Dear colleagues:

Academy Reaffirms Support of Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology

On September 23 and 24, 2007, the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology held a retreat to re-define the mission statement and goals as well as to articulate priorities for the near term and future. The Academy was represented at the retreat by myself, President-Elect Hugh A. Sampson, MD, FAAAAI, Stanley Goldstein, MD, FAAAAI, Richard W. Honsinger, MD, MACP FAAAAI, Caroline C. Horner, MD, David Brown, MD, and Stephen J. McGeady, MD, FAAAAI.

“The Joint Council is extremely appreciative of the very strong support of the Academy, which is critical to our continuing capability to carry out our mission to represent the socioeconomic interests of allergists. We believe that our ongoing ability to work together with the Academy contributes immeasurably to our successful pursuit of the socioeconomic needs of the Academy members and their patients,” said Donald Aaronson, MD, Executive Director Joint Council of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.

During the course of the retreat and the subsequent Board of Directors meeting, the importance of the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology to the specialty and the Academy’s mission was reaffirmed. The new mission statement of the Joint Council states that it will “Act on behalf of the Allergy/Immunology specialty and its patients by providing a unified voice on medical socio-economic issues”. The specific goals articulated under the mission statement include the following:

1. To address medical socio-economic issues including but not limited to public policy, patient access, reimbursement and regulations.
2. To educate its membership on economic, political and social issues.
3. To serve as a conduit between the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma &Immunology.

The value statement of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology clearly has overlap with the mission and goals of the Joint Council. Our value statement states that the Academy “works to support it’s member in providing high quality, compassionate health care for those with allergy, asthma and immunologic disorders by:

• Providing advocacy and support for patients and the Allergy/Immunology specialists who provide their care.
• Providing education and information about allergy/immunology for its members, other health care professionals, patients and the public”.

The leadership of the Academy does not view this as unnecessary duplicative work on behalf of the specialty. Rather, the Academy’s leadership is very aware of the socio-economic issues facing our members in the practice of allergy and immunology and is committed to working with the Joint Council, the College and other organizations as necessary to the benefit of the practice of allergy and immunology. We feel fortunate that we have the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology to partner with us to achieve our goals and mission. The leadership of the Joint Council, including President Robert Nathan, MD, FAAAAI, Executive Director Donald Aaronson, MD, FAAAAI and Executive Vice-President Gary Gross, MD, FAAAAI has been instrumental in guiding the Joint Council and the Academy’s efforts to address important social and economic issues. The Academy and the Joint Council have actively been working on strategies to counteract the adverse effects of the remote practice of allergy by non-allergy/immunology specialists. We have been engaged in seeking appropriate reimbursement for IVIG therapy. We have worked on USP 797 regulation to assure that it is not overly onerous for our members to mix allergy extracts. We have addressed the issue of SLIT head-on with the Joint Council and College, examining appropriate reimbursement and interactions with our ENT colleagues. We have worked together to foster the development and update of practice parameters. We have formed a joint task force to address access to medications in lieu of several insurers’ new restrictions on payments for antihistamines and Advair.

The Academy is proud of our partnership with the Joint Council and their and our efforts to assure that the practice of allergy and immunology is of the highest quality and reimbursed at appropriate levels. The Academy leadership urges all members to actively participate in the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. They provide numerous resources which are essential for the specialty. Please, remember to pay your dues for the Joint Council and to communicate with the Academy and Joint Council leaders about specific issues that are adversely affecting your practice. Together, we will help you address these issues and assure that our patients are well served.

Sincerely,




Thomas B. Casale, MD, FAAAAI
AAAAI President

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The AAAAI archives previous copies of Patient Update online. For additional patient handouts, visit the Patients & Consumers Center of the AAAAI Web site.

The AAAAI archives previous copies of Patient Update online. For additional patient handouts, visit the Patients & Consumers Center of the AAAAI Web site.

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