During the National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference, Frederick M. Azar, MD, president of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, presented the awards recognizing outstanding achievements by state orthopaedic societies. (Top) Dr. Azar with H. Scott Smith, MD, president of the Arkansas Orthopaedic Society, and James A. Slough, MD, chair of the BOC State Orthopaedic Societies Committee; (Bottom) Dr. Azar and Dr. Slough with Angel Bosch DeLeon, executive director of the Puerto Rico Orthopaedic Society.
Published 6/1/2014
The Arkansas Orthopaedic Society (AOS) was selected as the 2014 State Orthopaedic Society of the Year during the National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference (NOLC) in Washington, D.C. The AOS was recognized for its work to change the methodology utilized in the Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield/Medicaid bundled care initiative. The society was also honored for helping to change payment methodology for specialists to equal primary care practitioner evaluation and management codes and procedure codes, averting a 50 percent payment cut for all specialists.
Angel Bosch De Leon, executive director of the Puerto Rico Orthopaedic Society was honored as the 2014 Executive Director of the Year. Mr. Bosch De Leon was recognized for his many accomplishments during his 8 years with the society, including achieving an all-time high membership enrollment of 95 percent, developing and hosting a weekly grass roots radio program promoting orthopaedic surgeons as primary care musculoskeletal physicians, and coordinating the society’s annual meeting.
During the National Orthopaedic Leadership Conference, Frederick M. Azar, MD, president of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, presented the awards recognizing outstanding achievements by state orthopaedic societies. (Top) Dr. Azar with H. Scott Smith, MD, president of the Arkansas Orthopaedic Society, and James A. Slough, MD, chair of the BOC State Orthopaedic Societies Committee; (Bottom) Dr. Azar and Dr. Slough with Angel Bosch DeLeon, executive director of the Puerto Rico Orthopaedic Society.
Dr. Azar also presented the Orthopaedic PAC awards. (Top) Accepting on behalf of Iowa was Cassim M. Igram, MD, BOC member from Iowa; (Bottom) the Connecticut delegation included Michael P. Connair, MD, and Robert A. Green, MD, BOC representatives, and Ross A. Benthien, MD, president of the Connecticut Orthopaedic Society.
In 2014, the Orthopaedic Political Action Committee (PAC) expanded its recognition program by establishing awards to honor the individual state with the highest PAC participation rate, as well as the state demonstrating the greatest improvement in PAC participation from one year to the next.
Connecticut was recognized as the state with the most improved PAC participation; the percentage of members contributing to the PAC increased from 19 percent in 2012 to 29 percent in 2013. Iowa—with a PAC participation rate of 40 percent—had the highest participation rate in 2013.
Accepting the award on behalf of Iowa was Board of Councilors representative Cassim M. Igram, MD. He encouraged other states to follow Iowa’s lead. “Encouraging surgeons in your state to become politically active is not always easy, but participation in the political system through a vibrant PAC is becoming increasingly important for us as orthopaedic surgeons,” he said.