FAD - Florida Academy of Dermatology

2024 Annual Meeting - June 28-30, 2024

Letter from the President

I am incredibly honored and humbled to serve as president of the Florida Academy of Dermatology (FAD) for 2023-2024. As a dermatologist in solo private practice, I truly understand the importance of our society’s central mission of advocacy for our patients and our specialty, especially in this changing landscape of medicine where we are seeing greater challenges to daily practice (i.e. diminishing reimbursements, increased prior authorizations, climbing overhead costs/inflation, etc). These struggles affect all of us regardless of whether we are in academics or private practice. This is why a society like ours is so important. The collective strength of our FAD members and political action committee (PAC) coupled with an exceptional lobbyist and an incredible lawyer allow us to focus on advancing state legislation to protect our patients and our specialty. I am both proud and excited to lead this amazing organization for the upcoming year, and below I would like to briefly highlight important events from the past year and discuss my future vision for the FAD.

First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Joely Kaufman for her hard work as FAD President last year. Our annual meeting at the Four Seasons Orlando in May 2023 during her presidency was an incredible success! We had our first symposium/educational event with dermatology residents and fellows from different programs across Florida, called the Florida Dermatology Resident and Fellow Consortium (FDRFC). A big thank you also to Dr. Brad Glick and Dr. Rob Kirsner for helping to make this happen (photo of this inaugural event is attached below). We are thrilled to have more resident and fellow involvement and look forward to hosting this annual symposium at the FAD every year.

Second, we were again recognized by the American Academy of Dermatology for the AAD Model State Society Award with Highest Honors for the tenth year in a row. This award is based on our society’s ability to show excellence in several areas including education, advocacy, legislative efforts, membership development and community service, and it reflects the strength of our society. Attached below is a picture of the award presented to us this year at the annual 2023 AAD meeting in New Orleans.

In addition to building on our past successes, I would like to share my vision for how we can further strengthen the FAD. First, I would like to create a FAD member directory with each member’s practice information including any areas of particular focus or subspecialty. This information will be shared between all of the FAD members and will help us refer patients to one other. It will also help us find the closest academic centers of excellence for our patients with more complex dermatologic conditions. Please CHECK if your information listed is accurate by clicking HERE. The deadline for updating this directory will be October 1, 2024 so please add or edit your information before that date since it will not be able to be changed again until after next year’s meeting in 2024. We will also be creating a quarterly email newsletter with clinical pearls and helpful handouts along with legislative updates and practical advice from our legal counsel. Please look out for the first one in October 2023.

Next, we will continue our legislative effort with our PAC and continue our push for honesty in education (truth in advertising) and improving patient access to dermatologists. Please consider donating to our PAC (click HERE) as lobbying is critical for advocating for our field and our patients. Lobbying provides access to legislators and enables us to educate them about the potential impact of proposed changes to patients, as they may not understand the full impact otherwise.

Finally, please mark your calendar for the next annual FAD meeting that will be at the Breakers in Palm Beach on June 28-30, 2024. I have already begun to create a lineup of exceptional speakers from all over the country to discuss new updates on treatments, procedures, practice management and legislation. Along with learning, another goal will be for us to have more opportunities for networking so that we can get to know each other better. Conferences are always more enjoyable when we are able to learn and connect with our peers. I am incredibly excited for this meeting and hope to see all of you there! Please register HERE for our annual meeting in 2024.

This is an incredible society and our strength comes from our numbers. Each member is essential to our central mission, and I would like to thank you all for your investment in our field and the future of our dermatology.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns, and I look forward to meeting all of you.

Warmly,

Sima Jain, MD, FAAD
Florida Academy of Dermatology President

FAD Advocacy

The FAD is honored to have the support of Chris Nuland and Jon Johnson who were featured in the 2022 City & State Health Care Power 100:
"The beautiful people turn to plastic surgeons – and the plastic surgeons turn to Chris Nuland, who for 25 years has served as general counsel and lobbyist for the aesthetic doctors’ statewide professional society. Nuland’s practice focuses on medical law, helping physicians and medical groups navigate compliance and advocate for reform in an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. Nuland’s experience includes having served as counsel for the Florida Academy of Dermatology, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, for the Florida Medical Association and for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida."

2021 Legislative Wrap Up with Chris Nuland, Esq.

Dr. Brad Glick and Dr. Andy Weinstein, along with the FAD legal counsel, Chris Nuland, spoke with Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez today about topics in the legislature. The FSDDS Leadership team discussed Scope of Practice, Truth in Medical Education and COVID Relief issues with Senator Ana Maria Rodrigues and Jon Johnson, from the FSDDS lobbyist team.

Following the above discussed with Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez, the FSDDS Board also had the privilege of speaking with Senator Rod Rodrigues. FAD President Brad Glick, DO and Immediate Past President of the FAD, J. Matthew Knight, MD, along with their team, spoke to Senator Rodrigues on some upcoming concerns in the legislature.