FEBRUARY 2024 ISSUE 6
DELAWARE ACADEMY OF
OPHTHALMOLOGY
Page 3
Contents
THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER We are accomplishing a lot as a State Society for the Delaware Ophthalmologist and their Patient!
Page 8 SHORT CLINICAL PEARLS Quick Links to Interesting things that relate to our field
Page 9 SPOTLIGHT ON DAVE LARNED, MD DAO member, still going strong at 73 years of age
Page 11 UPCOMING EVENTS Coding Course, Lectures, Eye Screening & Pickle Ball!
Page 12 MEDICAL WASTE EYE-DROP LEGISLATION PASSES Interview with Susan Morris, RN who initiated and passed this with Senator Laura Sturgeon.
THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER PAULA KO, MD
Dear Delaware Ophthalmologist, This year we have a lot of exciting projects planned and encourage you to be involved in the DAO community!
FIRST, we continue to meet with all the members of the Senate Health and Social Services Committee and the House Health and Human Development Committee. I have personally met with about half of the legislators in the committees and hope to finish before June of 2024. I would appreciate it if anyone knows members, to reach out to me so we can make the connections. There are scope battles all over the US, particularly because of the increased aging population and our professional population size is static if not shrinking. This makes it ripe for Optometry scope battles. Making connections now will be incredibly important when a scope battle occurs in Delaware. Legislators are interested in understanding scope of practice differences between an Optician, Optometrist, and an Ophthalmologist. The Zoom call takes 20 minutes and I have found them to be very receptive and engaged. I have a script you can use and Anne Farley, DAO’s Government Relations Manager, makes it very easy to do. Click here if you will meet with a legislator or can connect us with someone you know. List of Senate committee and House Committee PAGE THREE| DAO
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THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER
SECOND, the DAO has been selected by the AAO to start a diabetic retinopathy screening program with the Henrietta Johnson Medical Center. This pilot project uses a non-mydriatic camera and AI technology to diagnose patients within seconds, with more than mild diabetic retinopathy, treatable diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic macular edema. They will then be referred to members of the DAO who have volunteered to be a part of the project. Most patients will be referred to retina specialists, but some patients will need general ophthalmologists if the photograph was unreadable, or if glaucoma is found. If you are already an EyeCare America volunteer, you will be on the referral list. I ask that all members of our state society participate to accept a few patients a year, if they have pathology. The Wilmington Eye Clinic will accept uninsured patients. AI technology is the future of diabetic retinopathy screening. As our diabetic and elderly population explodes, we hope to implement this on a larger scale throughout Delaware. We are working with the company Eyenuk who has generously donated a camera with FDA-approved AI technology to screen for diabetic retinopathy. Eyenuk has approval in other countries to detect AMD and Glaucoma with AI, and is looking for FDA approval in the US. Very exciting! EMAIL ME If you will ACCEPT A FEW PATIENTS found to have Pathology. PAGE FIVE | DAO
THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER THIRD, my goal is to keep our community strong through social events (like Pickleball!), hybrid CME medical lectures (thank you Dr Ben Chaon!) and community events (Henrietta Johnson Eye Screening is scheduled for Saturday March 16). We are making an effort to keep the younger members of our organization involved so we can continue to stay strong through the years. We involve the Temple residents in all that we do. This teaches them to get involved in their communities when they go out to practice. We sponsor a Temple resident each year to go to the Mid-Year Forum, and host an interesting dinner grand-rounds at graduation time. I encourage all Delaware Opthalmologists to join the DAO - we have successfully increased eye reimbursement codes for Aetna and are the first line with legislators advocating for our patients and our profession.
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SHORT CLINICAL PEARLS Report finds the COVID virus in the retina post-mortem
Scary demographics of the ophthalmology workforce which will be significantly decreased in 10 years.
Optometry bills introduced in West Virginia, New Hampshire and South Dakota. Scope of practice Bills are going up as the supply of ophthalmologists go down relative to the amount of patients
The Unfolding Story of Ophthalmology and Private Equity - the jury is still out
Studies show that taking vacation reduces physician burnout!
Dry Eyes with Nasal Spray?!
Savvy Coder - Simplyfing Coding E/M vrs Eye Visit Code
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SPOTLIGHT ON DAVE LARNED, MD
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David is a senior statesmen in our Ophthalmology community. He is still working full time, doing surgery, and teaching Temple Residents. He hails from South Jersey (Down the Shore) where he met Bobbie, his high school sweetheart and wife for many years. He went to college at Lafayette and Medical School at Cornell on a Navy Scholarship which required 4 years of payback time. He did his internship at the San Diego Naval Hospital for 1 year on the USS New Orleans, a small aircraft carrier. As a Medical Officer he was deployed in the West Pacific and based in the Philippines from 1978-1979. While there, he took care of trauma patients from Nuclear Biological Preparation Exercises for amphibious assault. This was during the Cold War. He returned to do his Residency in Ophthalmology at Bethesda Hospital, and then worked two years as a general ophthalmologist at Pensacola Hospital. Dave did a one year Fellowship at WEH with Joe Flanagan, in a new specialty called “Oculoplastics” that the military also paid for. When his fellowship finished, he returned back to Bethesda in 1982 for two years, teaching at Bethesda Hospital. During his Fellowship in Philly, he met Dr. Hugo Schwandt at a Deschwinitz Dinner and the rest was history. He joined Eye Physicians and Surgeons for seven years then went out on his own. He has been a highly-respected, reliable oculoplastic specialist in the Delaware community for many years. What he has most enjoyed in his career is taking care of eyelid malignancies, restoring normal oculoplastic function and doing orbital surgeries including tumors and trauma. He worked well with OMFS, training their residents in the 1980’s and 90’s as well as the Temple Ophthalmology Residents. Dave showed a lot of leadership and bravery while in DAO leadership. He testified in the late 1980’s against the first Optometry scope bill, despite the negative impact on his practice. In addition, he scheduled CME dinners and lectures for many years, making us all in the DAO, a little smarter. Currently Dave works with the Temple residents and finds joy in teaching them. He describes himself as “old-school and someone who tries to do the right thing.” He is thinking he will slow down over the next few years, but is still going strong, working out every day at 73 years of age. In his downtime, Dave travels with his Navy travel group overseas, spend time with his 5 grandchildren and wife Bobbie, and golfs. He also enjoys his Shore house in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. All in all, a great life and career! PAGE NINE|DAO
UPCOMING EVENTS
February 29
March 16
March 25
April 25
Spring 2024
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Regeneron CME -Zaaire Ahmad, MD Harry’s Savoy Grill “Improving outcomes of RVO. A tailored approach. “ Thursday 6 PM DAO Eye Screening at the Henrietta Johnson Medical Center Southbridge location 601 New Castle Ave Saturday 8 AM-12 PM
2024 Codequest Virtual with Joy Woodke and Dr Angkor Shah Premier Zoom Course with the AAO Monday 2-6 pm
Dr Pradeep Ramulu, Chief of Wilmer Eye Glaucoma Division. Topic and Location TBD Thursday
Pick-up Pickle Ball! Come for fun and prizes! Location date and time TBD
DECREASING TOPICAL MEDICAL WASTE LEGISLATION IN DELAWARE INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN MORRIS, RN Delaware recently passed Topical Medical Waste legislation , one of the goals of the AAO, because of Susan Morris, a Surgery Center Nursing Director, who saw waste occur daily when mandated to throw away eye drops at the end of each surgery, rather than give them to the patient. In addition she noted that multii-use drops were not used to their expiration date- another waste of good medicine and money. Susan decided to something about it. She called Laura Sturgeon, a state Senator who agreed to sponsor the bill and very quickly with a blessing from the DAO, it was passed. Susan Morris is a nurse who has worn many hats. She has worked with patients in clinical settings, was VP of Clinical Services at Planned Parenthood and also was the Community Health Nurse and Supervisor at Maryland’s Public Health Department. As a Director of Nursing at a surgery center, Susan was acutely aware of surgical waste. She also noticed that some of the eyedrops she ordered were hard to get and they were thrown away upon the patient leaving the surgery center. Her brief, concise addendum was sponsored by Laura Sturgeon, a Delaware Senator and a strong advocate for ophthalmology. Along with bipartisan support and a nod from the DAO, it easily passed. It is amazing what one person can do when they put their mind to it in a small state! Kudos and hats off to Susan Morris, RN and Senator Laura Sturgeon to introduce and pass a bill that saves money and decreases surgical waste - go ahead and send your patient home with their drops!
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This newsletter is sent to all the Ophthalmologists in Delaware, whether you are a member or not. We generate money mainly through your dues. If you have not paid for 2024, please pay as you can see the DAO is doing good things for our community, our patients and our profession! Click here to email Ilicia our Executive Director to Pay
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Delaware Academy of Ophthalmology Board of Directors President Paula Ko Vice-President Neil Kalin Secretary/Treasurer Andrew Shyu Director of Membership Heather Dealy Representative-At-Large Tabassum Ali Rep-At-Large Young Ophthalmolgist Neha Kumar Immediate Past President Carolyn Glazer-Hockstein Councilor Andrew Shyu Activities Director Ben Chaon Federal Advocay Coordinator Jeff Minkovitz Down-State Rep Representative Ed Jaoude Executive Director Ilicia Strasser PAGE THIRTEEN|DAO