InFocus WAEPS Member Newsletter - Spring 2026

InFocus WAEPS Member Newsletter - Summer 2023

President's Corner

Stephanie Cramer, MD
WAEPS President

2023 Legislative Session:

As you know, despite all of our collective efforts over the last two years, Governor Inslee signed SSB 5389 into law this last legislative session. WAEPS continues to be vigilant about the rule making with regard to the law and how it will eventually be put into practice in Washington State. In broad strokes, the bill allows optometrists: eyelid surgery not requiring sutures as long as the lesion is not malignant, chalazion incision and excision including injection, conjunctival excisions, injection on and around the eye (excluding Botulism toxin), IPL, post-surgical tuning of light adjustable lenses, and tear duct probing on infants and adults. SSB 5389 specifically excludes the treatment of blepharochalasis, ptosis and tarsorrhaphy. It also allows the administration of oral and injected steroids.

We expect the rulemaking process to be at least 6 -12 months with regards to these procedures and will update you every step of the way. Please continue to stay in contact with your legislators as we expect another bill to come asking for more surgical privileges in the near future. We urge you to continue to donate to AAO's Surgical Scope Fund and WAEPS Safe Surgery Washington Fund to help us keep patients safe.

Thank you for all your actions and support these last two years!

From Left to Right: Dr Weingeist, Dr Cramer, Dr Bonnell, Dr Francis and Dr Chambers all testified on behalf of WAEPS in front of the Senate Healthcare Committee.

From Left to Right: Dr Francis, Dr Weingeist, Dr Amadi, Dr Epley and Dr Cramer all testified on behalf of WAEPs in front of the House Healthcare and Wellness Committee

WAEPS Physicians EyePAC

Aaron Weingeist, MD
EyePAC President

EyePAC Update

Washington optometrists outnumber ophthalmologists 3 or 4 to 1. They also contribute to their PAC at a higher rate and at a larger dollar value. On average Washington optometrists donate $420 per year to their PAC. A recent PAC report documents over $100,000 in annual contributions.

Related to the pandemic and lack of in-person annual meetings, Physicians EyePAC contributions have suffered. While our work and family lives have changed, the political reality has not - we need your contributions to help WAEPS maximize access and influence in Olympia.

The majority of our PAC is spent every election cycle. In most cycles we maximize contributions to the key health care legislators and the leadership of both parties. When feasible, PAC checks are given to legislators by ophthalmologists in their home or work districts to maximize contact and build relationships.

If you know your legislators and would like to participate in PAC check contributions in the future, please reach out to Susanna Barnett at [email protected] with details.

To Donate to Physicians EyePAC please click the link below:

Donate to EyePAC

Washington Eye Foundation (WEF)

Aaron Weingeist, MD
WEF President

WEF Update:

The mission of the Washington Eye Foundation is to support the educational, scientific and public health initiatives of WAEPS and is the tax-deductible fund that WAEPS is growing to help fund future projects. WEF has supported a speaker at the Annual Meeting and supported two residents Advocacy Ambassadors for travel to the AAO’s Mid-Year Forum in Washington DC.

This past two years, under the leadership of Dr. Stephanie Cramer, WEF has supported the Range Health Initiative to bring health care to Washington’s rural and underserved areas. Via donations from WEF and Range Health (which is supported by the WSU School of Medicine), Dr. Cramer built a mobile eye unit to provide high quality eye care to residents in this part of the state. The bus is staffed by volunteer ophthalmologists and by residents from Madigan Army Medical Center. WEF provided a grant to WAEPS to purchase eye examination equipment used by Range Health mobile health collaborative to outfit their mobile unit so that they can conduct full eye exams with refractions. If you’d like to volunteer, please contact Stephanie Cramer.

In 2023, we’re focused on continuing these efforts, as well as support for the Seattle-King County Health Clinic.

To continue to support these and any future programs, we need your support to continue these projects! Please make your tax-deductible donation today!

Click here to donate

WAEPS Monthly Meeting Series

Debarshi Mustafi, MD, PhD
WAEPS Monthly Meeting Chair

2023-2024 Monthly Scientific Meeting:

This year we are pleased to welcome the following esteemed speakers for our Monthly Meeting Series:

• Dr. David Tse, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Oculoplastics, October 5, 2023
• Dr. Jim Chodosh, Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary, Cornea, November 16, 2023
• Dr. Miel Sundarajan, University of Washington, Cornea/Uveitis, December 14, 2023
• Dr. David Wallace, Indiana University, Pediatric ophthalmology, January 18, 2024
• Dr. John Chen, Mayo Clinic, Neuro-ophthalmology, February 22, 2024
• Dr. Baker Hubbard, Emory University, Retina/Pediatric Retina, March 21, 2024
• Dr. Angela Elam, University of Michigan, Glaucoma, April 11, 2024
• Dr. Jesse Berry, USC Keck school of Medicine/Children’s Hospital of LA, Ocular oncology, May 30, 2024

We have implemented some changes to the Monthly Meeting Series moving forward for the speakers to provide a more focused set of talks to our audience. Instead of talks on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, we have changed the format for the talks to be only on a Thursday morning. This will coincide with Thursday morning Grand Rounds at University of Washington. While members are encouraged to attend in person, a virtual option will be available to members to view and interact remotely. We look forward to engaging with everyone in this new format in the coming year with our exciting slate of speakers.

2023 WAEPS Annual Meeting: March 9-10, 2023

Paul Griggs MD
WAEPS Annual Meeting Chair

2024 Annual Meeting Venue: Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, WA

We had another outstanding program for our 2023 Annual Meeting with tracks specifically designed for ophthalmologists, their medical personnel, practice managers and administrative staff. We were at the lovely Meydenbauer Center in downtown Bellevue. It was great to be back in this familiar and excellent setting. Thank you to all who attended and contributed to make this another excellent time of learning, coordinating, and connecting with the ophthalmologic community.

Four internationally renowned educators presented cutting-edge information for practicing ophthalmologists. In addition, our annual business meeting and social events provided a great opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues and learn about WAEPS’ legislative efforts on behalf of ophthalmologists in Washington State this year.

In addition, we had great participation in the Coding and Reimbursement Seminar and the Ophthalmic Medical Personnel Program. We presented these outstanding educational programs at a very reasonable cost to our members and their staff, and it was a great opportunity to build staff members’ skills and dedication to excellence.

Our 2024 conference promises to be another outstanding event and I look forward to seeing you on March 7 and 8, 2024.

2023 AAO Mid-Year Forum

From left to right: Dr Sullivan, Dr Brush, Dr Weingeist, Dr Epley, and Dr Francis at the AAO 2023 Mid-Year Forum

WAEPS Board Members with Advocacy Ambassadors at the AAO 2023 Mid-Year Forum

Seattle King County Clinic

Michael Brush, MD
WAEPS AAO Counselor

Seattle King County Clinic:

The Seattle King County Clinic occurred April 27-30 at the Seattle Center. This four-day free clinic helped serve over 1000 patients who received free eye exams and glasses. Many WAEPs members participated including both the UW and Madigan residency programs. This is a great opportunity to help serve those that need it the most.

WAEPs has successfully continued its partnership with Range Health out in Eastern WA with the mobile eye clinics. WAEPs board member, Dr Barton Blackorby, travels out to rural sites east of the cascades each month with a group of ophthalmology residents from Madigan Army Medical Center. The mobile equipment that the Washington Eye Foundation (WEF) helped purchase can travel to sites with or without the official Range Health Van. This enables us to travel more compactly and in a financially viable way to places like Curlew and Cusick WA. Range Health has also hired Dr Karen Janout, a neuro ophthalmologist from Spokane WA, to help staff the van for more regular visits and for follow up care. It is a growing and exciting venture that WAEPS is proud to be a part of!

InFocus WAEPS Member Newsletter - January 2022

President's Corner

Hubert Pham MD & Courtney Francis MD

I recently heard something that I thought was particularly profound: COVID has accelerated any trend that previously existed by five years. There are so many examples of this, and very few exceptions. For example: online shopping, take-out food ordering, partisan politics, re-evaluations of priorities in terms of careers and families (more on this in a bit), etc.

While this is often a good thing, in some ways this can be troubling. Take, for example, the fact that there have been 58 failed attempts in 24 separate states by organized optometry to expand their scope to include surgery in the last six years. Any further acceleration of this trend would be worrisome on many fronts.

As you know, we are currently entangled in a scope battle. The Optometric Physicians of Washington (OPW) are trying to expand the optometrists’ scope of practice through legislation. As I write this, we are still waiting for the final decision from the Department of Health’s Sunrise Review process. What we do know at this point is that the OPW has been preparing this agenda for years, and that we are a stalwart for the whole northwest region.

What you might not know is that we are very lucky in Washington for many reasons: First, we have an amazing leadership team at WAEPS, many of whom are involved in AAO and scope battles on the national level and thus bring that experience and expertise to us.

Second, the strength of our society and membership makes us in a particularly good place to fight this scope battle (given your participation!). And finally, we lucky to have Dr. Courtney Francis of the University of Washington to lead us through this scope battle. Regarding accelerating trends, my family and I are relocating back to the East Coast to be closer to family, so I will be handing over the reigns of the presidency to Dr. Francis starting in January 2022.

To this end, it is my honor to introduce your next president, Dr. Francis.

Hubert Pham, MD

I want to first congratulate Dr. Pham on an outstanding term as WAEPS President. 2021 has brought new challenges with the pending optometric scope battle in addition to ongoing efforts related to the COVID pandemic and major Zoom fatigue. Hubert has been energetic and forward thinking in leading WAEPS to best represent ophthalmologists in Washington State. He will be dearly missed. I am honored to finish out the rest of his term along with the 2022-2023 term as WAEPS president.

This coming year will require the efforts of all our members to ensure eye surgery is performed by trained ophthalmologists and not dictated by legislation in order to protect patient safety for all Washingtonians. We have many dedicated individuals in the WAEPS leadership but it truly takes a commitment from all to ensure success. I hope I can count on each of you to participate with a phone call/email to your legislator, or a donation to the WAEPS scope fund, EyePAC or key legislators.

I look forward to meeting in person at our annual meeting planned for March 10-11, 2022. I am hopeful we will be able to safely convene and reconnect with our colleagues and friends. In the meantime, feel free to contact me by email with any questions or suggestions to make WAEPS the best organization to support Washington ophthalmologists and our patients.

Courtney Francis, MD
WAEPS President
[email protected]

2021 AAO Edward Jackson Memorial Lecturer: Dr. Russell Van Gelder

Since 1942, the Jackson Memorial Lecture has taken place during the AAO annual meeting Opening Session and is cosponsored by the American Journal of Ophthalmology. The lecture is in honor of Edward Jackson MD, one of the founding directors of the American Board of Ophthalmology. At this year's meeting in New Orleans in November, Dr. Van Gelder gave the 78th annual lecture, titled "Molecular Diagnostics for Ocular Infectious Diseases." With a return to an in-person meeting, the event was attended by many Washington ophthalmologists and trainees, and Dr. Van Gelder's outstanding lecture was quite well received by the audience.

Russell Van Gelder PhD, MD at the New Orleans AAO conference.

Russell Van Gelder PhD, MD with the residents.

WAEPS Legislative Update

Aaron Weingeist MD
Legislative Chair

2022 Legislative Session:

The 2022 legislative session will be a “short” 60 days this year. Session will start Monday, January 10 and end Thursday, March 10.

Optometric Sunrise Review and Senate Bill 5542:

The Optometric Physicians of Washington (OPW) submitted a proposal to the DOH for expanded scope of practice. The initial request was forwarded by Senator Cleveland (Chair, Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee) of Vancouver, WA on May 27th. WAEPS, with the assistance of AAO State Governmental Affiars submitted a rebuttal. Allies who also submitted letters in opposition included the AAO, the WSMA, the University of Washington, and other state specialty societies. The WAEPS legislative team met with the senior leadership of the DOH to discuss the potential impact of the proposal on the citizens of Washington.

The proposed OPW scope changes would include:

• remove the definition of ophthalmic surgery in Washington code since 2003
• remove the prohibition on optometrists performing ophthalmic surgery
• remove the prohibition on optometrists performing injections and infusions
• remove the prohibition on optometrists prescribing systemic steroids by all routes
• remove the prohibition on optometrists using lasers, scalpels and other surgical techniques in the treatment of eye disease
• specifically permit YAG capsulotomies, SLTs, laser PIs, and scalpel lid surgery
• prohibit a specific list of ophthalmic surgery, but permit all of the rest.

The DOH Draft Sunrise Response agreed that all practitioners should be able to do what they are trained to do. We read this as essentially green-lighting the OPW proposal. WAEPS and our allies submitted more information refuting the DOH draft. The legislative team sincerely appreciates the efforts of the members who took the time to write the DOH and express their opinions about what we view as a proposal that threatens public safety by sanctioning surgery by non-medically trained providers.

At the time of this update, the DOH has not submitted their final report to the Legislature.

The lack of a final DOH Sunrise Review has not stopped the OPW from authoring a bill that is virtually identical to their initial proposal. That bill, SB 5542, is sponsored by Senators Annette Cleveland (Leg. District 49, Vancouver Area) and Ann Rivers (Leg. District 18, Clark County, Vancouver Area), and it will be heard in the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee.

OPW has added a new lobbyists, and engaged a PR firm, so we know that this is going to be a campaign that is likely to last years.

In response to the above and the threat to patient safety, WAEPS in consultation with the AAO has hired another lobbyist and engaged the services of a PR firm. The added financial impact of these needs will eat into WAEPS’ reserves. WAEPS has applied for funds from the AAO Surgical Scope Fund, and many of you have responded to our request for Safe Surgery Washington contributions. WAEPS needs your personal participation in connecting with legislators, and your financial support to stop this dangerous legislation.

Please consider a $1,000 contribution to the Safe Surgery Washington Fund. Donations to this fund are not reportable, and will be used to support the added administrative costs to our WAEPS. Contributions are not PAC contributions, and are not reportable (similar to AAO Surgical Scope Fund), nor are they tax deductible.

Once SB 5542 is on the Senate Health hearing schedule, it is going to be critical for members to stay alert for eblast updates with action items that we will need you to follow through on. Please open and read the contents of these emails so that WAEPS can maximize our chances of halting this legislation.

WAEPS Physicians EyePAC

Aaron Weingeist MD
President

Washington optometrists outnumber ophthalmologists 3 or 4 to 1. They also contribute to their PAC at a higher rate and at a larger dollar value. On average Washington optometrists donate $420 per year to their PAC. A recent PAC report documents over $100,000 in annual contributions.

Related to the pandemic and lack of in-person annual meeting, Physicians EyePAC contributions have suffered. While our work and family lives have changed, the political reality has not - we need your contributions to help WAEPS maximize access and influence in Olympia.

The majority of our PAC is spent every election cycle. In most cycles we maximize contributions to the key health care legislators and the leadership of both parties. When feasible, PAC checks are given to legislators by ophthalmologists in their home or work districts to maximize contact and build relationships.

If you know your legislators and would like to participate in PAC check contributions in the future, please reach out to Kim Conn ([email protected]) with details.

Donate to Physicians EyePAC

WAEPS Monthly Meeting Series

Yewlin Chee, MD, Chair

WAEPS members gather monthly for educational sessions in our award winning Monthly Scientific Meeting Series, co-presented by the University of Washington Department of Ophthalmology. These programs are presented by experts in a variety of ophthalmology sub-specialties. These sessions are currently being held virtually but when we are eventually able to attend in person, the lectures are held in the auditorium at the Harborview Medical Center Training and Research building in Seattle. The series is available to members throughout the state via live streaming webinar. Category 1 CME credit for the series is an exclusive WAEPS member benefit and is free of charge. The following speakers are scheduled:

• Jan. 19: Dr. Scott Lambert | Stanford University
• Feb. 16: Dr. Christine Peterson | University of Washington
• March 16: Dr. Carla Siegfried | Washington University School of Medicine
• April 20: Dr. Zelia Correa | Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
• May 25: Dr. Kathryn Colby | NYU Grossman School of Medicine

To join us at a lecture simply sign up on the WAEPS website:

Register Online

2022 WAEPS Annual Meeting: March 10-11, 2022

Paul Griggs MD, Chair

Venue: Washington State Conference Center, Seattle, WA

Join your colleagues for another outstanding program with tracks specifically designed for ophthalmologists, their medical personnel, practice managers and administrative staff.

This year we return to an in person meeting at the spacious Seattle Conference Center facility in downtown Seattle, WA.

Our Annual Meeting program includes the following components:

• All day Coding and Reimbursement Seminar - Thursday the 10th.
• Physician Program begins Thursday evening and continues all day on Friday the 11th.
• Ophthalmic Personnel Program for Techs - Friday the 11th.
• Practice Management Seminar - Friday the 11th.

The 2022 line-up of outstanding guest faculty for the physician program is as follows:

• Donald Budenz MD, Glaucoma speaker, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
• Sumitra Khandelwal, MD, Cataract & Corneal Surgery speaker, Baylor College of Medicine, Houson, TX
• David Plager, MD, Pediatric Ophthalmologist speaker, Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, IN
• Sunil Srivastava, MD, Uveitis and Retina speaker, Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland, OH
• Dan Briceland, MD, Risk Manager, OMIC, on malpractice prevention

Registration Fees:

The cost to participate in each program is based on whether participants are employees of a WAEPS member practice. To take advantage of the significant member discounts, the member’s 2022 dues must be paid prior to January 30, 2022. Some of the programs also have an early-bird registration discount. Check the individual program pages for details.

Overnight accommodations:

A room block at a discounted rate of $150.00 per night (single or double occupancy), plus tax including free wi-fi and discounted parking has been reserved at a convenient nearby hotel, the Seattle Sheraton Grand located one block from the Conference Center. You may book your room at the discounted rate by clicking this link.

The room block is limited so make your reservation today.

Registration will open in late January on the annual meeting page of the WAEPS website.

Level Up at Codequest 2022

Michael Gilbert, MD, Chair

WAEPS Annual Coding Seminar with Sue Vicchrilli! March 10, 2022

Join the most knowledgeable coding experts in ophthalmology for professional coding education vital to your success. We’ll map out the latest coding updates, review key competencies, test your knowledge and steer you towards successful solutions for preventing claim denials.

Fundamentals of Ophthalmic Coding 3-hours

• Core Competencies
• Back to the Basics
• Testing Services
• HIPAA Compliance
• Interpretation/Report
• What’s the Verdict? E/M vs. Eye Visit Codes for 2022
• Comparative Billing Reports: What You Need to Know
• Coding Quandaries: What Would You Do?
• Practice Management Tips: Strategies that Work

Codequest 3-hours

• 2022 Coding Update and the Financial Impact
• Coding Competency Challenge
• Modifier Mastery
• Compliance Begins in the Exam Lane
• Coding for Injectable Drugs
• You’ve Got Mail: Answers to Most Frequently Asked Questions
• From Cloning to Missing: Avoid the Top 5 Documentation Deficiencies

Who should attend?

Ophthalmologists. They are ultimately responsible. Also, physician support staff: Technicians and scribes, billers and coders, compliance, practice managers/administrators.

Best of all, Codequest is ophthalmology-specific and region-specific to focus on the coding information you need most.

Have a specific coding conundrum? Email questions to [email protected] before the course and get answers to your personal coding challenges. Registration will open in late January. Watch your email for registration information.

Practice Managers Seminar 2022

Rebecca Dale MD, Co- Chair & Rachel Reinhardt MD, Co-Chair

Practice Leaders of all types - from doctors to administrators to key team members - will want to save the date March 11, 2022, for this year’s new Practice Leadership Seminar. Attendees will enjoy an in-person and interactive workshop to re-think your processes to be both patient-centered and team oriented, increasing not only your efficiency, but your joy in your daily processes.

We are pleased to bring Aneesh Suneja, MBA, to lead this in-depth seminar. Aneesh is the president of FlowOne Lean Consulting, the author of two books “Lean Doctors” and “Make Your Clinics Flow with Synchrony,” and a dynamic speaker who is regularly invited to national conferences for his expertise. Perhaps most importantly, his experience goes beyond theory to real results, having helped numerous practices improve patient care, practice health and team dynamics.

Ophthalmic Personnel Technician Meeting 2022

Anndrea Grant COMT, OSC
Program Chair

I am excited to serve the WAEPS membership this year once again as chair of the 2022 Ophthalmic Personnel Program and I look forward to seeing you and your staff there! We are grateful for the continued support that you, give us by sending your staff to attend the program each year. We recognize and greatly appreciate the trust and confidence you have in us to consistently provide a program that will help your staff become and remain some of the most highly skilled and knowledgeable clinicians in the field.

Each year we make every effort to offer an unparalleled educational experience for our attendees by providing new and comprehensive courses that are usually only found at national ophthalmology meetings. We hold to a standard of selecting an elite faculty of highly skilled and dedicated ophthalmologists from the very best centers and practices in the Pacific NW and the top clinical application specialists from within the industry to share vital new clinical information, the latest research and study results and the best clinical practices currently being utilized across the country, through thirty unique lectures and eighteen clinical hands-on workshops. In addition, many of our lectures are interactive, with audience participation through-out the course to help engage attendees to better learn the material being presented. This combination of in-depth courses, interactive lectures and hands-on workshops provides a level of learning that is not readily available online or anywhere else.

Washington Eye Foundation (WEF)

Aaron Weingeist MD, WEF President

The mission of the Washington Eye Foundation is to support the educational, scientific and public health initiatives of WAEPS and is the tax-deductible fund that WAEPS is growing to help fund future projects. WEF has supported a speaker at the Annual Meeting and supported two residents Advocacy Ambassadors for travel to the AAO’s Mid-Year Forum in Washington DC.

This past two years, under the leadership of Dr. Stephanie Cramer, WEF has supported the Range Health Initiative to bring health care to Washington’s rural and underserved areas. Via donations from WEF and Range Health (which is supported by the WSU School of Medicine), Dr. Cramer built a mobile eye unit to provide high quality eye care to residents in this part of the state. The bus is staffed by volunteer ophthalmologists and by residents from Madigan Army Medical Center. WEF provided a grant to WAEPS to purchase eye examination equipment used by Range Health mobile health collaborative to outfit their mobile unit so that they can conduct full eye exams with refractions. If you’d like to volunteer, please contact Stephanie Cramer.

In 2022, we’re focused on continuing these efforts, as well as support for the Seattle-King County Health Clinic in October, 2022.

To continue to support these and any future programs, we need your support to continue these projects! Please make your tax-deductible donation today!

Donate to WEF

Washington Workers’ Compensation Presumptive COVID-19 coverage of Health Care and Frontline Workers

New laws apply to health care and frontline workers during public health emergencies involving infectious or contagious diseases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health care and frontline workers who test positive for COVID-19 are presumed to have been exposed at work, and are eligible to file workers’ compensation claims with the Department of Labor and Industries. Health care workers who do not contract the disease but are required (by a medical provider or public health official) to quarantine due to an exposure are also eligible for benefits. Qualified workers are eligible for medical, disability, and temporary wage replacement benefits.

Presumptive COVID-19 Coverage Dates

Who is a health care worker under this law?

A health care worker is a worker at any health care facility or other organization that provides emergency or medical services and who has or likely has had direct contact with any person who has been exposed or tested positive to the disease.

Who is a frontline worker under this law?

Frontline workers are those who interact with the general public or other employees in the course of their work during the public health emergency.

How can you help?

• Inform your patients who may qualify and help them file workers’ compensation claims using normal processes
• Share presumptive COVID-19 coverage information with your staff and peers
• Forward presumptive COVID-19 coverage information to urgent care and emergency department staff

Learn More:

Learn more from Labor and Industries about frontline workers, filing a claim, benefits and other FAQs at Lni.wa.gov/PresumptiveCovidCoverage. Send questions to L&I directly at [email protected].

InFocus WAEPS Member Newsletter - Spring 2024

President's Corner

Jane Myung, MD
WAEPS President

It has been a wonderful learning experience to serve on the WAEPS board the past few years, first as a Trustee and then as Membership Chair. I am excited to now take on the role as President of WAEPS for 2024-2025.

When I first joined the WAEPS board in 2020, it was such a tumultuous time in everyone’s lives trying to navigate the COVID pandemic, and I was impressed by WAEPS’ efforts to keep members informed and connected to one another to help guide best practices. I am eager to carry on WAEPS’ dedication and commitment to its members through legislative advocacy at the state and national level and enabling us to deliver the highest standards of patient care and safety.

Of course, none of this can be done without a team effort. We are fortunate to have a leadership team with years of knowledge and experience but also fresh members to keep us diverse and sustainable. I am excited to be joined by two new trustees of the WAEPS board, Dr. Alex Beazer and Irene Lee. I would also like to welcome Dr. Chris Fortenbach as our WSMA Liaison, Dr. Matt Cardinale as our Military Liaison and Dr. Karine Bojikian as our UW Liaison. I would like to thank Dr. Stephanie Cramer for all her hard work and leadership as President for 2023-2024 as well as recognize her advocacy efforts, which fortunately she will continue as Legislative Chair. I would also like to give a special thank you to Dr. Russell Van Gelder who served most recently as the UW Liaison for over 16 years but also contributed several years to WAEPS as past President and member of the WEF board. Dr. Van Gelder’s contributions to the board, leadership and advocacy for our patients and members will be greatly missed.

With this team, WAEPS remains steadfast in its commitment to patient safety by remaining vigilant in the rule making process for the optometry expanded scope of practice bill, SSB 5389, allowing optometrists to perform lid surgeries as well as other procedures. We are committed to advocating for our profession and addressing the challenges we face such as declining reimbursement, coding changes and insurance audits through our legislative efforts. Even with this great team, we need your help, too. I encourage members to make contributions to the WA EyePAC, Safe Surgery Fund and/or WEF. Your contributions ensure we can continue these crucial activities.

I am grateful for this opportunity to help represent WAEPS, and I look forward to meeting you at our next Annual Meeting at the Meydenbauer Center on March 13th and 14th. If anyone would like to be more involved in WAEPS, please feel free to reach out to me or anyone on the WAEPS board.

Jane Myung, M.D.
President
[email protected]

WAEPS Monthly Meeting Series

Debarshi Mustafi, MD, PhD
WAEPS Monthly Meeting Chair

2024-2025 Monthly Scientific Meeting:

This year we are pleased to welcome the following esteemed speakers for our Monthly Meeting Series:

• Jacque Duncan, MD, UCSF, October 9-10, 2024
• Prem Subramanian, MD, University of Colorado, November 13-14, 2024
• Tom Oetting, MD, University of Iowa, December 11-12, 2024
• William Katowitz, MD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, January 15-16, 2025
• Steve Mansberger, MD, Devers/OHSU, Feb. 12-13, 2025
• Gary Holland, MD, March 19-20, 2025, UCLA
• Laura Huang, MD, University of Washington, April 9-10, 2025
• Phil Rizzuto, MD, Brown University, May 28-29, 2025

2025 WAEPS Annual Meeting: March 13-14, 2025

Paul Griggs MD, Chair
WAEPS Annual Meeting Chair

We had another outstanding program for our 2024 Annual Meeting with tracks specifically designed for ophthalmologists, their medical personnel, practice managers and administrative staff. We were at the lovely Meydenbauer Center in downtown Bellevue. It was great to be back in this familiar and excellent setting. Thank you to all who attended and contributed to make this another excellent time of learning, coordinating, and connecting with the ophthalmologic community.

Save the date for the 2025 Annual Meeting Venue: Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, WA

Our 2025 conference promises to be another outstanding event and I look forward to seeing everyone on March 13 and 14, 2024.

YO Section Update

Peter Kally, MD
WAEPS YO Co-Chair

2023-2024 Monthly Scientific Meeting:

This year's Young Ophthalmology events began in April with a hike in Tiger Mountain (photo below) and will continue throughout the year, offering an opportunity to connect with other early-career Ophthalmologists in Washington. If you're interested in joining any of the upcoming events, please contact Susanna Barnett at [email protected], and we'll provide you with more details and dates for the events listed below:

• May: Kayaking Event at South Lake Union
• June: Berry Picking in Carnation (Family Friendly)
• July: Financial Planning Dinner Event
• August: Park Picnic in West Seattle (Family Friendly)
• October: Bowling Event
• December: Donut Making Class

YO Hike in Tiger Mountain – April 2024

2024 AAO Update

Courtney Francis, MD
WAEPS AAO Counselor

I was joined by WAEPS members Stephanie Cramer, Michael Brush, David Epley, Aaron Weingeist, Russ Van Gelder and Steve Swedberg in attending the recent AAO Congressional Advocacy Day and Mid-Year Forum in DC. We met with Rep. Schrier and Sen. Cantwell as well as legislative aides for Sen. Murray and Reps. Jayapal, Smith, and Gluesenkamp Perez. Topics addressed included long-term Medicare payment reform, reducing the burdens of prior authorizations and step therapy, increasing funding for federal vision research, expanding loan repayment for pediatric subspecialists and protecting patient safety through limiting optometric scope expansion in the VA system. Rep. Schrier was also awarded the AAO Visionary Award for her work on Medicare repayment reform and Medicaid reimbursements for pediatric ophthalmologists. WAEPS and UW sponsored two advocacy ambassadors, Nicole Mattson MD and Zesemayat Mekonnen MD, both PGY3 ophthalmology residents at UW - we hope we've inspired them to continue advocacy work in the field of ophthalmology!

Seattle King County Clinic

Michael Brush, MD

Seattle King County Clinic:
The Seattle King County Clinic will be occurring the last weekend in April 4/24-4/27 – 2025

Legislative Update

Stephanie Cramer, MD
WAEPS Legislative & Government Relations Chair

WAEPS continues to meet with the Washington Board of Optometry and their SSB 5389 subcommittee to give our official thoughts and positions with regards to the rule making of the optometric scope expansion that passed the WA legislature last year. The procedures that SSB 5389 specifically allows optometrists to perform are not very clear, and the educational process by which they will be able to get the special endorsement on their license is even less so. Rulemaking is the clarification process by which a governing body determines the actual meaning of a bill.

Unfortunately, the governing body that SSB 5389 designated to interpret this bill is the Washington Board of Optometry. While WAEPS, WSMA and the WA medical commission can weigh in – and we have at every board and subcommittee meeting – the final decisions are made by optometry. So far, no final interpretation has been made. We expect a vote on the subcommittee’s recommendations at the WA Board of Optometry’s board meeting in June. I will update you at that time.

Dr Christopher Chambers, of the University of WA, also testified against the proposed increased scope of practice of Naturopathic providers at the Department of Health’s Sunrise Hearing. The Department of Health is currently contemplating increasing the scope of practice of naturopathic providers to include many procedures across the breadth of medicine. In our case, this could include injections and procedures around the eye. Almost every medical subspecialty was represented in testifying against this expansion. Thank you Dr. Chambers!

In April, WAEPS was well represented at AAO’s annual mid-year forum. WAEPS met with Senator Maria Cantwell and Representative Kim Schrier to talk about several issues that affect ophthalmology on a nationwide level. Our contingent also met with legislative aides of Senator Patty Murray, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Pramila Jayapal, and Adam Smith. WAEPS advocated for Medicare payment reform, decreasing the burden of prior authorizations, and the dangers and delays of medication step therapy. We also talked about the VA Supremacy Project and about how maintaining eye surgery standards for veterans is paramount. The group also advocated for increasing funding for the National Eye Institute during the next fiscal year. A highlight of the meeting was getting to award Washington Representative Kim Schrier with AAO’s Visionary Award for her strong support of medicine and her advocacy for patients. It is only given to one Senator or Representative a year from the Academy.

If you have not been to Mid-Year forum, I highly encourage you to attend. It is really invigorating to see the power of advocacy on a federal level and connects you with our ophthalmology colleagues across the nation. Donating to OPHTHPAC is also pivotal to advancing these efforts!

InFocus WAEPS Member Newsletter - July 2020

President's Corner

Janet Chieh MD, President

It is an honor to serve as President of WAEPS for the 2020-2021 year. I appreciate the opportunity to serve with a dedicated board who continues to be committed to the organization and its members, especially during this unique pandemic crisis. COVID-19 has impacted ophthalmic care in Washington State and throughout the United States.

Unfortunately, we lost Richard Mills, MD on May 9 from complications of COVID-19. Fellowship trained in neuro-ophthalmology and glaucoma, he practiced at the UW for many years and mentored a generation of ophthalmologists before serving as interim Department Chair when Dr Kalina retired. He served as WAEPS President, as well as President of the AAO in 1995. He worked tirelessly for EyeCare America as Director, and Chief Medical Editor of AAO EyeNet Magazine for 14 years where his monthly editorial pieces were beloved. Despite health challenges over the last few years, Dick continued to participate in WAEPS UW Monthly Scientific Meetings and the AAO Mid-Year Forum. Dick was a talented surgeon and instructor with a great sense of humor, and a big heart. He touched many lives and will be greatly missed.

When our specialty was still unclear of best-practice guidelines, the WAEPS board quickly set up our first virtual Town Halls to create a forum for members and provide recommendations for our patients’ medical and surgical care. Ophthalmologists from all over Washington State called in with concerns and needs that were addressed in real time. 

WAEPS has continued to send updates on critical issues such as Governor proclamations, unemployment fraud and provider relief programs. I would like to highlight a critical scope battle in Arkansas. Last year, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 579, a law that permits optometrists certain surgical procedures on the eye and eyelids. In November, Arkansans will have the opportunity to overturn this law. It will set a precedent for all future scope of practice battles across the country. I urge all members to donate to Safe Surgery Arkansas (https://www.safesurgery2020.com) to help protect patients and defend the value of medical school education.

We all look forward each year to our annual WAEPS meeting where we provide outstanding clinical presentations and an intimate setting to connect with our colleagues and industry. Led by Paul Griggs, Michael Gilbert, Rachel Reinhardt and Anndrea Grant, the meeting unfortunately had to be canceled in March 2020, but the WAEPS board was able to set up a highly successful and well-attended virtual Coding meeting that week. Our 2020 invited speakers committed to returning to Seattle in 2021 or 2022.

I would like to thank Rebecca Dale for her excellent leadership over the past year and our executive director Kim Conn for her tireless work behind the scenes. I would also like to thank Devin Harrison for his years of service on the WAEPS board and welcome Jane Myung and Hee-Jung Park as our newest trustees. If you would like to be more involved in WAEPS, as either a trustee or to join a committee, I welcome you to contact me at [email protected] or Kim at 206-956-3652 or [email protected].

I am so grateful for our strong and united WAEPS community. Our colleagues have had innumerable personal and professional challenges these past few months, but difficult times bring out the best in us. I hope that we will all be seeing our clinics and operating rooms returning to pre-COVID capacity in the near future, and I hope to see you all in person in 2021.

Janet Chieh MD
President, WAEPS
www.WAEPS.org

Public Education

K. David Epley MD, Chair

Due to the Pandemic and the shutdown of all of our practices and the stay at home order, the Public Education Committee’s plans to move forward with additional eye exam screenings in collaboration with Washington State University and the University of Washington has been placed on hold. We look forward to the day when we can resume these screenings and, with support from the Washington Eye Foundation, expand them to be more comprehensive.

Thanks to all of you who have supported the Washington Eye Foundation this past year! The Public Education Committee thanks WEF for being willing to help fund equipment for these eye exams, and we look forward to the day when we can implement this public service for the citizens of Washington State.

Monthly Scientific Meeting Series 2020-2021

Yewlin Chee, MD, Chair

WAEPS members gather monthly for educational sessions in our award winning Monthly Scientific Meeting Series, co-presented by the University of Washington Department of Ophthalmology. These programs are presented by experts in a variety of ophthalmology sub-specialties. For those who are able to attend in person, the lectures are held in the auditorium at the Harborview Medical Center Training and Research building in Seattle. In addition, the series is available to members throughout the state via live streaming webinar. Category 1 CME credit for the series is an exclusive WAEPS member benefit and is free of charge. Note that to earn credit you must sign into each session you attend and track your attendance and submit a credit claim form at the end of the series.

Here is our confirmed list of speakers as of July 2020. We are still working on finalizing our spring schedule and will be excited to share those additional top-notch speakers with you soon. Coming this year:

• M. Reza Vafefi, MD
• Eric A. Pierce MD, PhD
• Stephen Gedde MD
• Mark Rosenblatt MD, PhD, MBA, MHA

When you plan to attend a meeting in person or via webinar, be sure to register online at www.waeps.com on the Monthly Meeting page of the WAEPS website. Your automatic confirmation email will contain the webinar login information for that month's session. If you need assistance with registration or do not receive your confirmation, please contact the WAEPS office no later than 3 p.m. on the day of the session you plan to participate in. If you have questions about the monthly series or want to make a topic/ speaker suggestion, please email Chair, Yewlin Chee.

Breaking News and Latest Updates

AAO to Help Members Obtain PPE

In response to difficulties ophthalmologists have obtaining personal protective equipment, the Academy is partnering with Project N95, a nonprofit national COVID-19 clearinghouse, to reserve quality-certified PPE exclusively for our members for purchase with no minimum. The details are being finalized, and the order process is expected to begin the week of Aug. 20 with shipments sent about four weeks later. AAO will provide updates when ordering is available.

Washington Eye Foundation

K. David Epley MD, WEF Secretary

Many thanks to all of our donors this past year! The Washington Eye Foundation continues to be successful thanks to generous donations by our donors and colleagues.

WEF was planning to fund a resident “Advocacy Ambassador” to the AAO’s Mid-Year Forum, but this meeting has been cancelled by the COVID Pandemic. We are hopeful that we will be able to resume doing this next year. We had also planned to sponsor a speaker for this year’s WAEPS Annual Meeting, as we have since our inception. Finally, our plans to fund expanded eye exam screenings in collaboration with our state’s two medical schools via the purchase of ophthalmic equipment for WAEPS to use has been delayed. Your donations can help us to fund more equipment for this mobile eye exam process, which is being led by Board Member Stephanie Cramer, MD.

We would obviously welcome donations to the WEF, but we feel in this unprecedented climate that our society as a whole may need them more. There are a couple of organizations doing great work in our state that deserve consideration by our members:

Seattle electric bike maker Evelo has launched a campaign to purchase PPE for medical professionals in areas of need via their contacts in Taiwan, where there bikes are manufactured. They will connect offices in need with the needed equipment. Consider donating here.

Northwest Harvest is Washington’s statewide hunger relief agency. Because of the Pandemic, food bank supplies have reached critical lows. Please consider donating to Northwest Harvest to help those in need of food, whether from loss of income or a job, or any other cause.

Finally, thanks to all our amazing WAEPS members who rapidly shut down their practices to help flatten the curve of this Pandemic. Our lives and our practices may be changed forever by this, but we will recover and move on. The AAO has amassed a wealth of information to help practices deal with the struggles of staying closed and of reopening when the time comes. Follow this link.

WAEPS Annual Meeting 2021

Paul Griggs MD, Physician Meeting Chair
Michael Gilbert MD, Coding Chair
Rachel Reinhardt MD, Practice Manager Chair
Anndrea Grant COMT, OSC, Medical Personnel Chair

Save the Date

March 11-12, 2021
Washington State Conference Center | Seattle, WA

• Coding & CodeQuest Seminar: Thurs. March 11, 2021
• Physician dinner and CME Program: Thurs. March 11, 2021
• All day Physician CME Program: Friday, March 12, 2021
• Practice Management Seminar: Friday, March 12, 2021
• Ophthalmic Personnel Program: Friday, March 12, 2021

We are excited to announce our four incredible speakers confirmed to lecture at the 2021 Annual Meeting:

• Terry Kim MD (Cataract, Cornea, and External Disease)
• Srinivas Sadda MD (Retina)
• Tamara Fountain MD (Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery)
• Steven Gedde MD (Glaucoma)

Registration will open in January 2021. For more information about the Annual Meeting, visit our website: www.WAEPS.org

WAEPS Legislative Update

Dr. Chee and Dr. Weingeist (WAEPS Board Members) met with Sen Saldaña at the WSMA Legislative Summit last winter to discuss healthcare in Washington state.

 New Member Welcome

Kristi Bailey MD

Please help me welcome our newest members to our wonderful group of Washington Academy of Eye Physician & Surgeons ophthalmologists.

• Shu Feng MD | University of Washington (Seattle)
• Tiffany Hseih, MD | Washington Permanente Medical Group (Silverdale)
• Carmel Mercado MD | Seattle Children’s Hospital (Seattle)
• Sherveen Salek MD | Kaiser Permanente Washington (Silverdale)
• Steven Saraf MD | University of Washington (Seattle)
• Kaidi Wang MD | Virginia Mason (Seattle)
• Nathan Wilbanks MD | Eye Associates Northwest (Kirkland)

WAEPS Supports 2020 Seattle King County Clinic

Michael Brush MD

WAEPS is proud to continue our tradition of sponsoring and supporting the Seattle King County Clinic. This year the clinic was held in February 2020 the Seattle Center. WAEPS Board member, Dr. Michael Brush coordinates the ophthalmology section at the Clinic each year. He is excited to announce this year 1,074 patients received vision care worth approx. $571,000! There were 34 WAEPS ophthalmologists that volunteered their time and talent to help underserved patients. We look forward to continuing our involvement in the SKCC next year.

Ophthalmology Practices for Sale

• Fully Built-Out Ophtalmology Clinic For Rent: Burien, WA

  Fully Built-Out Ophthalmology clinic located at 14031 Ambaum Blvd SW, Burien, WA. The subject property has been an eye clinic since 1962. In 2006 Evergreen Eye Clinic completely renovated the clinic. It has 4,100 SF and is perfect for any ophthalmology or optometry use, most notably a cornea or retina specialist. The clinic occupies the top floor of a 2-story building with grand floor occupied by a dental practice.

  The clinic has ample parking with 27 of 42 stalls dedicated to the clinic. This is a perfect opportunity for an ophthalmology or optometry group. Please contact Dr. Varedi if you are interested: 206-319-8051 [email protected]

• Practice For Sale: a Comprehensive Ophthalmology Practice in Edmonds, WA

  Edmonds is located by the water and is only 15 miles north of downtown Seattle. The office is located within a walking distance from Swedish Edmonds hospital. Surgeries can be done at a Proliance surgery suite located in the same building right below the office. Many walk-in patients come from the Internal Medicine and Cardiology clinics next door.

  The practice has been using electronic medical records for 17 years. It has modern diagnostic equipment including Spectralis OCT, Octopus VF, Ellex SuperQ Yag Laser, Kowa Nonmyd fundus camera, 2 fully equipped exam rooms and a spacious reception area large enough to have an optical shop.

  There is an on-call group of 11 ophthalmologists sharing an on-call schedule for their office patients only, not taking an ER call unless you want to. Please submit a resume or send an email to “[email protected]”.

• Practice for Sale: Randolph, Vermont

  I have a job opportunity and am looking to sell my practice in Randolph, Vermont. Randolph is located in the heart of Vermont: right in the center of the state. There are abundant outdoor activities available including; hiking, biking, skiing, kayaking and kite boarding. The Randolph school system is superlative. The school offers grades preK-12 along with a tech center. Randolph also is home to Vermont Technical Center a 2-4 year college located in Randolph Center. I started practicing in Randolph in 1993. I am fellowship trained in Pediatric and Adult Strabismus. My practice is truly comprehensive. My surgeries include; cataracts, strabismus, MIGS.

  Procedures in clinic include; botox injections for strabismus and blepharospasm, VEGF injections, laser yag cap, laser yag PI, laser ALT, laser retinal holes.

  I am looking for a person who is interested in practicing comprehensive ophthalmology in a rural setting. A subspecialty interest is beneficial. My office is located within walking distance to the hospital. I prefer to ride my bike. If this has piqued your interest, please contact me by phone at: Office: 802-728-2460

AAO - Request for Action on Prior Authorization

AAO has contacted all the state ophthalmology societies to ask their membership to help support two important items. Please read their notice below.