ACOFP: OUR CONTINUING HISTORY 83 New Challenges and Opportunities other associations and societies grappling with the complexities of moving online. Shortly after ACOFP’s pivot to its first virtual conference, Bob Moore and Stephen Legault, ACOFP’s director of knowledge, learning, and assessment, were invited to speak about the organization’s efforts and success on a variety of domestic and international webinars. Several articles were written about the organization as well. ACOFP’s first planned virtual event, following the aforementioned “pivot,” known as the 2020 Intensive Osteopathic Update, won gold in the Association Media & Publishing EXCEL Awards Advertising Campaign category. Perhaps most important, ACOFP held a webinar for its state societies to learn from its experience as they prepared to navigate their own virtual meetings. 2022 was the first year that an in-person convention was held in tandem with a virtual option. ACOFP Annual Conventions now offer both an in-person and virtual element, with ondemand sessions for CME being a new feature since the implementation of post-pandemic virtual learning. The COVID-19 pandemic also encouraged ACOFP to relaunch webinars for the first time in several years to expand digital learning. These webinars were free to all members and gave insight on a wide scope of topics, including telemedicine for COVID-19 patients, mitigating unconscious bias in health care, and more. These new learning opportunities fostered professional development and growth amidst the backdrop of the pandemic. ACOFP’s formative assessments (In-Service Exam and CORTEx) had been in-person, proctored exams prior to 2022. In an effort to address accessibility and flexibility, and in response to the pandemic and user feedback, ACOFP moved these exams onto NBOME’s Catalyst system (the same technology AOBFP would soon utilize for longitudinal assessment questions). CORTEx moved to Catalyst first, in 2022, followed by ISE in 2023. In addition to navigating the digital world to provide for its members, ACOFP took on a strong role when it came to advocacy as well. Medicare cuts following the pandemic threatened reimbursement levels for osteopathic family physicians. More than 100 ACOFP members submitted letters to their representatives, and by Dec. 29, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law H.R.2617, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which included physician fee schedule increases for 2023 and 2024. The ACOFP community played a role in gaining congressional support to mitigate these reimbursement cuts. Moreover, the ACOFP Foundation’s actions exemplified a commitment to evidence-based solutions by choosing to support a study on COVID-19 immunization with lymphatic pump and antibody response, conducted by the American Osteopathic Foundation. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the entire ACOFP community into a remote territory, forcing it to address unprecedented challenges as well as take hold of new opportunities. With quick and comprehensive adaptiveness, innovation, and advocacy, ACOFP exemplified resilience, collaboration, and leadership.
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