Anyone who has doubts about the current-day vigor and impact of neurosurgery need only look at the preliminary program of the April 1998 AANS Annual Meeting. The scientific program of this, our 66th Annual Meeting, offers exciting innovations in every field of neurosurgery. There is quite literally “something for everyone” and efforts are underway to make this the largest, most educationally effective and most international of any AANS meeting ever.
This will be our first visit to Philadelphia and the marvelous facilities, historic ambiance, and the incredible variety of activities, restaurants, art and culture should make this a memorable experience and one which will be enjoyed both by neurosurgeons and their families. The social program will include an integrated series of morning seminars focused around fine arts and collecting. The spouse/guest luncheon, in an elegant setting, will feature a lecture by Pauline Eversmann, of Winterthur.
The opportunities for families to take outstanding tours and to visit important sites related to the history of the United States of America represent an unparalleled opportunity. We certainly look forward to seeing you in Philadelphia and hope you will take advantage of all that this exciting meeting location has to offer.
November Board of Director’s Meeting
The AANS Board of Directors met in November of 1997, and continued with a number of activities that should be of interest to all of our membership.
Get SMART Program
Efforts to increase the visibility and impact of neurosurgery in the areas of spinal disorders and cerebrovascular disease are progressing in a highly effective fashion. The AANS/CNS “Getting SMART About Neurosurgery: Lumbar Spinal Stenosis and the Aging Patient” marketing communications project has met with tremendous success and a large number of our members have taken advantage of the information kits, slide sets and media guides that the National Office Communications staff have made available. Initial evaluations of impact have been highly favorable and I encourage all of you to look into this suberb way of letting the public and referring physicians know how neurosurgeons can benefit patients suffering from disabling spinal conditions. The next Get SMART program is currently being designed and will focus on a cerebrovascular topic.
Outcomes and Guidelines
A major effort is underway related to the development of clinical guidelines and outcomes studies in a number of different areas. These are being coordinated through the AANS/CNS Joint Sections, and have benefited from the input of a large number of neurosurgeons interested in these critically important activities.
The Severe Head Injury Guidelines have been received with great enthusiasm and have been widely circulated. Other guidelines are under development and should serve as a fine mechanisms for primary care and other referring physicians to understand when neurosurgical problems are present and need to be referred to neurosurgeons for diagnosis and therapy.
Recertification
The American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS) has endorsed a recertification process and the AANS and CNS will work together with the ABNS in order to provide the suitable infrastructure for individual neurosurgeons to meet the requirements of recertification. We are also carefully monitoring the AMA’s program of accreditation, AMAP.
Fellowships
The AANS/CNS Task Force on Fellowships has completed its report, and has succeeded in defining fellowships and in recommending some actions to be considered at the level of the ABNS and the Residency Review Committee. It is clear that fellowship training is a reality for a large percentage of our young neurosurgeons, and there are important issues relating to the quality of fellowship training and the impacton neurosurgical practice that need careful scrutiny and wise consideration.
Cost Containment
A cost containment initiative continues under the leadership of Dr. John Kusske. Its goal is to help define those areas where neurosurgeons may not only cut costs and manage their own practice expenses, but practice in a more efficient fashion so that the costs of providing neurosurgical care to the public in general can be controlled while attempts are made to maintain a reasonable level of reimbursement for our neurosurgical services. Addressing these complex issues are a number of highly qualified neurosurgeons who have advanced degrees and expertise in management, and who have access to consultants throughout the managed care arena. Many of the ideas produced by this initiative will be discussed during the socioeconomic forum at the AANS Annual Meeting in April.
We hope that many of you will have the opportunity to meet and speak directly with Officers, the Board of Directors and the AANS staff at the Philadelphia meeting. We look forward to seeing you there.
Edward R. Laws, Jr., MD, FACS
President