Dear ASN members:
In my first direct communication with you as your President, I want to express to you my gratitude for granting me this honor and for trusting me with the responsibility to lead the Society this year. I want to express my deepest appreciation to Dr. William Mitch for his dedicated service to the ASN and to the entire renal community. Furthermore, I believe we all should be thankful to Dr. Mitch, whose efforts, combined with those of Dr. Jeff Sands, Dr. Robert Narins, the program committee, and the postgraduate education committee, provided us with a stellar educational and scientific meeting for 11,000 attendees.
I want to take this opportunity to share with you some ongoing activities in pursuit of this year's “Goals and Vision” outlined in the Onsite Highlights, which was published at Renal Week. (Also available here.) Remaining true to our tradition of delivering the very best Renal Week to keep both clinicians and scientists abreast of the most important developments in the field, Dr. Mo Sayegh and the outstanding Program Committee he chairs are already heavily involved in the development of such a program for 2005. Likewise, Dr. Robert Narins and the PGE committee are preparing the pre-courses and clinical nephrology courses. Even in its preliminary form, Renal Week 2005 promises to be an exciting meeting. Mark you calendars to be in Philadelphia November 8-13, 2005!
As a reflection of our commitment to the ongoing education of our membership, the Society will offer weekend meetings in six different cities in January and February 2005 (Regional Meetings 2005). They will allow those nephrologists who couldn't attend Renal Week and attendees who missed several key presentations an opportunity to hear experts discuss important highlights of the meeting. Check our website for the meeting nearest you!
I am committed to improving membership communication. The new design of our monthly updates in ASN's Renal Express now allows communication within the entire membership and with various constituents on issues of particular interest to them. Please feel free to reach me personally with concerns and suggestions at tomas.berl@uchsc.edu.
In these times of shrinking budgets and essentially flat levels of NIH funding, the ASN Council and Board of Advisors (BOA) feel it necessary to provide the granting agencies a sense of where research priorities should reside in well-defined areas. In response, the ASN has recently conducted five research retreats. Each retreat will generate a report, which, when complete, will be presented to various NIH institutes and appropriate congressional leaders in early 2005.
In response to the emerging philosophy at the Center for Medicare Services (CMS), to link physician payments to outcomes and quality measures, the ASN's Policy and Public Affairs Committee and Dialysis Advisory Group, along with National Kidney Foundation representatives, have prepared a well-researched and thoughtful analysis of the matter as it impacts patients with ESRD and physicians caring for them. The study, entitled "Payment for Quality in End-Stage Renal Disease" appears in the December issue of JASN. I urge you to read this analysis of a topic of great significance to practicing nephrologists, also available here. You may read the accompanying press release, as well. We are planning to formally present this study to CMS leadership after the New Year. In the same vein, we remain vigilant of proposed changes that affect the practice of our profession and/or the care of our patients.
With the holiday season upon us, I want to close by wishing you all a most joyous holiday.
Sincerely yours,
Tomas Berl, MD
Thank you for helping to make Renal Week 2004 a huge success! Approximately 11,000 attendees joined us in St. Louis to learn about the latest in renal research and clinical nephrology. If you couldn't attend or if you missed key talks, join us for this year's Regional Meetings: Highlights of '04 Renal Week in January & February of 2005 in Los Angeles, Dallas, New York, DC, Chicago, and Seattle. At these 1 1/2 day meetings expert faculty will summarize, critique, and put into perspective key presentations from the October 2004 Renal Week in St. Louis. These "Renal Week Highlights" programs are perfect not only for those of you who couldn't attend Renal Week but also for those October attendees who missed several key presentations. The Regional Meetings will cover the following major areas of nephrology: Parenchymal Diseases, Transplantation, Hypertension, ESRD, Disorders of Bone and Mineral Metabolism, and Clinical Nephrology. Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner educational programs will be included at all six cities.
Visit the ASN website to learn more about Regional Meeetings 2005 ("Renal Week Revisited") or register now! IMPORTANT NOTE: The Early Registration Deadline has been extended to January 12 for New York, DC, Chicago, and Seattle.
