CME Committee

This committee shall be chaired by a selected member of ISASS, appointed by the Board with assistance from selected consultants that specialize in the process of ensuring that all aspects of ISASS CME program are developed appropriately. Conclusions and recommendations will be presented to the Board for review and actions to be taken. The Committee will discuss and provides interpretation of the ACCME guidelines regarding accreditation policies and decisions. It will concentrate on evaluating the effectiveness of the Society’s system of accreditation, including the accreditation requirements and its processes for funding and support. This committee also forwards actions regarding accreditation decisions to the full Board of Directors for ratification. The CME Committee will work in the development and adherence of all CME rules and regulations. They will review all ISASS sponsored programs to make sure that ISASS provides continuing education programs on substantive, practice-related subjects. The CME Committee Chair and ISASS Administrative staff representative will work with the Program and Education Committee to ensure ACCME rules are followed and appropriate documentation is maintained.

Chair:
Rolando Garcia, MD – USA

Fred Geisler, MD, PhD – USA
Robert Havey, BS – USA
George Miz, MD – USA
Leonard Voronov, MD, PhD – USA

Nikki Golden, CAE – ISASS

CME Provider:
Medical Education Resources – USA

Education Committee

The committee will have a chair and a vice chair appointed by the Board as well as selected member to staff the committee. An ISASS Administrative team member will also sit on the education committee; this staff person will liaison with the CME committee as well to ensure all programs follow the ACCME rules. The main goal of the Education Committee is to educate and promote medical excellence in the care of spine. The committee is charged with devising goals and guidelines for the coordinating efforts of the Society to satisfy the changing needs of its membership in the field of continuing education. They will work closely with the CME committee to ensure ISASS educational programs meet all guidelines and requirements. It is the goal of ISASS to be the leader in providing education and training opportunities through short courses, workshops, publications, seminars and conferences. This committee will regularly explore cost-effective training opportunities applicable to spine surgeons worldwide. They will develop new programs for those who cannot attend ISASS sponsored seminars, such as short courses, distance learning programs and sanctioned educational opportunities.

Chair:
Michael Wang, MD – USA

JC LeHuec, MD, PhD – France
Neel Anand, MD – USA
Hee-Kit Wong, MD – Singapore
Philip Yuan, MD – USA
Svante Berg, MD, PhD – Sweden
Sheeraz Qureshi, MD – USA
Steven Vanni, DO – USA

Nikki Golden, CAE – ISASS

Finance and Audit Committees

This Committee of the Board shall consist of the Treasurer as Chair, Second Vice President and the Executive Director in coordination with the Public Accountants serving the Society. This Committee shall formulate all investment policies of the Society, subject to the approval of the Board. The Committee will assess the financial condition of the society on a quarterly basis. The role of this Committee is to review proposed budgets and present recommendations and findings to the full Board of Directors for approval. They will track income and expenses and make recommendations as necessary. The group will advise the Board of Directors and provide guidance and direction to the Executive Director on all matters relating to financial management. This committee serves as the watchdog for the financial stability of the organization, reviewing banking and investment options and establishing procedures for investigating and making recommendations for large expenditures.

This Committee shall oversee the financial affairs, their management, supervision, and controls by the Society acting as a not-for-profit Corporation. This Committee shall meet at least annually as well as at the request of the Board to review the financial affairs of the Society and the Executive Director and Treasurer shall submit a report to the Board.

Treasurer:
Jack Zigler, MD – USA

Nikki Golden, CAE – ISASS

Exhibitor Advisory Board

This Committee shall Suggest and advise on new ideas and content that help with the flow of doctors on the show floor, helping ISASS to set the industry standards.

This Committee shall have a Chair and Co-Chair plus a member of ISASS Administrative team. The Committee shall operate the Society Website on the Internet and manage its layout and content. The members of this committee will work to enhance ISASS website to ensure that current and relevant matters are addressed. The IT committee in conjunction with the designated member of ISASS Administrative team will guide and direct the appointed webmaster to make necessary changes and upgrades to ensure member needs are met.

Alphatec Spine, Inc. – Clare Conway
Centinel Spine – James May
Globus Medical – Karen Dale
K2M – Theresa Simpson
LDR – Nicole Felder
Medtronic – Rhonda Selby
Nuvasive – Lara Delbo
SI-Bone – Toan Nguyen
Thompson Surgical – Kim Murray
Zimmer Spine – Megan Rademacher

International Journal of Spine Surgery Committee

This Subcommittee shall be chaired by ISASS Journal Editor with support staff plus the Executive Director and staff. The Editor-In-Chief shall report pertinent status data to the Board at the Annual Conference and prepare a statement for the Member’s Business Meeting. The structural and functional details of this Committee shall be decided by the Editor with assistance from the Executive Director.

Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief:

• Hansen Yuan, MD, SUNY Upstate/Syracuse

Section Editors:

• Massimo Balsano, MD, Universitá degli Studi di Padova, Italy
• Boyle Cheng, PhD, Drexel University
• Domagoj Coric, MD, Carolina Neurosurgery and Spine Associates
• Ashish Diwan, PhD, FRACS, FAOrthA, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, St George Hospital
• Lisa Ferrara, DEng, OrthoKinetic Technologies
• Naresh Kumar, MBBS, MS (Orth), DNB (ORTH), FRCS, DM (Orth & Spinal Surgery), National University Hospital of Singapore
• William Lavelle, MD, SUNY Upstate/Syracuse
• Yu “Hugo” Liang, MD, Spine Division, RuiJin Hospital, JiaoTong University, Shanghai
• Paul McAfee, MD, MBA, The University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center
• Donna D. Ohnmeiss, DrMed, Texas Back Institute
• Frank Phillips, MD, Rush University Medical Center
• Matthew Scott-Young, MBBS, FRACS, FAOrthoA, Bond University
• Wei Tian, MD, Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, China
• Huilin Yang, MD, First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University
• Jim Yue, MD, Yale University School of Medicine
• Jack Zigler, MD, Texas Back Institute

Publisher & Managing Editor

• Jonny Dover, BA

Peer Reviewers:

• Samy Abdou, MD, Dept of Neurological Surgery, Kaiser Hospital
• Demetrius Kasak Abrahao, MD, Eco Center – Cambuí
• Kuniyoshi Abumi, MD, DMSci, Hokkaido University Health Admin Center
• Michael Ahrens, MD, Strandweg 4
• Matthew Allen, DVM, PhD, Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Ohio State University
• Neel Anand, MD, Cedars Sinai Medical Center
• Ali Araghi, DO, Texas Back Institute
• Gunnar Andersson MD, PhD, Midwest Orthopaedics, Rush Med School
• Paul Anderson, MD, University of Wisconsin
• Farbod Asgarzadie, MD, PhD, Loma Linda University Medical Center
• Joshua Auerbach, MD, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center
• Neil Badlani, MD, MBA, The Orthopedic Sports Clinic
• Koang Hum Bak, MD, Hangyang University
• Dahari D. Brooks, MD, University of Massachusetts
• Courtney Brown, MD, Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center
• Rudy Buckley, MD, Slocum Dickson Medical Group
• Josip Buric, MD, Unita Funzionale di Chirurgia Spinale c.d.c.
• John Kenneth Burkus, MD, The Hughston Clinic
• Karin Buttner-Janz, MD, Büttner-Janz Spinefoundation
• Abbott Byrd, MD, Atlantic Orthopedic Specialists
• Chip Bao, PhD, Pioneer Surgical Technology
• Gamal Baroud, PhD, Sherbrooke University
• Thomas Bauer, MD, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• Stephan W. J. Becker, MD, BEFOT, Orthopaedic Hospital Vienna
• William Beutler, MD, Pennsylvania Spine Institute
• Fabien Bitan, MD, Lenox Hill Hospital
• David Bradford, MD, University of California Medical Center
• Frank Cammisa, MD, Hospital for Special Surgery
• Andy Cappuccino, MD, Buffalo Spine Surgery
• Edmund Chao, PhD, John Hopkins University School of Medicine
• Frank Chan, PhD, Medtronic
• Wayne Cheng, MD, Loma Linda University School of Medicine
• Yong-Eun Cho, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery, Kangnam Severance Hospital
• Pil Sun Choi, MD, Clínica Ortopédica Pacaembú
• G. Bryan Cornwall, PhD, PEng., NuVasive
• Bryan Cunningham, MS, Union Memorial Hospital
• Bambang Darwono, MD, PhD, Kelapa Gading Hospital
• Girish Datar, MBBS, MS, Sushruta Hospital for Orthopaedics and Traumatology
• Reggie Davis, MD, Baltimore Spine Center
• Gurvinder Deol, MD, Wake Orthopaedics, WakeMed Health and Hospitals
• Wenyuan Ding, MD, 3rd Hospital of Hebei Medical University
• Michael Dohm, MD, Western Slope Study Group
• Emad Elmehy, Tanta Faculty of Medicine
• Thomas Errico, MD, Spine Surgery Division, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases
• Antonio Paolo Fabrizi, MD, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases
• Amir Fayyazi, MD, VSAS Orthopaedics Institute for Advanced Healthcare
• Rick Fessler, MD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
• Kevin Foley, MD, Image-Guided Surgery Research Center
• Bruce Fredrickson, MD, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse
• Rolando Garcia, MD, Orthopedic Care Center
• Steven Garfin, MD, Orthopedic Care Center
• Daniel Gastambide, MD, Clinique de l’ Alma
• Fred Geisler, MD, PhD, Chicago Back Institute
• Federico Girardi, MD, Hospital for Special Surgery
• Vijay K. Goel, PhD, University of Toledo
• Zia Gokaslan, MD, Johns Hopkins University
• Jeffrey Goldstein, MD, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases
• Michael Gordon, MD, Newport Orthopedic Institute
• Matthew Gornet, MD, The Orthopedic Center of St. Louis
• Stanley Grabias, MD, Ridgewood Orthopaedic Specialists
• Gene Gregerson, MS, Mobius Imaging, Ayer, MA
• Munish Gupta, MD, University of California Sacramento
• Rick Guyer, MD, Texas Back Institute
• Alexander G. Hadjipavlou, MD, FACS, University of Crete
• Ulrich Haehnle, MD, FCS, Linksfield Park Clinic
• Tom Hedman, PhD, University of Southern California
• Ronald Hill, PhD, Pioneer Surgical Technology
• Stephen Hochschuler, MD, Texas Back Institute
• Kenneth Hsu, MD, St. Mary’s Medical Center
• Fang Hua, MD, Modesto Medical Offices
• Fang Huang, MD, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
• Paul Huddleston, III, MD, Mayo Clinic
• Serena Hu, MD, University of California San Francisco
• Manabu Ito, MD, PhD, Hokkaido University School of Medicine
• Tae-Ahn Jahng, MD, PhD, Seoul National University Hospital
• Jee-Soo Jang, MD, Soowon Naruri Hospital
• Adam Kanter, MD, Department of Neurological Surgrey, University of PIttsburgh Medical Center
• Choll Kim, MD, PhD, University of California, San Diego
• Daniel Kim, MD, University of Texas
• Hak-Sun Kim, MD, Department of Orthopedics, Kangnam Severance Hospital
• Whoan Jeang Kim, MD, PhD, Eulji Medical University Hospital
• Seok-Woo Kim, MD, PhD, Department of Orthopedics, Hallym University Sacred Hospital
• Woo Kyung Kim, MD, Department of Neurosurgery, Incheon Gil Hospital
• Scott Kitchel, MD, Orthopedic Spine Associates
• Peter Klara, MD, PhD, Advanced NeuroSpine Specialists
• Martin Knight, MD, Spinal Foundation
• Nikhil Kulkarni, MS, Medtronic
• Chong-Suh Lee, Samsung Medical Center
• Jung-Kil Lee, MD, Chonnam National University Hospital
• Sang-Ho Lee, MD, Wooridul Spine Hospital
• Jean-Charles Le Huec, MD, Spinal Foundation
• Isadore Lieberman, MD, Cleveland Clinic
• Bengt Lind, MD, Sahlgrenska University Hospital
• Morgan Lorio, MD, NeuroSpine Solutions
• Michael MacMillan, MD, University of Florida
• Steven Mardjetko, Illinois Bone & Joint Institute
• Frederic Martens, MD, OLV Ziekenhius Aalst, Belgium
• James H. Maxwell, MD, Scottsdale Spine Care
• Mohamed Maziad, MD, Maziad Orthopedic & Spine Associates
• Geoffrey McCullen, MD, St Elizabeth Regional Medical Center
• Dennis McGowan, MD, Avera St. Anthony’s Hospital
• Larry Miller, PhD, Miller Scientific Consulting
• Scot Miller, DO, FACS, The Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center
• Srdjan Mirkovic, MD, Northwestern University Medical School
• Dick Nasca, MD, Orthopaedic and Spine Surgery Consultant, Wilmington, NC
• Donna Ohnmeiss, DrMed, Texas Back Institute Foundation
• Nathaniel Ordway, MS, SUNY Upstate Medical University
• Virgilio Ortiz, MD, Higt Specialty Spine Center, San Javier Hospital
• Choon-Keun Park, MD, PhD, President Wiltse Mem Hosp
• Sung Choon Park, MD, PhD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, Myongji Hospital, Kwandong University College of Medicine
• Soo-An Park, MD, PhD, Uijeongbu St. Mary Hospital, Korea
• Chun-Kun Park, MD, PhD, The Catholic University of Korea
• Avinash Patwardhan, PhD, Loyola University Medical Center
• Frederik Pennings, MD, PhD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, UMass Memorial Medical Center
• Richard Perrin, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, Diablo Neurosurgical Medical Group
• Gilles Perrin, MD, PhD, Hopital Neurologique P. Wertheimer, Groupement Hospitalier Est.
• Luiz Pimenta, MD, University of California San Diego, Universidade Federal de São Paulo
• Radu Prejbeanu, MD, PhD, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania
• Afsaneh Rabiei, PhD, North Carolina State University
• S. Rajasekaran, MD, Ganga Hospital, Orthopedic Department
• Thomas Raley, MD, Hanover Orthopaedic Assoc Inc.
• John Regan, MD, FACS, D.I.S.C. – Sport and Spine Center
• Alejandro Reyes-Sánchez, MD, National Orthopaedic Institute, Mexico
• Steve Robbins, MD, Milwaukee Spinal Specialists
• Jose Gabriel Rugeles, MD, San Ignacio Hospital
• Richard Salib, Ortho Institute for Low Back and Neck Care
• Harvinder Sandhu, MD, Hospital for Special Surgery
• Rick Sasso, MD, Indiana Spine Group
• Robert Schoenmayr, MD, Klinik Fuer Neurochirurgie Hsk
• Jim Schwender, MD, Twin Cities Spine Center
• Jonathan Sembrano, MD, University of Minnesota Medical School
• Dilip K. Sengupta, MD, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Med Center
• Hassan Serhan, PhD, DePuy Acromed
• Khalid Sethi, MD, Lourdes Hospital
• Yong Shen, MD, 3rd Hospital of Hebei Medical University
• John Sherman, MD, Twin Cities Orthopedics
• Hyun-Chul Shin, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul Kangbook Samsung Hospital
• Kern Singh, MD, Rush University Medical Center
• Kris Siemionow, MD, Departments of Orthopedics and Neurosurgery, University of Illinois
• Will Smith, MD, University Medical Center, Nevada School of Medicine
• Joseph Stachniak, MD, Brain & Spine Center of Texas
• Thomas Stoll, MD, Department of Spinal Surgery, Bethesda Spital
• Bjorn Stromqvist, MD, Lund University
• Jung-Keun Suh, MD, PhD, Dept. of Neurosurgery, Korea University School of Medicine
• Richard Tallarico, MD, Upstate Medical University (SUNY)
• William Tally, MD, University of Georgia/Medical College of Georgia
• Chengxuan Tang, MD, 3rd Affilitated Hospitalof Wenzhou Medical College
• Chong Tien Tan, MD, Island Spine and Scoliosis
• Tony Tannoury, MD, Boston Medical Center
• Bill Taylor, MD, University of California, San Diego Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
• Dinesh Thawrani, MD, Clinch Valley Medical Center, Richlands, VA
• Vo Van Thanh, MD, PhD, Hospital for Trauma and Orthopaedics, Ho Chi Minh City
• Anthony Tsantrizos, PhD, Synthes
• Alex Vaccaro, MD, The Rothman Institute, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
• Jeffrey Wang, MD, Keck Medicine of University of Southern California Los Angeles
• Douglas Wardlaw, MD, Woodend Hospital
• William Watters, III, MD, Bone & Joint Clinic of Houston
• William Welch, MD, FACS, The Pennsylvania Hospital, University of Penn
• Douglas Wong, MD, Panorama Orthopedics & Spine Center
• David Wong, MD, MSc, FRCS, Raffles Hospital
• Hee-Kit Wong, MD, National University Hospital Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Singapore
• Hua-Zi Xu, MD, 2nd Affilitated Hospitalof Wenzhou Medical College
• Tarik Yazar, MD, University of Ankara School Ibni Sina Hospital
• John Yeh, MD, FRCS, The Royal London Hospital
• Chris Yeung, MD, Arizona Institute For Minimally Invasive Spine Care
• Tony Yeung, MD, Arizona Institute For Minimally Invasive Spine Care
• Ken Yonemura, MD, University of Utah School of Medicine
• Philip S. Yuan, MD, Memorial Orthopaedic Surgical Group
• Xue Li Zhang, MD, Tianjin Union Medical Centre
• Dewei Zou, MD, 306 Hospital of PLA
• James Zucherman, MD, St. Mary’s Spine Center

IT Committee

This Committee shall have a Chair and Co-Chair plus a member of ISASS Administrative team. The Committee shall operate the Society Website on the Internet and manage its layout and content. The members of this committee will work to enhance ISASS website to ensure that current and relevant matters are addressed. The IT committee in conjunction with the designated member of ISASS Administrative team will guide and direct the appointed webmaster to make necessary changes and upgrades to ensure member needs are met.

Chair:
William Sears, MD – Australia

Manabu Ito, MD, PhD – Japan
Cumhur Kilincer, MD, PhD – Turkey
Dilip Sengupta, MD, PhD – USA
Hyun Chul Shin, MD, PhD – South Korea

Nikki Golden, CAE – ISASS

Membership Committee

The Membership Committee shall consist of a Chair and two other members of the Society appointed by the President. The chair and the two members of the Committee may succeed themselves in office for a further term of three years if elected by a simple majority of the Board. An ISASS Administrative staff member will also sit on this committee. The Membership Committee is responsible for increasing the number of members worldwide and to ensure members’ needs are met. This includes recommending ways for increasing ISASS membership base, formulating coordinating and implementing plans for membership recruitment, ways to acknowledge and welcome new members and encourage their participation in ISASS Committees and ISASS sponsored activities. They will work with the designated member of the Executive Team of ISASS in the development of a membership renewal program. This Committee will be charged with developing and maintaining a membership directory available online for the membership to access via the website. This Committee will also work to identify members and non-members’ needs and perceptions, analyzing them and making recommendations to the Board of Directors. ISASS Administrative staff member of the Membership Committee shall receive and review all applications for membership and forward applications to the Chair. ISASS Administrative staff member shall advise the committee to consider and investigate any charge made against any member of the Society, acting under the provisions of these bylaws.

The Membership Committee shall make recommendations to the Board, but is not empowered to take any action unless otherwise specifically authorized by the Board or as otherwise provided in these bylaws.

Chair:
Jeff Goldstein, MD – USA

Ali Araghi, MD – USA
Svante Berg, MD – Sweden
Ashish Diwan, Prof. – Australia
Rick Guyer, MD – USA
Chun Kun Park, MD, PhD – South Korea
Choon Keun Park, MD, PhD – South Korea
Luiz Pimenta, MD, PhD – Brazil
Rick Sasso, MD – USA
Paul Slosar, MD – US
Hee Kit Wong, Prof. – Singapore

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Committee

Chair:

• Choll Kim, MD, PhD – USA

• Neel Anand, MD – USA
• Ali Araghi, MD – USA
• Hyun Bae, MD – USA
• Mark Dekutoski, MD – USA
• Anthony Fabrizi, MD – Italy
• Robert Isaacs, MD – USA
• Seok-Woo Kim, MD – Korea
• Richard Kube, MD – USA
• Yu-Po Lee, MD – USA
• Steve Ludwig, MD – USA
• Rudolf Morgenstern, MD, PhD, MISS – Spain
• Joseph O’Brien, MD, MPH – USA
• Kam Raiszadeh, MD – USA
• Michael Wang, MD – USA
• Huilin Yang, MD – China
• Christopher Yeung, MD – USA
• James Yue, MD – USA
• Xi Feng Zhang, MD – China
• Terrence Julien, MD, FACS, FAANS – USA

Past Presidents Council Committee

This committee of the Board shall consist of the President, the two Vice Presidents, the Past Presidents and the Executive Director. It shall meet during the Annual Conference and at other times as needed, on a request by the President and the board. The Executive Director will report its conclusions and recommendations to the Board. This Committee reviews the current state of ISASS, determines whether the Society has met its goals and decides what changes to make within the society in light of the needs of its members and changes in the medical profession. In order to serve its purpose, the Committee develops a strategic plan to be reviewed annually which lays out ISASS objective in areas such as governance and administration, membership, member services, public service and it determines what steps to take to fulfill those objectives.

Chair:

• Luiz Pimenta, MD, PhD – Brazil

• Steven Garfin, MD
• Jean-Charles LeHuec, MD, PhD – France
• Thomas Errico, MD – USA
• Chun-Kun Park, MD, PhD – South Korea
• Karin Büttner-Janz, MD, PhD – Germany
• Hansen Yuan, MD – USA
• Thierry Marnay, MD – France
• Stephen Hochschuler, MD – USA
• Rudolph Bertagnoli, MD – Germany
• Nikki Golden, CAE – ISASS

Nominating Committee

This Committee is chaired by the Immediate Past President along with two additional past presidents, chosen by the President, the Second Vice President and the Executive Director as observer and secretary. This Committee shall meet prior to the ISASS Board meeting held during the Annual Global Symposium and come forward to the President and Board with a recommended slate of new officers, principally a new Director of the board.

Chair:

• Steven Garfin, MD – USA

• Luiz Pimenta, MD, PhD – Brazil
• Gunnar Andersson, MD, PhD – USA
• Thomas Errico, MD – USA
• Jean-Charles LeHuec, MD, PhD – France

• Nikki Golden, CAE – ISASS

Publications Committee

The Publications Committee shall consist of a Chair and Co-Chair appointed by the President on recommendations by the Journal Editor and Executive Director. The design, text, layout and editing of the newsletter, hard copy and online books and instructional course material test books all fall under the realm of this committee. They will develop standards and guidelines to ensure all items published by ISASS or with ISASS endorsement meet the requirements set up by the Committee. The committee will monitor and approve all such materials with that goal in mind. They will assist in the appointment of editors, associate editors and editorial boards as well as offer advice and content ideas.

Chair:

• Kern Singh, MD – USA

• Neel Anand, MD – USA
• Matthew Colman, MD – USA
• Federico Girardi, MD – USA
• Jeffrey Goldstein, MD, FACS – USA
• Jonathan Grauer, MD – USA
• Ulrich Hahnle, PhD – South Africa
• Hamid Hassanzadeh, MD – USA
• Safdar Khan, MD – USA
• Larry Khoo, MD – USA
• Choll Kim, MD, PhD – USA
• Martin Knight, MD, FRCS, MBBS – UK
• Mark Kurd, MD – USA
• Yu-Po Lee, MD – USA
• Jean-Charles LeHuec, MD, PhD – France
• John O’Toole, MD – USA
• Alpesh Patel, MD – USA
• Sheeraz Qureshi, MD – USA
• Dilip Sengupta, MD – USA
• Kris Siemionow, MD – USA
• Seth Williams, MD – USA

• Jonny Dover – ISASS

Regional Chapter Committee

This Committee of ISASS shall have a Chair and Co-Chair appointed by the President of ISASS plus Directors or Presidents elected by the Regional Chapters. Regional Chapters (RC) of the International ISASS shall be in nations outside of North America and Europe, or in world regions with involvement of more than one country, or in big spine societies as long their active membership is more than 1,000 members. They may be formed and closely affiliated with the international ISASS, provided:

The purpose of this committee is to ensure that the Society enlists views from an international perspective and to address pertinent international issues and make sure there is a collaborative exchange of information.

Chair:

• Eduardo Barreto, MD; LASAS Chapter

• Sajan Hegde, MD – ISASS India Chapter
• Cheng-Hsing Kao, MD – ISASS Taiwan Chapter
• Chong-Suh Lee, MD – ISASS Korea Chapter
• Walid I. Attia, MD, MSc, PhD – ISASS Middle East Chapter
• Cumhur Kilinçer, MD, PhD – ISASS Turkey Chapter
• Tian Wei, Md, PhD President and Hui Lin Yang, MD, PhD Secretary – ISASS China Chapter

• Nikki Golden, CAE – ISASS

Research Committee

If a company, or agency, decides on a need for a specific, or general, research project for a specific device, product (biologic, implant, etc.), medication, etc. and would like ISASS to sponsor, they would approach the Research Committee. In so doing, they would forward a written proposal to ISASS describing, in broad terms, their research needs, a limited/proposed study design (e.g. animal models, imaging studies, biologic assessment, etc.) that they feel would be necessary. They would also provide a rough overall (not specific) budget, based on their anticipation of costs.

ISASS Research Committee would take this proposal and analyze it for scientific value (not assessing the device, implant, product, etc. itself, but only the scientific potential of the study, independent of the outcome). If appropriate they would then submit the request to ISASS Board for review and vote for funding for the research.

Chair:

• Lisa Ferrara, PhD – USA

• Gunnar Andersson, MD – USA
• Jacques Bouchard, MD – Canada
• Ashish Diwan, MD – Australia
• Tae-Ahn Jahng, MD – South Korea
• Sung-Jae Lee, PhD – South Korea
• Melodie Metzger, MD – USA
• Donna Ohnmeiss, DrMed – USA
• Avinash Patwardhan, PhD – USA
• William Sears, MD – Australia
• Anthony Tsantrizos, PhD, MBA, USA
• Parmenion Tsitsopoulos, MD, PhD – Sweden
• Leonard Voronov, MD, PhD – USA

• Nikki Golden, CAE – ISASS

Vetting Committee

The following process willl be used when industry requests ISASS involvement. The goal is to insure that all requests are judged against the same criteria, are properly vetted, and are sent to the ISASS Board with a recommended course of action consistent with our mission and principles.

Vetting Committee Members are:

• Jeff Lehmen, MD – USA
• Barbara Cataletto, MBA, CPC – USA
• Isador Lieberman, MD, MBA, FRCSC – USA
• Yu-Po Lee, MD – USA
• Todd Alamin, MD – USA
• Peter Whang, MD – USA

The Process

1. All requests from Industry, either made directly to staff or to members of our Board, will be forwarded to assigned staff for initial review. Staff will conduct a quick assessment of the requested action’s anticipated impact on society time and resources, as well as how ISASS actions may be perceived externally, not only by our members but also by other professional societies, government, payers, etc. Requests must be generic, not one company specific. Staff may at this time suggest to the requesting company modifications that will benefit each respective organization. Staff will also ensure that all supportive materials, published articles/ papers, scientific data, patient experience, FDA approval, clinical data are included in request, in order to minimize staff research time. [This is particularly important when dealing with a CPT/RUC issue, so we must insure that we have all the relevant information, existing and proposed codes, etc.] Staff will also assess financial obligation of the society to include with write up presented to the review panel.
2. ISASS will create a small panel of members, inclusive of at least one member from our Public Policy Committee, one member from our Coding & Reimbursement Task Force, and an ex-officio member of our board. This “Vetting Body” shall consist or perhaps 4-5 members. All requests will be reviewed by our “Vetting Body” for congruity with a set of Guiding Principles, below, which are consistent with our mission and values. The Vetting Body may also at this time suggest to the requesting company modifications that will benefit each respective organization.
3. After a thorough review, the Vetting Body will formulate a recommendation to the Board. This recommendation may be supportive of, or in opposition to the request, and may also include suggested modifications to the request.
4. The ISASS Board will make a final decision on the handling of each request. Board members with direct conflicts will recuse themselves from participating in any decisions.

Guiding Principles – all requests from Industry should be consistent with affirmative answers to the following questions:

[Mission Statement: ISASS is an international, scientific and educational society organized to discuss and assess existing strategies and innovative ideas in the clinical and basic sciences related to spine surgery to enhance patient care.]

• Are ISASS’ actions (letter, survey, testimony, etc) consistent with our society’s Mission Statement?
• Are ISASS’ recommendations or policy statements based on the best available scientific data, including atleast three published articles, members’ clinical experiences, and patient experiences where available?
• Are the requested actions in alignment with the FDA-approved indications on the given device or procedure? (i.e., are we being sure not to endorse or otherwise recommend usage off-label?)
• Will ISASS actions benefit or otherwise better inform our members’ clinical decision-making?
• Will ISASS actions insure that we are not in the position of advancing one company’s product over that of another company?
• Will the desired outcomes of the actions improve patient access to medically indicated surgical spine care, through advocacy for newer technologies?
• Will ISASS’ actions bring a different or unique point of view to an existing problem or discussion?

ISASS Coding and Remibursement Task Force

In 2011, the ISASS Coding and Reimbursement Task Force was formed to direct society advocacy efforts towards commercial payers and technology assessment forums, many of which inform coverage determinations and access to medically necessary spinal surgeries. The Task Force’s mission is to:

1. identify spinal surgery-related coding and reimbursement issues that may adversely impact patient access to medically indicated spine surgeries;
2. develop for the Board’s approval advocacy action plans on the society’s behalf to address those issues; and
3. assist in the execution of those advocacy actions plans as appropriate and necessary.

In January 2012, Morgan Lorio, MD, FACS of Bristol, Tennessee, was selected to chair the Task Force. Under his leadership, the Task Force has actively advocated on behalf of the ISASS membership in a variety of forums and is currently engaged in the following advocacy activities: representing ISASS members at the AMA House of Delegates, CPT Editorial Panel and the RUC; securing new CPT^® codes for spine procedures; participating in the RUC survey process to establish RVUs for spine procedures and partnering with the AMA and CMS to establish physician professional payments; conducting research to support health economics publications for spine procedures; developing procedure guidelines to advocate for coverage and payment with payers; representing ISASS members before CMS and providing feedback to CMS rulemakings such as the Physician Fee Schedule; and informing and engaging ISASS membership through advocacy alerts and news email updates.

In addition to our ISASS members, the Task Force has created an advisory body of coding & reimbursement experts to help inform its priorities and activities. Thank you to the members of the Task Force and members of the Advisory Body for your tireless work:

Task Force Members

• Morgan Lorio, MD, FACS, Chair
• Ali Araghi, DO
• Doug Beard, MD
• Terrance Julien, MD
• Richard Kube, MD
• Isador Lieberman, MD, MBA, FRCSC
• Paul Park, MD
• Tony Schnuerer, PA
• Paul Schwaegler, MD
• Kern Singh, MD
• James Yue, MD

Advisory Body Members:

• Barbara Cataletto, MBA
• Jolayne Devers, MBA, CPC
• Kelli Hallas
• Tim Hunter, MPA
• Shan McDaniel, CPC, CPMA
• Jen Varela, CPC
• Cindy Vandenbosch

The Task Force welcomes ideas and input for its agenda and activities. If there is a coding or reimbursement issue that you wish to bring to the Task Force’s attention, or if you are interested in taking a active role in serving the ISASS membership by joining the Task Force, please contact Liz Vogt, ISASS Director of Health Policy & Advocacy, at liz@isass.org.