PHOENIX-The speciality of head and neck surgery has come a long way. But, along with huge advances in the types of treatments available and the technologies used, the profession is facing challenges-such as the recruitment of good candidates into the field and issues related to the regionalization and globalization of care.
PHOENIX-Laryngology is enjoying a resurgence in the world of endoscopy and the future of the field is promising, outgoing American Laryngological Association (ALA) President Roger L. Crumley, MD, MBA, said in his presidential address at the 130th annual meeting of the association, an address that touched on the discipline’s past as well as challenges it is facing.
Although eustachian tuboplasty is in its infancy and specific criteria and indications for its use have not yet been established, researchers hope that it might provide a viable alternative to using pressure equalization tubes or tympanostomy for chronic eustachian tube dysfunction.
Implementing electronic health records (EHRs) for all 633,000 physicians and 5708 hospitals in the United States is a daunting task, and one that is being nudged forward by Team Obama’s $19 billion stimulus plan earmarked to help health care providers to switch to EHRs.
PHOENIX-With the election of President Barack Obama and with lawmakers in Washington poised to overhaul the health care system, with patients’ faith in their doctors faltering, and with health costs continuing to rise and quality becoming ever more questionable, Gerald B. Healy, MD, took the lectern for his keynote address here as if he were taking the helm of a ship at risk of being capsized by stormy seas.
PHOENIX-Doctors have a duty to encourage the hospitals and clinics they work in to go green because helping create a cleaner environment will improve the health of the very patients they are supposed to be caring for.
East Coast, West Coast, Midwest-when it comes to effective marketing techniques, otolaryngologists in private practice sound themes parallel to those shared by their colleagues in academic and group practices.
PHILADELPHIA-It’s a moment that rhinoplasty surgeons dread: They’ve performed a surgery, the operation is over, then they realize that something has gone wrong. To fix it, there will have to be another surgery.
Few medical conditions that otolaryngologists treat possess the breadth of heterogeneity of vascular anomalies. The size of lesions ranges from minute to massive, and the manifestations range from trivial to life-threatening, with the severity of symptoms not always proportional to the size of the lesion.
PHILADELPHIA-Constantly advancing computer technology in rhinologic surgery leads to the possibility of better patient care, but also can mean difficult decisions for surgeons weighing whether to make an expensive purchase. Three surgeons gathered to discuss some of the nuances of the technology in a mini seminar at Rhinology World 2009.