From the President, July 2021

Dear Colleagues,

Back in January, Mary Beth Fasano, MD, MSPH, FAAAAI, who is now AAAAI Immediate Past President, shared that the AAAAI would be expanding its journal portfolio to include a new Gold Open Access journal, and that a search for an Editor-in-Chief was underway. After completing this search, which included a rigorous application and interview process in the spring, I am pleased to announce that David B. Peden, MD, MS, FAAAAI, will serve as the first Editor-in-Chief of the new AAAAI journal named The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: Global (JACI: Global).

JACI: Global will provide authors who are mandated to publish in a fully open access journal or whose work is not suitable for our existing AAAAI journals, the opportunity to publish in a journal that will reach not only the AAAAI community, but the global community, with no barrier to access for anyone with an internet connection.

Please join me in congratulating Dave! He will serve a 5-year term and has already hit the ground running in order to meet our ambitious timeline for the launch of JACI: Global. The soliciting of manuscripts will begin in September, with the first issue of JACI: Global expected to be published online in February 2022. You might recall that Dave served as 2017-2018 AAAAI President, and I invited him to share a few words about his new role as JACI: Global Editor-in-Chief:

“I am very excited to have been given this opportunity to serve as Editor-in-Chief of JACI: Global. The AAAAI has been central to my career and I am thrilled to serve in this capacity. JACI and JACI: In Practice are stellar publications and are critically important to our research and practice communities. However, these journals are very focused on clinical and human translational research, and need to be very selective regarding which papers are accepted for publication. This means that many very good studies conducted by A/I investigators are not published in an AAAAI journal. This includes those using basic science approaches, translational studies in early or developmental stages of research or in areas of interest which have a focused audience. A major goal for JACI: Global is to provide a publication forum for this very important research. Another important feature of JACI: Global is the commitment to Gold Open Access. This commitment will be of service to authors funded by agencies which require such open access as a condition of their funding. Additionally, we hope to provide a venue for international authors committed to A/I who provide important insights into regional A/I standards of care.”

Congratulations again to Dave. His experience in journal workings, especially his substantial editorial experience that includes having served as JACI Associate Editor since 2005, will be a tremendous asset to JACI: Global.  

I also want to remind you that one of the AAAAI’s most unique educational offerings—the Practice Management Workshop—is taking place virtually July 23-24, and the deadline to register is quickly approaching on July 18. This event is the only annual event that focuses on the business side of medicine and running an allergy and immunology practice.

While last year’s Virtual Practice Management Workshop pivoted to offer a series of webinars that addressed timely topics related to COVID-19 and its impact on allergy and immunology practices, the format for the 2021 AAAAI Virtual Practice Management Workshop has evolved to mirror as closely as possible the type of program you would experience at a live Practice Management Workshop.

If you have never attended an AAAAI Practice Management Workshop, this is the year to register and experience the tremendous value that it offers. As we all know, the business side of medicine and running a practice is what we don’t learn about in our training, thus the AAAAI Practice Management Workshop fills a huge learning gap. Regardless of whether you are a fellow-in-training, a new allergist and immunologist or an established allergist and immunologist, there are sessions relevant to everyone.

We are very excited about the possibilities a virtual format will offer, in particular because it will be easier for many of you and your practice staff to attend. We know how busy you are, which is why this year’s workshop offers the flexibility to attend sessions live, view the recordings, or both.

The balance of pre-recorded plenaries that you can watch on your own time and live interactive sessions (that you will also receive recordings of post-event) will offer the best of both worlds at a price affordable enough to sign up your entire practice team. The pre-recorded plenaries alone will cover:

•    Coding Updates for 2021
•    HR Legal Primer: Strategies for Allergy Practice
•    Information Blocking Regulations and the Implications for Allergy Practice
•    Government Regulations and Allergy Practice: What You Need to Know
•    Telemedicine: An Overview of the Post-COVID-19 Landscape
•    Payer Contracting: Assessment and Renegotiation Process Overview

We do recommend you attend our live sessions to take advantage of opportunities for small group discussion, dedicated Q&A time with speakers, and the Saturday morning Non-CME Educational Program, Insights into Objective Data Provided by Digitally Connected Inhalers: Exploring Personalized Dialogues in Healthcare, sponsored by Teva Respiratory.

I want to acknowledge the Practice Management Workshop Planning Committee led by Priya J. Bansal, MD, FAAAAI, for their hard work planning an excellent program that comprehensively addresses the topics that practicing allergists and immunologists and their staff need to know. I urge you to review the full agenda and register by July 18, so you can spend part of your weekend with AAAAI for practice improvement ideas you can put into place on Monday morning.

Sincerely,
Giselle S. Mosnaim, MD, MS, FAAAAI
AAAAI President
president@aaaai.org