Executive director’s column By Keith M. Hume A voice for all IRs
Our work is being noticed by the broader medical community, who are increasingly turning to SIR as an expert and leader.
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IR is not just a professional organization. It’s a professional home—a place where IRs are celebrated and supported.
The benefits we provide to members have evolved and expanded, but our mission to advocate for IR has never changed and our outreach continues to strengthen. SIR is constantly focused on and working to amplify your voice within myriad important arenas.
Over the past couple of months, one of the most visible and pressing examples is SIR’s advocacy in response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule. This rule will enact deep cuts to IRs, especially those performing lower extremity procedures, and will impact not only physicians but patients as well. Since the proposed cuts were announced, SIR has visible and outspoken in analyzing the impact of the rule, expressing our opposition and proposing solutions to decision makers. As the national voice for IR, we have set up multiple meetings with members of Congress and the White House, as well as the deputy director of CMS, to explain the impact these cuts will have on patient care. Our ability to secure meetings such as these is a testament to SIR’s recognition as a respected national health policy authority.
These efforts would not be as impactful without our members. The SIR community has sent over 3,000 letters, reaching more than 80% of congressional offices. On short notice, SIR members across the country held calls with their local representatives to advocate for IR. This is SIR at its best— aligning and mobilizing our community and infrastructure to amplify IR across the nation.
8 IRQ | FALL 2021
Our work is being noticed by the broader medical community as well, who are increasingly turning to SIR as an expert and leader. Recently, we were asked by the Food and Drug Administration to join a hearing on the safety and efficacy of endovascular grafts. This is an opportunity for SIR, and by default, you, to be part of a wider conversation and shape policy that provides the best practicing environment possible.
But while FDA panels and White House meetings are crucial, they are only a part of the advocacy and outreach work that SIR undertakes every day. Our focus is on ensuring that the entire IR community, in every practice type, is heard, represented and supported through our work. SIR invests in developing practice resources and clinical practice guidelines, producing standards documents, partnering with other organizations, creating coding and billing guides, and housing a community network of experts and allies.
With every new research endeavor we support and every Research Consensus Panel that SIR Foundation hosts, we are raising awareness and helping to shape the future of IR. Similarly, the VIRTEX Data Registry is not just a data collection activity—it’s a data resource and benchmarking tool the whole IR community can use to amplify your work and findings. As more and more IRs use it, VIRTEX will become a powerful voice for the efficacy of IR.
SIR’s voice is only as loud as our members. We cannot do this work without you. There are roles at SIR for everyone, no matter their clinical interest or practice type. From our sections to our clinical specialty councils to our committees, there is always an opportunity to add your voice to the future of IR.
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