President's Message
As I am writing this column, we are rolling out an exciting expansion of the Society’s Mastery Program, which, by the time you receive this newsletter, should be accessible to all of our members. Over the last year, this project has been a priority of our board of directors and of particular interest to me, and one which I plan to continue to support in my role as your president. It is clear from the outstanding level of participation in the pilot program that this initiative is a member benefit that you truly welcome. However, if you are one of those who have yet to participate, please consider the following:
New Measures, Modules Added
The newly expanded Mastery Program introduces 3 new modules to the program--risk assessment, percutaneous procedures, and cancer staging. So as a participant you will now be able to track and compare a wider range of data, providing you with even more valuable information for self-assessment. The surgery module has also been expanded to include additional quality measures, but will still look familiar to users who participated in the pilot program.
Recognition of the Program
The value of this quality improvement initiative is being recognized not only by our members and leadership, but by leading organizations in the healthcare field. The American Board of Surgery now recognizes the Mastery Pilot Program as fulfilling the requirements for its Maintenance of Certification, Part 4 (ongoing participation in a national, regional, or local surgical outcomes database or quality assessment program). More recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved our new Mastery Program as a qualified 2010 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) registry for the data submission on the perioperative measures group.
Therefore, at the same time you are entering data for self-evaluation, you may be fulfilling requirements for other programs. And we hope this is just the beginning. Just as we anticipate this program improving and expanding, we also expect it to be recognized by a growing number of other organizations as evidence of continuing medical education and a commitment to individual quality assessment and improvement. So I encourage you, if you haven’t already done so, to take advantage of this valuable benefit offered free to Society members. Participation now, before such reporting programs become mandatory from outside agencies, will provide you, the surgeon, with the experience of self-reporting and with valuable data for self-assessment of your individual practice and patient outcomes. Your participation will also help the Society develop meaningful quality measures that work in day-to-day surgical practice.
Customized Participation
Concerned about the commitment of time or effort? Keep in mind that you can choose, and at any time change, your level of participation. Feel that some aspects may not be applicable to your practice? You can select any or all of the modules in which you would like to enter and track data. Not convinced? The best way to find out is to try it out for yourself. I think you’ll find this program very user friendly and flexible. Our Mastery Committee has worked tirelessly to create an efficient process without reducing the value of the outcome for its users. Once you’ve had a chance to try it out, I encourage you to let us know what you think. Feedback from you and the other participants will help to build this program, including the addition of future quality measures.
Committee Support
The Patient Safety and Quality Committee continues to study additional quality measures that can be linked to quality breast care. These efforts have been led by Dr. Lorraine Tafra who completed her term as chair of the committee this spring. I am very grateful for her determination to see to it that the Society take an active role in quality improvement and for rallying our leadership on this important issue. I look forward to working with her successor, Dr. Jeffrey Landercasper, on future quality initiatives, including the consideration of additional measures for inclusion in the Mastery Program.
My thanks also go to Dr. Shawna Willey. It was during her presidency that work on the Mastery Program began. This spring she completed her many years of service on our board of directors, most recently as past president. However, I am delighted that that she will continue to represent the Society in the highly visible and extremely important role of Legislative Committee chair. As we work to have our voice heard in healthcare reform debate, this committee has an increasingly important role in reviewing government-related issues that affect breast surgeons and developing appropriate responses and I am confident that her experience will serve us well.
Also completing service is Dr. Edgar Staren, Bylaws Committee Chair. This committee deals with the details that shape the structure of our Society and, at the meeting in Las Vegas, developed and proposed a change to our requirements for active membership. The proposal, was presented to the membership by incoming chair, Dr. Helen Pass, and was approved by a vote of the membership at our business meeting.
Dr. Howard Snider left his post as chair of the Finance Committee and secretary/treasurer to assume his new role on the board as president-elect. Dr. Snider worked with the Society staff in his role as chair to develop a more detailed budget. We are quite fortunate that with his oversight our Society has maintained a stable financial footing at a time of economic uncertainty and I trust that Dr. Tricia Kelly, who moves from Education Committee Chair to secretary/treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee, will continue to do so. (See page X for the business meeting report.)
Many of you had the opportunity to hear about these issues, as well as the latest topics in breast care, this spring at our meeting in Las Vegas. (See page 4-6 for photo highlights.) The program, developed by Dr. Funda Meric-Bernstam and her colleagues on the Annual Meeting Committee, was enthusiastically received by attendees. It brought together a fabulous faculty of experts from around the world and attracted more than 1300 attendees. On behalf of all who attended, I thank Dr. Meric-Bernstam, the 2010 program director, for an outstanding educational opportunity. As a former program director, I can assure you that the planning for our meeting is a huge undertaking and one that grows as the size of our meeting increases and the issues confronting our members become more complex. We look forward to a move back to the East Coast in 2011 when Dr. Mahmoud El-Tamer will chair the program in Washington, DC.
A Stronger Society, Improved Benefits
In 2008 as a result of strategic planning sessions under the leadership of then President Dr. Shawna Willey, the following major goals of the Society were established:
- Developing the Mastery of Breast Surgery program
- Establishing a legislative process
- Maturing a research program
- Enhancing educational program offerings
- Promoting the recognition of breast surgery as a subspecialty
It is with this guidance in mind that my predecessor, Dr. Victor Zannis oversaw the expansion of the enhanced Mastery program. He worked to improve our infrastructure through the creation of the Society’s new Executive Vice President position. It was also during his term that the Society leadership, after careful deliberation, moved to make the Annals of Surgical Oncology our official journal—a change that not only provides our members with a resource that should better suit their needs, but also offers a more visible and prestigious publication in which the research from our annual meeting can be published. Perhaps most notable, he led the Society as we were faced with responding to the many complex issues related to healthcare reform.
As many of you are aware, Dr. Zannis is passionate about this organization and I am sure he still has much to offer in his role on the board as past president. I look forward to relying on him for his insight and expertise in the coming year.
As I serve as your president, I am grateful to have such an experienced and dedicated group of colleagues working with me. I am confident that as a team we can continue the efforts of those who have served previously and meet the challenges that await us as we continue our work to support and represent surgeons who treat breast disease.
Sincerely,
Eric B. Whitacre, MD
President