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Years ago, I came to OOSS in search of resources and guidance for our rapidly growing ophthalmic ASC. From Day 1, I was welcomed into the OOSS family by some of the greats in ophthalmology. OOSS was a tremendous support during the expansion of our Annapolis center. Now, as OOSS president, I know just how important it is for us to continue to mentor and develop the next generation of leaders in our field.

Teamwork

We all know there’s strength in numbers, and this is especially true for medical societies that must constantly advocate for patients amidst ever-changing regulations and reimbursement parameters.

At OOSS, as we work to grow our membership, we’re focused on adding value for members and mentoring the next generation of ophthalmic ASC surgeon-owners.

Through a collaboration with the American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives and the AAO Young Ophthalmologists Committee — with underwriting support from Zeiss — OOSS launched the OOSS Scholars Program in 2017 to help prepare young ophthalmologists for outpatient surgical practice. Participants in the OOSS Scholars Program receive a free OOSS membership, renewable up to 5 years, among many other benefits. We introduced our first class of OOSS Scholars at our 2017 Fall Symposium and will be accepting applications this summer for our next class.

The OOSS Scholars Program was one of several key outgrowths of our 2016 Strategic Planning Session. Many of the most challenging goals we set for ourselves then are well on the way to fulfillment and will inform the platform for the 2019 cycle.

Advocacy

Advocacy in legislative and regulatory affairs remains our top priority and core mission and is, today, more imperative than ever. OOSS continues to fight to secure reasonable Medicare ASC facility reimbursement; to promote best practices and ameliorate infection/sterilization requirements not relevant to ophthalmic surgery; to ensure appropriate quality reporting measures; and to challenge misguided efforts to promote cost-reducing practices, such as office-based surgery, that expose patients to unnecessary risk.

Effective advocacy also depends on teamwork among medical societies. As OOSS councilor for the AAO, I was struck by the number of different societies that exist within ophthalmology, each with the purpose of representing its respective subspecialties and interests.

I realized how they all have the potential to intersect with OOSS. For example, under the leadership of Jeff Whitman, MD, OOSS partnered with ASCRS and the Academy in a ground-breaking study of sterilization practices. I’m committed to the next step, which is to engage manufacturers in reviewing and updating their Directions for Use to reflect study findings and align with best practices.

Giving Back

OOSS Gives, initiated by Brad Black, MD, is a program designed to promote ASC involvement in charitable cataract surgery in partnership with the ASCRS Foundation’s Operation Sight. In the coming year, we’ll seek new ways to strengthen our collaboration with other medical societies and industry partners to promote our shared commitments to patients and outpatient ophthalmic surgical care.

Educational Resources Grow

One of the most successful initiatives to come out of the 2016 Strategic Planning retreat has been the growth of OOSS University and our considerable bank of educational, training, and data analytics resources for members. I’ve found the exchange of experiences and opinions through discussion, study, and publication among the most rewarding of OOSS benefits.

To extend the breadth and depth of OOSS University, OOSS is working with the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology to develop a staff certification program for surgical assistants and with the Institute for Medical Quality to develop a more ophthalmic-centric and education-oriented accreditation process for the ophthalmic ASC.

I often comment that building a surgery center was one of the best decisions I could have made in practice. For me, finding an organization — OOSS — that was able to support our center and help us with regulation, efficiency, and management was ideal. Working with other leading, high-volume surgeons has been inspiring and vitally important to our success.

I look forward to leading OOSS and spreading the word about the benefits of our society. As we like to say, “Where you belong today will shape your tomorrow.” ■