Volunteer's Note
First Combined Meeting of the ASSH/AHSS Housing Update
ASSH Social Media: Member Gives Young Boy a New Hand
Membership Application Deadline Approaching
February Issue of JHS Now Available
Listserv Hot Topic: Fed up With 'Bragbook' Mailings?
Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) Opportunities
AMA Video: A Permanent Fix for Medicare - Know the Facts
AMA Membership Update
ASSH eLearning Portal: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Online Course
Thank You to AFSH Donors
FDA, Industry Reach Agreement on Medical Device User Fee Reauthorization
Volunteer's Note
The deadlines for Annual Meeting abstract submissions
– whether electronic or paper
– are fast approaching.
February 20 is the paper abstract submission deadline and the Residents and Fellows Conference paper and e-poster deadline. March 12 is the e-poster submission deadline.
This year marks the third year abstracts are being accepted in the e-poster format. E-posters are primarily presentation-based, with PowerPoint slides, but they can incorporate video and other media. Some of the most innovative presentations at last year's Annual Meeting utilized video of procedures and outcomes. E-posters are displayed at designated kiosks in the exhibit hall during the Annual Meeting.
The Annual Meeting Scientific Displays Committee reviews all submissions during podium presentation submission. Last year, the top five posters were printed and displayed for additional viewing.
Posters are a great way to present a new technique or results of clinical or basic scientific investigations.
We invite all ASSH members to submit their work in 2012.
Jennifer M. Wolf, MD
Chair, Annual Meeting Scientific Displays Committee
First Combined Meeting of the ASSH/AHSS Housing Update
An overflow housing block is now available at the Sheraton Kauai Resort for the First Combined Meeting of the ASSH/AHSS on March 22-25, 2012, in Kauai, Hawaii.
The deadline to reserve a room is March 7 (or until the block sells out).
The Sheraton is located 2 miles away from the Grand Hyatt Kauai, and a shuttle is available from the Sheraton, by request. For rates and other housing details, please visit the event page.
ASSH Social Media: Member Gives Young Boy a New Hand
Visit the ASSH Facebook page or Twitter account to read an article and view the accompanying video about how William Seitz, MD, treated a boy who was born with no fingers on his left hand.
"Of all the things I do surgically, certainly, this is the most rewarding." said Seitz, an active member of the ASSH volunteer leadership.
Membership Application Deadline Approaching
The 2012 Active, International and Supporting Membership application deadline is February 6.
All materials, including sponsor letters, must be submitted by the February 6 deadline.
February Issue of JHS Now Available
The latest edition of the Journal of Hand Surgery is now available online at
www.jhandsurg.org. Print versions were mailed Wednesday.
A member benefit, JHS publishes original, peer-reviewed articles related to the diagnosis, treatment, and pathophysiology of diseases and conditions of the upper extremity; these include both clinical and basic science studies, along with case reports.
Special features include Clinical Perspective and History of Hand Surgery articles, Comprehensive Review manuscripts, and Surgical Technique articles that provide an overview of hand surgery, technical aspects of surgery, and current controversial topics.
Listserv Hot Topic: Fed up With 'Bragbook' Mailings?
A member vented on the Physician Listserv this week about his frustration over the "unending 'bragbook' mailings" he is getting from various academic centers in Orthopaedics. The post sparked a lively discussion about the motivations for and the merits of such advertising.
If you have already signed up for the Physician Listserv, you can view or contribute to the "bragbook" thread by visiting the
archives and scrolling down to the discussion titled "Question about 'bragbook' mailings." If you don't know or remember your Listserv password, you can reset your password
here.
To sign up for the Listserv, visit the
Listserv page.
Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) Opportunities
AFSH - HVO Young Surgeon Traveling Fellowship Applications for the 2012 AFSH - HVO Young Surgeon Traveling Fellowship are now being accepted. Eligible surgeons include: R3, R4, R5, Fellows and Surgeons within three years of completing their fellowship. All eligible surgeons with an interest in spending a minimum of four weeks at an appropriate HVO teaching site in a developing country are invited to apply. The deadline for applications is April 1, 2012.
Download the application today.
Hand Surgery/Hand Therapy VolunteersNicaragua: Hand surgeons are needed for a one-week assignment April 14-21, 2012. Hand surgery volunteers must be board-certified in orthopaedics, plastics or general surgery. Volunteers travel with a team of two hand surgeons and two hand therapists. Contact the
program department for more information.
Orthopaedics VolunteersBhutan: Volunteers are needed for a one-month assignments in June and August 2012 in Thimphu. Training is provided to orthopaedic technicians and some specific training to the orthopaedic surgical staff at the National Referral Hospital. Contact the
program department for more information.
Moldova: Orthopaedic surgeons are needed for 2-4 week assignments in 2012. Volunteers provide training for local physicians, residents, and medical students at the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy in the capital, Chisinau, in a variety of subspecialties. For more information, contact the
program department.
AMA Video: A Permanent Fix for Medicare - Know the Facts 
As the March 1 deadline approaches for Congress to prevent a 27 percent cut in Medicare physician payments, the AMA has released a video emphasizing the urgency to repeal Medicare’s failed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.
The video is geared toward Congress and warns that temporary patches to the SGR threaten access to care and choice of physician for seniors while increasing the taxpayer burden.
Call the AMA's grassroots hotline today at (800) 833-6354 and tell your members of Congress to protect patients, physicians and taxpayers by repealing the SGR.
AMA Membership Update
AMA rules stipulate that in order to qualify for a seat in the AMA House of Delegates, 25% of our members must be AMA members.
For those who join or rejoin the AMA, it's critical that they designate a specialty society to represent them in the AMA House of Delegates. Unless the new AMA member designates the ASSH to represent them in the House of Delegates, no one will represent them, and the ASSH might not meet the threshold to maintain our seat at the table.
New AMA members must mail back a form included in their membership benefits booklet (the AMA card is attached to the booklet, which is received by mail about three weeks after joining) or go to
http://www.ama-assn.org/go/ballot, create a username and password, then go to "Specialty Society Representation Ballot" and select ASSH.
Thank you to all of the ASSH members who notified us this week (via email or the Listserv) that they've joined or rejoined the AMA:
Donald P. Condit, MD, MBA
Lewis B. Lane, MD
Ann E. Van Heest, MD
Andrew J. Weiland, MD
Have you recently joined or rejoined the AMA? Please let us know by contacting amitchell@assh.org so we can track the progress of your AMA membership. ASSH will reconcile our membership list with the AMA to get credit for our members.
Have your voice heard: Join the AMA.
ASSH eLearning Portal: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Online Course
Users of the Hand Society's new eLearning Portal are giving high marks to the digital capture of a 2010 Annual Meeting instructional course on Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
The course is chaired by Donald H. Lalonde, MD, and the faculty consists of W. P. Andrew Lee, MD, Peter C. Amadio, MD, and John G. Seiler, MD.
By reviewing the lecture and completing the accompanying test, users earn one hour of CME self-study credit.
Have you explored the eLearning Portal yet? If not, visit the
Member Center on the ASSH website and click on the eLearning Portal link on the right-hand side of the screen, or go directly to the
Carpal Tunnel Course webpage.
Thank You to AFSH Donors
Robert Harold Ablove, MD
Julie E. Adams, MD
Mohana Amirtharajah, MD
Edward A. Athanasian, MD
John J. Callahan, MD
Michelle G. Carlson, MD
Robert A. Chase, MD
Gurbir Chhabra, MD
Carl R. Coleman, MD
John F. Crowe, MD
Aaron Daluiski, MD
Leslie P. Dean, MD
Jan P. DeRoos, MD
J. Wendell Duncan, MD
Brian J. Harley, MD, FRCS(C)
Hill Hastings, II, MD
Douglas T. Hutchinson, MD
W. Thomas Jackson, MD
David Marshall Jemison, MD
Lana Kang, MD
Saul J. Kaplan, MD
L. Andrew Koman, MD
Stephen H. Lacey, MD
Lisa L. Lattanza, MD
Jon B. Loftus, MD
Anne J. Miller, MD
Rick F. Papandrea, MD
Joshua Pletka, MD
Matthew D. Putnam, MD
Gary J. Roberts, MD
Alan Rosen, MD
Nicole L. Strauss, MD
William B. Strecker, MD
Julio Taleisnik, MD
Jonathan Tueting, MD
James R. Urbaniak, MD
Ann E. Van Heest, MD
Andrew J. Weiland, MD
Stefan V. Zachary, DO, FAOAO, MS
Did you know you can now support the Foundation (AFSH) through automated monthly payments? Visit www.afsh.org/donate to complete an auto-pay form, or contact afsh@assh.org.
FDA, Industry Reach Agreement on Medical Device User Fee Reauthorization - from AAOS
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency and representatives from the medical device industry have reached an agreement in principle on proposed recommendations for the third reauthorization of a medical device user fee program.
Although details are not yet finalized, the recommendations would authorize the FDA to collect $595 million in user fees over five years, an amount the agency says will allow it to hire more than 200 full-time equivalent workers and improve accountability, predictability, and transparency in its device review process.
In addition, device industry representatives have asked for a reduction in FDA review times, greater interaction with industry during the review process, and an independent analysis of the FDA's management of the review process. When details of the agreement are finalized, the FDA plans to develop a package of proposed recommendations and offer an opportunity for public comment. The current five-year program is set to expire on September 30, 2012.
Read the FDA statement. Read the Industry statement.