The core areas North American Spine Society advocates focus on are replacing the sustainable growth rate system, enacting medical liability reform and repealing the Independent Payment Advisory Board. Raj Rao, MD, chair of the NASS Advocacy Committee and vice chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, discusses NASS advocacy and how the organization aims to involve more physicians in the process.
Q: What do NASS representatives do to make their voices heard by Congressional representatives?
Dr. Raj Rao: We go to Washington, D.C., where we have an office, on a fairly regular basis and meet with congressmen and senators to actively advocate for high quality spine care. We also partner with the Alliance of Specialty Medicine, a coalition of specialty care providers in Washington, D.C., and work on independent projects advocating for various issues. We have an active Advocacy committee and staffers, who have helped develop a coherent advocacy policy. We've had a very busy two years preceding the passage of the healthcare law.
Q: How is NASS working toward providing higher quality of care for spine patients?
RR: We have been working on registries which we hope will give us good quality data and allow us to more accurately assess and compare different treatment options. At NASS, we have been very strongly emphasizing the theme of "value" in providing care. We have instituted awards for high quality value papers at our annual meeting. We'd like to see value become a driver of the efficient and high quality care that we provide our patients.
Q: How does NASS involve spine surgeons in the advocacy efforts?
RR: One of the thrusts of our advocacy program over the past few years has been that we are aggressively trying to get "buy-in" from the NASS membership. As part of this process, we've developed a number of position papers on various topics. After each position paper was written, we sent a draft copy out to each NASS member asking for input. In several instances, we have received robust input from our membership and been able to incorporate that into the position papers. We have also sent out advocacy e-mails to NASS members who sign up for it. Additionally, we've provided press releases on several topics for member and non-member education purposes.
Another important thing we've created is a website for our patients called KnowYourBack.org. It's an unbiased website focused entirely on educating our patients on various conditions that affect the neck and back and the various treatment options for these conditions. We think that as our patients understand the spine better and understand the different treatment options better, they will become an important partner in our advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C, with our representatives.
Learn more about NASS advocacy.
Read other coverage on spine surgery:
- NASS Advocacy: 3 Areas of National Focus
- Spinal Fusions Face an Uncertain Future
Q: What do NASS representatives do to make their voices heard by Congressional representatives?
Dr. Raj Rao: We go to Washington, D.C., where we have an office, on a fairly regular basis and meet with congressmen and senators to actively advocate for high quality spine care. We also partner with the Alliance of Specialty Medicine, a coalition of specialty care providers in Washington, D.C., and work on independent projects advocating for various issues. We have an active Advocacy committee and staffers, who have helped develop a coherent advocacy policy. We've had a very busy two years preceding the passage of the healthcare law.
Q: How is NASS working toward providing higher quality of care for spine patients?
RR: We have been working on registries which we hope will give us good quality data and allow us to more accurately assess and compare different treatment options. At NASS, we have been very strongly emphasizing the theme of "value" in providing care. We have instituted awards for high quality value papers at our annual meeting. We'd like to see value become a driver of the efficient and high quality care that we provide our patients.
Q: How does NASS involve spine surgeons in the advocacy efforts?
RR: One of the thrusts of our advocacy program over the past few years has been that we are aggressively trying to get "buy-in" from the NASS membership. As part of this process, we've developed a number of position papers on various topics. After each position paper was written, we sent a draft copy out to each NASS member asking for input. In several instances, we have received robust input from our membership and been able to incorporate that into the position papers. We have also sent out advocacy e-mails to NASS members who sign up for it. Additionally, we've provided press releases on several topics for member and non-member education purposes.
Another important thing we've created is a website for our patients called KnowYourBack.org. It's an unbiased website focused entirely on educating our patients on various conditions that affect the neck and back and the various treatment options for these conditions. We think that as our patients understand the spine better and understand the different treatment options better, they will become an important partner in our advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C, with our representatives.
Learn more about NASS advocacy.
Read other coverage on spine surgery:
- NASS Advocacy: 3 Areas of National Focus
- Spinal Fusions Face an Uncertain Future