Summer Newsletter 2009
Note from the President
Financial Report
Need To Know NEWS
Legislative News
WELCOME! New AKOA Members
AKOA Conference Registration 2009 Still Open
Note from the President
Fellow Doctors,
We’re just one week away from our state association meeting for 2009. If you are planning to attend, I hope you have registered or plan to in the next few days. We have some excellent education lined up, and this is a great chance to do some sightseeing, fishing, boating, or whatever else you can imagine in beautiful Kodiak.
The number one issue we have to deal with this year is board certification. As I’m sure you are aware, the JBCPT board came up with a proposed model for board certification in January. What you may not be aware of is that the model has changed in some significant ways in response to input from the state associations. While the basic timeline, points system, and educational structure of the model remain the same, recent changes have included credit for fellowships (50 points) and residencies (150 points) regardless of when they were completed, and 3 points credit for each year of licensed practice, up to a maximum of 75 points. A board-eligible status has also been created for those who are doing what’s necessary to become board certified in the near future.
What I hope we can do next week is come together and decide whether board certification as a concept is something optometry should be pursuing, and whether the ABO (American Board of Optometry) should therefore be established. Nobody can predict the future, but it’s reasonable to assume that the way healthcare is delivered in our country is going to change in the near future. What the AOA leadership is telling us, is that we are going to need to establish a method of demonstrating maintenance of competency, and board certification along with maintenance of competency appears to be the direction that federal government and third parties are looking favorably. If we don’t come up with a model of our own, then we may end up being forced to work with some other model, or completely left out in some cases.
While the current model may not be perfect, and it probably will never be perfect, it is an important topic and deserves our attention and input. If you have not looked over the current proposal recently, please do (board certification, and update), and address any specific concerns to us at the AKOA. It will be very helpful to begin discussing them before our meeting. Your input does make a difference!
James C. Falconer, Jr. OD
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Financial Report
Click here to view the 1st Quarter Financial Report by our very own Chief Financial Guy, John Demske, OD
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Need To Know NEWS
FTC Red Flag Rules
Here is the official announcement from the FTC about the delay in enforcement for the “Red Flags” Rule: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/04/redflagsrule.shtm
The AOA has posted a compliance guide and information for members here: http://www.aoa.org/FTCRedFlags.xml
What's New with 2009 PQRI & E-Prescribing Program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to announce that a new educational resource has been posted to the PQRI webpage on the CMS website. An article titled: Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) & E-Prescribing: Implementation Advice for the Office Manager outlines step-by-step how to get started in reporting 2009 PQRI measures.
The article is available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/PQRI/31_PQRIToolKit.asp on the CMS website as a downloadable document and is accessible by scrolling down to the Downloads section and selecting the “2009 PQRI and E-Prescribing Implementation Advice” link.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to announce three PQRI Help Desk Resources to assist eligible professionals with their questions on the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative.
Click here to learn more...
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Legislative News
The AKOA is currently tracking 7 bills that were introduced in the first session of the Alaska State Legislature.
HB 235 Professional Student Exchange Loan Forgiveness
HB 245 / SB 193 Licensing for Optometry
HB 58 Loan Repayment
HB 61 Universal Health Care
HB 69 Early Childhood Program
HB 75 Health Commission & Certificate of Need Study
Click here to learn more...
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WELCOME! New AKOA Members
A hearty welcome goes out to our newest AKOA member:
Adam Huff
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AKOA Conference Registration Now Online
AKOA Summer Conference 2009
Kodiak, AK
June 11-14, 2009
There are still seats available for the Alaska Optometric Association (AKOA) 2009 AKOA Summer Education Conference in Kodiak, AK, June 11-14, 2009. If you are interested in attending, please contact the AKOA as soon as possible by phone at: (907) 770-3777 / (877) 693-2562 or by email at: akoa@alaska.com
Conference highlights include:
- 23 hours of continuing education
- Exhibits with our ophthalmic product sponsors
- Daily Breakfast & Lunch
- Thursday evening open house at the office of Dr. John Shank followed by-
- Thursday evening welcome BBQ at Dr. Jerimiah Myer's
- Friday evening dinner reception
For more information click on the following links:
Schedule
Registration Form
General Information
Mark your calendars now for the AKOA Annual Conference 2010 being held March 25-28, 2010 in Juneau, Alaska.
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