I had inadequate knowledge of many things before assuming a leadership position. Doing so gives you a different appreciation of what you do day to day, a better understanding of the issues of bringing new technology to clinicians, coding, and reimbursement at the governmental and payer level. —John M. DelGaudio“I think leadership is very important in terms of advocacy,” said Dr. Ishman, who cited others in the AAO-HNS who are working on determining fair rates for reimbursement. “There are a number of legislative issues where we are making sure we retain funding for research, and those kinds of opportunities require people who are willing to jump in and talk to their legislators and organize things at the Academy level. If you have strong leadership, you don’t need every member to do it. But others are working very hard to make sure we are effectively interacting with insurers and policy makers, to make sure the people who are doing the work are getting paid.”
Volunteering doesn’t mean taking on a project without learning how to do it, either. John M. DelGaudio, MD, chief of rhinology and sinus surgery and professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Emory University in Atlanta, is in the midst of climbing a four-year ladder: After being on the board of directors of the American Rhinologic Society for years, he was elected second vice president and is now spending this year as the first vice president. Next year, he will be president-elect, and the year after, president. “It’s a nice way to get ramped up before you have significant responsibility,” he said. This process has helped him learn the ins and outs of the specialty and given him insight into how various issues dealing with healthcare, finance, and reimbursement are all handled. “I had inadequate knowledge of many things before assuming a leadership position,” he said. “Doing so gives you a different appreciation of what you do day to day, a better understanding of the issues of bringing new technology to clinicians, coding, and reimbursement at the governmental and payer level.”
When you learn people have problems with reimbursement or bundling, “it opens your eyes to what is happening in your state,” he added. “We’re so busy as clinicians, seeing patients and managing offices, that a lot of this stuff goes unrecognized.”
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