NEW MEMBER BOOKLET
A DVA N C I N G T H E C A R E A N D K N O W L E D G E O F VA S C U L A R D I S E A S E TO I M P R OV E L I V E S E V E RY W H E R E .
Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
Dear New SVS Member: It’s my privilege to officially welcome you to membership in the Society for Vascular Surgery. The SVS is the largest and most respected professional organization in the world representing vascular surgeons and affiliated vascular specialists. Your election denotes acknowledgement of your professional excellence and dedicated commitment as a vascular specialist. This is a most prestigious accomplishment of which you should be truly proud. In this challenging and rapidly evolving health care environment, there has never been a more exciting time to be apart of the vascular and endovascular community. While our Vascular Annual Meeting is widely acknowledged to be the pre-eminent vascular educational forum, providing cutting-edge information and a unique opportunity to network with fellow members and international leaders in the field, the SVS does much more. Our Officers, Board of Directors, and more than 30 Councils and Committees (including more than 300 volunteer members) work daily on activities for the benefit of our membership in each stage of their career in the areas of government relations, reimbursement, branding of the specialty, patient education, journal publications, advocacy, research support, providing practice resources, and a host of other activities to support our members. I encourage you to visit Vascular.org and review the breadth of our activities on our website. If you have any questions about SVS or your membership, please email our membership team at membership@vascularsociety.org. Also, please feel free to contact me at any time with your ideas and concerns. Our leadership’s primary mission is to serve our membership as we all continue to work together to improve our specialty and, more importantly, serve our patients. Once again, congratulations and welcome! Sincerely,
R. Clement Darling, MD President, Society for Vascular Surgery
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
About SVS
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
Membership at a Glance
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
SVS Membership Benefits Discounted Educational Opportunities • Discounted registration fees for the Vascular Annual Meeting, Vascular Research Initiatives
Conference (VRIC), and other CME-accredited educational seminars on coding, reimbursement, and emerging new technologies. •V ESAP, a self-assessment program designed to meet the requirements of the Vascular Surgery
Board’s Maintenance of Certification program. Used for preparing for qualifying, certification, or recertification exams, or to simply remain current in the specialty.
Publications • Active, Associate, and International members receive access to the Journal of Vascular Surgery
and the Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venus and Lymphatic Disorders. Affiliate and Senior members may purchase the Journal of Vascular Surgery for the extremely discounted rate of $75 per year.
• All JVS and JVS: V+L subscriptions include access to full-text articles, archives, CME opportunties,
and other materials online, as well as the JVS apps. • All members receive the monthly Vascular Specialist publication, the offical newspaper of the SVS. • SVS Pulse (our bi-weekly e-newsletter) offers current vascular-related information, updates on SVS,
and other useful information for members.
Practice Resources • Active members may participate in our "Find a Specialist" online physician referral service. • All members recieve access to resources to develop their practice including: toolkits, practice
management documents, practice guidelines, and more. Members also benefit from convenient, downloadable patient educational materials, and videos.
•O nline access to job listings in vascular surgery throughout the country, and discounted rates to
post available positions at your practice.
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
SVS Membership Benefits, continued
Grants and Scholarships •T he SVS Foundation awards basic and clinical research grants to vascular scientists. • Medical Resident and Student and International scholarships, and more are available to members
Committee Volunteer Opportunities • Opportunities to serve on over 30 different volunteer committees and councils. • Committees cover a variety of areas that benefit our membership including, but not limited to: • • • •
Government relations Reimbursement Journal publication Young surgeons
• • • •
Diversity Intiatives Research and Education Community Practice International Relations
• • • •
VAM Programming Quality and Performance VA Surgeons
• Active and Senior members can chair committees, and vote on Society business.
Legislative Access • SVS has a professional government affairs staff working on your behalf to impact federal legislative
and regulatory processes directly related to your practice and patients. • Advocacy support with a convenient, online method to communicate with federal government officials.
Dedicated SVS Staff • The SVS staff is dedicated to serving all our members throughout their careers, providing educational
resources, membership support, information about the Society as a whole, and diligently working as the primary liasion between our members and our committees, councils, and board.
• SVS staff is located around the United States in Illinois, Washington D.C., and New Hampshire.
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
How To Access Your Membership Profile 1.
Go to vascular.org
2.
Select “Member Login”
3.
Enter your username and password (if you do not know or remember these, click “Forgot your password?). You already have a member profile, so please do not click “Create Guest Account.”
4.
To pay dues, change your contact information, and take advantage of all your membership benefits online, click “My Account.”
My Account is where you can update your contact information or employer. Preferences includes your SVS Directory and “Find a Specialist” profile preferences. The SVS Directory allows you to find other SVS members around the world. Invoices allows you to pay any open invoices (dues, VESAP purchases, etc). Credit card information can be saved for future use. Donate to the Foundation or PAC online here. VESAP can be purchased here. Message Center is where you can view all the receipts and automated messages we have sent you (excluding Pulse and other newsletters). Go to Vascular.org to learn more about programs and products in this booklet.
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
Membership Time Line July 2017
Newly approved members receive July–December 2017 pro-rated dues statement by email JVS publication benefits activated upon receipt of prorated 2017 ½ year dues payment
October 2017
All members receive 2018 annual dues statement by email Coding and Reimbursement for Vascular Surgeons in Chicago, October 13th and 14th
2018 annual dues payment reminder sent by mail
2018 annual dues payment deadline. Additional reminder sent by email.
2018 Vascular Annual Meeting Registration opens
Vascular Research Initiatives Conference in San Francisco, May 9th
2018 Vascular Annual Meeting in Boston, June 20th-23rd
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
SVS Contact Information Telephone: 1-800-258-7188 or 312-334-2300 Fax: 312-334-2320 Email: vascular@vascularsociety.org
Name
Chicago Office 633 N. St. Clair, 22nd Floor, Chicago IL 60611
Washington Office (Fax: 202-787-1229) 20 F Street, NW, Suite 310B Washington, DC 20001
Title
Telephone
Beth Bales
Content Manager
312-334-2316
bbales@vascularsociety.org
Jane Baque
Director of Professional Development
312-334-2302
jbaque@vascularsociety.org
Carrie Bosela
Advministrative Director-SVS PSO Vascular Quality Initiative
Claire Boston
Membership Specialist
312-334-2313
cboston@vascularsociety.org
Joanna Bronson
Inter-Society Relations Manager (SVN)
312-334-2321
jbronson@vascularsociety.org
Patricia Burton
Deputy Executive Director-SVS Executive Director-SVS Foundation
312-334-2303
pburton@vascularsociety.org
Nadine Caputo
SVS-PSO Quality Director
312-334-2329
ncaputo@vascularsociety.org
Angela Churilla
Education Program Manager
312-334-2310
achurilla@vascularsociety.org
Justin Cogswell
Director of Marketing and Membership
312-334-2323
jcogswell@vascularsociety.org
c.bosela@svspso.org
Tyler Cosgrove
Editorial Assistant
312-334-2322
tcosgrove@vascularsociety.org
Gina Dickinson
Clinical Practice Activities Specialist
312-334-2324
gdickinson@vascularsociety.org
Jill Goodwin
Director of Marketing-SVS Foundation and SVS PAC
jgoodwin@vascularsociety.org
Elsa Hall
Administrator, Executive Office/Governance Activities312-334-2308
ehall@vascularsociety.org
Daria Harasimowicz
Accounting Specialist
312-334-2306
shoopes@vascularsociety.org
Sarah Hoopes
Corporate Relations Director
312-334-2337
shoopes@vascularsociety.org
Megan Mathy
SVS-PSO Program Specialist
312-334-2307
mmathy@vascularsociety.org
Jessica E. McEwan
JVS Managing Editor
603-523-2222
jmcewan@vascularsociety.org
Katherine Mocarski
Accounting Manager
312-334-2319
kmocarski@vascularsociety.org
Sarah Murphy
Research Director
312-334-2305
smurphy@vascularsociety.org
Vihar Patel
Lead Software Engineer
312-334-2328
vpatel@vascularsociety.org
Amparo Perez
Accounting Specialist
312-334-2326
aperez@vascularsociety.org
Karen Perez
Accounting Specialist
312-334-2304
keperez@vascularsociety.org
Pamela Phillips
Director, Washington Office
202-787-1220
pphillips@vascularsociety.org
Dwaine Porter
Education Program Specialist
312-334-2327
dporter@vascularsociety.org
Alexandria Sese
Assistant Managing Editor
312-334-2318
asese@vascularsociety.org
Kay Severinsen
Assistant Director of Marketing and Membership
312-334-2317
kseverinsen@svspso.org
Kenneth Slaw
Executive Director-SVS
312-334-2301
kslaw@vascularsociety.org
Jim Wadzinski
PSO General Manager
312-334-2311
jwadzinski@vascularsociety.org
Debbie Wallentin
Director of Meetings
312-334-2312
dwallentin@vascularsociety.org
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
SVS Resources for Vascular Patients THE SOCIETY FOR VASCULAR SURGERY offers a variety of patient education materials online, including videos, illustrations, and descriptions of common problems and solutions. All materials are developed by vascular surgeons. This new site is growing and continually updated, so you are invited to visit regularly to see what’s new. Please send your patients to our Patient Resources website for exclusive, up-to-date information on a variety of vascular conditions, tests and treatments. Patients and families can also vist our website at: vsweb.org/PatientResources.
Here are just a few of the topics they will find: What is Vascular Disease? What is a Vascular Surgeon? Your Vascular System Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Peripheral Arterial Disease Carotid Artery Disease Ankle-Brachial Index Carotid Duplex Diabetic Foot Care Surgical Bypass Carotid Endarterectomy Thrombolytic Therapy Go to Vascular.org to learn more about programs and products in this booklet.
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
Advancing Knowledge
Recognized as the leading resource of vascular health research and news, SVS provides the following publications to its members.
Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders
Journal of Vascular Surgery Each month, the Journal of Vascular Surgery (JVS) publishes original, peer-reviewed articles on clinical and experimental studies, non-invasive diagnostic techniques, processes and vascular substitutes, microvascular surgical techniques, angiography, and endovascular management. One article in each issue of JVS is designated for Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit. JVS Subscribers who complete the online exam related to this article may download CME certificates free of charge. For more information, visit jvascsurg.org.
Journal of Vascular Surgery: Cases and Innovative Techniques Journal of Vascular Surgery Cases and Innovative Techniques is an open access surgical journal dedicated to
The Journal of Vascular Surgery: Venous and Lymphatic Disorders (JVS: VL) is an official publication of SVS and the American Venous Forum. This bi-monthly journal publishes high quality clinical research, case reports, techniques, and practice manuscripts related to all aspects of venous disease, lymphatic disease, and wound care with an emphasis on the practicing clinician. JVS: VL seeks to provide novel and timely information to vascular surgeons, interventionalists, phlebologists, wound care specialists, and allied health professionals who treat patients presenting with vascular and lymphatic disease. For more information, visit jvsvenous.org.
SVS Pulse SVS Pulse, an e-newsletter, is published regularly to report up-to-the-minute information relevant to members.
publishing peer-reviewed, high quality case reports related to all aspects of arterial, venous, and lymphatic diseases, including the placement and maintenance of arterio-venous dialysis accesses with an emphasis on the practicing clinician. For more information, visit jvscit.org.
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Vascular Specialist Vascular Specialist is a monthly member magazine, available in both print and digital editions. For more information, visit VascularSpecialistOnline.com.
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS • HYNES CONVENTION CENTER JOIN US AT THE HYNES CONVENTION CENTER FOR THE 2018 VASCULAR ANNUAL MEETING— THE PREMIER MEETING FOR VASCULAR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. • Earn continuing education credit through
plenary and concurrent sessions • Connect with your colleagues
Visit VascularAnnualMeeting.org or telephone 800-258-7188 for complete and updated meeting information.
• Learn about cutting-edge research in the field
Future Vascular Annual Meeting Dates
• View the latest devices and products
2019 | WASHINGTON, DC June 12–15 • Plenary and Exhibits: June 13–15
• Get ideas that will help your practice today
2020 | TORONTO, ON June 17–20 • Plenary and Exhibits: June 18–20
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
The Society for Vascular Surgery® (SVS) Foundation’s mission is to optimize the vascular health and well-being of patients and the public through support of research that leads to discovery of knowledge and innovative strategies, as well as education and programs, to prevent and treat circulatory disease. In addition, the SVS Foundation aims to address the vascular health and well-being of the patient population and enable vascular specialists to optimize the delivery of high-quality patient care. To contribute to the SVS Foundation, visit vsweb.org/GiveSVSFoundation. To learn more about SVS Foundation reasearch awards, visit vsweb.org/AwardsScholarships.
The Society for Vascular Surgery® (SVS) Political Action Committee (PAC) is the only PAC that provides a unified voice for vascular surgeons. The SVS PAC is an independent committee formed to raise funds used to make contributions to the campaigns of United States House of Representatives and Senate candidates who support high quality diagnosis and care for vascular disease patients and solutions to physician reimbursement challenges. Contributions from corporate accounts and SVS members who are not US citizens or do not have green cards are not permitted. Remember, 100 percent of your SVS PAC contribution goes directly to candidates. Your support is critical to the future of your practice and profession. To contribute to the SVS PAC, visit vascular.org/pac-donation.
The Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) is designed to improve the quality, safety, effectiveness and cost of vascular health care by collecting and exchanging information. It consists of a distributed network of 18 regional quality groups that function under an AHRQ-listed Patient Safety Organization using the M2S cloudbased data collection and reporting system. Currently, the VQI has 416 facilities, 3,000 participating physicians and more than 375,000 vascular procedures reported. To learn more about the benefits of VQI, please visit VQI.org.
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
Code of Ethics for SVS Members General Statement of Purpose This document is intended to serve as a guide for members of the Society for Vascular Surgery® (SVS) in their medical, social, and professional relationships in the practice of vascular surgery. This code is a statement of ideals, commitments, and responsibilities of SVS members to their patients, other health professionals, society, and themselves. It will be considered as one of the criteria used to evaluate qualifications for membership by applicants and to evaluate a member’s maintenance of good professional standing in the SVS.
Ethics as Related to the Provision of Vascular Care An SVS member shall serve as the patient’s advocate to ensure that the most appropriate care is provided to the patient. An SVS member shall not participate in any activity that is not in the best interest of the patient. An SVS member shall practice within the limitations of his or her privileges, which reflect his or her competencies and expertise. An SVS member shall not publicize or represent himself or herself in any untruthful, misleading, or deceptive manner to patients, colleagues, other health care professionals, or the public. An SVS member shall be actively involved in continuing medical education in order to remain current on new medical information related to vascular interventions. Should an SVS member become dependent on alcohol or drugs or otherwise become impaired, he or she should accept treatment and recommendations of the treating physician(s) and the recommendations of his or her hospital committee, local medical society committee, and/or ACS guidelines for evaluating and assisting impaired physicians.
Ethics of Relationships Between Health Care Professionals An SVS member shall strive to achieve and maintain professional and courteous relationships with his or her colleagues and other health care professionals. If an SVS member has reason to believe that another SVS member is incompetent, he/she shall bring this situation to that person’s attention and advise the appropriate professional committee of his or her hospital or regional medical society. An SVS member shall not practice medicine while impaired by alcohol, drugs, or physical or mental disability. The vascular surgeon who experiences substance abuse problems or who is physically or emotionally impaired should seek appropriate assistance to address these problems and limit his or her practice until the impairment no longer affects the quality of patient care. An SVS member shall respect the rights of colleagues and of other health professionals. An SVS member shall only receive compensation for services provided within the rules as defined in the relevant laws. The division of income among members of a formally organized group is appropriate and can be based on the value of the services performed by each member and/or other contributions to the group, as agreed to in advance by the group members. An SVS member who transfers care of a patient to another health care provider, either by his or her own recommendation or at the request of the patient or patient’s family, shall cooperate fully with the health care provider who receives the transferred patient.
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
An SVS member shall be actively involved in the educational process of other physicians and health care providers as circumstances permit. An SVS member shall help his or her medical colleagues maintain a high level of performance and integrity in the practice of medicine.
Ethics Related to the Patient and Patient’s Family An SVS member and the patient and/or patient’s family when appropriate, shall be involved in dialogue so the joint medical decision-making process will be in keeping with the patient’s philosophy and wishes and their Advanced Directive for health care. Explanation of the nature and risk of an operation to the patient or to the patient’s representative is essential. An SVS member shall maintain the privacy and confidentiality of patient information. Patient health information, protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) and other laws, shall be respected except in those circumstances where the law requires disclosure. Sexual misconduct on the part of an SVS member is an abuse of professional power and a violation of patient trust and is unethical. An SVS member shall collaborate with other health care professions and advocate for the terminally ill patient to allow dignity, provide relief of pain and suffering. The lawful wishes of the competent patient shall be respected.
Ethics as Related to the Legal Profession An SVS member shall respect the confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship as defined by HIPPA regulation. As an expert witness, an SVS member, shall thoroughly prepare by reviewing the relevant facts so that he or she
can, to the best of his or her ability, provide the court with accurate and documented opinions on the matters at hand. An SVS member shall follow the “Guidelines for Testimony by Vascular Surgeons Serving as Expert Witnesses in Litigation.”
Responsibilities of the SVS Member to Government An SVS member shall always abide by the law of the land, but support changes in those laws that are in the best interests of the patient and medical practice. An SVS member shall cooperate with and deal honestly with governmental agencies involving those areas of health care in which he or she is a participant, but will preserve patient confidentiality.
Ethics Related to the Physician and Insurance, Compensation and Reimbursement Agencies An SVS member shall be honest in financial dealings with patients, insurance companies and health care financing agencies, and shall provide accurate, complete and timely information to these entities. An SVS member shall respond in a timely fashion and completely to requests for medical reports from private and governmental agencies involved in reimbursement and compensation for medically related services with the consent of the patient or the patient’s agent, or as otherwise provided by the law. Financial and administrative constraints imposed by managed care may create disincentives to treatment that has been recommended by the vascular surgeon as being in the patient’s best interest. Any pertinent constraints or incentives should be disclosed to the patient.
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
Ethics Related to Relationships with Industry An SVS member should not accept direct payment from industry (defined as individuals or organizations with a commercial interest in the field of vascular surgery or related health care issues) for the costs of travel, lodging or other personal expenses to attend scientific or educational conferences or meetings. Faculty at such conferences or educational meetings can accept reasonable honoraria and reimbursement of reasonable expenses. Unrestricted educational grants to a training institution or society can be disbursed to cover expenses of individuals but the medical technology company must not select the recipients or select the speakers. Residents and fellows in training can accept travel grants if the grants are awarded to a third party who should select the recipients based on established criteria. An SVS member should not accept cash or any gifts of substantial value, directly from industry. Any gift must be modest, and benefit patient care or serve a genuine educational function and have a fair market value of less than $100. An SVS member can accept donations for charitable purposes such as supporting independent medical research for the advancement of medical science, patient education, public education or the sponsorship of educational courses. An SVS member can accept remuneration for consulting services providing that the payment is based on fair market value compensation and is entered into only where a legitimate need and purpose is identified in advance and selection of the consultant should be based solely on the consultant’s qualifications and expertise.
When there is the potential for conflict of interest, an SVS member must disclose to colleagues and patients any financial relationships that he or she has with industry.
Ethics as Related to Patients and Research An SVS member involved in human research shall respect the rights of the participants, obtain approval from an appropriate institutional human review committee, and fully inform the participants before proceeding with any treatment or research. An SVS member may perform innovative procedures in connection with rigorous validation trials to insure that new operative procedures are safe and effective only if:
•E ach prospective study is evaluated and approved by an appropriate federal and/or local institutional oversight committee
•P atients are fully informed of the nature of the study, risks of the new procedure, and alternative treatment options
Ethics Related to Community and World Affairs SVS members, in addition to providing care to the individual patient, have a responsibility to be involved in community and humanitarian activities, especially those matters affecting health.
An SVS member should not enter into any relationship with industry that might influence his or her primary responsibility for care of the individual patient.
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
Guidelines for Testimony by Vascular Surgeons Serving as Expert Witnesses in Litigation Preamble
B. Subject Matter Knowledge
The American legal system often calls for expert medical testimony. Proper functioning of this system requires that when such testimony is needed, it be truly expert, impartial, and available to all litigants. To that end, the following guidelines have been adopted by the Society for Vascular Surgeons (SVS). These guidelines apply to all Society for Vascular Surgery members providing expert opinion services to attorneys, litigants, or the judiciary in the context of civil or criminal matters and include written expert opinions as well as sworn testimony.
1. The vascular surgeon expert witness shall have sufficient knowledge of and experience in the specific subject(s) of his or her written expert opinion or sworn oral testimony to warrant designation as an expert. Ideally, the witness should hold current hospital privileges to perform those same procedures.
A. Impartial Testimony
1. The vascular surgeon expert witness shall be an impartial educator for attorneys, jurors, and the court on the subject of vascular surgery practice. 2. T he vascular surgeon expert witness shall represent and testify as to the practice behavior of a prudent vascular surgeon giving different viewpoints if such there are. 3. T he vascular surgeon expert witness shall identify as such any personal opinions that vary significantly from generally accepted vascular surgical practice. 4. The vascular surgeon expert witness shall recognize and correctly represent the full standard of vascular surgery care and shall with reasonable accuracy state whether a particular action was clearly within, clearly outside of, or close to the margins of the standard of vascular surgery care. 5. T he vascular surgeon expert witness shall not be evasive for the purpose of favoring one litigant over another. The vascular surgeon expert shall answer all properly framed questions pertaining to his or her opinions on the subject matter thereof.
2. The vascular surgeon expert witness shall review all pertinent available medical information about a particular patient prior to rendering an opinion about the appropriateness of medical or surgical management of the patient. 3. T he vascular surgeon expert witness shall be very familiar with prior and current concepts of standard vascular surgical practices before giving testimony or providing a written opinion about such practice standards. Ideally, the witness should be able to demonstrate evidence of continuing medical education relevant to the subject matter of the case. C. Compensation
1. The vascular surgeon expert witness should be prepared to document the percentage of his or her time that is involved in serving as an expert witness. 2. T he vascular surgeon expert witness shall not accept a contingency fee for providing expert medical opinion services. 3. C harges for medical expert opinion services shall be reasonable and commensurate with the time and effort given to preparing and providing those services.
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Society for Vasular Surgery | N E W M E M B E R B O O K L E T
633 North Saint Clair Street, 22nd Floor Chicago, Illinois 60611 Vascular.org