The New AAOA Mission Statement

From the AAOA President, Aplen Patel, MD, FAAOA
I hope this message finds you healthy and well. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives, both personally and professionally. The impact of this virus outbreak has been far-reaching. How we live and interact with others will be very different, at least for the immediate future. As we return to our practices, uncertainty abounds, and questions remain to be answered. To help support our members during this transition, the AAOA has developed many resources.

During this crisis, many of us have found ourselves evaluating and managing patients remotely for the first time in our careers. Although difficult to perform a useful exam via telemedicine, the virtual encounter seems to be well-received by our patients. The AAOA Telehealth Toolkit was designed to help our members understand the rules, requirements, and reimbursement surrounding telemedicine. This toolkit will continue to serve as a valuable resource as we move forward since telemedicine is here to stay.

Many practices have temporarily suspended allergy testing and/or immunotherapy due to the crisis. The AAOA has created a guidance summary “Resuming SCIT During COVID-19 Pandemic.” Based on available scientific data and expert opinion, this document helps members to resume
safe allergy care as the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

We continue to expand our resources to help members during these hallenging times. Many of you have already tuned in to our new Zoomcast series Just in Time Content.

Key leaders within the organization discuss hot topics such as how to re-open practice with new safety measures and workflows, COVID-19 and anosmia, and physician wellness.

Due to our concern for your safety during this COVID-19 pandemic, the AAOA Board of Directors has decided to cancel the upcoming Basic Course. Instead, we are excited to offer you the AAOA’s first virtual course, Core Allergy & Rhinology Concepts: Age of Pandemics & Beyond. We will provide the same high quality content from leaders in the fields of otolaryngic allergy and rhinology. Wherever you are in the world, you will be able to attend this course from the comfort of your home or office enjoying unprecedented access to both live and on-demand content. We remain committed to delivering a virtual meeting that exceeds your expectations.

For those members who are required to participate in Part II-Lifelong Learning and Self- Assessment as part of the Continuing Certification process (formerly MOC) of the American Board of Oto-HNS, I am proud to announce that all of our CME programs, including the new virtual course, our live courses/meetings (Annual Meeting and Advanced Course), and our online Clinical Insights Modules qualify to meet this requirement.

At our Strategic Retreat earlier this year, the AAOA leadership focused on how to engage members, what drives members, and what the AAOA can do to better meet member needs. To align our organizational goals with our overall vision, the Board approved changing our mission statement to: Advance the comprehensive management of allergy and inflammatory disease in otolaryngology-head & neck surgery through training, education, and advocacy.

I encourage you to stay positive as we work together to overcome the new challenges we face. Stay safe, and I look forward to seeing you at the AAOA Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, October 23-25.

The 2020 AAOA Annual Meeting is now virtual. Lear more here.