BY PETER CONNOLLY, MD, AND MARK MATTOS, MD
Imagine that you are telling your lay friends about what you do for a living. You have to explain the difference between arteries and veins. And then you find that you need to clarify that you do not, in fact, operate on the heart.
BY BETH BALES
Decades ago, “picture” phones were an idea straight out of science fiction.
As the saying goes, the future is now. FaceTime and Skype are common; similar technology permits doctors to visit patients via telemedicine.
The Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) and JVS: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders (JVS-VL) have a number of open-source articles available in the April and May issues. A sampling follows.
ROSEMONT, Ill., March 9, 2020 – Women’s heart health takes center stage as American Heart Month ends and National Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day are observed. The Society for Vascular Surgery shares the latest news on what women — and the people who love them — should know. Vascular surgeons are specialists who treat conditions of the vascular system, which impact heart health.
Drugs and therapies that target immune cells and pathways within the body already exist to fight a number of diseases. Can vascular disease join the list?
Much has been made of the impending shortage of physicians in the United States, with worrying predictions that it could be as soon as 2030. The driving force is a rising, aging population and an upsurge in chronic disease such as diabetes and obesity.
BY JAMES ELMORE, MD
Mission, vision and strategy are necessary to develop a cutting-edge vascular surgery program. To maintain such a program, one needs to implement an overall long-term strategic plan, as well as meticulously oversee the administration of day-to-day details.
Get ready for another “Spectacular” evening at the 2020 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM).
Ticket sales began in February for the second annual Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Foundation “Vascular Spectacular Gala: Northern Lights.”
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) teamed up to release new reporting standards in order to ensure patients with type B aortic dissections (TBADs) receive appropriate treatment and care.
With significant progress made on many fronts in 2019, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) is looking forward to the next horizon in 2020.
While I may be the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Political Action Committee (PAC) chair, I find I still need a refresher from time to time regarding the members of Congress serving on committees that deal with healthcare issues where the SVS PAC needs to dedicate the most time and resources. So, as the second session of the 116th Congress is now getting into full swing, I wanted to share information on the three major committees that deal with healthcare policies influenced by the legislative process.
A large, single-center study published in the March edition of the Journal of Vascular Surgery highlights the limitations of using the resting ankle-brachial index (ABI) in the diagnosis of symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD), particularly in those with diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Postpartum women undergoing catheter-directed thrombolysis and stenting for acute iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis (DVT) may be more likely to suffer stent occlusion and require reintervention, according to a single-center review published in the March edition of the Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders (JVSVL).
What is surgical coaching? The Institute for Life Coach Training defines coaching as a professional relationship that helps people produce extraordinary results in their lives, careers, businesses or organizations, helping them to bridge the gap between where they are now and where they want to be.
The biology of vascular disease—including molecular mechanisms and the immune system—will take center stage on May 4 in Chicago at the 2020 Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS).
Applications for the SVS Foundation’s Clinical Research Seed Grant program are due March 1.
This program is designed to spur interest and development of clinical investigators among SVS members, particularly junior members with limited prior experience as principal investigators.
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) investment in accelerating the growth of vascular surgeon-leaders has begun.
Some 25 SVS members have embarked on a six-month course in developing leadership skills, as the first cohort of the new SVS Leadership Development Program.
A registry to track management of new patients who are being treated medically for a number of vascular diseases has been launched by the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Patient Safety Organization® and the Society for Vascular Medicine, in collaboration with the American Heart Association, fo
The deadline is March 1 for nominating a fellow SVS member for the society’s Lifetime Achievement Award or Medal for Innovation in Vascular Surgery, and for applications for the Distinguished Fellow Designation.
All will be recognized at the Vascular Annual Meeting in June.
Beyond the always popular scientific sessions detailing research and presented from the podium, the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) also stages more than 25 other educational offerings, many to smaller audiences and with questions and answers encouraged.
The SVS Appointments Committee has made great efforts to be more transparent, diverse and equitable in recent years—a process its chair and members plan to continue.
Among the many projects of the SVS Coding and Reimbursement Committee, advocating appropriate coverage for vascular services continues to be a major focus. In 2021, the committee, led by chair Sunita Srivastava, MD, will continue to increase its coverage initiatives, working with government and private payers.
A new SVS Branding Toolkit is the culmination of hard work over the past two years by the Public and Professional Outreach (PPO) Committee, according to campaign spearhead and committee chair Joseph L. Mills, MD. And there’s more to come for 2021.
The SVS VA Vascular Surgeons Committee is looking ahead this year to reclaim procedural volume at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities—ravaged by COVID-19—and to facilitate construction of hybrid suites.
The inaugural cohort of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Leadership Development Program had to show some resilience early.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) has delivered a blow to vascular surgery in the form of a 7% cut in total payment for the services it provides. The cuts are included in the agency’s final rule for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and were slated to take effect Jan.1, 2021.
For aspiring vascular trainees, interview season is a time of great stress as well as opportunity. Graduating medical students and residents prepare the pitches of a lifetime.
It was a central plank of the presidential agenda set out by immediate past president Kim Hodgson, MD. And now the SVS Appropriateness Committee has targeted further development of the Society’s first set of Appropriate Use Criteria guidelines.
The newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee plans to implement the recommendations from the DEI Task Force.
As part of the Education Council (see related story, below), the Education Committee is breaking new ground in 2021.
The Policy and Advocacy Council is composed of the leaders of the Coding and Reimbursement, Government Relations, PAC, Quality and Performance Measures, and VA Vascular Surgeons committees.
Since its inception, the Community Practice Committee has been a valuable resource for surgeons working in settings that serve local communities.
The Basic and Translational Research Committee (BTRC) is the new name of the former Research and Education Committee.
Applications are due early in 2021 for a number of Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and SVS Foundation awards, honors and grants.
The SVS Appointments Committee has made great efforts to be more transparent, diverse and equitable in recent years—a process its chair and members plan to continue.
Among the many projects of the SVS Coding and Reimbursement Committee, advocating appropriate coverage for vascular services continues to be a major focus. In 2021, the committee, led by chair Sunita Srivastava, MD, will continue to increase its coverage initiatives, working with government and private payers.
A new SVS Branding Toolkit is the culmination of hard work over the past two years by the Public and Professional Outreach (PPO) Committee, according to campaign spearhead and committee chair Joseph L. Mills, MD. And there’s more to come for 2021.
The SVS VA Vascular Surgeons Committee is looking ahead this year to reclaim procedural volume at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities—ravaged by COVID-19—and to facilitate construction of hybrid suites.
The inaugural cohort of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Leadership Development Program had to show some resilience early.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) has delivered a blow to vascular surgery in the form of a 7% cut in total payment for the services it provides. The cuts are included in the agency’s final rule for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and were slated to take effect Jan.1, 2021.
For aspiring vascular trainees, interview season is a time of great stress as well as opportunity. Graduating medical students and residents prepare the pitches of a lifetime.
It was a central plank of the presidential agenda set out by immediate past president Kim Hodgson, MD. And now the SVS Appropriateness Committee has targeted further development of the Society’s first set of Appropriate Use Criteria guidelines.
The newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee plans to implement the recommendations from the DEI Task Force.
As part of the Education Council (see related story, below), the Education Committee is breaking new ground in 2021.
The Policy and Advocacy Council is composed of the leaders of the Coding and Reimbursement, Government Relations, PAC, Quality and Performance Measures, and VA Vascular Surgeons committees.
Since its inception, the Community Practice Committee has been a valuable resource for surgeons working in settings that serve local communities.
The Basic and Translational Research Committee (BTRC) is the new name of the former Research and Education Committee.
Applications are due early in 2021 for a number of Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) and SVS Foundation awards, honors and grants.