President's Letter - November 2009

October 22, 2009
 
President of ISEMIR meeting 
October 2009
 
RE: Relevant points that need to be focused on.
 
Dear Member,
 
ISEMIR convened a membership meeting during October’s ACR meeting and for those who were unable to attend, we have much to share.

Society leadership was the first order of business. Phil Conaghan will serve as our President Elect, Orrin Troum as our Treasurer. Charles Peterfy is the Secretary, and Ewa Olech will wear 2 hats as Membership Chairman and Website Director. John Heagney of Association Resources will continue to support all these people in the functions that they are required to perform.
 
On the subject of membership, we have decided to send one final letter to those members who have not paid their dues and, unfortunately, if we do not receive their payment by the 31st of December, they will no longer eligible for membership. This should affect only a small group. Each year’s dues will be collected from the 1st of January. We request all members to pay as soon as possible, because we depend on this support to manage the organization for the coming year.
 
Funding is of particular importance to our society. We appreciate the support of UCB and Amgen and anticipate Esaote and Centocor to also sponsor our efforts in 2009 and in future years. For a variety of reasons, ISEMIR has received less funding from the various pharmaceutical companies who either supported us in the past or implied that they would support us in the future. As a result, Association Resources has committed to identify new grants and other means of financial support.
 
Dr. Paul Emery directed further discussion regarding the revision of the white paper. We have been in communication with ACR, in the hope of bringing about revisions which will make it more difficult for payers to deny reimbursement to our membership and, furthermore, that the document will support the use of MRI in the management and diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.
 
Planning for our next activities has already begun. We will hold our next CME meeting on June 14, 2010 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., the day before EULAR begins. This will allow us to feature a truly international faculty and give our international members a greater opportunity participate. The Foundation of Healthcare will run the meeting under the auspices of Judy Sarafin, who organize our 2 previous CME meetings. ISEMIR’s organizing committee will include myself, Drs. Phil Conaghan and Mikkel Ostergaard, Guillermo Valenzuela, with the help of our industry sponsors. Esaote has volunteered to be the main sponsor for the meeting, based on their familiarly with Italy and their visibility to the Italian medical community. However, we encourage all our industrial supporters to support the meeting.
 
From a regulatory point of view, it is recommended that all MRI sites to be certified under the guidance of ICAMRL. Dr. Steve Needel will lead the committee that will assist with the certification process, as well as address issues related to the denial of other payments for 2 tesla extremity MRIs less than 0.2 tesla in strength.
 
We feel strongly that all rheumatologists should belong to ISEMIR, but those who have an extremity MRI in particular. To this end, we are investigating marketing and alliance tactics to expand our membership base. Our website will be updated on a monthly basis and the visitors to the website recorded. Finally, we will develop a tri-fold package marketing and describing the function and benefits of our association. This will be available at the EULAR CME meeting, in addition to an exhibit booth for the activity area of the ACR’s 2010 Atlanta meeting. These efforts will help make all MRI users aware of the importance of joining our Society.

The suggestion was put forward to consider loose affiliation with the ultrasound society, which has similar issues and problems and goals. We will establish a steering committee to evaluate the potential benefits of such an arrangement.
  
Overall, we enjoyed a spirited meeting in Philadelphia, with lots of good ideas, interaction, and conversation. It is a pleasure to be part of the Society and to serve as your president. We anticipate a successful year and I appeal to your support in all areas discussed, as well as any suggestions or comments that you, as important Society members, may have.

Finally, many thanks to John Crues for handling the Treasurer’s position with amazing patience and dedication since the inception of ISEMIR.  He has  moved on but will still be an integral part of our organization
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Norman B. Gaylis, M.D.
NBG/dsj