As a District officer, I sometimes call myself a “human highlighter.” Why? Because that’s the easiest and most effective method I’ve found to get others more involved in ACOG. For me, being a human highlighter means drawing others’ attention to ACOG by pointing out meaningful experiences and events and telling others what’s great about them. By encouraging others to get more involved in ACOG and giving them concrete ways to do it, I’ve found myself getting even more involved with ACOG while also helping my District grow! If you’re looking for more ways to get involved with ACOG and motivate ot ..read more

As ob-gyns, we all agree that women should have access to comprehensive health care throughout the continuum of life. We have been especially focused recently on ensuring prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum care, no matter their zip code. But access to maternal health care in rural areas is rapidly disappearing across the United States. Over the past nine years, more than 100 rural hospitals have closed in the United States, making delivering high-quality, safe health care to patients more difficult than ever before. Even more alarming is that more than 600 additional facilities ..read more

Right: Heather Smith, MD, MPH One-on-one interaction and patient care is critical to me as an ob-gyn. It’s why I went to medical school after getting my master’s in public health and working in community education. It’s why I got involved in the Massachusetts Medical Society and the AMA during medical school. And it’s a big part of why I advocate. Federal health policy and its effects on individual and community health first caught my attention while I was earning my master’s in public health at the Boston University School of Public Health, where I worked on a national project that eva ..read more

While graduating medical school is a huge milestone in a future ob-gyn’s career, it comes with its own stressors, such as matching to a residency program. The match process can be difficult and stressful for many medical students—and that pressure only increases when students consider everything they need to do to prepare for residency itself. So what makes the matching process so stressful? To start, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) results can be overemphasized, which may cause medical students to focus on test results to the point of neglecting other educational a ..read more

Eva Chalas, MD, is ACOG president-elect. She is a professor and vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology at New York University Long Island School of Medicine, physician director at the Center for Cancer Care, and National Surgical Quality Improvement Program surgeon cochampion at New York University Winthrop Hospital. Read her guest blog: It may surprise you to discover that September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. If it did, you’re not alone; even though 109,000 women will be diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer this year in the United States, gynecological cancers aren’t nearly ..read more

Balance billing, more commonly known as “surprise billing,” has garnered national attention and Congress is preparing to take action. The issue of surprise medical billing may arise when a patient goes to an in-network facility to receive care, such as emergency care, surgery, or childbirth, and receives care from out-of-network physicians. Finding a solution to surprise billing is critical, and ACOG is hard at work to ensure that the solution protects our practices and our patients. Our members of Congress need to hear from us – the physicians who would be impacted. Billing disputes ca ..read more

Juliana Melo, MD MSCS, FACOG, is an ob-gyn in Sacramento, CA. Dr. Melo is also ACOG District IX, Section 1 Fellow Vice-Chair elect.  Read her guest blog below: “It’s your choice if you want to hold up the line.” “You’re delaying other passengers.” “I don’t care if you miss your flight.” Those are some of the responses I received from TSA agents about how arduous they were going to make the screening process if I decided to try to transport my breastmilk home with me. It was the first time that I experienced what countless other women have had to endure—a humiliatin ..read more

As ob-gyns, we got into the field of obstetrics and gynecology because we’re passionate about women’s health. We’re naturally curious people who love that this great specialty covers everything from surgery to bringing new life into the world. As the health care landscape changes with new technology and new business models, it’s critical that we understand how payment models are decided and the ways in which ACOG and you are involved in the process. In 1992, Congress transitioned to a physician payment system based on a resource-based relative value scale, which mandated that payment for se ..read more

Today, at the 2019 ACOG Annual Meeting in my hometown of Nashville, TN, I had the unique opportunity to stand before our peers as ACOG’s newly inaugurated 70th president. I’m honored and humbled to be able to serve as ACOG president and enjoyed seeing some of you at the Meeting. And, as I think about my time as ACOG president and what I’d like to accomplish, I can’t help but keep coming back to the common theme of refining and advancing our profession in times of change. Obstetrics and gynecology is an ever-evolving profession. As the premier women’s health care association, ACOG has alway ..read more

Almost one year ago to the day, I took the stage in Austin at the 2018 ACOG Annual Meeting and began my presidency. What a wonderful year it’s been! I was so excited to get started on my three presidential initiatives as I took office. I knew that I would focus on preventing maternal mortality and I am so happy to say that we made great progress this year.  My first initiative was advocacy on state and federal levels to establish maternal mortality review committees. ACOG members more than stepped up to the challenge: In December of 2018, ACOG contributed hugely to the passing of the Pr ..read more