NYSRS Winter 2024 Update

Winter 2024 Update

Message from our New President

I am humbled to serve as the chapter’s president in 2024. In this space, I would like to first recognize Bob Pizzutiello, MS, for his service as president over the past year. The chapter had another highly successful year under his leadership, including initiatives for greater prospective and new-member engagement, expanded content for general membership meetings, and updates to the chapter’s bylaws and nominations processes to ensure that the organization is operationally well-positioned for the ensuing years. We are indebted to Bob’s vision and execution during this time.

The chapter continues to be busy, already having a number of accomplishments in the short amount of time that has passed in the current term. These include:

Implementation of a newly structured Executive Committee, to facilitate ongoing board activities between regular board meetings

Approval of a plan for greater medical student engagement by the chapter. Phil Colucci, MD, has agreed to serve as chair of the new subcommittee organized for this purpose

Completion of the chapter’s application for the ACR’s annual chapter awards

Submission of an application for the ACR’s Scope-of-Practice grants, to provide funding to support state legislative activities related to scope-of-practice matters

Approval of the chapter’s 2024 goals and legislative agenda

A key success in one of the chapter’s legislative goals related to wrongful death legislation (as covered in this newsletter’s Legislative Affairs report)

Expansion of the chapter’s Membership committee with additional members-in-training and early-career members

Development of a webinar series over the course of the year, planned and hosted by the chapter’s Quality and Safety committee

Selection of two chapter members to be funded to attend the ACR RLI Leadership Accelerator course, sponsored by the chapter’s DEI committee

Selection of Luke Ginocchi, MD as the new chair for the chapter’s Young Professionals Sections; I extend my gratitude to Dana Lin, MD, for leading this section over the last few years

I thank the many chapter members whose hard work and commitment has enabled these achievements.

I’d like to also use this space to encourage you to attend our member meeting on Saturday March 23. We have a great agenda planned, including an opening session on ethics in radiology that will feature talks by Stella Kang, MD MSc on ethical issues in radiology reporting and incidental findings, and Jonathan Mezrich, MD JD, on ethical and medicolegal issues in radiology artificial intelligence; an “open mic” session on preauthorization reform featuring remarks by Keith Hentel, MD MS, and Justin Pfeiffer, JD; and chapter committee and section reports. At the meeting, we will also award the chapter’s Gold Medal for 2024 to Peter Millock, JD, who served as the chapter’s General Counsel and Executive Director for many years (continuing to serve in the latter of these roles). Forthcoming communications will provide further details for meeting attendance (including a remote access link).

I look forward to working with the chapter during the current term. Please feel free to email me at [email protected] with ideas, questions, or concerns. Here’s to a great year ahead for the NYSRS in 2024!

Andy Rosenkrantz, MD FACR

President, NYSRS

2024 NYSRS Executive Committee

President, Andrew Rosenkrantz, FACR

President-Elect, Benjamin Hentel, MD

Vice President Douglas Mintz, MD, FACR

Secretary/Treasurer Stamatia Destounis, MD, FACR

Past President, Robert Pizzutiello, MS FACR

Past President Keith Hentel, MD MS FACR

Member at Large Bonnie Litvack, MD FACR

Member at Large Kimberly Feigin, MD FACR

Member at Large David Axelrod, MD

Past President's Report

Wow! A lot has been accomplished since our last newsletter. For starters, please take 90 seconds to view our new Value Proposition video, hot off the editor’s desk.

Drs. Judy Yee and Donna D’Alessio showed both professionalism and warmth as they delivered a succinct message specifically aimed to radiologists who are not yet members of NYSRS and ACR. Please share it with other colleagues you know. We will be pushing it out on Social Media in the days ahead. Perhaps our biggest challenge is “How to create a list of radiologists who are not members?” Any ideas?

Here is an overview of some recent major initiatives:

Website updates, including more information on our society and a new “pop-up” that since April has resulted in discussions with more than 30 new and potential members of NYSRS. These new members have given us very positive feedback about the personal contact from the chapter president and follow up from respective Committee or Section Chairs, now our SOP. As a result, we have made substantial progress engaging Residents and Fellows with support for attending valuable programs, as well as medical students engaging with NYSRS.

Follow-up completed on every single Action Item (all 19 of them!) from our March 31 board meeting directly addressing a concern that was expressed about possible obstacles to women in society leadership. These included improving our website with more information about our society and its history of inclusive leadership, broadening our Nominating Committee and nominations process, adopting a Meeting Code of Conduct and addressing “radiologist burnout,” beginning with our excellent invited speakers for our October 14, 2023 All-Member’s Meeting: Drs. Alan Matsumoto and Sarah Averill. BTW, our meeting included a lively and informative Open Mic discussion Saturday on Restrictive Covenants, opened by our new General Counsel, Justin Pfeiffer.

Continued monitoring of our financial strength and payments from membership dues collected by ACR.

Key legislative efforts: including two lobbying days in Albany, supporting 4 significant bills and opposing scope increase bills for podiatrists, PA’s and independent performance of fluoroscopy. We continue our collaboration with MSSNY and other specialty societies to lobby Governor Hochul to veto the newly revised “Wrongful Death” legislation passed at the end of the session.

Developing bylaws changes for Executive Committee at-large members and the election of the Secretary-Treasurer.

As I look at this substantial list, I am impressed with one over-arching theme: These ideas came from the broad base of our members, and board members and our partners have turned those ideas into reality.

It has been an honor to serve as your president, and to pass the gavel to Dr. Andy Rosenkrantz. We are in good hands, indeed!

Bob Pizzutiello, MS FACR

Past President, NYSRS

Report from our Legislative Affairs Committee

Wrongful Death (A6698, Weinstein/S6636, Hoylman-Sigal): On the afternoon of December 29, 2023, Wrongful Death legislation, also called the “Grieving Families Act,” was transmitted to Governor Hochul’s desk. That same evening, Governor Hochul vetoed the bill. This is the second time that Governor Hochul has vetoed Wrongful Death legislation. In her veto message, the Governor stated, “The bill would likely lead to increased insurance premiums for the vast majority of consumers, as well as risk to the financial well-being of our health facilities – most notably, for public hospitals that serve disadvantaged communities.” This regressive liability bill would have expanded possible damages in wrongful death actions and increased the already high liability premiums paid by physicians in New York State.

The NYS Radiological Society participated in extensive advocacy in opposition to this legislation, coordinating our efforts with MSSNY and medical specialty societies. This advocacy included a sign on letter in opposition, a grassroots Action Alert urging NYSRS members to contact the Governor and urge her to veto this bill, and targeted social media posts. In addition, we supported sponsored messages and advertisements in the Empire Report that achieved over 5 million impressions and over 1,000 clicks.

The Legislature’s new 2024 session has begun, and we expect this bill to be reintroduced. Also last year, we successfully opposed numerous bills (based on serious patient safety concerns) that would have inappropriately expanded the scope of practice of NPs and PAs. These bills remain in various Assembly and/or Senate committees. We will be carefully monitoring all of these bills and will again work closely with MSSNY and medical specialty societies to oppose them.

Thanks to everyone who contacted their legislators and Governor Hochul last year and who generously contributed to the NYS Radiological PAC. This is an election year so PAC contributions are needed. Please donate to the PAC through this quick, secure link:

https://nysrs.org/miscellaneous-pages/new-york-state-radiologist-pac/

Robert Rapoport, MD FACR

Report From Our Physics Committee

The Physics Committee has been active in its regulatory monitoring and outreach efforts, most notably having continued to stay abreast of the NYSDOH’s work to update Part 16 of the NY State Sanitary Code. To this end, our vice-chair Dylan DeAngelis was able to attend the annual meeting of the New York State Bureau of Environmental Radiation Protection (BERP), at which the major proposed changes to the code were discussed. The discussed changes mirrored those shared with the Committee during our meeting with Alex Damiani, the director of BERP, in April of 2023.

One change of interest is the Bureau’s intent to require accreditation of all cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) units (including dental CBCT) to ensure that all users of such equipment provide the necessary quality and safety practices to their patients, just as is the case with users of multidetector CT units. The Committee, with Board approval, has drafted a letter from NYSRS in support of this accreditation requirement to be sent to Alex Damiani of BERP.

Additionally, as the public comment period for the new NYS regulations approaches the Committee will begin the process of reaching out to our physics colleagues in the local AAPM and Health Physics Society chapters to coordinate a unified approach to commenting on the new regulations as soon as they are public. Given our success in coordinating a response to updates to NYCDOHMH’s Article 175 a few years ago, we hope to achieve a similar result in this endeavor.

Daniel J. Long, PhD

Report from our Interventional Radiology Committee

On December 6, 2023 a virtual Town Hall meeting entitled “IR and DR: Better Together or…?” was co-sponsored by the ACR and SIR. As the title suggests, the meeting covered the question as to whether Interventional Radiology should remain a part of the field of Radiology. At our January 5th NYSRS Board of Directors meeting, we had the good fortune of having one of the organizers of the Town Hall, Board Member and Past President of the NYSRS, Robert Min, MD, MBA lead our discussion as we delved into the details that surround this issue.

The Town Hall allowed for arguments to be made, at times quite passionately, both in favor and against maintaining IR within DR practices. Underlying circumstances that fuel the debate include the creation of a separate IR training pathway, increasing diagnostic volumes and staffing shortages, and the increasing role that comprehensive longitudinal patient care and clinical involvement has taken in many IR practices.

Mentioned in favor of IR staying with DR is the leverage IR brings to negotiations by Radiology groups and departments with hospitals and other clinical specialties. The role of the IR as the on-site “face of the practice” as a necessity in what otherwise might be a mostly remote group of radiologists was also brought up. Some of the diagnostic skills that are well-suited for IRs such as vascular imaging may also be valued by a radiology group.

Driving the desire to separate from DR, many IRs refer to the lack of value and recognition attributed to the clinical roles, in addition to the physical demands and occupational hazards IRs take on. Exclusive contracts that are common in relationships between radiology groups and hospitals also limit access to hospital facilities by IRs in a way that is not experienced by other surgical and procedure-based specialties. On the DR side, in a strictly wRVU-based model, there can be a perception that DRs support the IRs who may find it difficult to match the revenue generated by diagnostic colleagues reading high volumes.

Although the topic will continue to create animated discussions, for example at the upcoming SIR Annual Meeting, some basic conclusions were suggested. At least for now, the pros and cons seem to be very much practice-dependent. A common understanding of the value brought to a radiology practice by metrics outside the wRVU model tends to allow for a more congenial working relationship. Maneuvers such as involving IRs in a vascular lab or the incorporation of OBLs into a practice help to increase the measurable revenue of IRs within a given group while simultaneously increasing the personal gratification of IRs doing what they are trained to do.

David J. Axelrod, MD

Report from our Breast Committee

The NYSRS Breast Imaging Committee has been actively advocating for patients. This past year, the committee participated in the open comment period for the USPSTF Breast Cancer Screening guidelines. While the updated guidelines support beginning screening for breast cancer at age 40, the proposed guidelines fall short by not recommending annual screening. The committee’s comment submission urges the task force to recommend ANNUAL breast cancer screening beginning at age 40.

Together with our lobbyist support, the committee is hard at work to have dense breasts deemed medical necessity requiring insurance coverage for supplemental breast ultrasound. We are currently working on strategies to move two proposed bills through assembly committees to become public health law.

As the federal mandate for breast density notification goes into effect in September 2024, the breast imaging committee is supporting breast imagers across the state to be compliant with both NY State and federally mandated language for dense breast notification. Currently the state law language and federally mandated language differ slightly and practices are required to use the FDA language verbatim. Working with counsel, we have urged the NYS Department of Health to consider the federally mandated language as compliant with NYS Public Health law.

Donna D'Alessio, MD, FACR

Report from our Quality & Safety Committee

A new NYSRS Quality and Safety + Informatics Lecture Series is being offered as a membership benefit for society members. Under the leadership of Dr. Shlomit Goldberg-Stein, co-chair of the NYSRS Quality and Safety Committee, this new series intends to provide participants with the latest information on topics relating to quality and safety of imaging care delivery, and the role of informatics in scaling innovation and enhancing patient outcomes. The inaugural lecture entitled “The Intersection of AI and Quality & Safety” featuring Dr. Nina Kottler will be held virtually on February 8, 2024 at 5:30-6:30 PM EST. Dr. Kottler is a globally renowned industry expert and the associate Chief Medical Officer for Clinical AI at Radiology Partners.

Shlomit Goldberg-Stein, MD

Congratulations for our new ACR Fellows from NYSRS for 2024!

Isamettin Aral, MD

David Axelrod, MD

Daniel Bednarek, PhD

Lily Belfi, MD

Marc Brown, MD

Scot Coyne, MD

Douglas DeCorato, MD

Richard Kinh Gian Do, MD

Soterios Gyftopoulos, MD

Benjamin Hentel, MD

Nicole Hindman, MD

Jeffrey Levsky, MD

Janet Szabo, MD

Stephen Waite, MD

Jeffrey Warhit, MD

Paula Yeghiayan, MD

Recognize Someone Deserving & Support Education

Donating to the NYSRS Foundation can be made in honor of individual(s) and is is a great way to recognize the successes of colleagues or to provide thanks to someone in our field.

Funding from the NYSRS is used to support educational activities and opportunities for members-in-training and members of our society.

Donate to the NYSRS Foundation

Call for ACR Fellow Applications

Recognition as a fellow is one of the highest honors the ACR can bestow on a member ACR Fellows demonstrate a history of service to the College, organized radiology, teaching, and/or research.

Only 15 percent of current ACR members have been awarded this honor.

Eligible chapter members are encouraged to apply for Fellow of the American College of Radiology. Competed applications are due by June 15. Please see the link below for more information and for the application link.

https://www.acr.org/Member-Resources/Fellowship-Honors/FACR

New NYSRS Meeting Code of Conduct

This Meeting Code of Conduct provides guidelines to which Members should adhere at Member, Board, Committee and Section meetings. It is intended to facilitate robust and respectful discussion and deliberations.

Members should demonstrate common courtesy, decorum, civility and professionalism at all times.
Members should not speak until recognized by the chair designated for the meeting. 3. Members should not interrupt anyone who validly has the floor, or otherwise disrupt the meeting.
Members should confine their comments to what is relevant to the topic being discussed.
Members should follow direction from the meeting chair, including a direction to step down.