Healthcare Leaders: What Our Patients Need
Guest Post from Deborah L. Benzil, MD, FACS, FAANS Vice President, AANS Chair, AANS/CNS Communications and Public Relations Committee MKMG Columbia University Medical Center Mt Kisco, New York Recently, Becker’s Spine Review tweeted a story entitled, “13 Healthcare Leaders Named Best Performing CEOs.” The rankings from this piece are from Harvard Business Review and are […]
Alternative Payment Models: What Do Neurosurgeons Need to Know?
Guest post written on behalf of The CSNS Neurosurgical Societies ACA Task Force Guest post from Elyne N. Kahn, M.D., M.P.H. Neurosurgery Resident, University of Michigan Health System Alternative payment models (APMs) differ from traditional fee-for-service by focusing on paying for value versus paying for volume. Though such systems have existed in various forms for […]
“When Breath Becomes Air”: A Poignant Memoir of a Life Cut Short by Cancer
Guest Post from Deborah L. Benzil, MD, FACS, FAANS Vice President, AANS Chair, AANS/CNS Communications and Public Relations Committee MKMG Columbia University Medical Center Mt Kisco, New York Sometimes a physician heals with their hands, sometimes with their heart. Neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi, MD, (1977-2015) did both with amazing skill and courage. “When Breath Becomes Air,” […]
Neurosurgeons Provide Feedback to CMS on New Medicare Physician Payment System
On Nov. 17, 2015, the AANS and CNS submitted feedback to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to the agency’s Request for Information (RFI) seeking input from stakeholders on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Developed by the AANS/CNS Neurosurgery Quality Council (NQC), the letter discussed numerous issues pertaining […]
Caring for our Littlest Patients: New Hope with Seizure Surgery
Jason S. Hauptman, MD PhD Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center Los Angeles, CA As surgeons, our greatest ambitions and desires revolve around making the lives of the people we take care of better. In the case of pediatric neurosurgery, we not only focus our efforts on helping children with challenging and sometimes devastating neurological […]
AANS Spotlight: AANS Neurosurgeon Reveals Neurosurgery from the Patient’s Perspective
The AANS Neurosurgeon is the official socioeconomic publication of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), and features information and analysis for contemporary neurosurgical practice. It focuses on topics related to legislation, workforce issues and practice management as they affect the specialty of neurosurgery. The September 2015 issue of AANS Neurosurgeon explores the theme “Neurosurgery: […]
Neurosurgery Putting Patient Safety First
Guest post written on behalf of The CSNS Patient Safety Ad Hoc Committee Abdul-Kareem Ahmed (left) Medical Student at Brown University Providence, Rhode Island Kristopher T. Kimmell, MD (right) Neurosurgical Resident, University of Rochester Medical Center Rochester, NY Since neurosurgical pioneer Harvey Cushing invented the modern anesthesia record and helped lower the morbidity and mortality […]
2015 Fall Congress Quarterly Highlights Neurosurgeons at the Crossroads of US Tragedies
Guest post from Gerald A. Grant, MD Editor, Congress Quarterly The Congress Quarterly (cnsq) is the official newsmagazine of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and is designed to reflect the changing nature of neurosurgery and foster discussion about the core being of the neurosurgeon — leadership, strength, innovation and the relentless pursuit to improve the […]
Telemedicine and the Neurosurgeon
Guest post from Elyne N. Kahn, M.D., M.P.H. Neurosurgery Resident, University of Michigan Health System Dr. McCoy could employ medical holograms to treat complex medical ailments in his Star Trek co-travelers. While we have not realized this technological breakthrough, we have moved in that direction in the form of telemedicine. Telemedicine, defined as the remote […]
Neurosurgeons are NOT Just Brain Surgeons
Most people think neurosurgeons are only brain surgeons, but that is far from the truth. Since August is Neurosurgery Awareness Month, we wanted to take a moment to highlight the breadth of neurosurgical practice. Featured below is an animation we developed demonstrating that neurosurgery is indeed more than just brain surgery! We encourage everyone to […]