Sleep Medicine Section

The Sleep Medicine Section helps neurologists become aware of the importance of sleep and wakefulness in health.

• Be Recognized: Apply for the 2010 Sleep Science Award
• Neurologists Asked to Monitor
• Update Your Membership Contact Information
• Sleep Medicine Section Listserv

2011 Annual Meeting Abstract Submission Now Open

Online abstract submission for the Scientific Program at the 2011 AAN Annual Meeting in Hawaii is now open and the deadline to submit abstracts is October 25, 2010. Selected research abstracts will be presented in exciting scientific programs and showcased in high profile scientific sessions and popular poster sessions.

New Nanosymposium

This year the AAN will offer for the first time a nanosymposium. The nanosymposium will consist of abstracts from multiple institutions on a similar topic. When abstracts are submitted, researchers can note that they would like their abstract to be linked to the abstracts of their collaborators. Talk to your collaborators and submit your abstracts for the nanosymposium.

AAN members and nonmembers alike can submit abstracts, and no sponsors are required. Submission is free for graduate students, post-doctoral candidates, and medical students; $25 for AAN members not in these categories; and $75 for nonmember first authors. Previously presented or published abstracts will be accepted with prior presentation disclosure.

Present your research at the world's largest gathering of neurologists and neuroscience professionals! Submit your abstracts today at www.aan.com/go/am11.

Apply Now for Sleep Science Awards

The new Wayne A. Hening Sleep Medicine Investigator Award is designed for those beginning their journeys in sleep science research. The Sleep Science Award recognizes those who are well into their research journeys. Award recipients will be recognized at the 63rd Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 9 through 16, 2011.

The Wayne A. Hening Sleep Medicine Investigator Award recognizes scientific contributions in sleep from promising young investigators, both PhDs and MDs. The goal of this award is to reward productive young investigators and to emphasize the essential role of neurology in sleep medicine. To be eligible, you must be no more than 10 years from completion of most recent training program and no higher academic rank than assistant professor.

Apply today for the Wayne A. Hening Sleep Medicine Investigator Award. The deadline is November 1, 2010.

The Sleep Science Award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to basic and/or clinical research in sleep. To be eligible, you must have made significant contributions to clinical or basic research in the neurology or neuroscience of sleep. You must also be more than 10 years from completion of your most recent training program and an academic rank of assistant professor or higher.

Complete your application now in time for the November 1, 2010, deadline.

Sign Up for Free Electronic FDA Patient Safety Alerts

The American Academy of Neurology and the Health Care Notification Network have teamed up to offer AAN members a free online service that delivers timely neurology-specific FDA-mandated patient safety drug alerts electronically. This new AAN member benefit is free to members who wish to receive it; however, it is necessary to sign up in order to participate in the program. Participants may also opt out at any time.

The HCNN is the only network that delivers FDA-required drug alerts for recalls and warnings to physicians and prescribers online. This new program is an excellent opportunity for you to quickly and conveniently stay current on specialty-specific FDA alerts in order to provide the safest and best possible care for your patients. And because these alerts are targeted by specialty, not all doctors get all alerts; therefore, you can expect to receive less than one alert per week, on average.

Don't be the last to know about prescription recalls and warnings—visit today to learn more and enroll in this free AAN member benefit!

Up to $10,000 Available for Education Research Grants

Proposals Due September 3, 2010

Two to four awards—ranging from $5,000 to $10,000—are available through the AAN's Education Research Grant program for projects that can help improve the neurologic education of AAN member residents and fellows, medical students, practicing neurologists, and non-neurologists. The application deadline is September 3, 2010.

The program was designed to strengthen the AAN's education programs for quality improvement and credentialing purposes and train neurologic educators to perform and publish education research as one component of career development for academic educators.

AAN Active and Associate members are encouraged to apply—and to persuade their colleagues to do the same. Those who have previously applied are also welcome to submit new proposals by simply re-submitting the prior proposal along with a brief description of how the new proposal is different.

Information guidelines and grant applications are available at www.aan.com/go/education/eduresearch. For more information, contact Nancy Poechmann at npoechmann@aan.com or (651) 695-2812.

Learn Accurate Coding for Diagnostic Sleep Testing

November 16, 12:00 p.m. ET
2011 Correct Coding for Diagnostic Sleep Testing (Registration deadline: November 10)
Director: Marc Raphaelson, MD
Discover ways to understand CMS-required physician qualifications to interpret attended and unattended sleep studies and polysomnograms, CMS rules for sleep studies and polysomnograms performed in the office or IDTF, and CMS coverage rules for sleep treatment durable medical equipment including CPAP and oral appliance.

Register now: www.aan.com/view/pm
The cost is $149 for members and $50 for each additional webinar. The more live webinars you sign up for, the more you save!

Purchase previous 2010 Practice Management Webinars at www.aan.com/education/webcme

Connect with Colleagues in Sleep Medicine

The newly designed AAN.com is an indispensable part of your member benefits and connects you with colleagues, your areas of interest, and more.

AAN.com's new look and functionality now features AAN Communities, which allows members to connect with colleagues and discuss topics and subspecialty interests important to them and to access relevant Neurology® journal articles. Forums provide each community opportunities for discussion and networking.

Finding Information Is Easier Than Ever

Forget endless sifting through articles and links. A new green roll-down "preview pane" appears to give you a preview of what each area of the website provides. New "share" and "follow us" buttons allow visitors to send and stay current with topics and Academy news links. Visitors can also find their way around the site better using "bread crumb" links to track their progress.

Visit AAN Communities to get started!

Letter from the Chair

The American Academy of Neurology is actively pursuing its new goal of being indispensible to all neurologists. As part of this, the Sleep Medicine Section Executive Committee (composed of chair-elect Harold R. Smith, MD, FAAN; past chair Cynthia L. Comella, MD, FAAN; councilors Alon Y. Avidan, MD, MPH; Michael H. Silber, MB, ChB, FAAN and Sheldon Kapen, MD and work group leaders including Marcel Hungs, MD, PhD; Phyllis C. Zee, MD, PhD; Todd J. Swick, MD, FAAN; and Claudio Lino Bassetti, MD), is actively pursuing the goals we had set forth in our strategic plan. The Executive Committee has been active in continuing the formation and evolution of our strategic plan.

Consistent with our strategic plan, we outlined three major areas which we felt were critical to moving our section and discipline forward. We identified that we needed to improve our educational opportunities for practicing neurologists to learn about sleep medicine and the interaction of sleep disorders and neurological conditions. We also are looking at how neurologists can incorporate sleep medicine in their daily practices. In addition, we recognized that the future of our discipline rests upon recruiting young physicians to join the field of sleep medicine. As such, we have placed a significant emphasis at examining how we may help program directors strengthen sleep medicine education to residents. We also recognized that as members of the Sleep Medicine Section of American Academy of Neurology, we also have many other disciplines that participate in sleep medicine and that we need to improve our interactions and join forces with other societies for common goals.

Over the past year, we have created three work groups to address these major issues. Dr. Marcel Hungs is heading the work group to improve clinician education. This work group has identified areas of opportunities and novel teaching mechanisms that may allow us to reach more individuals. They also focused on opportunities within and outside the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting. At the 2010 Annual Meeting, we had four major courses that focused on sleep medicine in neurology emphasizing the cutting edge and practical components for the clinician. In addition, sleep related lectures were also included in other courses and symposiums. A new addition this was an inclusion of a Highlights in the Field session within the section meeting. This review covered select scientific presentations as well as highlights of courses, societal interactions, and other educational venues. The excellence of the Annual Meeting is dependent upon the submission of excellent proposals being submitted, and we have been fortunate to have many strong course proposals for next year?s meeting. We hope to encourage further educational and scientific proposals to the AAN that show the richness of our discipline.

The section is also focused on the presence of teaching sleep medicine in neurology residencies. Dr. Alon Avidan is chair of the residency education work group which is tackling the issue of improving sleep education in neurology residencies. The Executive Committee viewed this as a high priority for development. Dr. Avidan spearheaded a survey of all neurology residency program directors asking about their inclusion of sleep education in their training programs. He highlighted some of the early findings of this survey and the potential opportunities for us to partner with program directors to improve sleep education for these residents. We hope to have proposals and a summary article of the findings from this survey within the next year.

Our third work group, headed by Dr. Phyllis Zee, is looking at society interrelations and communication pathways. Dr. Zee reached out to individuals from multiple disciplines and has directed her work group in the evaluation of current mechanisms for communication between these societies and opportunities to improve collaboration. From this work, her work group has put forth proposals to strengthen these avenues of communication trying to identify common goals and potential areas which we may be able to enrich or align these societies to attain these common goals.

In addition to our section work with work groups, the American Academy of Neurology is also currently participating in the review of CPT codes, including some involved in sleep medicine. The Academy reached out to many members seeking additional information to help actively advocate for adequate reimbursement for our procedures and E&M codes. This review is still in process but the American Academy of Neurology is an important advocate for us.

Over the next year, we will continue to work to improve our overall discipline and further the Sleep Medicine Section as a strong component of the American Academy of Neurology. I want to thank the tireless efforts of the Sleep Medicine Section Executive Committee and our section members for all of the contributions that enrich our discipline and improve our patients? lives. I welcome your feedback and suggestions and look forward to your continued participation with us in these efforts.

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Get Involved with AAN Sections

The AAN offers many opportunities for members to get involved in Academy events and initiatives, from joining sections and work groups to writing and reviewing clinical practice guidelines. Events such as the Annual Meeting, regional conferences, and advocacy participation programs give members the chance to improve their skills, advance health care issues, and network with their peers.

Throughout this website, you will find contact information for AAN staff who can answer questions about their areas and help you get involved. If you would like to become a member of an AAN section, contact AAN Member Services at memberservices@aan.com or call (800) 879-1960 to indicate which sections you would like to join.

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Neurologists Asked to Monitor Patients for Post-Vaccine Related GBS

At the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Neurology is asking its member neurologists and other health care professionals to report any potential post-vaccine related cases of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a rare nerve disorder that may be associated with the H1N1 vaccine currently in production.

The AAN will host a series of webinars specially designed for neurologists and other health care professionals. These multimedia presentations will feature important information on reporting GBS and related cases, general facts about the disorder, and more.

Learn more about to report to VAERS, the webinar, and other resources on H1N1 and GBS.

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Articles of Interest

The Place of Neurology in Sleep Medicine (.pdf)

Important: Update Your Membership Contact Information Today

Update your contact information today to be sure your address and other contact information is current. Don't miss out on important news and event information about your Academy, or your host of other AAN publications included with your membership that are designed to keep you up-to-date on the latest issues affecting you and your profession, your practice, and your patients, including the journal Neurology®, AANnews®, Neurology Now®, and more.

If you are a Junior member of the AAN who graduated in June, 2009, you will need to update your contact information in order to continue receiving important AAN communications and other valuable member benefits during your transition to Active or Associate member status. If you are continuing to a fellowship, contact AAN Member Services to be sure your member status is updated and you continue to receive Junior member benefits, including discounts on the RITE exam, free subscription to Continuum: Lifelong Learning in Neurology®, and more!

If you want to update your section participation, contact AAN Member Services. View a list of AAN subspecialty or special interest sections.

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Sleep Medicine Section Listserv

The Sleep Medicine Section has a new listserv that allows for discussions of clinical issues relevant to the field of Sleep Medicine. To post a question, send an email to slep@lists.aan.com. All members must follow the AAN listserv rules and etiquette when posting comments.

Subscribed members can view and search archived comments via the listserv web interface. If you need your login id or password—or if you have any other questions or administrative requests about the Sleep Medicine Section's listserv —please contact Cheryl Alementi, AAN Sleep Medicine Section Staff Liaison, at calementi@aan.com.

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