Building off the work of my predecessors
From the President
Dr. Thiers served as Academy president from March 2020 to March 2021.
By Bruce Thiers, MD, April 1, 2020
As your new Academy president, I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity to serve our profession and patients. Dermatology has given me so much, and I am honored to have the chance to give back to the specialty. It goes without saying that Dr. George Hruza worked tirelessly as our Academy president last term. Thanks to Dr. Hruza’s leadership, and the efforts made by Academy members and staff, the specialty thrived under his direction. I feel very fortunate to take office after so many active and effective presidents and I am inspired by all the impact that they have made on the specialty and our patients.
Yet, as we all know — especially in health care — our work is never done. We must preserve the practice of dermatology for the sake of our patients. To do so, we need to advocate for policies that reduce the regulatory burden on physicians. We must continue our efforts to protect patient access to care — specifically, fighting against oner-ous step-therapy policies and prior authorization requirements. Closer to home, we must remain adamant about protecting our patients from un-safe expansions of non-physician provider scope of practice, and we must keep fighting for truth in advertising and indoor tanning regulations. There are myriad issues on our plate this year and I will tackle them head on, but please keep in mind that many of these are regulated at the state level so we need your enthusiastic participation as well.
We will continue to update and develop the tools and resources for all your educational, advocacy, public outreach, and practice management and coding needs. We are also planning for the specialty’s future with our new Strategic Plan, where we set a simple, but lofty vision for the Academy: to be recognized as the leading authority for the highest quality of compassionate dermatologic care.
I would like to add here that I believe that AAD membership is an invaluable benefit to each and every one of us. I think for some, the Academy is a black hole where they send in their dues every year and get little in return. Nothing could be further from the truth. A lot of what is done by your hard-working Academy staff is done under the radar, yet they accomplish so much on our behalf. I hope by the time my term comes to a close, we all will better appreciate not only the value of Academy membership, but also the tireless work that goes into helping its members, our specialty, and our patients.
I am making the pledge to make the most of my term as your Academy president and to build off the successes of past presidents. However, I will need your help! When the Academy calls on you to contribute your voice and your financial support, please heed the call. If we work together, we can ensure the success of our specialty, and most importantly, a brighter future for our patients.
