2021 December AANnews

VOLUME 33 · ISSUE 12 · DECEMBER 2021

Visit AAN.com/Covid19 for the latest pandemic information and resources to support you and your crucial work.

2022 ANNUAL MEETING OFFERS THREE REGISTRATION OPTIONS Choose Your Unique Experience!

Are you ready to reunite in person with your neurology community in Seattle? Can’t make it to Seattle—or simply prefer to attend from wherever you have an internet connection? Or interested in both? No matter which exciting option you choose, you’ll experience a fresh lineup of top-tier education opportunities in every topic, all the valuable CME you need, the most cutting-edge science covering every subspecialty, and the opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues from around the world.

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New Guideline on Dopaminergic Therapy for Motor Symptoms in Early Parkinson

Reminder: Renew Your Membership Before December 31

The AAN’s new “Dopaminergic Therapy for Motor Symptoms in Early Parkinson Disease Practice Guideline Summary” was published online in Neurology ® on November 15, 2021.

This practice guideline updates the 2002 AAN practice guideline “Initiation of Treatment for Parkinson Disease.” The objective of this update is to review the current evidence on the options available for initiating dopaminergic treatment of motor symptoms in early-stage Parkinson disease and provide recommendations to clinicians.

Continued on page 7

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AAN Issues Ethical Guidance on Aducanumab

Seattle: April 2 –7 Virtual Experience: April 24–26

Be sure to visit AAN.com/dues this month to renew your AAN membership for 2022. Bolster your patient care and professional success with continued access to the highest quality, most up-todate, and diverse resources and opportunities available from the world’s largest and most trusted community of neurology professionals.

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10 CMS Finalizes Regulatory

Changes and Updates Physician Payment System

DECEMBER

31

Continued on page 23

20 Celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Neurology Journal

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“IT WAS LIKE MY HEAD EXPLODED.” This is Michele. In the span of a few months, two different brain diseases changed her life and family forever. While her young daughter battled a fatal diagnosis of pons glioma, Michele experienced a brain hemorrhage that still affects her brain function today, more than a decade later.

All brain diseases are interconnected, so research into one will lead to discoveries and cures in others. By giving to the American Brain Foundation, you help bridge the funding gap in brain disease research. With your help, this research can help change the lives of people like Michele and her daughter.

Donate to the American Brain Foundation when you renew your American Academy of Neurology membership.

AANnews · December 2021

December Highlights The Mission of the AAN is to promote the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care and enhance member career satisfaction.

The Vision of the AAN is to be indispensable to our members.

Contact Information American Academy of Neurology 201 Chicago Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55415 Phone: (800) 879-1960 (toll free) (612) 928-6000 (international) Email:

memberservices@aan.com

Website: AAN.com For advertising rates, contact: Michael J. O’Brien II Account/Relationship Manager Wolters Kluwer Phone: (978) 578-4514 Email:

Michael.Obrien @wolterskluwer.com

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Be Aware of Axon Registry Quality Measure Updates for 2022

Each year, new quality measures are added to the Axon Registry® that are meaningful to neurology practices. For 2022, nine new quality measures will be added to the registry.

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ransforming Leaders Program Graduates Transform T Their Careers, Selves

22

Meeting the Opportunities of IDEAS

No other program in the country matches its caliber of training, which incorporates executive-level coaching, mentoring, and a fully customized intensive leadership development program.

With the creation of a specific IDEAS goal—to demonstrate and communicate our commitment to be a fully inclusive, diverse and anti-racist organization that promotes neurologic health equity and actively works to recruit and support a diverse membership—into the 2021 strategic plan, all AAN committees ensured their operating plans included objectives and initiatives to reach that goal.

AAN Chief Executive Officer: Mary E. Post, MBA, CAE

News Briefs Editor-in-Chief: Melissa W. Ko, MD, FAAN, CPE Managing Editor: Angela M. Babb, MS, CAE, APR Editor: Tim Streeter Writers: Ryan Knoke and Sarah Parsons Designer: Siu Lee Email: aannews@aan.com

Continuum Editor Search Deadline Nears The deadline is December 15 for applications for editor-in-chief of Continuum®.

The appointment is five years beginning January 1, 2023, with a six-month transition with the current editor beginning July 2022, and the opportunity to extend an additional five years. For more information or to submit applications, contact Andrea Weiss, Executive Editor, Education and News Publications, at aweiss@aan.com or (612) 928-6134.

Neurology Career Week Attracts Job Seekers

AANnews® is published monthly by the American Academy of Neurology for its 36,000 members worldwide.

Access this magazine and other AAN publications online at AAN.com.

Over 400 members participated in the recent Neurology Career Week by receiving a free CV evaluation, completing an application, participating in same-day interviews in the Virtual Career Fair, or joining a webinar.

The American Academy of Neurology ’ s registered trademarks and service marks are registered in the United States and various other countries around the world.

2022 Awards Applications Increase

“American Brain Foundation” is a registered service mark of the American Brain Foundation and is registered in the United States.

The inclusion of advertisements and/or promotions of Sponsors and other Internet sites or resources that offer content, goods, or services on the Website does not imply endorsement of the advertised/promoted products or services by AAN.

The number of applications submitted for 2022 awards surpassed last year’s.

Awards receiving the most applications include Michael S. Pessin Stroke Leadership Prize, Potamkin Prize, Norman Geschwind Prize in Behavioral Neurology, John Dystel Prize, and Alliance Awards: Founders. 

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN The 2022 Annual Meeting in Seattle Will Be… After two years of collective uncertainty, loss, sacrifice, and separation, we will finally see each other again in April of 2022. The Great Neuro Reunion, planned for April 2 to 7 in Seattle, will present the latest in cutting-edge science and education and reconnect you with the colleagues and friends you have not seen in person since 2019. After a three-year-long absence borne of this pandemic, I no longer take such events for granted, and look forward with Proustian anticipation to the din of convention center hallways and the smell of Seattle-roasted coffee.

While many surprises are planned, I’d like to give you a sneak peek of some of the highlights. Invited speakers include my fellow AAN Board member Bruce Obviagele, MD, MSc, FAAN, who is the recipient of the Robert Wartenberg Lecture; Daniel H. Geschwind, MD, PhD, FAAN, who will present the George C. Cotzias Lecture; and the recipient of the Sidney Carter Award in Child Neurology, Catherine M. Amlie-Lefond, MD, FAAN. Exciting scientific presentations are also in the works

including an intriguing series called Neuroscience in the Clinic (NIC), which will feature topics such as Artificial Intelligence Applications; Neurological Implications of Long-haul COVID Infection; Aducanumab—From Clinical Trials to the Clinic; Brain Health and the Neurovascular Unit. Staged as a dialogue between clinicians and neuroscientists, NICs are created to be a one-stop shop for attendees from early-career stages to seasoned neurologists, whether specialists or generalists, practitioners or academicians. NICs are rich in content, fastpaced, and highly immersive experiences.

Science Committee Chair Natalia S. Rost, MD, PhD, FAAN, tells me that more than 3,000 abstracts were submitted this year; she calls them “the lifeblood of the scientific program—the ultimate way to communicate science and connect.” These will be aggregated into topical “neighborhoods” which will allow you to

browse more conveniently and network with Avitzur your science communities. Look out for the specially marked “Abstracts of Distinction,” posters presented by neurology trainees, Emerging Science poster sessions, and special topic poster tours. The poster halls promise to be buzzing with excitement!

Over 160 top-notch educational courses and innovative learning

opportunities have been scheduled. Learning Engagement Centers will foster collaborative learning and unique education delivery methods. And this year, in addition to inspirational HeadTalks, a new space will feature 1:1 teaching on various topics from the best educators in neurology. You will be able to sign up for private conversations about your favorite neurologic subjects with leaders in the field.

Multiple settings have been planned to help us reconnect

with each other starting with the Opening Party, held Sunday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. Your free ticket will include entrance to the Space Needle, the Museum of Pop Culture, and Chihuly Garden and Glass. There is a reason that Chihuly is rated #1 on Tripadvisor’s Things to Do in Seattle and was the 2021 recipient of a Traveler’s Choice Award. A glass artist with exhibitions all over the world, Dale Chihuly pioneered a new way of working with molten glass, using gravity and centrifugal force to let it

Seattle: April 2 –7 Virtual Experience: April 24–26

find its shape in its own organic way. Although one of his most recognizable installations, composed of over 2,000 unique elements, is called Pacific Sun, I can’t help but wonder what images it will conjure for a group of neurologists.

Early registration is available through February 17, and a unique

virtual experience will follow on April 24 to 26. In the upcoming weeks, more information will be released about award recipients and inspirational speakers who are sure to create a sensation, so stay posted. And if you live in Seattle or are a frequent visitor, please share the name of your favorite coffee shop, quirky attraction, dive bar, or restaurant to hang out with friends at the Great Neuro Reunion—and what makes it special—on Twitter. I look forward to seeing you at the #AANAM! 

Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN President, AAN oavitzur@aan.com @OrlyA on Twitter

PRACTICE Be Aware of Axon Registry Quality Measure Updates for 2022 The AAN’s Axon Registry® is a quality improvement registry for neurology that is designated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a qualified clinical data registry. Each year, new quality measures are added to the Axon Registry that are meaningful to neurology practices. For 2022, nine new quality measures will be added to the registry. There are five new stroke-specific measures approved for use as part of CMS’s Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and as part of the new CMS stroke MIPS Value Pathway (MVP). Three new outcome measures are being added, as well as a process measure that aids in collection of data needed for the new seizure outcome measures.

Aside from adding nine new quality measures, the Axon Registry also will be removing three quality measures for 2022.

Below is a complete list of the nine new quality measures for 2022 and the three measures that will be removed.

New quality measures for 2022 Axon 71 Seizure Type, Frequency, and Date of Last Seizure Recorded Axon 72 Seizure Freedom Axon 73 Convulsive Seizure Reduction Axon 74 Reduction of Pain for Patients with Polyneuropathy Axon 75: Controlling High Blood Pressure (QPP 236) Axon 76: Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter: Chronic Anticoagulation Therapy (QPP 326) Axon 77: Clinical Outcome Post Endovascular Stroke Treatment (QPP 409) Axon 78: Statin Therapy for the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease (QPP 438)

Axon 79: Ischemic Vascular Disease (IVD) All or None Outcome Measure (QPP 441)

Retired quality measures for 2022 Axon 01: Seizure Frequency for Patients with Epilepsy Axon 05: Querying About Sleep Disturbances for Patients with Parkinson’s Disease Axon 57: Querying about Pain and Pain Interference with Function For more information, visit our website where you will find information on how to enroll as a new registry participant, full measure specifications, and tips for how to document the measures, including capturing performance with key phrases. If you have any questions, contact the Axon Registry at registry@aan.com. 

AANnews • December 2021 5

PRACTICE Change in Leadership Highlighted in New Neurology: Clinical Practice Issue The December issue of Neurology ® Clinical Practice features the editorial “An Appreciation―John Corboy, MD, FAAN,” by Robert A. Gross, MD, PhD, FAAN, as the past editor-in-chief of Neurology ® salutes the founding editor of this publication. Corboy has stepped down after eight years at the helm. Luca Bartolini, MD, who took over as editor in October, shares his vision in a second editorial, “Inclusion as a Key to Shape the Future of Neurology: Clinical Practice.”

Research papers include “Diagnosis and Workup of Intellectual Disability in Adults: Suggested Strategies for the Adult Neurologist,” by Jessica Solomon Sanders, MD; “Patient Experiences with Ambulatory Telehealth in Neurology: Results of a Mixed Methods Study,” by Carly Olszewski; “Patient and Clinician Perspectives of New and Return Ambulatory Teleneurology Visits,” by Samantha M.R. Kling, PhD, RDN; and “Review of Neurologic Comorbidities in Hospitalized Patients with Opioid Abuse,”

by Kevin R. Nelson, MD, FAAN. Case studies in this issue include “GAD65 Antibody-associated Neurologic Disease Presenting with Hemiparkinsonism at Onset,” by Roshni

Abee Patel, MD; “Hyperglycemic Hyperosmolar Syndrome Presenting with Unique Craniofacial Involuntary Movements,” by Seena Vengalil, MD; “A Case of Guillain-Barré Syndrome Following Coronavirus Disease 2019,”

by Pablo Gómez-Porro, MD; and “Myelopathy Due to CAR-T Related Neurotoxicity Treated with Siltuximab,” Yasmin Aghajan, MD. Published continuously online and in print six times a year, Neurology: Clinical Practice is free to AAN members via the website (and available in print for US members only) who have a current subscription to Neurology. Visit Neurology.org/cp for more information. 

Volume 11, Number 6,

December 2021

Neurology.org/CP

A peer-reviewed clinical

neurology journal for

the practicing neurolog

ist

SPECIAL EDITORIAL

Inclusion as a Key to Shape the Future of Neurology: Clinical Practic e RESEARCH

Integrating Advanced Practic e Providers (APPs) in an Academic Department of Neurology RESEARCH

Patient Experiences with Ambul atory Telehealth in Neurology: Results of a MixedMethods Study REVIEW

Diagnosis and Workup of Intellectual Disability in Adults: Suggested Strateg ies for the Adult Neurologist

George Lopez Foundation Reflects Comedian’s Commitment to Neuropathy Awareness Comedian and actor George Lopez experienced neuropathy related to kidney disease. He underwent a kidney transplant after his wife qualified as a donor. He has since raised awareness about neuropathy through the George Lopez Foundation. The December issue of Brain & Life® shares his story and how Lopez also uses humor to encourage people in the Latino community to make their health a priority.

N UA RY 2 0 2 2 D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1/JA RG B R A I N A N D LI F E .O

Presents Perfect The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide Addressing Disparities Ensuring the Best Care for Everyone Caregiving How to Balance Work and Caring for Aging Parents

Good Humor Man

n to raise z established a foundatio Comedian George Lope opathy disease and related neur awareness of kidney

6

AANnews • December 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated health inequities related to race and income. This second feature article looks at how the health divide affects access to neurologic care and timely diagnosis of neurologic conditions such as stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and cerebral palsy.

The third feature presents advice from patients, physical therapists, and caregivers for the best holiday gifts for people with neurologic conditions—

everything from mobility devices to easy-to-use kitchen gadgets.

Brain & Life magazine is free for AAN members in the United States to distribute to patients, who also can subscribe for free. If you would like to adjust the number of copies you receive for your patients or update your clinic address, email BeGreen@WasteFreeMail. com. All members have online access to the magazine articles and other resources at BrainandLife.org. Please share the website with your patients! 

GUIDELINE New Guideline on Dopaminergic Therapy for Motor Symptoms in Early Parkinson Continued from cover This practice guideline update includes conclusions and recommendations that address: The efficacy and adverse effects of levodopa, dopamine agonists, and MAO-B inhibitors for treating motor symptoms of early Parkinson disease.

Clinical considerations in deciding whether to initiate levodopa, dopamine agonists, or MAO-B inhibitors in patients with early Parkinson disease.

The overall messages of this practice guideline update are: The best treatment for motor symptoms in early Parkinson disease is levodopa.

Some patients are afraid to start levodopa due to potential adverse effects; this guideline may help reassure these patients that levodopa is effective and causes fewer adverse effects than alternative medications.

Dopamine agonists must be prescribed safely; clinicians should inform patients and care partners of potential adverse effects and recommend tapering or discontinuing dopamine agonists if patients experience bothersome medication-related adverse effects.

Clinicians should counsel both patients and care partners on the risks and benefits of drug treatment. They should welcome and encourage patients to bring care partners to their appointments.

Read the guideline and access a clinician summary, patient and family summary, and slide presentation set at AAN.com/Guidelines. 

Access Free, Interactive Digital Guideline Summary The AAN has partnered with Guideline Central to bring you a digital, interactive summary of this guideline product, free to AAN members.

To access the digital pocket guideline simply: 1. Visit Guideline Central online at guidelinecentral. com/aanmembers 2. Enter your email address to access or create an account 3. If you have an account, this pocket guide will automatically be added to your account 4. If you do not have an account, a form will appear to allow you to create a free account, and the guideline will automatically be added to your account 5. You’re set up! Now each time the AAN publishes a new pocket guide, the digital pocket guide will be added to your account library Printed copies of the pocket guideline are available to AAN members at a 35-percent discount when following these steps: 1. Visit Guideline Central online at guidelinecentral. com/shop 2. Select the pocket guide 3. Select the print version 4. Use coupon code AAN35 when checking out For more information, email guidelines@aan.com. 

AANe-news.

Because Your Time Is Valuable.

Sent to your email address the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, AANe-news™ delivers the latest top headlines and resources from the Academy so you can quickly scan and connect directly with the information you need Another members-only solution from your AAN.

AANnews • December 2021 7

EVENTS Choose Your Unique 2022 Annual Meeting Experience! Continued from cover Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 2–7 Come back together with your colleagues for the Great Neuro Reunion and experience: Six days of unique in-person programming Complimentary ticket to: Great Neuro Reunion party at the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, and Museum of Pop Culture on Sunday, April 3 Closing party on Thursday, April 7 Access to session recordings through May 14, 2022, in the Online Learning Center—upgrade to Gold registration to extend access to Seattle session recordings and your ability to claim CME through March 1, 2023!

Options to attend: Up to six Skills Workshops Run/Walk for Brain Research Commitment to Cures event More

Get the maximum value—and a 25-percent discount— by purchasing the Platinum registration package, which includes Gold registration to both events! That’s nine full days of unique programming—PLUS extended access to recordings from both meetings and the ability to claim CME through March 1, 2023! 

SAFETY

Seattle: April 2 –7 Virtual Experience: April 24–26

Virtual Annual Meeting, April 24–26 Offers a unique lineup of programming separate from the in-person meeting, live Q&A, and access to session recordings through May 14, 2022. Upgrade to Virtual Gold registration for access to all recordings from the virtual experience and extend your ability to claim CME through March 1, 2023! 

PODCAST

Attend Both!

Annual Meeting Platinum Package

Is Our #1 Priority Because of our commitment to creating a safe and healthy environment in Seattle, all in-person Annual Meeting attendees, exhibitors, and staff must be "fully vaccinated” (as defined by the CDC at the time of the meeting) and must provide verification of full COVID-19 vaccination status.

Unvaccinated individuals may register for the virtual Annual Meeting experience. Learn more at AAN.com/AMCOVID19. 

Neurology ® Podcast:

20 Minutes Pack a Punch!

Subscribe and download the latest podcast at Neurology.org/podcast

8

AANnews • December 2021

ADVOCACY AAN Issues Ethical Guidance on Aducanumab To provide guidance to neurologists, patients, and their families regarding using the new drug aducanumab for Alzheimer’s disease, the AAN issued a position statement published in the November 17, 2021, online issue of Neurology ® at Neurology.org.

“Aducanumab is not a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, yet since it has been approved by the FDA, patients are asking their doctors if this is an option for them,” said position statement author Winston Chiong, MD, PhD, of the University of California San Francisco and a member of the AAN’s Ethics, Law, and Humanities Committee. “This is a high-cost drug that was approved by the FDA without convincing evidence of benefits and with known harms, so the purpose of this position statement is to offer ethical guidance on how neurologists can help patients make informed decisions about this treatment.”

The AAN position statement states that aducanumab was approved by the FDA based on two studies that were both stopped prematurely for showing no benefits for study participants. In a later analysis of the data, one of those studies indicated a small benefit, while the other study still showed no benefit. It says that while aducanumab reduces beta-amyloid plaques that are markers of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain, it remains unclear whether beta-amyloid plaque reduction provides any meaningful benefits to patients.

Ethical guidance in the position statement says it is important to communicate to people that aducanumab does not restore cognitive function. It also says there are insufficient grounds to warrant offering it to people with moderate or advanced dementia, or to those without evidence of beta-amyloid in the brain.

“It is understandable why a new drug for Alzheimer’s disease generates so much interest, because while its approval has been controversial, it still offers a glimmer of hope to patients and their families,” said Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN, President of the American Academy of Neurology. “By using ethical principles to create this position statement, the American Academy of Neurology aims to help neurologists and other physicians transparently counsel patients and their families with a goal of providing the highest quality patientcentered care.”

amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, which can include brain bleeds. In the studies, aducanumab was associated with brain inflammation and bleeds in one-third of people who received the dose approved by the FDA. The position statement states that neurologists must communicate potential adverse effects and about the need for more frequent monitoring with MRI scans.

Additionally, there was an absence of racial and ethnic diversity in the clinical trials of aducanumab. The statement says this is a significant ethical concern because it deprives people in underserved groups of relevant information about the benefits and harms of the drug for their populations. The position statement says such potential patients should be told about the absence of safety and efficacy data for these groups.

The position statement notes that pricing and coverage of aducanumab may cause financial harm to people taking the drug, depending on how Medicare addresses the individual patient costs. This highly expensive medication has a price tag of $56,000 a year, and that price does not include costs of infusing the drug, repeated imaging, and medical management.

The position statement says annual costs may exceed $100,000 per year, and Medicare generally covers 80 percent, so patients and families must be told that the full costs of treatment may not be covered.

While there is hope that aducanumab’s approval will lead to better treatments in the future, the position statement says there are also concerns that its availability may hinder enrollment in clinical trials of more effective interventions. 

The position statement says there is a risk of brain inflammation with aducanumab treatment, referred to as

AAN.com/aducanumab

AANnews • December 2021 9

ADVOCACY CMS Finalizes Regulatory Changes and Updates Physician Payment System Each year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issues regulations that impact the reimbursement of physicians. On November 2, 2021, CMS finalized a rule updating payment policies and rates for physicians paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in 2022. The final rule illustrates the importance of the AAN’s regulatory advocacy efforts on behalf of neurologists and their patients. CMS expects payments across the specialty of neurology to stay at current levels in 2022, with variations depending on the individual provider’s practice. However, all specialties are also potentially facing a 3.7-percent reduction in the conversion factor used to formulate payments under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The AAN is working with physician associations from across the house of medicine to fight against these potential cuts, which recently resulted in having 247 members of the US House of Representatives sign a letter urging congressional leaders to act on this issue before the end of the year.

Evaluation and Management (E/M) Visits Like in previous years, CMS continues its ongoing review of E/M code sets. The AAN remains highly supportive of the new coding and payment structure implemented on January 1, 2021, and lauds the agency for moving forward with implementation.

For 2022, the agency is refining several policies to align with the revised E/M visit codes guidelines which took effect January 1, 2021. Four new principal care management codes will be available for neurologists to use in 2022, recognizing the comprehensive services provided for a single high-risk disease.

CMS is refining its policies for split or shared E/M visits to reflect the evolving role of advanced practice providers (APP) and changes to the practice of medicine. For 2022, CMS defines split or shared E/M visits as those provided in the facility setting by a physician and an APP in the same group and expands to include new patient encounters. CMS has decided on a new, time-based definition of the “substantive portion” of a visit that must be furnished by the physician to bill split (shared), but this change will not be implemented until 2023, as the AAN requested.

Telehealth Regulations As expected, the final rule codified that the telehealth services added to the Medicare telehealth services list under the temporary “category 3” during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) be removed from the list after the PHE ends.

These services will have to be submitted to be made permanent under either category 1 or 2. However, CMS acknowledges that there has not been sufficient time to collect the utilization

data needed on these telehealth services for submission and approval. Therefore, CMS will retain all telehealth services added due to the PHE through calendar year 2023 so that they can be analyzed and submitted for the 2023 and 2024 fee schedules for permanent inclusion. This is a welcome decision

by CMS as it gives providers a clear timeframe during which they can continue to use these temporarily approved telehealth services and allows for the much-needed study of these services for their potential permanent inclusion.

The AAN was glad to see that CMS accepted our recommendation that the requirement for an in-person visit every six months to be reimbursed for telehealth services be raised to a 12-month period. This will relieve an undue obstacle to the continuation of care provided via telehealth.

CMS also finalized its proposal to allow another physician in the same specialty and practice to fulfill this requirement should the original physician be unavailable, as the AAN requested.

CMS has finalized the change to the requirements of telehealth provision to permanently allow audio-only telehealth services for the diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of mental health disorders when the patient’s home is the originating site. Only providers who are set up to provide full audio/visual telehealth services can make use of audio-only services; this is to ensure that it is the patient’s aversion or inability to use audio/ visual services that leads to an audio-only visit. The AAN was supportive of this change as it represents a logical adjustment of regulation to match the incorporation of technology in the provision of care.

Appropriate Use Criteria CMS will delay the beginning of the payment penalty phase of the Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) program to no sooner than January 1, 2023, or the January 1 that follows the declared end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The flexibilities offered by CMS are intended to consider the impact

10

AANnews • December 2021

of COVID-19 on providers and their beneficiaries. The current payment penalty phase of the AUC program was to begin at the start of 2022. This is a welcomed change. We continue to advocate for modifications to the AUC program recognizing its potential burden on neurologists.

Quality Payment Program The rule includes finalized policies related to the Quality Payment Program (QPP), which includes the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM), and MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs).

For the MIPS track, CMS finalized increasing the 2022 performance threshold to 75 points from 60 points, as well as the exceptional performance bonus to 89 points from 85 points.

For the Quality and Cost components, CMS finalized decreasing the weight of the MIPS Quality component to 30 percent from 40 percent and increasing the weight of the MIPS Cost component to 30 percent from 20 percent. For Improvement Activities, CMS finalized seven new activities, including three that are dedicated to promoting health equity. For Promoting Interoperability, small practices are now automatically exempt from the component, and it will be reweighted to Quality and Improvement Activities.

CMS finalized its policy awarding doubled bonus point clinicians caring Practiceopportunities Email Ad—Halfto Page Horizontal> AN for complex patients during

the COVID-19 public health emergency, while also finalizing the removal of bonus point opportunities for reporting additional outcome and high priority measures.

For the APM track, CMS finalized extending the CMS Web Interface reporting option through 2024, thus delaying the plan to sunset this reporting mechanism by two years.

MIPS Value Pathway The rule finalized seven MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) or sets of defined measures and activities related to a specialty or condition, beginning in 2023. Included in the set is an MVP titled "Coordinating Stroke Care to Promote Prevention and Cultivate Positive Outcomes" which features measures and activities related to caring for stroke patients and may be relevant to some neurologists. The AAN actively engaged with CMS during the development process at CMS’s invitation and provided extensive comments on the proposed stroke MVP. In addition to foundational population health measures and Promoting Interoperability measures, the stroke MVP features nine quality measures and nine improvement activities to choose from and one cost measure relevant to stroke care. In the rule, CMS also finalized policies on reporting and scoring expectations, which closely align with current MIPS policies. The AAN will develop resources for neurologists interested in transitioning to MVPs for the 2023 performance year. 

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ADVOCACY Why Is AAN Advocacy Important to You? Another energetic, intense, and successful year of AAN advocacy is coming to a close. Watch for a roundup of advocacy highlights in the January 2022 issue of AANnews and draw inspiration from these colleagues who have committed themselves to advocating for neurology.

First: If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. Second: To be an advocate is to have courage, independence, and passion for the things that matter. AAN advocacy allows us to educate decision makers about the impact of their public policy decisions on the people and communities that we represent and care about.” ―Ann H. Tilton, MD, FAAN It protects the future of neurology. If one in six of the world's population suffers from a neurologic disorder, we cannot afford to be silent.” ― Wayne E. Anderson, DO, FAHS, FAAN, AAN Board of Directors We need new treatments for the disorders and conditions we treat. We need more research for better understanding of the disorders and conditions we see. We need to speak on behalf of our patients who as a result of their diseases and disorders are physically unable to meet the policymakers or, if they can, unable to speak effectively. We need innovative health care delivery and reimbursement models in order to optimize and sustain the care we provide.

In short...advocacy is brain.” ―Samir Belagaje, MD, FAAN

AAN advocacy is important to me because it allows me to make a difference for my patients and colleagues on a larger scale than I'm able to on my own or in my current position.

When lawmakers are uninformed on what neurology is and how our patients are affected by their disease, we cannot expect them to make health laws that provide significant impact to our daily lives.” ―Tyler J. Allison, MD My advocacy is inspired by patients and powered by the AAN.” ―Gorazd B. Stokin, MD, PhD, FAAN

The amount of behind-the-scenes work that the AAN advocacy group does is remarkable. It is important to me because the effects of AAN advocacy really have tangible benefits to patients with neurological disease and neurologists, more so than most know. Initiatives have ranged from protecting physician and patient time, helping prescription drug coverage, expanding access to telehealth, and so much more. It's been a pleasure and privilege contributing even a tiny bit to the effort.” ―Ilya Bragin, MD 

Advocacy is leaving our health care system better than we found it! Seeing patients every day, one can’t help but imagine the ways our health care delivery system can be improved. Advocacy is how we make those changes happen.” ―Jason L. Crowell, MD

L to R: Ilya Bragin, MD, and Umer Najib, MD, at the 2019 Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum.

L to R: Sylvia Josephy, MD; Tyler J. Allison, MD; Kara Stavros, MD; Aileen Antonio, MD, at the 2019 Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum.

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AANnews • December 2021

L to R: Jason L. Crowell, MD; Belinda A. Savage-Edwards, MD, FAAN; William A. Kilgo, MD, at the 2019 Neurology on the Hill.

Capitol Hill Report Capitol Hill Report presents regular updates on legislative and regulatory actions and how the Academy ensures that the voice of neurology is heard on Capitol Hill. It is emailed to US members twice monthly and is posted at AAN.com/view/HillReport. Below are some recent highlights.

Medicare Cliff: Will Congress Save Us—Or Push Us Over?

Latest Advocacy News The AAN sent a letter endorsing the Bringing Regulatory Advances into Neuroscience (BRAIN) Act (H.R. 5435), which would establish a Neuroscience Center of Excellence at the FDA. A majority of the House of Representatives (227 members) have now cosponsored the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3173), a priority bill supported by the AAN to address prior authorization burden. Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and John Thune (R-SD) have also recently introduced a Senate version of the bill. This overwhelming bipartisan and bicameral support makes a bold statement to congressional leadership that this bill must move this year.

The AAN joined a letter led by the AMA urging the administration to address unfair business practices with respect to electronic payments in health care.

The AAN joined a letter with other medical specialties to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees opposing a proposed reduction in military medical billets by 12,801 positions and urging the committees to prohibit such reductions for a year and require a GAO study before any reductions move forward.

Issue in Focus Lawmakers Highlight Need to Avert Medicare Cliff While Congress has become more partisan over the years, many of the AAN’s top priorities unite Congress rather than divide it. The most recent example was a letter by US Reps. Ami Bera, MD (D-CA) and Larry Bucshon, MD (R-IN), expressing concern and urging action to address the upcoming "Medicare Cliff," which is scheduled to reduce physician reimbursements by 9.75 percent on January 1 without congressional intervention. With the support of the AAN’s advocacy efforts, their letter garnered 247 signors, a majority the House of Representatives, a truly amazing feat.

This looming cut is the result of three policies created

by Congress, which are discussed in more detail at AAN.quorum.us/campaign/36023/. The AAN, working in collaboration with the entire House of Medicine, have urged Congress to avert the Medicare Cliff as soon as possible.

AAN staff are discussing this issue with policy makers at every opportunity and hundreds of Academy members raised this issue during congressional office visits during Neurology on the Hill and the recent AAN Legislative Summit.

The trillion-dollar reconciliation legislation being debated

by Democrats in Congress does not currently include a resolution to this issue, which means the next opportunity to fix this will likely be in December as part of a large year-end bill containing numerous provisions. We need to keep the pressure on Congress to address this issue, which will have disastrous consequences if not averted. Help us keep the pressure on Congress—urge your lawmakers to prioritize this issue using the AAN’s Advocacy Action Center. 

AANnews • December 2021 13

EDUCATION Need Year-end CME? Explore AAN Online Education Opportunities!

Only AAN members have free and discounted access to a variety of exclusive online CME and self-assessment resources. Browse all the convenient programs and get started fulfilling your requirements today at AAN.com/learn.

Free with Membership*

Discounted with Membership

Neurology Question of the Day Earn up to 29 self-assessment CME per year by answering short daily questions on topics from multiple neurology subspecialties.

Earn up to 8 self-assessment CME per exam with content designed to help neurologists meet the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology self-assessment and lifelong learning component (part 2) for Continuing Certification.

Learn about relevant clinical and practice topics while earning a range of CME credits with the AAN’s convenient suite of exclusive online education courses.

2021 AAN Conferences—Available On Demand Listen to on-demand recordings of any or all the AAN’s 2021 conferences including: Annual Meeting On Demand—up to 68 CME Sports Concussion Conference On Demand— up to 10.25 CME Fall Conference On Demand—offering up to 42.5 CME (available late December 2021) APP Neurology Education Series—up to 12 CME READY

Preparing for the neurology boards? Up for recertification?

Looking for a solid foundational knowledge in neurology?

Get ready with these convenient online courses. Choose from the Board Prep Edition (no CME offered), Continuing Certification (Second Edition) (up to 15 self-assessment CME), and new Advanced Practice Provider Edition (up to 8 self-assessment CME).

The most widely read and highly cited peer-reviewed neurology journal

Earn CME credits by reading two editor-selected articles per week and completing corresponding online exams.

Earn 0.5 CME credits per podcast (up to 24 CME per year). *Free access may vary by membership type

BUNDLE AND SAVE

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AANnews • December 2021

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%

Earn up to 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ toward selfassessment CME with each issue of the AAN’s official CME journal. Supplement with Continuum Audio to listen to conversations with Continuum authors and earn CME. 

In celebration of achieving 1,900 APP members, the AAN is offering a limited-time 20-percent discount until December 22, 2021, when you bundle two unique CME and onboarding opportunities for APPs: APP Neurology Education Series and NeuroReady: APP Edition. Visit the Online Learning Center at AAN.com/learn to learn more and purchase. 

Latest on Behavioral Neurology and Psychiatry in December Continuum The current issue of Continuum: Lifelong Learning in Neurology ® provides neurologists with new insights on behavioral neurology and psychiatry.

Guest Editor Michael S. Jaffee, MD, FAAN, said, “The articles in this issue illustrate how many of the signs and symptoms of behavioral neurology and psychiatry can be part of the presentation of neurological disorders from a variety of neurology subspecialties as well as the importance of assuring these issues are included in a management plan. These articles include discussions of new and emerging treatments using innovative mechanisms and modalities.”

Content for this issue includes: Clinical Approach to Cognitive and Neurobehavioral Symptoms / Meredith Wicklund, MD, FAAN Language and Aphasias / Stephen E. Nadeau, MD Memory Dysfunction / Roberto Fernandez-Romero, MD, MPH, PhD; D. Malcolm Spica, PhD Executive Dysfunction and the Prefrontal Cortex / David T. Jones, MD; Jonathan Graff-Radford, MD Upper Limb Apraxia / Kenneth M. Heilman, MD, FAAN Spatial Neglect and Anosognosia After Right Brain Stroke / A.M. Barrett, MD, FAAN, FANA, FASNR Behavioral and Cognitive Aspects of Concussion / Russell M. Bauer, MD; Michael S. Jaffee, MD, FAAN Cognitive Rehabilitation / Lindsey Kirsch-Darrow, PhD; Jack W. Tsao, MD, DPhil, FAAN Psychosis / Uma Suryadevara, MD; Parunyou Julayanont, MD

Jaffee

The Transformation of Documenting and Coding: Evaluation and Management Codes for Outpatient Neurology Services / Raissa Villanueva, MD, MPH, FAAN; Neil A. Busis, MD, FAAN; Bruce H. Cohen, MD, FAAN; Luana Ciccarelli, CPC, CRC Twilight and Me: A Soliloquy / Daniel Alejandro Drubach, MD, FAAN The issue includes a postreading self-assessment and test with the opportunity to earn up to 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ toward Self-assessment CME. AAN members pay only $399 per year for a subscription to Continuum® and Continuum® Audio. Subscribe now by contacting Wolters Kluwer at (800) 361-0633 or (301) 223-2300 (international) or visit shop.lww.com/continuum. AAN Junior members who are transitioning to neurologist memberships are eligible to receive a 60-percent discount on the already low member rate for the Continuum and Continuum Audio subscription. 

Mood Disorders / Shae Datta, MD; Uma Suryadevara, MD; Josepha Cheong, MD Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Anxiety-Related Conditions / John B. Williamson, PhD; Michael S. Jaffee, MD, FAAN; Ricardo E. Jorge, MD Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders / Carol Mathews, MD Interprofessional Internet Consultations: The Potential Benefits and Perils of eConsults / Joseph S. Kass, MD, JD, FAAN; Rachel V. Rose, JD, MBA

DECEMBER 2021

VOL. 27

NO. 6

Behavioral Neurology and Psychiatry EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: STEVEN L. LEWIS, MD, FA AN GUEST EDITOR: NAME TEEK AY, MD

CONTINUUMJOURNAL.COM

AANnews • December 2021 15

EDUCATION Transforming Leaders Program Graduates Transform Their Careers, Selves The AAN’s Transforming Leaders Program (TLP) was created specifically for innovative, mid-and senior career leaders with the advanced knowledge and skills and aspirations to transform their practice community and field of neurology. No other program in the country matches its caliber of training, which incorporates executive-level coaching, mentoring, and a fully customized intensive leadership development program. Graduates are quick to praise the program’s truly transformative influence on their careers through maximizing of talent, minimizing weakness, and honing conflict resolution and mindfulness in decision-making—90 percent stating it increased their confidence in understanding, analyzing, and solving problems, and 100 percent stating they learned strategies for working better in teams.

2019 TLP graduate Thabele (Bay) Leslie-Mazwi, MD, and 2017 graduate Barbara C. Jobst, MD, FAAN, are no exceptions—Jobst having been recently named the chair of the Department of Neurology at Geisel School at Dartmouth and Neurology Service Line leader at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, and Leslie-Mazwi recently named the chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Washington.

Can you explain a specific skill you learned that you feel has successfully contributed to your career since participating in the TLP program?

Leslie-Mazwi

“I think it's impossible to point to one single and isolated skill that has been instrumental from my TLP experience.

We learned a wide range of skills, and I find I apply variations of them daily.

“However, one of the key takeaways for me was a different conceptualization of what leadership is. Viewing leadership as a learned skill that we practice and refine (as opposed to an intrinsic talent) makes leadership feel remarkably accessible to everyone. We are all leaders in our daily lives in some form.

It might be within our families or friendship circles, within our divisions, within our departments, or at a larger regional or national level. The TLP brought focus to all the various facets of leadership, from developing a vision to inclusivity to managing people and change to connecting, and more. I found it a truly transformational year.”

How you were able to apply some of that knowledge and skills, and what were the outcomes?

“I found that the skills that I learned during the program equipped me to influence through leadership the change I hope to see around me, based on my defined priorities.

This took several forms and occurred at various levels. One example was working on the adaptation of our regional triage response for stroke in the northeast US to the threat posed by the first surge of COVID-19. However, beyond the direct application of theory and techniques, the program gave me the perspective to explore opportunities that I otherwise might not have considered or pursued. While I have always been eager to positively impact the world around me and the field of neurology, I felt increasingly empowered to do so as a result of my TLP experience and the years that followed it.

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AANnews • December 2021

“Most recently, I assumed the position of chair of the department of neurology at the University of Washington in Seattle. The department is remarkably strong and deep with an extraordinarily accomplished faculty.. We serve a population that encompasses all of Washington state and the neighboring states—Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska—too; in total, 27 percent of the US landmass. It is an incredible responsibility.

I am so excited to see where we take the department together during this historical time of tremendous growth and change in neurology.”

Can you explain a specific skill you learned that you feel has successfully contributed to your career since participating in the TLP program?

“The TLP was instrumental to acquire skills about project management and how Jobst to advance initiatives within the neurologic community. Through TLP I became motivated and focused on advancing the self-management institute I founded: The HOBSCOTCH Institute. HOBSCOTCH stands for Home-based Self-management and Cognitive Training Changes Lives and is a unique behavioral program that helps adults with epilepsy who have self-identified memory or thinking problems. The program is now disseminated nationally.

"I cannot overemphasize the value of the peer group of my TLP class to which I still have close connections. My TLP peers are still a support group for many professional issues. In addition, learning from my peers was very helpful. It was interesting to hear how other institutions approach problems and it was refreshing to interact with peers from other subspecialties.

Just being together with this talented group of people was very inspiring. The friendships forged throughout the TLP were actually a great support when I later was diagnosed with cancer, of which I was luckily cured later on.

“The TLP added additional value through coaching, which helped me to gain self-awareness.”

How you were able to apply some of that knowledge and skills, and what were the outcomes?

“The TLP also taught me about my strengths and challenges which made me a more efficient leader. It also taught me about the importance of vision and how to clearly communicate it.

My strengths are that I can easily develop a vision and plan and I am naturally drawn to innovation and creative ideas. It can be challenging to communicate your ideas to a team and as well as having the patience until everybody is on board. The TLP taught me some communication techniques that were helpful in making my research team, as well as the epilepsy center that I was directing, successful. And the ability to clearly communicate a vision certainly helped during the interview process for the neurology department chair at Dartmouth, a position which I now hold.

“I credit the AAN’s TLP and the Executive Leadership Program in Academic Medicine program, which is another leadership development course I have taken, for helping me make big leaps in my career, not only in becoming the neurology department chair at Dartmouth and bringing national attention to both Dartmouth and HOBSCOTCH, but also being named the Louis and Ruth Frank Professor of Neurosciences. It taught me skills and provided peer support that would not have been available to me otherwise."

Seattle: April 2 –7 Virtual Experience: April 24–26

Get Ready for the Great Neuro Reunion!

Reunite with your neurology community from around the globe at the Annual Meeting to experience the most comprehensive educational offerings and largest scientific program in the field with options to participate in person, virtually, or both.

Save when you register by February 17!

Learn more about the TLP at AAN.com/TLP. 

Thank you to the organizations supporting this program in part:

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Bristol Myers Squibb Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

AAN.com/AM

EDUCATION UCNS Accreditation and Certification in Clinical Neuromuscular Pathology Approved for Inclusion in CLIA Guidelines The United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties certification and accredited fellowship training in Clinical Neuromuscular Pathology (CNMP) have been approved under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988 as a qualification to practice neuropathology. Having the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approval means that physicians who have successfully completed a UCNS-accredited training program in CNMP and/or have a UCNS certification in the subspecialty are approved by Health and Human Services to examine and provide reports for neuromuscular pathology.

The CLIA guidelines will be updated to include UCNS certification/fellowship training as a qualification to practice neuropathology and will be incorporated into the State Operations Manual, also known as the Interpretive Guidelines under 42 C.F.R. § 493.1273(c), D5605, during its next revision.

CLIA laws regulate all clinical and anatomic pathology practices, and meeting the regulations is required for Medicare and Medicaid funding.

“We are grateful to the UCNS for championing the cause of neurologists with interest in the Clinical Neuromuscular Pathology subspecialty,” said Mazen Dimachkie, MD, CNMP, subspecialty representative to the UCNS Board of Directors, who is also director of the Neuromuscular Division at The University of Kansas Health System, certified in Neurology by

the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and certified by the UCNS in CNMP. “The inclusion by CMS of UCNS certification and fellowship training into the CLIA guidelines is a major step forward that will benefit patients with neuromuscular disease and CNMP certified physicians.”

The neurologic subspecialty of CNMP differs from neuropathology because it is highly integrated with the clinical management of neuromuscular disease. All UCNS-accredited CNMP training programs incorporate the evaluation of muscle and nerve in the context of clinical patient care. This clinical patient care aspect is what makes the CNMP fellowship training distinctly different from neuropathology.

The UCNS has been accrediting CNMP fellowship programs since 2012 and certifying physicians in the subspecialty since 2015. The next UCNS CNMP Certification Examination will be offered in 2023. Fellowship training programs seeking UCNS accreditation may apply throughout the year with deadlines of June 1 and December 1 for the biannual application review cycles.

Visit UCNS.org for more information about certification and accreditation. 

Applications for Interventional Neurology Certification Now Available The online application period for the inaugural UCNS Interventional Neurology Certification Examination is now open. The online application, eligibility criteria, and examination content outline are available at UCNS.org. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2022, and the examination will take place September 12 through 16, 2022.

Key dates at-a-glance: March 1, 2022­­­—Application Deadline March 15, 2022—Extended Application Deadline ($500 fee applies) May 2, 2022—Examination Registration Opens September 12–16, 2022—Examination Week 

UCNS Announces New Neuro-oncology Diplomates The United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties is pleased to announce the names of the 43 physicians who passed the 2021 UCNS Neuro-oncology Certification Examination. There are now 326 physician diplomates certified in Neuro-oncology.

Ashley Elimar Aaroe, MD Iyad Alnahhas, MD Brian Magne Andersen, MD Marissa Ann Barbaro, MD Alipi Bonm, MD Ivan Darin Carabenciov, MD Elizabeth Coffee, MD Christine Alexis Cordova, MD Ahmad Daher, MD Husain Danish, MD Myreille D'Astous, MD Maria Diza Ordonez, MD Kevin Bradford Elmore, MD Ekokobe Fonkem, DO

Joshua Friedman, MD Justin Goranovich, MD Matthias Holdhoff, MD, PhD Maya Hrachova, DO Amandeep Kalra, MD, FACP David Olayinka Kamson, MD Albert Kim, MD Peter Kim, MD Mary Jane Lim Fat, MD Justin Low, MD Maria Jill MacDonald, MD Nazanin Majd, MD Divya Mella, MD Alexander C. Mohler, MD

Donna Molaie, MD Alexander Ou, MD Peter Chei-way Pan, MD Surabhi Ranjan, MD Lindsay Jade Robell, MD Erika Santos Horta, MD Fernando Santos-Pinheiro, MD Sasmit Sarangi, MBBS Jessica D. Schulte, MD Kaylyn Sinicrope, MD Matthew A. Smith-Cohn, DO Kate Elizabeth Therkelsen, MD Zachary Vaslow, MD Jessica Alice Wilcox, MD Maxim Yankelevich, MD

Physicians in the United States and Canada who meet the eligibility requirements may apply for certification in Neuro-oncology. The next Neuro-oncology certification examination will take place in 2023. Visit UCNS.org to view a complete list of all diplomates certified in Neuro-oncology, UCNS-accredited training programs, and information about Neuro-oncology certification. 

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Make Your Patient Your Partner Invest in the outcomes that matter most to your patients. Learn about common Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) scales and tools used in neurology at AAN.com/PRO.

RESEARCH Celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Neurology Journal 2021 marks the 70th anniversary of Neurology ®, the world’s most widely read and highly cited peer-reviewed neurology journal. The final issue of the year, December 14, 2021, includes a special editorial by Editor-in-Chief José G. Merino, MD, FAAN, on the journal’s history and a humanities paper in which President Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN, explains how AAN publications have shaped her writing career.

The Neurology ® Podcast will mark this milestone by featuring conversations with three past Editors-in-Chief: Robert C. Griggs, MD, FAAN; John H. Noseworthy, MD, FAAN; and Robert A. Gross, MD, PhD, FAAN. Also, each of the journal’s editorsin-chief will be spotlighted on Neurology.org/70 th-Anniversary to highlight important accomplishments under their tenure.

According to A.B. Baker, MD, FAAN, founder and first president of the AAN, “One of the staunchest supporters of the Academy was Dr. Robert Wartenberg, who was then professor of neurology at the University of California in San Francisco.

Dr. Wartenberg was basically a kind individual but rigidly fixed in his ideas and goals. He was adamant in his belief that the American Academy of Neurology could develop and grow only if it had an official scientific publication with which it could be identified. He felt that such a journal would act as a means of communication for the neurologic family of this country as well as neurologists throughout the world.”

Joe Brown, MD, FAAN, the Academy’s first secretary on the Board of Directors and later president, recalled in 1974 how Baker secured a publisher for the journal: “Two of Baker’s poker buddies were Lou Cohen and his brother Jacob, who

published Modern Medicine and Lancet in Minneapolis. Between poker hands Dr. Baker would seek advice about publication of the anticipated AAN papers, and several publishers were contacted. Increasingly mixed into the poker game were the insistent requests by Dr. Baker for the Cohen brothers to publish a journal for the AAN. Finally, after months of increasing irritation, Jacob told his brother, ‘Lou, give Abe his goddamn magazine.’ So, the journal Neurology was born and published by Modem Medicine Publications in Minneapolis due to the foresight and persistence of Dr. Baker.”

Another AAN founder and former president, Francis M. Forster, MD, FAAN, who sat on the first editorial board, shared a humorous story in 1982 how the AAN’s flagship publication got its name: “The first name proposed was The American Journal of Neurology, the Official Organ of the American Academy of Neurology. We started crossing off [words]. You didn’t have to say ‘American’ because obviously we were. And you didn’t need to say ‘Journal’ because it was a journal. And ‘Official Organ’—it obviously was! So, we got down to where I finally suggested we call it ‘Of.’ But instead, we settled on Neurology.”

And the rest, as they say, is history! 

Neurology Editors-in-Chief Russell N. DeJong, MD, FAAN (1951–1977)

Lewis P. Rowland, MD, FAAN

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Robert C. Griggs, MD, FAAN

Robert A. Gross, MD, PhD, FAAN

(1977–1987)

(1997–2007)

Robert B. Daroff, MD, FAAN

John H. Noseworthy, MD, FAAN

José G. Merino, MD, FAAN

(1987–1997)

(2007–2009)

(2020–present)

AANnews • December 2021

(2009–2020)

#NeurologyProud and proud to call the AAN my home.

Share why you are #NeurologyProud on social media.

Christina Kelly Vest, NP

MEMBERSHIP

Meeting the Opportunities of IDEAS Inclusion is the reason the AAN was founded. To be an organization that is the home for all neurologists. It is what makes us stronger. In 2020, the AAN Board of Directors adopted a new goal to be a fully inclusive, deliberately diverse, and anti-racist organization. We also expanded our core values of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity to now include, Anti-racism, and Social Justice, otherwise known as IDEAS. We are working hard to achieve this new goal and demonstrate these expanded values through an actionable roadmap approved by the Board. Members should look for updates in AANnews to follow our progress.

With the creation of a specific IDEAS goal—to demonstrate and communicate our commitment to be a fully inclusive, diverse and antiracist organization that promotes neurologic health equity and actively works to recruit and support a diverse membership— into the 2021 strategic plan, all AAN committees ensured their operating plans included objectives and initiatives to reach that goal.

“We have made tremendous strides over the past year in terms of turning our commitment to IDEAS into action,” said AAN President Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN. “In spite of the obstacles presented by the pandemic, it’s been an incredible year of success. Even though COVID-19 kept us working and meeting virtually, we found this method of connecting actually made content more accessible to a greater audience. Our members and staff are more aware, they are talking about these issues, and they are learning that leading with their hearts through sometimes uncomfortable conversations helps develop the empathy and compassion necessary to continue to grow in the area of IDEAS.”

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Additionally, we saw continued integration of IDEAS into the AAN:

Avitzur

The AAN published a Position Statement on the Use of Neck Restraints in Law Enforcement.

All AAN staff attended four hours of required anti-racism training, and optional training also was offered during the year.

The Diversity Officer Work Group became the Diversity Officer Subcommittee under the Academic Neurology Committee, with responsibility for developing opportunities and resources for diversity officers to focus on issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion that affect staff, trainees, and faculty.

The Advancing Women in Academics Subcommittee was created under the Academic Neurology Committee. It is responsible for addressing issues facing women at all levels in academic neurology, including but not limited to promotion, compensation, and department environments.

Providing a significant educational opportunity unique for neurologists, the AAN is developing a multifaceted four-module anti-racism training program: "Anti-racism in Neurology: What It Means for You, Your Patients, and the Culture of Medicine."

This free, on-demand eLearning will offer the opportunity for AAN members to recognize anti-racism as a professional competency, engage in conversations about race and racism, and practice skills to improve patient care. The training will help identify embedded racism and inequities within systems, institutional structures, policies, and their effects on health care outcomes. Ultimately, it will help participants understand and apply a racial equity framework to their own clinical practice. The training is being developed by neurologists with a consultant who specializes in anti-racism. The modules will be designed for the entire neurology community.

Two new on-demand eLearning IDEAS programs were created for members: Social Determinants of Health in Epilepsy and Including LGBTQ+ Patients in Neurology.

We were pleased to present significant IDEAS-related programming at the virtual 2021 AAN Annual Meeting. A successful Health Care Equities Symposium was offered, and 24 abstracts were selected on health care disparity to highlight diversity efforts across the field of neurology.

Neurology® journal named a new editor for IDEAS online section.

AANnews • December 2021

The AAN was accepted into the ACGME Equity Matters program co-led by the Council of Medical Specialty Societies and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. This is an initiative that supplies a framework for continuous learning and process improvement in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion and anti-racism practices.

Four AAN sections (Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Child Neurology, Underrepresented in Neurology, and Women's Issues in Neurology) collaborated with the Child Neurology Society for a joint conversation on “Disability and Identity.”

For more information on IDEAS, visit AAN.com/IDEAS. 

Reminder: Renew Your Membership Before December 31 Continued from cover Join members from over 144 countries around the world to: Get your essential education through 350+ online courses, videos, and exams Stay abreast of the latest treatment advances with the industry’s top scientific resources, including 48 issues per year of Neurology®, the most widely ready, peer-reviewed journal with a 9.91 impact factor Provide the most up-to-date care using the most trusted AAN clinician and patient practice guidelines Keep up on the very latest news relevant to your profession with free publications Exchange diverse insight and ideas among 36,000 colleagues from 144 countries representing all facets and subspecialties through more than 60 SynapseSM Member Communities Save 30 percent or more on industry-leading and careerstrengthening in-person and virtual conferences Visit AAN.com/MemberDues to peruse all the ways your membership can help you achieve success in the new year.

For more information, contact AAN Member Services at  memberservices@aan.com or (612) 928-6000.

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Join Members of Your Care Team!

Help your care team better help you, your practice, and your patients by giving them the same career-enhancing resources only an AAN membership can provide. Both advanced practice providers and business administrators can excel with specially priced membership options designed just for them that include: Advanced practice providers can choose PLUS or BASIC memberships to gain access to the most trusted learning opportunities with continuing education credits, clinical practice guidelines, and more. Only AAN members get free or discounted access to the APP NeuroReady course and Advanced Practice Provider Neurology Education Series.

Business administrators can access the latest and most reliable resources to help your neurology business succeed. Access valuable education and tools you need to run a successful and efficient practice— plus the latest news and information you need to stay up-to-date on all things neurology.

Learn more and join at AAN.com/CareTeam. 

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AAN.com/Membership

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SUCCESS Only AAN membership offers access to the highest quality resources from the world’s largest and most trusted community of neurology professionals.

Join or renew today.

MEMBERSHIP Congratulations New Fellows of the American Academy of Neurology!

The AAN congratulates the following members who were named prestigious Fellows of the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN) between June 2021 and October 2021.

Daniel Joseph Ackerman, MD, FAAN Lealani Mae Acosta, MD, FAAN Pegah Afra, MD, FAAN Steven M. Albert, PhD, MSPH, FAAN Heather S. Anderson, MD, FAAN Martinson K. Arnan, MD, FAAN Masharip Atadzhanov, MD, PhD, DSc, FRCP, FAAN Oluwole O. Awosika, MD, MSCR, FAAN Shin Chien Beh, MD, FAAN Aaron L. Berkowitz, MD, PhD, FAAN Paras Mani Bhattarai, MD, MBBS, FAAN Tracie Caller, MD, MPH, FAAN Carlos Henrique Ferreira Camargo, MD, MSc, PhD, FAAN Nalin Chaudhary, MD, PhD, FAAN Daniel Jose Correa, MD, FAAN Jill B. Cramer, MD, FAAN Marian Livingston Dale, MD, FAAN Gregory S. Day, MD, MSc, FAAN Urvi G. Desai, MD, FAAN Waleed Hamed El-Feky, MD, FAAN Andrew Faskowitz, DO, FAAN A. James Fessler III, MD, FAAN Eoin P. Flanagan, MBBCh, FAAN Jori Fleisher, MD, MSCE, FAAN John F. Foley, MD, FAAN Julio C. Furlan, MD, PhD, MBA, MSc, FAAN Erin Furr-Stimming, MD, FAAN Butchi Raju Garuda, MD, FAAN Paul M. George, MD, PhD, MSE, FAAN Edward I. Ginns, MD, PhD, FAAN Russell Gore, MD, FAAN Jerome J. Graber, MD, MPH, FAAN Nancy Hammond, MD, FAAN Ryan Hays, MD, FAAN Thomas R. Henry, MD, FAAN Nada El Husseini, MD, FAAN David A. Jaeger, MD, PhD, FAAN Nathalie Jette, MD, MSc, FRCPC, FAAN S. Claiborne Johnston, MD, PhD, FAAN

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AANnews • December 2021

Keith A. Josephs, Jr., MD, FAAN Yasmin Khakoo, MD, FAAN Quratulain Khan, MD, FAAN Monica A. Koehn, MD, FAAN David G. Lichter, MBChB, FRACP, FAAN Paul Eugene P. Lleva, MD, FAAN Marta San Luciano, MD, FAAN Codrin I. Lungu, MD, FAAN Ami K. Mankodi, MD, FAAN Sheryl Martin-Schild, MD, PhD, FAAN Thomas Drake McDonald, MD, FAAN Aaron McMurtray, MD, FAAN Mehyar Mehrizi, MD, FAAN Gayane Robert Melikyan, MD, FAAN Mitchell G. Miglis, MD, FAAN Ron E. Milo, MD, FAAN Edward Mistler, MD, FAAN Yasir Osman Mohamed, MD, FAAN John A. Morren, MD, FAAN Earnest Lee Murray, MD, FAAN Datta B. Nadgir, MD, FAAN Krishna Nalleballe, MD, FAAN Sharon P. Nations, MD, FAAN Aaron Lane Nelson, MD, FAAN Conrad C. Nievera, Jr., MD, FAAN Olukemi A. Olugemo, MD, FAAN Padraig Eoin O'Suilleabhain, MD, FAAN Temitayo Oyegbile-Chidi, MD, PhD, FAAN Alexander Pantelyat, MD, FAAN Anne M. Pawlak, DO, FAAN David L. Perez, MD, FAAN Mary A. Picone, MD, FAAN Trilok S. Puniani, MD, FAAN Pazhani Ranganathan, FRCP, FEBN, FEAN, FANA, FAAN Annemarei Ranta, MD, FAAN Nicole Dorothy Reams, MD, FAAN Carrie E. Robertson, MD, FAAN Edgar A. Samaniego, MD, FAAN Owen B. Samuels, MD, FAAN Bishnu H. Sapkota, MD, FAAN Lee H. Schwamm, MD, FAAN

Angela Scicutella, MD, PhD, FAAN Kevin R. Scott, MD, FAAN Binit Shah, MD, FAAN Amgad Shebl, MD, MBBS, FAAN David A. Simpson, DO, FAAN Andrew Mebane Southerland, MD, FAAN Adnan Subei, DO, FAAN Shumaila Sultan, MD, FAAN Charlotte J. Sumner, MD, FAAN Waimei Amy Tai, MD, FAAN Robert Ian Thompson-Stone, MD, FAAN Carol M. Ulloa, MD, FAES, FAAN Gulshan Uppal, MD, FAAN Kevan VanLandingham, MD, PhD, FAAN Okeanis Vaou, MD, FAAN Anthony J. Vaughn, MD, FAAN Gloria Von Geldern, MD, FAAN Kolawole W. Wahab, MD, FAAN Annabel K. Wang, MD, FAAN Lakshmi Warrior, MD, FAAN Tamara Zach, MD, FAAN Iram Zaman, DO, FAAN Richard Zweifler, MD, FAAN 

Interested in Elevating Your Membership Status to FAAN?

Visit AAN.com/FAAN to see if you’re eligible for the FAAN designation— or encourage a qualifying colleague to apply. Applying for FAAN status is free, acknowledges exemplary work and achievements in the neurosciences, the clinical practice of neurology, or academic/ administrative neurology; helps set you apart both within the Academy and throughout your professional career; and offers eligibility to serve on the AAN Board of Directors. 

AMERICAN BRAIN FOUNDATION Your Support Moves the American Brain Foundation Closer to Cures As you renew your AAN membership for 2022, please consider adding a donation to the American Brain Foundation to your dues payment. Your support helps the Foundation continue its vital mission of bringing researchers and donors together to cure brain disease. For almost 30 years, the Foundation has funded research across a broad spectrum of brain and nervous system disorders in the pursuit of improved treatments, prevention, and cures. The American Brain Foundation believes that by curing one disease, we will cure many, and actively pursues this vision through their current lineup of funding programs: Next Generation Research Grants Provides research training scholarships to early career investigators, encouraging passion for research and laying the groundwork for future success. Seventeen scholarships have been awarded for 2022.

Cure One, Cure Many Offers large-scale catalyst funding to the world’s top researchers for multiple disease areas. The 2022 Cure One, Cure Many Award: A Research Award for Early Diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia is a $3 million, multi-year research award created in collaboration with the AAN, Alzheimer's Association, and Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research to improve the diagnosis of Lewy body dementia.

Goadsby Headache Research Fund Supports innovative research projects in the field of

migraine and addresses health disparities in evaluation of health services, access to care and treatments, quality of care, implementation of therapies, physician performance, or patient adherence.

Health Disparities Research Fund Promotes equal access to diagnosis and treatments. The 2022 funds include the $150,000 Next Generation Research Grant in Neurodisparities and $60,000 seed grant funding to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in autism research.

Visit AmericanBrainFoundation.org to learn more, as well as how you can support the Foundation’s efforts in creating more opportunities for researchers to help lead the way to cures. 

MEM: 20 FAAN Recruitment Ad—Half Page Horizontal> AN Placed in AANnews 8.25 x 5.25 +0.125 bleed, 4C

SHINE A LIGHT ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS Apply for a prestigious Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN) designation.

AAN.com/FAAN

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Application Deadline: UCNS Accreditation UCNS.org/Accreditation

DECEMBER 10

Registration Deadline: RITE® (Residency In-service Training Examination) AAN.com/RITE

JANUARY 1

Application Available: UCNS Headache Medicine Certification UCNS.org/HMcertification

JANUARY 26

Deadline: Emerging Science Abstracts AAN.com/22Abstracts

FEBRUARY 1

Application Available: UCNS Behavioral Neurology & Neuropsychiatry Certification UCNS.org/BNNPcertification

FEBRUARY 15–19

RITE® Exam AAN.com/RITE

FEBRUARY 17

DECEMBER 14

Deadline: Annual Meeting Early Registration AAN.com/AM

Application Deadline: QI Pioneers Program AAN.com/QIPioneer

DECEMBER 14

AAN Trainee Trivia AAN.com/traineetrivia

DECEMBER 31

Deadline: 2022 Membership Renewal AAN.com/dues

Careers.AAN.com

Visit the AAN’s Neurology Career Center to view hundreds of additional jobs and sign up for customized, confidential notifications when positions of interest are added.

Great Opportunity to Inherit an Established Neurology Practice —BSA Health Systems—Amarillo, Texas

Great Opportunity for NeuroHospitalist—BSA Health Systems —Amarillo, Texas

Exceptional opportunity to inherit an established Neurology practice. Neurology catchment area of 500,000. Competitive compensation and wRVU incentive. Full benefit package.

Relocation assistance. Signing bonus. CME allowance.

The physicians at BSA Amarillo Diagnostic Clinic practice adult general and sub-specialty care and are committed to delivering the highest quality health care. Our distinguished group of highly qualified, highly trained physicians can meet the challenge of today’s complex healthcare needs. All of the physicians at BSA Amarillo Diagnostic Clinic are board certified or board eligible in their specialty.

Our NeuroHospitalist position offers an opportunity to join a well established Hospitalist group. BSA Health Systems has been ranked a top 100 Hospital in America. We are proud of our Gold Plus Certified Primary Stroke Center designation.

BSA Health System is the only facility in the region designated as a TransCarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR) Center of Excellence. BSA serves the Texas panhandle and the tristate region. Competitive compensation and wRVU incentive.

Full benefit package. Relocation assistance. Signing bonus.

CME allowance.

BSA ranks among the nation’s best for clinical excellence, employee culture, and patient experience.

Amarillo is located in the heart of the Texas Panhandle. You will enjoy some of the Southwest’s finest medical facilities, schools, and cultural centers. Amarillo is ranked as one of the lowest cost of living metro areas in America. Lowest unemployment rate in Texas. Thriving economy. Excellent school systems.

BSA ranks among the nation’s best for clinical excellence, employee culture, and patient experience.

Amarillo is located in the heart of the Texas Panhandle. You will enjoy some of the Southwest’s finest medical facilities, schools, and cultural centers. Amarillo is ranked as one of the lowest cost of living metro areas in America. Lowest unemployment rate in Texas and a thriving economy. With no state income tax and strong tort reform, Texas is a great place for physicians.

AANnews® Classified Advertising

he AAN offers a complete package of print, online, T and in-person recruitment advertising opportunities.

Visit careers.AAN.com for all AAN options, rates, and deadlines. d copy for the February 2022 print edition of A AANnews must be submitted by January 1, 2022. The same deadline applies to changes/cancellations. he American Academy of Neurology reserves the T right to decline, withdraw, or edit advertisements at its discretion. Every care is taken to avoid mistakes, but the responsibility for clerical or printer errors does not exceed the cost of the ad.