President's Message
Dear ASN Members:
About one year ago, the ASN hired Paul Smedberg, to serve as Director of Policy and Public Affairs in order to coordinate our Society's activities in the policy and advocacy areas, with specific attention to how we interact with Congress, other branches of government and the National Institutes of Health. Concentrating ASN's policy efforts should significantly improve our activities with these important groups. For example, a particularly knotty problem affecting a large fraction of our members is the recent revision of reimbursement for physicians caring for outpatient dialysis patients (the MCP). Paul took a central role in the ASN's response about this change to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and helped organize the “Town Hall” meeting in San Diego. Since this issue affects so many members, I encourage you to read ASN's formal response to CMS and my subsequent memo to the ASN membership.
Although the reimbursement decision will not be changed, responsible individuals at CMS are interested in having ongoing conversations with the ASN. This is relevant as we believe that regular interchanges between CMS leaders and the ASN can form a basis for implementing plans to improve patient care while avoiding unexpected changes in the relationship between nephrologists and CMS. There is no doubt that CMS is concentrating on ESRD and related kidney disease programs so their interactions with the ASN should provide at least a potential for innovative collaboration.
Secondly, the ASN Board of Advisors ( BOA ) was established at the last Annual ASN meeting and there were discussions of many topics, including reimbursement changes by CMS. This April we will have the second face-to-face meeting between the BOA and the ASN Council. You will recall that the BOA was established to gain more input from the diverse interests of ASN members. Consequently, BOA members are from the Clinical Science & Basic Sciences Committees, from the Dialysis Advisory Board, from the Hypertension Advisory Board, etc. (total members, 13). In addition, there were two practicing nephrologists, Arnold S. Berns, MD of Chicago, IL and Joan Blondin, MD of Shreveport. Both had had experience with the RPA but were faced with the daunting task of representing ideas from the largest fraction of ASN members. Clearly, this needed correction so the ASN Council decided to create a Practicing Nephrologist Advisory Group.
Drs. Berns and Blondin enthusiastically agreed to act as the first co-chairs of this advisory group but they will need our assistance to develop colleagues from different areas of the country and various types of nephrology practice.
The "charge" to the Practicing Nephrologist Advisory Group is:
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Obtain information from practicing nephrologists that provides their BOA representatives how the ASN can serve the practicing nephrologist.
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Develop positions on issues that affect the practice of Nephrology. This information will be used to advise the ASN Council on matters including but not limited to: legislative and regulatory issues, patient care, education, publications and research.
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Interact with other ASN Advisory groups including but not limited to, the Dialysis Advisory Group, the Chronic Kidney Disease Advisory Group, and Policy and Public Affairs Committee.
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Provide a conduit for ASN members who are principally involved in Nephrology practice to initiate special courses/meetings, publications and other endeavors that could enhance the care of patients with renal disease and related disorders.
If you are personally interested in volunteering or would like to recommend a colleague to serve on the brand new Practicing Nephrologist Advisory Group, please let ASN know by sending a brief email to Ben Schuster at bschuster@asn-online.org, telling us of any specifics areas related to clinical practice that are of interest to you. A current CV or resume would also be helpful, but is not required.
As always, please feel free to email me your thoughts on how we can better serve the needs of ASN members.
Sincerely yours,
William E. Mitch, MD
President, American Society of Nephrology
PS: Don't forget to renew your membership dues for 2004, so that you don't miss out on ASN's numerous membership benefits. Click here to submit your renewal form and payment today!
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ASN Extends Deadline for Awards Nominations
The deadline for the submission of awards nominations has been extended to Monday, March 8. ASN members now have an additional opportunity to participate in this important process. Visit the ASN's awards page on our website to read newly developed descriptions of each award and the names of last year's award winners.
Nominations must be in the form of a letter accompanied by the full curriculum vitae of the nominee. Nominations should be forwarded to the address below, or emailed with an accompanying CV as an attachment to bschuster@asn-online.org.
American Society of Nephrology
1725 I Street, NW; Suite 510
Washington, DC 20006
ASN's First Ever One Day Regional Meetings
Don't forget that the first annual One Day Regional Meetings are being held this January and February in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. The one-day programs, which will summarize key presentations from Renal Week 2003, have expanded to include a dinner on Friday night and a luncheon and dinner on Saturday. Please see the Regional Meetings pages on the ASN website for more information and to obtain a registration form.
Save the dates
January 24 in New York
February 7 in Chicago
February 21 in Los Angeles
Call for Councilor Nominations
Soon you will be receiving detailed information about submitting nominations for the Council election, to be held later this year. Watch for the announcement!
Summary of Important Items from BOA Meeting
Because this was the first meeting of the Board of Advisors (BOA), each member was given the opportunity to review the past year's activities of the committee, advisory group, society, or group that (s)he represented. Each member also outlined goals for the coming year. It was clear from the presentations and subsequent discussions that everyone is very busy and that there is lots going on in the world of nephrology! Two important issues discussed during the recent meeting were modifications to ASN's grant portfolio and ASN's administrative structure policies.
A) Grants Portfolio: Thomas DuBose, MD noted that the ASN grant portfolio was carefully reviewed in an effort to respond to the needs of ASN membership, while being careful to synchronize grant opportunities with those of NIH and other major funding sources. This expanded grant program will be phased in over a period of four years, effectively doubling the annual grant budget for the ASN. Visit the grants page on the ASN website for detailed information on our grants.
The biggest changes to the portfolio were:
- Gottschalk Awards: Eligibility for this award was expanded, the total number of grants to be funded each year has been increased, and a new joint award (with the Kidney and Urology Foundation of America) was added.
- Student Scholar Research Grant: This award was changed to accommodate a research opportunity of a single summer or multiple sessions (up to a total of three) consisting of a summer and consecutive full-time semesters. The stipends were changing accordingly.
- Scherbenske Grant: This grant has been increased from a one-year grant of $50,000 to $100,000.
- New Directions for Established Investigator Grant: This is a new grant this year, designed to support the research activity of an established investigator who wishes to explore a new area of research.
B)
Administrative Structure Policy: A new structure has been designed to facilitate preliminary requests for resources to support numerous types of expanded activities of committees and advisory groups. An ASN staff member will work with the committee or advisory group to develop a full proposal and business plan, which can then be presented to Council for final approval and allocation of resources.
The Norman S. Coplon Extramural Grant Program
ASN is pleased to announce with you that The Norman S. Coplon Extramural Grant Program, sponsored by Satellite Research, is calling for proposals from qualified individuals involved in research related to kidney disease. The topics are not restricted to any one area, but the proposals must exhibit the potential for clinical application. Young investigators are especially encouraged to apply. Proposals may be funded for up to $50,000 per year and for up to three years. The last date for submission is February 28, 2004. Visit the Satellite Research website for more information.
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