The Westin Alexandria Old Town was buzzing with high energy to kick off the first day of the AAO-HNS/F 2025 OTO Forum. Between informative sessions and plenty of networking opportunities, the halls were filled with conversations that spilled over from the informative presentations.
The day started with a private practice networking breakfast for residents, including the 11 resident travel grant recipients, before diving into several interesting morning topics, such as technology and artificial intelligence in private practice.
"It's all about people. You all went into business to help people, and nobody wants to lose that connection. But at the end of the day, people are also our biggest challenge [because] there's always going to be human error," explained Holly Thompson, MBA CEO of Ear, Nose & Throat Associates, PC, during Technology and AI in Private Practice: Updates and Trends.
"AI is a powerful new tool in my practice's toolbox. I firmly believe that this approach to adopting technology is the key to remaining independent in the coming years."
While AI is a powerful new tool for many practices, humans are still the heart of the specialty, and panelists discussed the importance of culture in retaining employees during another morning session.
"If you don't take care of your employees, you really can't take good care of your patients. So, we really need to find ways to engage our staff, our supervisors, our nurses, our phone operators, our schedulers in a way that they want to provide exceptional care," said Melanie Wilson Seybt, MD, of Palmetto ENT & Allergy, during Beyond Benefits: How a Strong Culture Enhances Employee Retention. "It's easy to forget that the person at the check-in desk isn't getting high-fives for checking in patients."
Stephen P. Cragle, MD, of St. Cloud Ear, Nose & Throat Clinic, added, "The basis for a healthy work culture has to start with the physician. I don't care if you're an ENT in allergy with 300 practitioners or if you're in a solo practice, it starts with physician. Know your staff's names. We have a mugshot board and as soon as an employee [joins us], we put them on the board with their name underneath. I go by that board a couple times per week just to memorize the new people."
Ancillaries and case studies in data analytics were also covered during the morning sessions.
A panel on the hearing aid industry kicked off the afternoon. A report this week announced that 52% of the public chooses over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids and they misjudged their level of hearing loss. When asked about the impact and future of OTC hearing aids and AirPods for hearing problems, Jason Galster, Vice President of Research, Sonova, expressed optimism about the future of all types of hearing aid utilization.
"You'll be happy to know that we haven't seen any large-scale adverse events related to overexposure to loud sounds from self-fitting hearing aids. So that's good news," Galster said during Hearing Aid Industry Leaders Panel: Maximizing Best Hearing Healthcare.
"We are seeing that OTCs, including AirPods, are creating a spark in terms of awareness but not systematic updates. The prescription hearing aid is still the preferred solution and we're seeing people tip really quickly from [considering] OTCs...and then pursuing prescription hearing aids."
That panel was followed by one focusing on the topic of the pearls and pitfalls associated with in-office surgeries. The final sessions of the afternoon revolved around how physician/payer relations impact policies for improved patient outcomes and cost savings, and the the best practices in incorporating advanced practice providers (APPs) into practice.
“There needs to be a lot of collaboration between the physicians and the APPs…they need to be able to ask questions and get support," said Nora W. Perkins, MD, during Best Practices in Incorporating APPs into Practice.
On the Program Today
Saturday offers equal opportunity for education and peer-to-peer connection, starting with the Networking Breakfast at 8:00 am, where attendees have the chance to expand their list of contacts and build on already existing ones. Breakfast is followed by the Advocacy Hour, where panelists will discuss why advocacy and engagement in healthcare policy is now more crucial than ever.
If you have pressing questions you’d like to bring directly to leaders in the specialty, you won’t want to miss the Mastermind Roundtables at 10:15 am. An insightful session on subspecialty integration follows the Roundtables at 11:15 am. The afternoon transitions to practical business knowledge with an expert panel guiding attendees through the complexities of value-based care models and MIPS pathways at noon.
The afternoon continues with essential sessions on reputation management strategies for practices of all sizes, cutting-edge coding updates for new technologies, before concluding with a session on revenue and cost allocation models, which can transform practice profitability.
Dedicated exhibitor meet-and-greet breaks throughout the day provide attendees ample opportunity to explore innovative solutions from industry partners before the OTO Forum concludes at 4:15 pm.
Don't miss this final day of enriched learning that bridges clinical excellence with business acumen—essential knowledge for thriving in today's challenging healthcare landscape.