Newsline — Friday, December 10, 2010 17:40
Congress Extends 2010 Medicare/Medicaid Physician Fee Schedule Through 2011
Brain Photos Become ‘Mind Portraits’ in New Art Book
Thursday, December 2, 2010 0:46
Connections between visual art and medicine are perhaps as old as the need to communicate about illness, whether in thanks or appeal to a deity like Asklepios in ancient Greece, or through illustrations of surgical treatment like those of Serefeddin Sabuncuoglu in mid-15th century Turkey. In contrast to Sabuncuoglu, who used art to further science, working in Renaissance Italy Leonardo da Vinci drew upon science to flesh out art by studying human anatomy through dissection. Adding a contemporary layer to their work are ever-evolving imaging techniques that give color, perspective and life to the structures of the brain. The striking images that result are juxtaposed with essays by neuroscientists and showcased in “Portraits of the Mind: Visualizing the Brain From Antiquity to the 21st Century” by Carl Schoonover, a doctoral candidate in neuroscience. Among the images is a haunting seascape of axonal devastation in the wake of a thalamic lesion. As Abigail Zuger, MD, notes in her article discussing the book: “Sometimes the aesthetics of the image itself captivate. Sometimes the thrill is the magic…
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Congress Delays Dec. 1 Medicare Physician Payment Cut
Monday, November 29, 2010 20:58
The now-familiar countdown to a cut in Medicare physician fees has been extended for another month. This time a 23 percent cut in Medicare physician fees, scheduled to take effect Dec. 1, is delayed until Jan. 1, 2011: In a voice vote Nov. 29 the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Physician Payment and Therapy Relief Act, which the Senate had passed on Nov. 18. However, additional legislation will be necessary to stave off the cut in Medicare physician payment that will become 25 percent on Jan. 1, 2011. The cuts were initiated by the sustainable growth rate formula, which ties physician payment to the U.S. gross domestic product. Congress Puts Off Cuts to Doctor Medicare Payments Senate Passes One-Month Reprieve for Medicare Pay Cut Doctors to Get Brief Respite on Medicare For background on the SGR, see: Peck B: Is the Sun Setting on Medicare? Grim Future, Few Bright Spots Without Part B Fixes. AANS Bulletin 13(3):6–13, 2004
AANS Neurosurgeon Information and Analysis: Dig In
Monday, November 22, 2010 22:37
This new issue of the AANS Neurosurgeon offers in-depth content in an enhanced, interactive format. Scan the table of contents and link directly to articles or browse the site from your desktop, laptop or mobile device. Participate by commenting on articles, taking our two surveys—Random Sample on the home page and the Gray Matters clinical survey—and sharing information with colleagues. Consider submitting an article that contributes to the body of information and analysis for neurosurgical practice which constitutes every issue; please first review the submission guidelines by selecting the “Write” link at the bottom of the page. Please let us know what you think about articles in this issue and our new website by using the “Comments” function online or by writing to us at aansneurosurgeon@aans.org. We hope you will enjoy this new issue: Dig in!
Protein Predicts Brain Injury in Children on ECMO Life Support
Monday, November 22, 2010 22:35
High blood levels of a protein commonly found in the central nervous system can predict brain injury and death in critically ill children on a form of life support called extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO. In 22 patients age 9 or younger on ECMO support, Bembea and colleagues found that those with abnormally high levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein were 13 times more likely to die and 11 times more likely to suffer brain injury than children with normal GFAP levels. Although preliminary, these findings may pave the way to a way for monitoring the neurological status of children on ECMO without using imaging tests like ultrasounds or CT scans. Periodic blood tests measuring GFAP levels may be one such tool to monitor brain function and help ward off brain injury and death. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (free abstract; login required for article)
High Rate of Burnout in Medical Students: Implications for Physicians
Monday, November 22, 2010 18:34
Burnout, defined in a recent study of 249 medical students as “a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment,” is a recognized problem for physicians and other healthcare providers. Santen and colleagues found a moderate or high degree of burnout in one third of the students studied. One fifth of first-year students already were experiencing burnout, compared with 40 percent of third- and fourth-year students. Symptoms of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization peaked in the third year, while perceived lack of personal accomplishment peaked in the second year. The authors called for development and evaluation of strategies to prevent burnout in medical students and posited that such strategies might be useful in preventing burnout in practicing physicians. Southern Medical Journal
The New AANS Neurosurgeon Online
Monday, June 28, 2010 15:51
A Fresh Look, A New Way of Talking With this issue of the AANS Neurosurgeon we offer readers an online experience enhanced by a fresh look and increased functionality. We invite you to browse the site and participate by commenting on articles, taking the Random Sample survey on the home page as well as the Gray Matters clinical survey, and sharing information with colleagues. Our new online platform represents a first step for the AANS Neurosurgeon in improving the online presentation and delivery of information and analysis useful in neurosurgical practice. We hope you will enjoy this new experience. —AANS Neurosurgeon Editors
Legislation Increases Medicare Physician Payment by 2.2 Percent Through Nov. 30, Replacing June 1 Cut
Friday, June 25, 2010 20:47
On June 25 President Obama signed legislation that provides a 2.2 percent Medicare physician payment increase for six months, from June 1 through Nov. 30, replacing the 21 percent payment cut that went into effect on June 1. The House of Representatives passed the legislation — H.R. 3962, the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 — on June 24. The previous week the Senate had removed the physician payment update from broader legislation before passing the measure on June 18. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had extended its hold on Medicare claims processing several times so Congress could consider legislation that would address the cut. The CMS had instructed its contractors on June 18 to begin processing claims with the 21 percent reduction. With the passage of the legislation on June 25, the CMS directed Medicare contractors to stop processing claims at the reduced rate and to temporarily hold claims for services rendered after June 1 until the new 2.2 percent update rates are operational…
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Senate Raises Physician Medicare Pay by 2.2 Percent, but House Still Must Approve
Friday, June 18, 2010 19:26
On June 18 the U.S. Senate passed legislation that provides a 2.2 percent Medicare physician payment update for six months, from June 1 through Nov. 30, replacing the 21 percent payment cut that went into effect on June 1. Because the House of Representatives will not vote on the legislation until the week of June 21, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which had extended its hold on Medicare claims processing several times to allow Congress to consider legislation that would address cut, instructed its contractors to begin processing claims on June 18 with the 21 percent reduction. The new Senate legislation — H.R. 3962, the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 — does not address the sustainable growth rate formula, which is widely considered by physicians’ groups to be at the root of the ongoing problems with Medicare physician payment. The SGR formula sets the expenditure target for physicians by linking it to the U.S. gross domestic product. Read more on the Medicare physician payment…
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Neurosurgeon Gains Top AMA Post
Thursday, June 17, 2010 18:04
Neurosurgeon Peter Carmel was named president-elect of the American Medical Association on June 15, during the Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in Chicago. Board members are elected in secret balloting by more than 500 voting delegates who are members of the AMA and who have been selected by the organization they represent, such as a medical association. Dr. Carmel is a pediatric neurosurgeon from Manhattan, N.Y., with a practice in Newark, N.J. He is chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the New Jersey Medical School and co-medical director of the Neurological Institute of New Jersey. Following a year-long term as president-elect, he will assume the office of AMA president in June 2011. "I am honored to be elected to lead the nation's most influential physicians' organization," stated Dr. Carmel in an AMA press release. "As AMA president-elect, I pledge to serve as a strong voice and dedicated advocate for patients and physicians on the pressing issues confronting our healthcare system." Read the related statement by the AANS and the Congress…
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