Blue Ribbon Commission

At the inaugural meeting of the joint AOA/AACOM Blue Ribbon Commission on the Osteopathic Profession's Role and Responsibility in Meeting America's Health Care Needs Through Medical Education Reform.  More to come on this in the coming days.

Also, there will be feedback on the survey that was sent regarding changes to the fee structure.  We received 22 survey results - only about 10% of DMEs, but not bad for an internet survey.  We also received some very interesting comments.

I'd have to say the comment that struck me the most was the notion that the cost of inspections was an incentive to improve program quality and strive for longer cycle lengths.  This is an curious concept to me.  It is a concept shared by several - this is not the first time that I have heard it in as it relates to the proposed changes in the OGME fee structure.

I can honestly say that this paradigm has never crossed my mind.  While I cannot come right out and say that I disagree with the concept, I do think that it is a rather dangerous constuct.  There are many reasons why a program should strive to provide quality OGME to physicians.  One of the least of these would be to save money on accreditation fees.  As I noted though, it is quite clear to me now that this idea is not unique to one or two within our profession and needs to be considered in the discussion.  It is important that we have open minds to all perspectives.