Eyeworld

5 EW NEWS & OPINION March 2016 to engage and support the next gen- eration of practice administrators. "ASOA's goals are to continue to be the No. 1, go-to resource for all aspects of practice management," Ms. Rowland said, adding that ex- panding membership to include all management staff, such as market- ing teams, coders, and front office staff, is a goal as well. "This is another reason ASOA is relevant," she said. "We have prac- tices that are 200 staff strong and others that are 2 people. [We offer help] with government and legisla- tive issues as well as a smorgasbord of services and educational resources to help administrators in their day- to-day management responsibilities. [Our membership] does not fit the 'one size fits all' mold, but they all face the same issues." Mr. Karcher thinks ASOA will continue to be vital in the decades to come. "I think practices are going to change," he said. "I think we're going to see a lot of consolidation, whether it be hospital-related or practice consolidation, and it's going to be even more important that we have well-educated administrators at the helm." He added that regulatory changes will continue to impact medical practices. "There are those in the government who have their own philosophies with regard to how they feel practices should be operating, and it behooves us as an organization both as ophthalmolo- gists and administrators to stay on top of that," he said. As Ms. Rowland put it, "The business management of a practice has increasingly come into sharper focus. We are seeing a shift whereby business management has become more and more recognized by the physicians as essential to the growth and profitability of the practice. Pro- viding tools and resources to support this need is what ASOA will strive to do tomorrow and in the years to come." EW Contact information Don Bell: dbell@ascrs.org John Bell: jbell@northsuburbaneye.com Fahel: eqf15@aol.com Karcher: dkarcher@ascrs.org Kung: cykung@comcast.net Rowland: Laureen@asoa.org Santiago: lmsantiago1103@gmail.com to help each other unusual in an encouraging way. "One of the things we thought was 'They're not going to want to share,' because you don't give away your marketing tricks," she said. "But they never hesitated. They were more than willing to share what they were doing, to help each other out, to reach out to each other, and they've continued to do that. There was no holding back." Whether it's a large practice or small one, Skip Fahel, ASOA's first president who served from 1990–91, said ASOA was established to and continues to serve a variety of needs. "A lot of it was [that] the better every practice did, the better the profession did in general," he said, explaining how ASOA provided smaller practices with tools they otherwise might not have had. Ms. Kung said she has been im- pressed with how proactive ASOA is at getting information and resources out to its members, citing the orga- nization's newer, regional meeting program as an example. "I thought it was a great idea to disseminate ASOA's resources in a less formal setting throughout multiple regions where there can be more interaction between attendees and speakers," she said. Celebrating 30 Throughout 2016, ASOA is hosting various celebratory events in honor of its 30th anniversary. One of the main features is a website devoted to this milestone, which will go live prior to the 2016 ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Con- gress. This website will highlight ASOA's history and accomplish- ments, as well as the many ways members can celebrate. ASOA will be drawing a mem- ber's name on the 30th of each month to send that lucky person a variety of goodies to "show them that we care," Ms. Rowland said. Members submitted essays about how the society has benefitted them to an ASOAwesome contest last year, and the essays are now being featured in the award-winning Administrative Eyecare magazine. The ASOA Congress, May 6–10 in New Orleans, will also feature cel- ebratory events, including the debut of a video created specifically for the anniversary. The always-popular Sunday night celebration, sponsored by CareCredit, will include special celebrations to mark the 30th anni- versary. Mr. Fahel, who organized the first ASOA parties, said he is most excited about that tradition. "I always go back to the party," he said. "I'm looking forward to doing that and reconnecting with all the administrators I have met and worked with over the 30 years." Looking ahead As the ASOA 30th anniversary tagline—Planning for the Future, Learning from Our History—states, moving the organization forward remains a primary focus. "I think it's important because demographics are changing and the practice administration field is facing a lot of retirements," Ms. Rowland said. "Administrators, with increasing regulations and legisla- tive burdens, are becoming burned out, and ASOA needs to continue to provide tools and resources for efficiently and effectively running an ophthalmology business, but also ASOA provides members with a plethora of resources including tangible materials, an online listserv, national and regional meetings, and more. Source (all): ASOA The ASOA Congress features a variety of sessions for practice administrators as well as roundtables to facilitate discussions and idea sharing.

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