audits, coding, claims, reimburse- Day meeting taking place on Saturday ment, business management, and staff will have access on that day to the AAO development. Available to Academy and 2020 Exhibition. AAOE members through the Academy Meetings on Demand is compli­ Store. mentary. All Subspecialty Day meeting Learn more at aao.org/consultation- attendees receive access to the All- services. Subspecialty Day 2020 Meetings on Demand prod­uct, which captures pre- OPAL Helps Practice sentations from all eight Subspecialty Managers Become More GET READY FOR VEGAS. On April 8, Day meetings. Effective Leaders members can register and book their Find more information at aao.org/ AAOE’s Ophthalmic Practice Admin- hotel rooms (see page 61). subspecialty-day. istrators Leadership (OPAL) Program is designed especially for practice Transfer labs, special meetings, and PASSAGES managers to move to the next level of AAOE Practice Management Master professional growth. Program partici- Classes will be available for purchase Juan T. Verdaguer, MD pants work one-on-one with a mentor, starting June 17. The influential Chilean ophthalmol- develop a unique capstone project, and Visit aao.org/registration for more ogist Juan T. Verdaguer, MD, passed showcase their leadership skills at a spe- information. away on Feb. 25, 2020, after a long cial event during the Academy’s annual illness. He was 86 years old. meeting. Applications for Cohort 2020- Submit an AAO 2020 Dr. Verdaguer attended medical 21 are due April 30. Abstract Online by April 14 school at the University of Chile, and at For more information about OPAL, Contribute your expertise to the world’s the University’s JJ Aguirre Clinical Hos- visit aao.org/practice-management/ most comprehensive ophthalmology pital, he studied ophthalmology under leadership-program or email aaoe@aao. meeting. The online submitter for AAO his father, Professor Juan Verdaguer org. 2020 paper/e-poster and video abstracts Planas. He did postgraduate work in opened on March 12 and closes April 14. the United States at both Harvard and MEETING MATTERS The online abstract submitter for Columbia Universities. instruction courses and Skills Transfer Later he would become Professor Course Pass and Tickets: labs closed Jan. 14. of Ophthalmology and an Honorary Buy Them Early Learn more at aao.org/presenter Professor of the Faculty of Medicine at Registration for AAO 2020 gives you central. the University of Chile. He also served access to sessions, papers, Poster The- as Professor of Ophthalmology at the ater presentations and Poster Discus- Register for Subspecialty University of Los Andes and Academic sions, e-posters, videos on demand, Day 2020 Director of Los Andes Ophthalmologi- coffee and conversation at the Academy Subspecialty Day meetings feature cal Foundation. Cafés, and more. For even greater access, world-renowned ophthalmologists He was President of the Chilean consider purchasing the Acad­emy Plus presenting the latest developments and Society of Ophthalmology from 1971- course pass. pearls. Dates are as follows: 1972, and President of the Pan-Amer- Academy Plus. Academy Plus is a • One-day meeting on Friday, Nov. ican Association of Ophthalmology course pass that offers unlimited access 13: Refractive Surgery from 1997-1999. He received the 2014 to all Academy and AAOE instruction • Two-day meeting on Friday, Nov. National Prize for Medicine and was courses, including Skills Transfer 13, and Saturday, Nov. 14: Retina the Guest of Honor at the XXXIII didactic lectures. No need to plan or • One-day meetings on Saturday, Pan-American Congress of Oph- preselect courses. Pass holders can float Nov. 14: Cornea, Glaucoma, Ocular thalmology in Lima. In addition to among all available courses. Oncology/Pathology, Oculofacial Plas- receiving many honors and medals, You can purchase the Academy tic Surgery, Pediatric Ophthalmology, he authored more than 200 papers on Plus course pass after you have regis- and Uveitis retinal diseases, ophthalmic oncology, tered for AAO 2020 online. Academy Subspecialty Day registration and blindness prevention. Plus will also give you access to the provides attendees the flexibility Dr. Verdaguer is survived by his wife, Meetings on Demand, which highlights to float among meetings.One-day Martina, four children, and 14 grand- presentations recorded during the meeting registrants can attend any of children, including his granddaughter, annual meeting. the meetings taking place that day; two- Sofia, who is a fourth-generation oph-

Ticketed events. Tickets for Skills day registrants are free to attend any thalmologist. iofoto/Shutterstock.com

64 • APRIL 2020