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October 1999
Volume 63 |
Number 10
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ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATE
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| Some Thoughts
on Pet-Ox Goring |
Roger
A. Moore, M.D., Assistant Treasurer
From my position on the Administrative Council of ASA where I
serve as the Assistant Treasurer, I am proud to tell you that
our Society is a vibrant, growing and active organization. I am
in awe of the amount of time and effort that numerous anesthesiologists
provide the organization on a completely voluntary basis, when
serving as committee members, editors, delegates, officers and
speakers. Though at a national, state and hospital level, there
are constant battles and perhaps even outright wars being fought,
the outlook for our Society -- as a whole and for each of our
members as professionals and caregivers -- is excellent.
In spite of the good news, it is my duty as a fiscal watchdog
for our Society to raise a warning flag. In the year 2000 budget,
which amounts to some $16 million, a paper deficit of $350,000
exists. The deficit is not yet a mandate for major change since,
on a yearly basis, proposed budgeted expenses normally come out
to be less and proposed budgeted revenues come out to be more
than expected, but this deficit does serve as a red flag that
cannot be ignored. The budgetary process is not rocket science.
In your family, if you are on a fixed income and must choose between
paying your mortgage or going on an elaborate vacation, the priority
goes to your mortgage.
For ASA, the existence of a deficit means the need for an
ongoing analysis of methods to increase revenues and decrease
expenses. Most of ASA's revenue comes from dues. However, the
Administrative Council is very cognizant of pressures on anesthesiologists'
reimbursement and the need to "hold the line" on dues. Other avenues
of revenue generation from outside sources might be considered,
but scrupulous avoidance of industrial ties needs to be maintained
in order to prevent such awkward incidents as occurred in the
American Medical Association's Sunbeam affair. Apart from increasing
revenues, the only other consideration for balancing the budget
is taking a hard-nose approach in evaluating expenses.
If my institutional memory serves me well as a member of
the ASA House of Delegates for the past 13 years, most of the
time when an ASA committee chair requests money for an innovative
project, the money is approved. It has been rare that projects
with merit have been denied. However, this approach will need
to be modified in the future. The Section on Fiscal Affairs, in
conjunction with the leadership of ASA, will need to analyze every
request for funding in the future with a systematic prioritization
based on the ASA strategic plan. The strategic plan of ASA was
formulated two years ago and emphasized key areas of concern that
are important for our growth in the future.
At this time of fiscal concern, the strategic plan will
help prevent us from losing sight of what is really important
to anesthesiology. The Section on Fiscal Affairs has placed high
emphasis on ASA's direct offsprings: the Wood Library-Museum of
Anesthesiology, the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and the
Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research. These organizations
represent the essence of what is important to anesthesiologists
and deserve our continued support as they work toward achieving
financial independence. Many other foundations and projects requiring
ASA money will also come before the House of Delegates for consideration.
Each one should be analyzed in regard to its own merit based on
ASA's strategic plan.
It is the job of the Section on Fiscal Affairs to provide
some of this analysis, and inevitably, there will be winners and
losers. A loser would be one that I call a "gored pet-ox." Chairs
of important ASA committees may have to delay or reassess the
extent of their budgetary requests for proposed projects. The
final arbitrator in the whole budgetary process, of course, is
the House of Delegates. In spite of many pet projects perhaps
getting "gored" in the near future, I am still certain that the
enthusiasm and dedication of ASA committee chairs, whose projects
may need to be delayed or re-evaluated, will continue to remain
unabated far into the distant future.
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