Thank you to the outgoing board members; Dr. Jennifer Connelly (CME Chair) and Dr. Doug Dulli (Immediate Past President).  Thank you for your service and leadership to the board, WNS and to neurology in Wisconsin!  

During the WNS Annual Business Meeting on Saturday, October16 the Annual Bennett Hiner Research Award Winners were announced. This award is in memory of Bennett Hiner, son of long-time Society member Dr. Bradley Hiner. Bennett passed away unexpectedly in November of 2011. He was a leader in his medical school class at the University of Southern California and actively involved in neuroscience research.

2021 Winner

Mokshal Porwal - Medical College of Wisconsin

Reported Adverse Events and Safety for Multiple Sclerosis Disease Modifying Therapies

2021 Runners-up

Margaret Lieb - Medical College of Wisconsin

Challenges and Potential in Targeted Muscle Reinnervation in Pediatric Amputees

Samira Samant - Medical College of Wisconsin

Prognosticating ALS: The Predictive Value of C9orf72 Mutations and FVC in Disease Progression

Each year the Francis M. Forster Award is presented are during the WNS Annual Meeting. Residents and fellows submit their abstracts to their Residency Program Director and a maximum of two abstracts are then selected from each institution (MCW and UW) for presentation at the meeting. The content of the presentations can be either in house research under faculty guidance or interesting cases.  Congratulations to the following. 

Best Presentation

William Pennant, MD, MSc
Looking Under the Rock: Door-to-Needle Experience at a Single Institution

Runners up

Mehraveh Garjani, MD, MS
A Case of Progressive Lower Extremity Weakness

Registration Now Open for the 2022 AAN Annual Meeting!

Get ready to reunite in person with your neurology community at the 2022 Annual Meeting’s Great Neuro Reunion April 2–7 in Seattle! Join us for a fresh lineup of top-tier education opportunities in every topic, all the valuable CME you need, the most cutting-edge science covering every subspecialty, and the opportunity to reconnect with friends and colleagues from around the world.

LEARN MORE

Can’t Make It to Seattle? Reunite Virtually!

The exciting Annual Meeting virtual experience will take place April 24–26 and offer a completely unique lineup of programming separate from the in-person meeting—plus access to session recordings through May 14, 2022. Learn more.

WNS signs on to support H.R. 3173, The Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act 2021.

This legislation would streamline the prior authorization process in Medicare Advantage and increase transparency. It has become one of, if not the most broadly bipartisan, broadly supported health care bills on Capitol Hill. This legislation was recently reintroduced and already has over 100 cosponsors, but it is important that WNS show support to ensure it crosses the finish line in the 117th Congress. A summary of the bill, it’s current endorsers, and more can be found on the Regulatory Relief Coalition website, of which the AAN is a member.  

2021 WNS Annual Conference | October 15-16, 2021

Exhibitor Prospectus Now Available!

WNS is excited to be back in-person and we are excited to see you in Wisconsin Dells! This year’s meeting will offering high-quality education to neurologists while at the same time offering product representatives an opportunity to interact with health care providers in a relaxed atmosphere. All precautions will be followed according to the recommended guidelines of the CDC and the Kalahari to ensure our attendees feel safe and remain healthy!

View the Full Exhibitor Prospectus Here

Exhibit Information:
$1,000 non-profit organizations/ $1,500 profit organizations

Included in your exhibit display

• 8’ skirted table with two chairs and electricity if requested. Two representatives allowed per space. If more than two representatives wish to attend, additional registration badges may be purchased. Additional badges are $60 each which covers expenses for additional staff participation in conference meals and breaks.
• Non-competitive exhibitor viewing times.
• Roster of attendees distributed at the time of the meeting.
• Complimentary meals and refreshments during exhibit hours.
• Inclusion in the exhibitor listing on the WNS website and program.
• Attendance at Friday evening reception.

Confirm your Spot Today!

April 6, Wisconsin Health News

The premium holiday for Wisconsin’s medical malpractice fund will continue until mid-2022 to help offset impacts on providers from COVID-19. 

Insurance Commissioner Mark Afable notified the Joint Finance Committee last week that he’s requesting that fiscal year 2022 rates for healthcare providers participating in the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund remain the same as the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. 

The committee has until April 15 to approve the request. Currently, the fund is waiving fees for participating healthcare professionals and providers, per a request from the Wisconsin Medical Society. The premium holiday is set to last until June 30, 2022. 

OCI spokeswoman Sarah Smith said that the rates will remain the same because the fund won’t be charging due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Mark Grapentine, chief policy and advocacy officer at the Wisconsin Medical Society, said independent clinics are still fighting COVID-19 related costs and lost revenue and keeping the status quo for now makes sense. 

“We’re doing all we can to advocate for those independent clinics who provide such important care to their communities while being on the front lines of the pandemic,” he said in an email. “We’re very fortunate to have a fund that’s run prudently and is in a stable financial condition so that it can provide a little fiscal relief for physicians.” 

The Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund covers claims beyond state-mandated insurance limits, which are set at $1 million by occurrence and $3 million by aggregate annually.

Join your colleagues (virtually) for Doctor Day on May 5, 2021 to fight for your patients, profession and sound health care policy. Doctor Day 2021 will include morning breakout sessions on health equity, public health and the latest legal issues facing physicians so you can customize the day to your interests. Organizers are once again lining up presentations from premier experts and policymakers. The schedule features three breakout sessions:

Health Equity
What are we doing to achieve long-lasting and equitable health outcomes for ALL Wisconsinites? The State of Wisconsin has an overall health disparities grade of “D” according to a recent University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute Health of Wisconsin Report Card. The Report Card notes that while Wisconsin's grade for overall health has remained the same since 2007, the health disparities grade has worsened since 2010. What are we doing to change this?

Public Health
Join us for an outbreak session on local public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. City of Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson will provide an overview of the challenges and successes Wisconsin's local public health departments faced throughout the last 12 months. As fellow frontline workers, local public health officers have experienced this crisis through the lens of both health care and governmental response to public health crises. 

Legal Update
The always popular and pertinent legal update will explore the latest “hot topics” physicians need to know about. Axley attorneys Guy DuBeau and Aneet Kaur will walk us through the landscape of litigation trends, scope of practice developments and more.

To learn more about this virtual day of advocacy, go to widoctorday.org to register (it’s free) and see the day’s agenda.

The State of Wisconsin’s Medical Examining Board (MEB) at its most recent monthly meeting advanced a proposed administrative rule that will extend for another biennium the requirement that most physicians obtain two credits of continuing education related to opioid prescribing. The requirement applies to physicians who hold a Drug Enforcement Administration registration number, with the two credits being part of the 30 credits required each biennium. Courses must be approved by the MEB in order to satisfy the subject matter requirement.

The Wisconsin Medical Society (Society) spoke in favor of the rule at the MEB public hearing March 17, noting how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated opioid abuse across the county. The Society also expressed appreciation that the rule widens the scope of qualifying coursework beyond opioid prescribing to include “other controlled substances.” This will allow physicians who hold a DEA number but may not prescribe opioids to access coursework more relevant to their practice.

The MEB also began to discuss whether to add a provision to the “unprofessional conduct” section of the MEB’s administrative code (MED 10) that could require physicians to offer patients a chaperone for certain sensitive physical exams. The idea comes from a January 2020 ACOG Community Opinion paper recommending that a chaperone be present for all breast, genital and rectal examinations. While the MEB discussed the issue only generally during its meeting March 17, it will review potential language at its April meeting.

Contact Society Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer Mark Grapentine, JD for more information.

This webinar is for healthcare providers that may be seeing or treating patients, or have colleagues treating patients with Huntington's disease. Learn more about HD and current HSG clinical trials enrolling participants for HD treatments in North America.

The first 1-hour webinar will be held on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 5:30 pm EST / 2:30 pm PST.

Attendance is free through Zoom. We just ask that participants sign up in advance using the registration link below.

REGISTER FOR WEBINAR --> https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_G2_GsYaYSSmnNzGw-33DcQ

The HSG is a 501(c)(3) non-for-profit whose mission is to educate and raise awareness about Huntington disease, a rare neurodegenerative disorder affecting approximately 40,000 people in the United States. Another 200,000 people in the U.S. are estimated to be at risk for developing symptoms. The HSG also advises and conducts clinical research focused exclusively on HD.

Our hope is that by providing these educational webinars, we can enhance HD specific care, awareness, and HD community participation in clinical research. We are striving to inform HCPs about current clinical trials focused on potential treatments that make a difference for HD patients and families struggling with this devastating disease.