Strategic Initiative: (Develop & Deliver) Outcomes-Based Education

Description: The future of CME and the practice of medicine demand demonstration of measurable changes in physician competence, clinical performance, and/or patient outcomes. Education needs to identify and respond to gaps in physician knowledge or performance, and must be supported by evidence-based data, Academy guidelines and/or expert consensus. It should translate science and research to clinical practice. This requires not only a change in educational focus and format, but the ability (as an education provider) to measure change over time. It also suggests a significant change in physician expectations and roles in the education process.

Strategic Initiative: (Develop & Implement) Patient Safety Initiatives

Description: The healthcare system and society as a whole are demanding assurances that the care provided to patients does no harm. This initiative seeks to instill in dermatology a culture of patient safety. The Academy must define patient safety in dermatology and educate members regarding processes and documentation necessary to demonstrate the safety of treatments and procedures. The Academy also needs to determine its role in collecting data to be able to identify and help prevent potential adverse and near-miss events in dermatology.

Strategic Initiative: (Promote) Research and Evidence-Based Medicine

Description: The Academy continues to evolve in the development of evidence-based practice guidelines and other tools to define, disseminate and promote best practices to the medical community. The process entails reviewing available research, grading the evidence, distilling the evidence into clinical recommendations for care and identifying knowledge gaps to help define ideas for future research. The Academy needs to evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based practice guidelines.

Strategic Initiative: (Define and Develop) Quality and Measures in Dermatology

Description: The healthcare system and society demand accountability for the resources that are devoted to health care. Specifically, the public seeks data demonstrating that care provided to patients makes a difference in their overall health. The Academy needs to define optimal outcomes in dermatology and develop evidence-based standards, such as performance measures or quality metrics, to help practitioners implement guidelines and achieve those outcomes. Data needs to be collected to identify gaps in care to prioritize development of guidelines and evaluate their application and impact on patient care.

Strategic Initiative: Access and Quality Patient Care Advocacy

Description: To assure patient access to quality dermatologic care, the Academy needs to be at the table where decisions regarding the evolution of the healthcare system are being discussed, particularly with federal and state legislatures, government agencies and the private sector.

Strategic Initiative: (Recognized) Advocacy Agenda

Description: The Academy develops an advocacy agenda that focuses on those issues that have the greatest potential to affect the ability to deliver quality patient care. The agenda clarifies whether the Academy is leading an effort or participating in a larger coalition and lays out broad parameters for strategy and tactics for wielding influence. The organization develops constructive positions and communicates them effectively to all stakeholders in a strategic and timely fashion. The Academy is both pro- and reactive, as appropriate, on relevant issues occurring at the federal and state levels and with private payers.

Strategic Initiative: (Dissemination of) Science and Research

Description: High quality research is essential to ensure optimal care for patients. The Academy will develop a research agenda and identify and address gaps in knowledge and advocate for appropriate resources from government agencies, foundations and industry. This includes basic, mechanistic investigations as well as clinical research into the causes, prevention and treatment of skin diseases. It also includes the dissemination of new findings to members, the medical community, policymakers, patients and the public at large.

Strategic Initiative: (Increase) Public/Patient Awareness

Description: Modern communication capabilities provide unique opportunities to encourage positive behavior change which can improve public health, enhance quality of life and prevent/manage disease. Sharing evidence-based information about the conditions dermatologists treat, while highlighting the unique value of care provided by a dermatologist, facilitates successful patient/physician partnerships. Raising public/patient awareness involves identifying and implementing a variety of communication tactics across a wide range of media (print, broadcast, Internet) to educate the public about why and when to see a dermatologist, and to help support members in patient care. Strategic alliances with patient groups, other specialty societies, and/or industry help bring attention to important conditions and leverage collective ability to effect change.

Strategic Initiative: Specialty Positioning

Description: Dermatology's relative ability to impact the larger healthcare environment to improve patient care is dependent upon perceptions of the specialty among policy makers, the medical community and the public. Enhancing the specialty's positioning includes identifying and implementing a variety of tactics, backed by evidence-based data, to demonstrate the unique value of dermatologists among these key audiences. Highlighting the breadth and depth of dermatologic conditions and their impact on public health, while communicating the unique value of care provided by a dermatologist, addresses the scientific underpinnings of the specialty, demonstrates how dermatologists encourage positive behavior change to improve public health, enhances quality of life and prevents/manages disease.

Strategic Initiative: Strategic Alliances

Description: Achievement of the Academy’s goals increasingly relies on the power of collaborative efforts achieved through strategic alliances. Thoughtfully identified and structured alliances across the specialty, organized medicine, the health care delivery system, with patient advocacy groups and with governmental and regulatory agencies, industry, among others, allows the Academy to do more together than would be possible alone. Alliances leverage collective capabilities, extend knowledge networks, and position the Academy as valued participants in critical discussions. They require coalition building, identification of areas of mutual interest, management of points of disagreement and the careful stewardship of resources.

Strategic Initiative: Unity of the Specialty

Description: The many sub-specialties within dermatology and an increasingly complex and diversified healthcare system highlight how critical it is that the specialty strives to speak with one voice on select issues of broad importance. Fragmented messages diminish the influence of the specialty. The Academy needs to serve as a convener and consensus builder to provide an inclusive forum for dialogue and debate, offering a collaborative environment in which the specialty can leverage its combined skills and resources to the greater good.

Strategic Initiative: Workforce Development

Description: There are current indications of greater demand for the services of dermatologists than the existing capacity to supply them. The Academy must work to ensure the appropriate supply and distribution of dermatologists to meet current and future demands for care. The Academy has to collect relevant data on trends in residency training, academic capacity and practice patterns, as well as advocate for policies, creative approaches and partnerships that would increase the pipeline for new dermatologists from diverse backgrounds. The organization must also help its members work more productively and efficiently, including the optimal deployment of non-physician clinicians and telemedicine capabilities.

Strategic Initiative: Leadership Development

Description: It is imperative to the future of the specialty of dermatology and to the Academy that there are dedicated individuals with strong leadership skills to serve in a variety of roles. Dermatologist leaders are necessary in organized medicine, policy making and advocacy, academic medicine, the practice and their communities. Specifically developed competencies are critical to success in leadership roles. Development of educational resources and opportunities to position dermatologists as leaders in all of these arenas maximizes impact and must involve a broad range of dermatologists of all ages and all areas of practice.

Strategic Initiative: Global Leadership

Description: Education and service to members, as well as partnerships with other international societies and federations, help ensure everyone has appropriate access to care, that education and research are of high quality, and those in greatest need can be aided through help from volunteer and humanitarian efforts. Global leadership implies being the standard bearer for dermatologic care and education throughout the world. The Academy should take the lead in establishing strategic partnerships, supporting the efforts of other organizations, and developing programs and products that assist with ensuring the highest quality of dermatologic education and care is available around the world.

Strategic Initiative: (Promoting) Professionalism

Description: Society expects physicians to exemplify the highest standards of ethical behavior and professionalism. The Academy seeks to enhance the stature of dermatology by teaching attributes of professionalism and ethics, encouraging all members to conduct themselves according to professional standards and modeling defined leadership behaviors. Valued professional behaviors include learning and teaching expert knowledge, and giving back to society and to the next generation for the advancement of the specialty and the well-being of patients. The Academy advocates for social, economic, educational, and political changes that contributes to better healthcare for all.

Strategic Initiative: Practice Management Resources

Description: The healthcare system continues to evolve as conditions that threaten quality, limit access and increase cost persist. The demands on physicians and their practices continue to grow as regulatory requirements and costs increase (e.g. HIT, patient safety, coding, MOC), while reimbursements face downward pressures. The goal is to help dermatology practices thrive in a constantly evolving healthcare delivery environment. The Academy must provide useful and accessible tools and resources - educational programs, toolkits and easily accessible information on demand - to assist members in managing their practices in the most cost-effective and productive manner.

Strategic Initiative: Practice Advocacy

Description: The development of national and private coding, coverage and payment policies have great potential for affecting the delivery of quality dermatologic care. The Academy must ensure dermatology's participation, where possible, in the development of these policies. The Academy addresses issues from a dermatology perspective that arise with respect to Federal and State regulations, private payers, state medical boards, managed care organizations, professional medical liability carriers and other practice regulators.

Strategic Initiative: Healthcare System and HIT Transformation

Description: There is pressure on the nation's healthcare system to modernize and create a health information technology infrastructure. The Academy needs to prepare its members for the change that is occurring with respect to the application of HIT in practice and all of its implications for the delivery and payment for patient care. Educational resources related to HIT are essential. The organization has to influence, where possible, the development and implementation of HIT so that its use facilitates the delivery of quality patient care in a cost-effective manner in a dermatology practice.

Strategic Initiative: Maintenance of Certification and Licensure

Description: The requirements for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) and Maintenance of Licensure (MOL) are rapidly evolving and likely converging. It is incumbent on the Academy to help members manage the changing certification and licensure landscape by ensuring mandates that are reasonable and demonstrably effective, serving as a trusted resource to credentialing bodies, raising awareness among members of requirements, and leading in the provision of tools to successfully navigate in this new environment. Educational activities and resources must focus on measuring and closing gaps in physician competence, clinical performance, and/or patient outcomes while also meeting MOC and MOL requirements.

Strategic Initiative: (Facilitate) Volunteerism

Description: Volunteer activities can be instrumental in enhancing the image of the specialty and achieving positive outcomes regarding improved patient care and/or access; improved public/physician education; improved service on boards and committees; advocacy; and other activities visible across the healthcare system. Matching the passions of the individual with volunteer opportunities, recognizing volunteer efforts and providing training and skill development help dermatologists feel they are contributing to an effort for the greater good.

Strategic Initiative: (Identify and Meet) Member Needs

Description: To remain relevant as an organization and continue to meet the changing needs of members over time, the Academy needs to continuously identify avenues for understanding members' needs and wants. This requires not only understanding the changing demographics of the specialty, but also relating to members as unique individuals and providing mechanisms for them to interact with the Academy as an organization - continuing to evolve as a truly member-centric organization. Both formal and informal mechanisms need be employed to gather data to guide and support decisions related to effective member service.

Strategic Initiative: Organizational Capacity

Description: The Academy's building blocks for organizational capacity are:

• Culture – developing a climate of open communication and action that supports organizational change, innovation and growth to motivate, empower, engage and align stakeholders with the strategy. Build awareness and understanding of a shared common purpose, and accountability to the mission, vision, values and the overall success of the strategic framework.
• Leadership – developing exceptional leaders across the organization.
• Alignment – facilitating cross functional integration and interdependency within the strategic framework across the organization (volunteer and staff)
• Teamwork – valuing collaboration, sharing knowledge and effectively working together while building trust, engaging in healthy dialogue, fostering commitment and focusing on results.
• Governance and Stewardship – leading in a strategic and fiscally responsible manner, with clarity of purpose and a commitment to board development and succession planning.

Strategic Initiative: Human Capital

Description: The Academy values volunteer and staff resources. A comprehensive approach to strategic human resource alignment includes defining required competencies, skills, talent and knowledge; identifying current gaps; recruiting and/or developing talent; and engaging member volunteers and staff in implementation of strategic initiatives. Continuous skill development, through training and experience, increases members' value as physicians and leaders, and staff's value to the Academy.

Strategic Initiative: Financial Sustainability and Revenue Diversification

Description: Diversification is utilizing a variety of revenue sources to ensure the Academy's financial sustainability. Over reliance on any single source of revenue puts long term growth at risk. The Academy needs to diversify and grow non dues revenue; define the role of philanthropy within the Academy; define the role of endowed funding; create new opportunities through collaborative relationships with industry and others; maintain a long term investment strategy; and evaluate and manage resources against both short and long term strategic needs.

Strategic Initiative: Information/Data and Technology Infrastructure

Description: Successful implementation of the Academy’s strategic initiatives is more efficient and effective when their mutual interdependencies are identified/mapped, then supported with the integrated use of information and technology. Collection, analysis and the focused use of data and delivery options are essential to the Academy’s overall strategy. The Academy needs to increase access to necessary information by developing information systems and databases. A robust information and technology infrastructure informs and enriches communications, enhances access to and use of data, accelerates innovation, expands and diversifies delivery options, supports an ongoing research agenda and ultimately improves the ability to serve members and the public.

Statement of Key Priority: Quality Patient Care

The Academy promotes and demonstrates the importance of dermatology within medicine by contributing to improvements in patient outcomes, safety, access to care and satisfaction while prudently utilizing society’s health care resources. This means:

• Developing and presenting continuing medical education that addresses identified professional practice gaps and creates measurable change in competence, clinical behavior and patient outcomes
• Enhancing the body of evidence and knowledge that forms the basis for dermatology as a specialty
• Encouraging rigorous scientific inquiry that serves as the foundation for patient care, educational programming, practice standards and public policy decisions
• Distilling and disseminating key clinical findings so that providers of dermatologic care are up-to-date in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of skin, hair and nail conditions
• Collecting data to better understand the effectiveness of preventive and treatment interventions

Statement of Key Priority:

The Academy is the respected voice for dermatology. Through the purposeful use of advocacy, strategic alliances and public education, the Academy leads the specialty of dermatology as a credible, constructive and effective force in collaboration with:

• The medical community on issues related to diseases of the skin, hair and nails;
• The policymaking community on legislative, regulatory, payer and other proposals that affect the ability of clinicians to deliver quality dermatologic care to their patients and advance research;
• The public on issues related to healthy skin and influencing healthy behavior

Statement of Key Priority:

The Academy takes the lead in defining and influencing the future of the practice of dermatology by:

• Uniting the specialty to increase its influence, visibility and credibility;
• Contributing to shaping the broader healthcare system;
• Supporting efforts to address pressing workforce shortage and mal-distribution issues to improve access and quality patient care;
• Developing individual and collective leadership capabilities among members and across the specialty;
• Demonstrating global leadership for quality patient care, education, research and service;
• Advocating for the ethical practice of dermatology and the highest standards for patient care

Statement of Key Priority: Membership Support

The Academy’s role as a dynamic, forward-looking organization is to anticipate and respond to change and its impact on members, and to provide them with the essential tools and resources to manage, adapt and thrive. Through an actively engaged membership, the Academy influences and addresses a variety of factors affecting the practice of dermatology and the care of patients, which requires:

• Interpreting, educating and providing guidance to meet the evolving practice demands of health information technology
• Influencing private and public regulations that affect the practice of dermatology and patient care
• Communicating and providing support to meet the changing requirements around maintenance of certification and licensure
• Encouraging and facilitating volunteer opportunities
• Purposefully gathering and analyzing member needs and environmental data to stay relevant and provide value to members

Statement of Key Priority: Organizational Vitality

The Academy’s long-term sustainability and its ability to create and execute stakeholder value is a function of alignment and integration of the organization’s resources. These include:

• Organizational and operational alignment
• Effective and responsive governance
• Strategic planning to inform decision making
• Human resource development (member and staff)
• Recognition, appreciation and utilization of the unique talents and contributions of leadership, member volunteers and staff
• Fiscal responsibility
• Collection and dissemination of essential data/information
• Technology infrastructure and use of appropriate technology for strategic integration and implementation