Making a Big Footprint on Modern Medicine

By Marshall E. Hicks MD, FSIR

SIR President

Demonstrating the value of IR now—and maintaining its value in the future—to patients, to lawmakers, to payers, to regulators, to hospital administrators and to our professional colleagues—is critical for our specialty’s advancement.

At March’s successful Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco, we were energized as we examined “IR Evidence.” We shared ideas with friends and colleagues, and we came home with best practices and pearls to implement in our own practices. We know that we treat our patients as effective and expert care givers and that we share the same philosophy: We know that IR has value. So, how do we get this critical message out?

Given the current health care environment of where payers are going, where the government’s headed and what consumers expect, we have the opportunity to do what we’ve always done—we must prove and improve. We need to let others know the value of interventional radiology. This is crucial—and, there is no time to waste. We can’t afford to drift along with the status quo. We must share the same sense of urgency in relaying IR’s value.

SIR leaders are your advocates, and we’ll continue to act on your behalf to prove IR’s value. We’ve identified a series of codes and procedures that most clearly showcase the value of IR—in terms of quality, efficacy and low cost. We’ll work with health services research groups that draw from Medicare and private payer datasets to perform cost comparison studies and outcomes research to prove our value.

In this era of evidence-based medicine, the Society and Foundation will develop this deeper and wider evidence base, using it to validate more widespread acceptance of IR by examining outcomes associated with our procedures. Working with Society and Foundation leaders, we’ll also strengthen the value of IR on many fronts: advocacy, education, communications, and funding for research and student scholarships. Strengthening the value of IR will be the centerpiece of the society’s new strategic plan.

Executive Council members will meet in May to set the direction for the society over the next several years. During this long-range strategic planning session, we will clearly define our objectives and assess both the internal and external situations to formulate strategy, implement our strategy, evaluate progress and make adjustments as necessary to stay on track. We’ll answer questions, such as: How do we excel? Where do we want to be? How do we get there? We will determine what we intend SIR to be in the future, examining our vision, mission and goals—and our results will be reported in a future edition of IR News. You are an integral part of this strategic planning. Whether you spoke personally with Society officers or participated in our Idea Café or in committee meetings during the Annual Scientific Meeting, you provided us with ideas and directions as we prepare to set SIR’s course over the next several years.

I am honored—and humbled—to serve as your president. I’ve been involved with SIR my entire professional life—through committee work, Annual Scientific Meeting participation and journal review. I encourage you to volunteer with the Society.  IR value needs to be supported and proved by data, and we will need your help—whether it’s participating in registries or clinical trials or being an active voice on SIR committees.

I believe that whether you practice privately or in a small hospital or at a large academic institution—or whether you treat cancer or PAD or stroke—it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that as interventional radiologists we are expert, patient-centered care givers. Our specialty took root, created a medical revolution based on innovation—and we stand resolute on bringing the transformation value of IR to health care. We have a strength and passion that belie our numbers. It’s this strength and passion—or philosophy—that will effect change. There is nothing more powerful than a group of individuals solidly sharing a single-minded purpose.

I truly believe that our best days are ahead as we become the specialty associated with value in medicine—innovative, cost effective and quality oriented. IR is the future of health care. We know that IR is better, safer, faster and less expensive. Now, let’s prove it to others.

We’re a small society, and—with your help—we’ll make a big footprint on modern medicine.

Originally published in SIR's May/June IR News