Physicians today are inundated with a growing number of administrative requirements set forth by Congress and Federal agencies, adding needless barriers to providing timely, high-quality services and increasing spending on nonclinical activities. Surgeons find themselves spending more time completing paperwork in order to demonstrate regulatory compliance, taking them away from what’s most important—their patients.  

To combat policies that could further overburden surgeons and their practices, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) launched our Stop Overregulating My OR (SOMO) initiative, through which the ACS Division of Advocacy and Health Policy (DAHP) highlights specific regulatory and legislative actions that should be taken to eliminate unnecessary requirements and enable surgeons to reinvest their time and resources in patient care. Under SOMO, the ACS DAHP provides feedback to congressional and executive branch leaders on regulatory obstacles that interfere with the clinical workflow and the delivery of surgical services, including issues such as:

• MACRA/MIPS
• Physician reimbursement
• Electronic health records
• Prior authorization
• Clinical documentation requirements
• Insert your issue here Feedback from Fellows like you help the College identify additional areas for regulatory relief

For more information about the College’s regulatory relief efforts or the Stop Overregulating My OR initiative, contact Lauren Foe, ACS Division of Advocacy and Health Policy, at lfoe@facs.org.