A special neurosurgery exhibit will be displayed at the 1996 Annual Scientific Assembly of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), which will be held October 3-5 in New Orleans. The project is co-sponsored by the AANS and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS). The mission of the exhibit is to increase awareness of the scope of neurosurgical practice with managed care gatekeepers, specifically family physicians. The objectives are to reinforce the neurosurgeon’s expertise in spine care and stroke management.
This project marks the first time that organized neurosurgery will participate in such an outreach effort to other medical professionals.
The target audiences for the exhibit are primary care physicians who serve as gatekeepers to the health delivery system, as well as HMO, PPO and other network health plan decision-makers. The specific messages to be delivered are:
- Neurosurgeons are the preeminent practitioners of spine surgery and stroke management.
- The AANS and CNS are the source authorities for primary care physicians on all aspects of spine care and stroke management.
Booth Design
The exhibit concept, message and handout materials are being developed with input from the Joint Section on the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, the Carotid Endarterectomy Task Force II, and the Subcommittee for Continuing CME for Non-Neurosurgeons. The seven-panel exhibit will have signage that highlights the following:
- Center panel describing the scope of neurosurgical practice.
- Two panels emphasizing the neurosurgeon’s role in spine care.
- Two panels providing an update on acute stroke management, including sections highlighting the latest data on carotid endarterectomy and t-PA and the Brain Attack educational initiative. This section of the exhibit will emphasize a team approach. It stresses that the stroke prevention and treatment (“brain attack”) team can provide the primary care physician with “one-stop” shopping consultation to determine the type of treatment — whether medical, endovascular, or surgical — is better for his or her patient.
- Two panels describing, in part, each of the sponsoring organizations.
Traffic through the booth will be maximized by:
- Utilizing neurosurgeons in the booth to communicate one-on-one with family physicians.
- Displaying a multi-media presentation on spinal stenosis in the booth.
- Offering a variety of free informational materials on spine and stroke-related topics.
Neurosurgeons who have volunteered to be present in the booth during the meeting include Warren Selman, MD, of Cleveland, Ohio, Lloyd Zucker, MD, of Boca Raton, Florida, and Thomas Flynn, MD, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. AANS staff will be on-site to provide logistical support.
A follow-up report on the results of the exhibit project will appear in a future issue of the Bulletin.