AAPIOS President to step down next month.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Dr. Anuj Chandra, the President of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin – Sleep Medicine (AAPIOS), will step down from his current position next month after fulfilling his one-year term.
AAPIOS is a subsidiary of the larger American Association of Physicians of Indian origin (AAPI), the largest medical association for Indian Americans in the medical field, and second only to the American Medical Association (AMA) as the largest medical organization in the US. AAPIOS features healthcare professionals who specialize in the treatment of sleep-related disorders.
Chandra is the Medical Director of Chattanooga’s Advanced Center for Sleep Disorders, in Tennessee. He was elected as the AAPIOS President last year, during a time he described as “extremely exciting” in a statement announcing his impending abdications.
“We are at a very critical point in the field of sleep medicine, with many major payers not following the national standard of care recommendation’s for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders,” said Chandra.
“Sleep medicine today is experiencing a body blow, all sleep professionals have to collectively stand together to make sure that patients are served in a manner which is best for the patient and not for the insurance company,” he added.
A practitioner for nearly 15 years, Chandra earned his Medical Degree from the University College of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. He then completed his post-graduate degree in ENT (otorhinolaryngology) from the University of Delhi, and worked shifts at Boston’s Beth Israel Hospital. He did his internship and residency at the University of Connecticut, and a fellowship at the University of Utah medical Center.
During his time at the head of AAPIOS, Chandra made it his priority to further the organization’s goals of “providing a platform and forum for interaction amongst sleep physicians of Indian origin in the US with their counterparts in India,” according to a press release. AAPIOS is currently developing visiting fellowships for sleep physicians in both countries to gain experience from each other, and also plans to initiate an Indo-American Science Initiative Group (SIG) in the coming weeks.
AAPIOS will hold its next big event, the Annual Dinner Meeting, on Sunday, June 1 at “The Depot” in Minneapolis. A successor to Chandra has not yet been announced by AAPIOS.