Dear FL Neurologist,
Although Hawaii away, many FL neurologists have made the long flight to the AAN Annual Meeting as presenters, lecturers, leaders and attendees.
We hope that you will join your FSN at these events:
1. Joint breakfast – FSN and NFNP (Please welcome our Nigerian colleagues)
- Tuesday, April 12 from 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM at the Hawaii Convention Center – Room 308B. A light breakfast will be served at this event.
2. Current Practice Issues in Neurology – Daniel Kantor will be presenting on Accountable care organizations (ACOs) and neurologists
- Wednesday, April 13, 2011 from 5:30pm-7:00pm at the Hawaii Convention Center, Room 315
- Thursday April 14 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Hawaii Convention Center Kamehameha III
4. General Neurology Highlights in the Field (6SH.006) – Daniel Kantor will be presenting how healthcare reform affects neurologists
- Thursday April 14 Location: Hawaii Convention Center Kalakaua Ballroom C
Stay tuned – visit our Twitter account for updates on when you can support our own Michael Finkel as he wins the prestigious Kenneth M. Viste Patient Advocate of the Year Award (the 2007 inaugural Award was also won by a FL neurologist, Kamel Elzawahry).
The FSN will also be represented by Drs. Kantor and Elzawahry at the State Society Leadership Roundtable and the Payment Policy/NeuroCAC Representatives/State Society Leaders
Throughout the week, we will be accepting your information about when you are presenting posters/lectures – please add it as a comment on our Facebook page and we will then spread the word on Twitter as well!
Our promoting your presentations is just another way how your FSN is here for you.
1. Membership
Membership benefits keep expanding.
a. Universal Waste Management (biomedical waste) -- 10% discount and lower price than competitors for FSN members,
b. TNP (The Neurologists’ Program) -- malpractice insurance.
c. Medscape CMEs
d. The Southern Headache Society --we may do joint CME programs with discounts to FSN members
e. Discounts on medical books through Cambridge Publishing and Oxford Publishing (email fsneuro@gmail.com for your Promotional Code)
If you have paid your 2011 FSN dues then you have already received a lapel pin to wear proudly on your blazer or white coat. If you pay your dues at the AAN, you will receive a pin at the FSN-NFNP breakfast on Tuesday.
Don't forget to pay your 2011 dues online or we can discuss this with your office manager -- please have them contact us. Also, your ARNPs, PAs and nurses can join the FSN as well.
Our Pan-FL Dinner Meeting on March 10th 2011 was a great success and the presentation can be found online on our website.
2. Education/Annual Meeting -- The schedule looks great so save the date: Orlando, FL: 09/16-18/11 -- FSN Annual Meeting (Disney Yacht Club)
3. Website/Communications -- The FSN has entered the 2010s and we have a social media presence that you can sign up for at Twitter and Facebook
Also, everytime we send out the 'FSN in Your Corner' emails, they get added to the website. We are considering having a members only section of the website for content (including CME and practice management seminars).
4. Outreach -- The Outreach Committee is doing an amazing job along with our Nigerian colleagues applying for an American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation grant.Come and meet your Nigeria colleagues all the way in Hawaii -- The Nigeria Florida Neuroscience Partnership will be joinging the FSN on Tuesday, April 12 from 7:30am-9:30am at the Hawaii Convention Center – Room 308B. A light breakfast will be served at this event.
5. Advocacy/Legislation -- Your FSN continues to get media coverage, for example in Neurology Reviews. To summarize:
a. Pill Mills -- This is becoming even more complicated, with the Senate and the House pitted against each other and the Governor weighing in against the PDMP (Prescription Drug Monitoring Program). Representative Scheck wants to get rid of all physician dispensing. To make this even more confusing, the Department of Health is finally launching the PDMP, (the vendor bidding battle has been settled) but the whole program may be shut down.
On much better notes, we have 2 victories for our patients and for your practice:
b. Sports concussion -- These bills HB 301 / SB 730 are gliding through their committees (currently in Education in the House and Rules in the Senate). It looks like MDs/DOs will be the final arbiters of return to play, but they may delegate parts of their responsibilities to ARNPs, PAs and athletic trainers. Neuropsychology reports and computerized testing may be used as supportive documentation. This is a major improvement over allowing other practitioners to clear our youth athletes -- this is a victtory for our patients.
c. Gun bill -- The NRA was pushing for doctrs to be punished by up to 5 million dollars in fines and 5 years in prison simply fr asking if their patients own guns. This is a patient safety issue but it is being disguised as an affront on the 2nd Amendment. Our 1st Amendment rights and the doctor-patient relationship. In another victory, HB 155 was amended to allow physicians to ask the gun question if it related to health and safety. Doctors also can record the information in their records (they were trying to bar this). In a nod to the NRA, doctors would not be allowed to discriminate against gun owners.
This is going to be a very difficult session because almost nothing that adds to the budget or increases any fees/taxes to citizens will be passed.
On a frustrating note, Senator Mike Bennett on 04/04/11 lashed out at the Florida Medical Association (FMA), calling it a "greedy" group whose political agenda was about ensuring doctors salaries, not improving access to health care. "The FMA, the doctors, are greedy," said Bennett. "They want to continue to be able to double bill, they want to be able to continue to restrict access to health care for greed."
We have been educating and advocating for FL neurology needs, but since we are a 501(c)3, we have not lobbied and so I have been asked to not only continue to sit on the FMA Council on Legislation but also to join the Board of the FMA PAC (political action committee).
I accepted this position on the condition that FL neurologists would be recognized when donations are made so that FL neurologists can have their voices heard. Those of you that have already been contributing to the FMA PAC, can either do so through me or simply write “Neurology” on the check that they send it to the FMA PAC. Please do not direct any of the donations to the FSN, as we are a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization, instead make your checks out to the Senator Gaetz Campaign (maximum donation $500) and write “Neurology” on the memo line and email me.
Lastly, don’t forget that because the FSN is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 nonprofit, you can make tax free charitable donations (beyond your dues) to the FSN.
Your FSN is committed to serving your needs, so you will be receiving regular emails from me.
CME Programs in FL:
If you have CME announcements, please email me at fsneuro@gmail.com
Daniel Kantor, MD
Medical Director
Neurologique
President
Florida Society of Neurology
Your FSN is here for you.
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