The Evolution of Quality Improvement in Vascular Surgery
September 2019
(Note: An abbreviated version of this ran in the October issue of Vascular Specialist.)
Articles & Press Releases
Recent Articles
SVS Creating Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; Please Volunteer by Sept. 17
Volunteers are needed for a new SVS Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The SVS is seeking members with a desire to explore issues related to inequity in the field of vascular surgery.
3 reasons smokers are at higher risk of amputations
Most smokers know cigarettes can damage their lungs, but all too often, they have no idea that smoking is also bad for their blood vessels.
When varicose veins could need medical attention
Most of the millions of people with varicose veins don’t consider them a medical issue, unless they happen to be painful, achy or inflamed.
Meet the New SVS President, Kim Hodgson, MD
SVS President Kim Hodgson, MD, took over the leadership reins of the Society for Vascular Surgery during the 2019 Vascular Annual Meeting in June. He discusses his upcoming year as president in a series of questions and answers below.
SVS Foundation Assists With Screening Veterans
At least one military veteran discovered he had an abdominal aortic aneurysm large enough to be of concern during a large-scale screening in late July in which the SVS Foundation participated, along with several SVS members.
VAM ’19: Meeting a Success; Please Share Feedback for Future
With new initiatives, plenty of educational programming and a party that was the talk of the town, the 2019 Vascular Annual Meeting has been deemed a success.
“Vascular Spectacular” Gala Was Spectacular Indeed!
Dr. Michel Makaroun could not be more delighted with the “Vascular Spectacular” gala, an addition to the 2019 Vascular Annual Meeting which is sure to be repeated for years to come.
See 2019 VAM Sessions At Your Own Pace
With VAM on Demand, re-live the 2019 Vascular Annual Meeting, review sessions already attended or participate in others for the first time.
Education: Know Your Coding, Keep the Money You Earned; Learn at Sept. Workshop
SVS members: Are you getting all the reimbursement money to which you are entitled? Are you leaving that money on the table, instead of in your practice?
Good news for PAD intervention patients who take statins
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Review VAM 2019 with VAM on Demand; Propose Ideas for Sessions for VAM 2020
Here in the present, the Society for Vascular Surgery has information on both a past and future Vascular Annual Meeting.
Access to the 2019 VAM on Demand online library is now available. And at the same time, organizers want to hear members' ideas for the 2020 Vascular Annual Meeting.
Volunteers Needed for New IT Task Force
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JVS: Early results found similar risks for TCAR and CEA at 30 days and 1 year
A MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF TRANSCAROTID ARTERY REVASCULARIZATION COMPARED TO CAROTID ENDARTERECTOMY, July 2019, Journal of Vascular Surgery.
Are athletes getting more injuries from TOS?
ROSEMONT, Ill., July 22, 2019 – Hardly a sports season goes by without at least one professional player going on the injured list for thoracic outlet syndrome, also called TOS.
Change Doesn’t Come Easy! But It Is Needed
In selecting the subject of his presidential address, SVS President Michel Makaroun, MD, decided to focus on the inadequacy of vascular manpower to meet the demands and needs of the public.
Innovation Medal: Honoring ‘Pioneer of Venous Surgery’
Groundbreaking. Innovative. Pioneer. “Father of Modern Venous Surgery.” A man who “truly changed the world with respect to treatment of venous disease.” All of the above – and more – describe Dr. Robert Kistner, recipient of the SVS Medal for Innovation in Vascular Surgery, presented at the 2019 Vascular Annual Meeting. He was the first awardee in six years.
LEADERSHIP: Spotlight on Michael Conte, MD
BY BRYAN W. TILLMAN, MD, PHD ON BEHALF OF THE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND DIVERSITY COMMITTEE
VRIC 2019 a Big Success; Scientists Look Forward to 2020 in Chicago
With a record number of attendees, abstracts submitted, and abstracts presented, not to mention outstanding research presentations and high enthusiasm throughout, the 2019 SVS Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) has been dubbed a big success.
Compassion’s other name: Dr. William Pearce
It may have come as no surprise to his colleagues, mentees and patients at Northwestern University that Dr.
EDUCATION: Learn To Get the Reimbursement You’re Due at SVS Coding Course to Be Held Sept. 20-21
Don’t leave reimbursement money on the table. Learn what you need to know about proper coding at the SVS 2019 Coding and Reimbursement Workshop.
Recent Articles
Freischlag unveiled as ACS president-elect
Julie Ann Freischlag, MD, the first and so far only female president of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), will be the next president of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
Correct billing in severe trauma cases can be complicated
The management of the severely injured trauma patient often requires delicate coordination among multiple specialties, and multiple separate operative procedures are often necessary.
Abstracts for VRIC, VAM 2021
Calling surgeons and scientists: Your research is wanted. Submission sites are now open for two annual SVS meetings in 2021, the Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) and the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM).
Dig deep this Giving Tuesday
Will you give on Giving Tuesday? This will be the SVS Foundation’s third year marking the annual global day of giving— Dec. 1, this year—which follows Thanksgiving and the big shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Varicose Versus Spider Veins: Understand the Difference and Know When to Seek Treatment Help
The vascular system is like the highway of the body – composed of blood vessels including arteries, veins and capillaries. Vascular disease is any condition of the almost 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the body; any complication along this highway can cause problems and health risk. In most cases, however, vascular conditions are highly treatable, often without surgery. Two common vein conditions include spider veins and varicose veins, but what are the differences?
With an eye on the past, SVS Foundation looking ahead to stable future
Dear colleagues: Before we can look to where we’re going, we need to look to where we’ve been. And we do just that, in the pages of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Foundation Annual Report, available at vsweb.org/ FoundationReport2020.
Visit, re-visit SVS ONLINE
By Beth Bales
There’s still time to view presentations from this past summer’s SVS ONLINE: “New Advances and Discoveries in Vascular Surgery,” held virtually from late June to early July. Credits for sessions that offer them are available through Oct. 31.
Science at twilight: Reasserting our democratic responsibility
As the election nears, most of you identify as Democrat or Republican. Without abandoning your core beliefs, I would ask you to consider another affiliation—that of a scientist. Scientists can be progressive or conservative. Their one shared political principle is anti-authoritarianism. Tyrants have taken many roles: dictator, pope and king. Regardless of the form, eventually he (it is usually he) needs to tear down the truth. And it is science that stands in the way.
SVS: Building bridges between twin tracks of academic and private practice
By Beth Bales
For Laurel Hadley Hastings, MD, membership in the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) provides a great collection of valuable benefits.
Quality Payment Program: The proposed updates slated for 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on surgery and medicine continues, prompting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to propose changes in year five of the CMS Quality Payment Program (QPP). These changes were to take effect Jan. 1, 2021.
Recent Articles
Freischlag unveiled as ACS president-elect
Julie Ann Freischlag, MD, the first and so far only female president of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), will be the next president of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
Correct billing in severe trauma cases can be complicated
The management of the severely injured trauma patient often requires delicate coordination among multiple specialties, and multiple separate operative procedures are often necessary.
Abstracts for VRIC, VAM 2021
Calling surgeons and scientists: Your research is wanted. Submission sites are now open for two annual SVS meetings in 2021, the Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) and the Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM).
Dig deep this Giving Tuesday
Will you give on Giving Tuesday? This will be the SVS Foundation’s third year marking the annual global day of giving— Dec. 1, this year—which follows Thanksgiving and the big shopping days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Varicose Versus Spider Veins: Understand the Difference and Know When to Seek Treatment Help
The vascular system is like the highway of the body – composed of blood vessels including arteries, veins and capillaries. Vascular disease is any condition of the almost 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the body; any complication along this highway can cause problems and health risk. In most cases, however, vascular conditions are highly treatable, often without surgery. Two common vein conditions include spider veins and varicose veins, but what are the differences?
With an eye on the past, SVS Foundation looking ahead to stable future
Dear colleagues: Before we can look to where we’re going, we need to look to where we’ve been. And we do just that, in the pages of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Foundation Annual Report, available at vsweb.org/ FoundationReport2020.
Visit, re-visit SVS ONLINE
By Beth Bales
There’s still time to view presentations from this past summer’s SVS ONLINE: “New Advances and Discoveries in Vascular Surgery,” held virtually from late June to early July. Credits for sessions that offer them are available through Oct. 31.
Science at twilight: Reasserting our democratic responsibility
As the election nears, most of you identify as Democrat or Republican. Without abandoning your core beliefs, I would ask you to consider another affiliation—that of a scientist. Scientists can be progressive or conservative. Their one shared political principle is anti-authoritarianism. Tyrants have taken many roles: dictator, pope and king. Regardless of the form, eventually he (it is usually he) needs to tear down the truth. And it is science that stands in the way.
SVS: Building bridges between twin tracks of academic and private practice
By Beth Bales
For Laurel Hadley Hastings, MD, membership in the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) provides a great collection of valuable benefits.
Quality Payment Program: The proposed updates slated for 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on surgery and medicine continues, prompting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to propose changes in year five of the CMS Quality Payment Program (QPP). These changes were to take effect Jan. 1, 2021.