From the President’s Desk: Looking Ahead at 2015

LUGPA News From the President’s Desk: Looking Ahead at 2015 Gary M. Kirsh, MD President, LUGPA; The Urology Group, Cincinnati, OH [Rev Urol. 2014;16(4):189-190 doi: 10.3909/riu1604lugpa] ® © 2014 MedReviews , LLC I t is an honor to assume the position of LUGPA president as of the completion of our recent highly successful annual meeting in Chicago (November 6-8, 2014). The annual meeting, under the direction of 2014 LUGPA Secretary Dr. Neal Shore, was record breaking in terms of its groundbreaking content and attendance. In fact, the annual meeting has outgrown its traditional home at The Drake Hotel Chicago, and, in November 2015, the meeting will be held at the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park. There will be a much more substantive review of the recent annual meeting in an upcoming issue of Reviews in Urology. LUGPA has made amazing strides in its short existence. In just over 6 years, our membership has grown to more than 120 independent urology groups representing about one quarter of practicing urologists in the United States. LUGPA has become nationally recognized for its multidisciplinary deliverables to members, including cutting-edge health policy insight, robust advocacy efforts to protect the independent practice of urology, practice management support, leadership development and change management, and an emerging presence in business and clinical benchmarking. LUGPA’s success has been possible because of the amazing commitment and support we have received from a broad range of physicians and practice executives around the country. Each year, we have advanced our cause by standing on the shoulders of others who have worked tirelessly for our benefit. I wish to recognize a few of those individuals in this column. Dr. Johnny Reyna just completed his term as LUGPA president, and I am privileged to build on accomplishments realized during Dr. Reyna’s term. These include enhanced member communications, growth of important projects in the areas of practice and clinical benchmarking, and the development of a new strategic plan for the organization (more on that below). Some important “giants” of LUGPA’s early history have rotated off the LUGPA Board. Dr. Deepak Kapoor has completed his Board service as past president. Fortunately, he will remain integrally engaged as LUGPA chair of Health Policy. Earl Walz, MBA, has completed his service. Earl was a principle founder of LUGPA and its founding treasurer; his contribution to LUGPA’s development and success is immeasurable. Dr. Sandy Siegel Vol. 16 No. 4 • 2014 • Reviews in Urology • 189 4004170006_RIULUGPA.indd 189 09/12/14 11:59 AM LUGPA News continued has completed his board service as well. Sandy is a leading visionary nationally in the large urology group community whose efforts in the early stages of LUGPA’s founding were instrumental to its growth and success. These individuals will be sorely missed, but, as in any other highly successful organization, we must continuously refresh our leadership. We are delighted to have Dr. Neal Shore move up to presidentelect, and longstanding board member Dr. Richard Harris has assumed the position of LUGPA secretary. Bob Asinof, MHA, a practice executive who has been on the LUGPA board since its inception, is the new LUGPA treasurer. Many other LUGPA board members remain in their positions, and we welcome two new members to the LUGPA Board: Dr. Evan Goldfischer and Dr. Scot Sellinger. For a full list of the LUGPA Board, please refer to our website, www. LUGPA.org. In 2014, the LUGPA Board retained the services of strategic consultants, and, in August, the Board conducted a strategic planning retreat. As a result of that conclave, LUGPA defined new mission and values statements, which I am proud to convey here: LUGPA’s Mission • Preserve and advance the independent practice of Urology. LUGPA’s Values • Quality—ensuring the cornerstone of our profession. • Collaboration—working together to advance Urology. • Innovation—helping create the future of Urology. • Integrity—advocating and emulating high ethical conduct in all we do. Although the strategic planning retreat addressed the present and future status of LUGPA broadly, I would like to highlight two new concepts that emerged. First, in order to accomplish LUGPA’s primary mission of preserving and advancing independent urology, the Board reached a decision to expand opportunities for groups to become full members. Previously, full members of LUGPA were independent groups with 10 or more physicians, and groups with 5 to 10 physicians were offered an associate membership. The Board has eliminated the associate membership category, so now any group with five or more physicians may join LUGPA as full members. In addition, the association will accept applications for membership from select independent groups with less than five members if that group represents an important urologic presence in smaller markets. In the upcoming year, we will be looking to expand LUGPA membership as much as possible in order to help independent groups remain independent. Second, in order to broaden LUGPA’s effectiveness, the Board has recognized that the organization requires an augmented staff complement. We will be looking to significantly expand the professional staff of LUGPA over the next few months. During 2015, we will, of course, continue to aggressively pursue our advocacy and health-policy activities to protect independent urology. We will also be working to expand important existing projects such as our retrospective and prospective prostate cancer active surveillance database, and our practice management data integration project, which already is providing participating practices more access to practice management benchmarking data than any other available resource. Look for more information on these projects, as well as new projects under development, in future columns in Reviews in Urology, the Official Journal of LUGPA. Independent urology is flourishing, and LUGPA continues to position itself as an important force dedicated to the success of independent member groups and the health of their patients. Feel free to contact me or any member of the LUGPA Board with comments, questions, or suggestions. I wish each of you a happy and healthy holiday season. 190 • Vol. 16 No. 4 • 2014 • Reviews in Urology 4004170006_RIULUGPA.indd 190 09/12/14 11:59 AM