AAO-HNS/F President Returns to Houston Methodist for Grand Rounds

Douglas D. Backous, MD, FACS, now president of the 13,000-member American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and its Foundation (AAO-HNS/F), returned recently to speak at Grand Rounds at Houston Methodist Hospital where he received a formidable part of his hands-on education. “I’m excited to be back in Houston and at Methodist Hospital where so much of my approach to my career was established by the experience of my early training,” he said.

Douglas D. Backous, MD, FACS

Backous spoke at Houston Methodist Hospital in May for a Grand Rounds entitled “New Directions of the Academy to Empower our Specialty.” He told the Houston audience that his presidency has been active and eventful. He said he is most proud of national efforts made to advocate for patient access, reduced burden on practicing physicians and for the specialty overall. Under his presidency, the Academy also worked to bring attention to the need to equalize pay and opportunity for women in medicine and to highlight inclusiveness for physicians living with their own disabilities yet continue to serve patients and the specialty.

He also discussed the Academy’s efforts to create and standardize a unified curriculum to support otolaryngology residents in training and other current issues facing the AAO-HNS/F. The Otolaryngology Core Curriculum was put together in conjunction with the residency programs. It gives a two-year cycle to run through the most important topics as identified by residency program directors and is built using the significant amount of educational data accumulated at the AAO-HNS/F. Importantly, he also led the search to find a new chief executive officer for AAO-HNS/F. Rahul K. Shah, MD, MBA, recently was selected as the next Executive Vice President and CEO of the Academy. He will assume the role in December. “The Academy is very grateful that we landed our top choice,” Backous said. “He’s extremely qualified and understands the specialty. He’s committed to excellence at an important time. When healthcare is unstable as it is now, it’s important that the specialty is well represented.” Backous said being president of the AAO-HNS/F has been a meaningful year that fulfills a commitment he made at the beginning of his career. “When I was a medical student at University of Washington, here in Seattle, and I decided I wanted to be an ENT resident, my chairman, Dr. Charles Cummings, was then the president of the Academy. He let me know that being an otolaryngologist is a privilege that comes with a responsibility to the specialty.” During Backous’s residency at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Bobby Alford, the chair, set high expectations for his trainees and consistently led by example. Many trainees from that generation went on to lead specialty societies in otolaryngology, serve on the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, and contribute significantly to both academic medicine and their respective communities. “I think it’s much more than just leadership that I learned during my training,” Backous said. “I have been instilled with a service mentality and a responsibility to our profession.” To that responsibility to fellow otolaryngologists, Backous has been to Washington, D.C., five times this year to lobby on behalf of the specialty and patient access. His focus has been on

To that responsibility to fellow otolaryngologists, Backous has been to Washington, D.C., five times this year to lobby on behalf of the specialty and patient access. His focus has been on:

Sustainable and fair Medicare reimbursement reforms
Reduced administrative burden for patient access to care
Challenging scope-of-practice expansions that threaten patient safety

To that responsibility to fellow otolaryngologists, Backous has been to Washington, D.C., five times this year to lobby on behalf of the specialty and patient access. His focus has been on:

Sustainable and fair Medicare reimbursement reforms
Reduced administrative burden for patient access to care
Challenging scope-of-practice expansions that threaten patient safety

The other big move for the Academy during his tenure is the launching of the Otolaryngology Private Practice Section (OPPS). This section helps clinicians in private practice and includes teaching around the business of medicine. It also focuses on leadership training and advocacy, both legislative and regulatory. “The Academy has energized itself around specific needs of members that they’ve told us from surveys and feedback from focus groups,” he said. He points out that the AAO-HNS/F is working collaboratively with the American Medical Association, American College of Surgeons and other specialty organizations to further “represent patients in the House of Medicine.” “It’s about bringing the House of Medicine together,” he said. “We have significant issues to be working on.” He is especially concerned about medical access for seniors with the burden around insurance pre-authorizations and Medicare cuts. When Backous leaves his presidential office, this fall, he will continue to serve on the executive committee for another year and run the nominating committee for next year’s team.