The Academy is in your corner
From the President
Dr. Thiers served as Academy president from March 2020 to March 2021.
By Bruce Thiers, MD, December 1, 2020
As we close out this interesting year, I often reflect on how often our members and the Academy staff have stepped up to the plate — working steadily and consistently to ensure that we are informed and prepared to manage the new reality. Many of you have visited our Coronavirus Resource Center multiple times for the latest information on how to practice during the pandemic. But before COVID-19, the AAD Annual Meeting, JAAD, DermWorld, Question of the Week, and other CME opportunities were likely the items that first came to mind when you considered your Academy benefits. Indeed, these opportunities, programs, and resources are all essential to our practices.
In my first DermWorld column, I mentioned that, for some, the Academy is a black hole. A lot of what is done by your hard-working Academy staff and volunteers is done quietly and may not be noticed by the average member. Yet, the Academy accomplishes so much on our behalf, and it’s important that we acknowledge all it has to offer its members as we close out this challenging year.
For example, did you know that the Academy has staff entirely devoted to advocating on issues including medical research, scope of practice, truth in advertising, prior authorization, step therapy, patient access to care, indoor tanning restrictions, and more — not only in Washington, D.C., but in state houses throughout the country? Did you know that over the year, Academy staff will review — and decipher into plain language — thousands of pages of rules and regulations about physician payment, compounding, sunscreen access, and other issues?
It’s not just hours upon hours of advocacy work that engage the Academy. Think back to the last time you had a question about MIPS, OSHA rules, or HIPAA compliance. Where did you turn? Did you go straight to Google? More likely you accessed the Academy’s Practice Management Center knowing that the information there is reputable and correct. When you had a coding question, did you just go with your gut? Or did you call an Academy coding expert or visit the Academy’s Coding Resource Center to get a definitive answer?
Think about the last time you checked the local news and saw a story about skin cancer prevention, chronic skin diseases, and dermatologists on the frontlines of COVID. The Academy was likely behind that story. Did you know that in 2019 Academy staff and physician volunteers helped generate a record 13.2 billion print, broadcast, and online media impressions about the specialty and the care we provide?
Look around your office. Perhaps you have an AAD coding and documentation manual. Perhaps you have one of the SPOT Skin Cancer™ public service announcements playing in your waiting room. All these practice and patient resources came from your Academy.
What I’ve listed here is just a sliver of the programs and resources that the Academy offers its members. If you want to stay in the loop on what the Academy is doing for you, I encourage everyone to read the Academy’s weekly e-newsletter DermWorld Academy Insider to get up-to-date information on programs, resources, tools, and advocacy activities that the Academy is involved in. Also, be sure to look for DermWorld’s In Your Corner column — a monthly discussion of an issue of importance to the specialty and the Academy’s key activities to address that issue.
The full breadth and depth of the work of the Academy cannot be fully described in this brief summary. But look around and you’ll see: Academy membership offers an incredible amount of value, and we salute our staff and volunteers for the tireless work they offer to support our specialty and our patients.
On behalf of the Academy staff, we wish everyone a great holiday season and a better 2021!
