AAPM&R Connection E-Newsletter

Match Day is Friday, March 17. Your Academy would like to wish our senior medical student members all the best this Match Day. We hope each of you is accepted into your resident program of choice! Take a look at our dedicated resources for residents, including networking tools, newsletters, educational activities, and career advice.

AAPM&R collaborates with many different organizations to advance the specialty and the work of physiatrists. Many of our members (your peers) work with the Academy to strengthen PM&R. In fact, we have more than 30 members who currently serve as Academy representatives to other specialty groups. These liaisons work with other organizations to make sure physiatry’s voice is heard and the issues that are important to Academy members are expressed.

In particular, 3 of our liaisons, Patrick Kortebein, MD, Dale C. Strasser, MD, and Richard D. Zorowitz, MD, currently work with organizations dedicated to improving the care of older adults. We connected with them to discuss the issues facing the geriatric community, their roles as Academy representatives, and its impact on physiatry. Read the full interview in your March issue of The Physiatrist.

You work hard—it’s time to be recognized for it. Submit your nomination for our awards program. Selected nominees will be acknowledged at the 2017 Annual Assembly in Denver, as well as in our special awards video and publication. Browse the list of award categories and submit your nomination by March 31.

NEW! Do you have research that you weren’t able to submit for our Call for Abstracts in January? To help incorporate new, original research into the 2017 Annual Assembly, we’re opening a Call for Late-Breaking Research, starting in June. All submissions must be brand-new research abstracts. Start preparing now! More details coming soon.

NEW at #AAPMR2017: The Learning Center, held in the PM&R Pavilion (formerly the Exhibit Hall), is your destination for the ultimate hands-on learning experience. Some of the leading experts in physiatry will be offering clinical hands-on demonstrations, giving you exposure to new technologies, ultrasound, electrodiagnosis, and chemodenervation.

You can also extend your educational learning by visiting our new live theater in the Learning Center. This will feature stage presentations that range from plenary session Q&As and book signings, to research and niche clinical topics, all included with your registration! Stay tuned for more Annual Assembly details.

The 2017 Annual Assembly will feature our inaugural Call for PhyzTalks. Held during the new Sunday plenary session, the Call for PhyzTalks seeks impactful stories, similar to TED-style Talks, which reflect new and innovative topics within physical medicine and rehabilitation. We’re opening soon—stay tuned for details.

Let’s keep Brain Injury Awareness Month going. Have you utilized our Traumatic Brain Injury Self-Assessment yet? This is a great resource to learn about functional and anatomic imaging studies in mild traumatic brain injury, how to apply the best approach to the evaluation of sports concussion, and more.

This resource is free for members only if you haven’t already used your complimentary self-assessment, and you’ll earn 8 CME credits!

The Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) Committee is 1 of 3 committees that fall under the umbrella of the Evidence, Quality, and Performance Committee (EQPC), which, in turn, reports to the Quality, Practice, Policy, and Research (QPPR) Committee. The CPG Committee reviews clinical practice guidelines, generally written by other clinical organizations or groups. The fundamental charge for the committee is to develop, endorse, and advocate for key guidelines critical to the field of PM&R. Learn more in your March issue of The Physiatrist.

On March 8, AAPM&R hosted a Virtual Town Hall meeting to engage members in a discussion about payment accuracy for the care of people with mobility-related disabilities. Members who participated in the town hall were able to provide staff with new insights on this important issue. Armed with member feedback, your Academy and a member from the Reimbursement and Policy Review Committee, Barry Smith, MD (AAPM&R Past President), are scheduled to attend a meeting today at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) office in Baltimore, MD. We look forward to updating you about this important meeting in the coming weeks!

The American Medical Association (AMA) and 104 medical specialty and state societies, including AAPM&R, sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) requesting that physicians be permitted to continue using their current EHR version though at least 2018. Read it here.

• Cheri Blauwet, MD, FAAPMR, instructor at Harvard Medical School and sports medicine physiatrist at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, was recognized on International Women’s Day last week by the International Paralympic Committee. Congratulations, Dr. Blauwet! Read more.

• David Crandell, MD, FAAPMR, medical director of the amputee program at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, is featured in this New York Times article discussing former Marine Dan Lasko's new prosthetic leg that allows him to go straight from walking to swimming, while matching the power of his other intact leg. Lasko had the opportunity to test the leg, and the device should become available in about 6 months. Read more.

• Chloe Slocum, MD, FAAPMR, was named to the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Disability Policy Consortium. Dr. Slocum is a 2016-2017 Commonwealth Fund Mongan Fellow in Minority Health Policy at Harvard Medical School and a staff physician at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, MA. The Massachusetts Disability Policy Consortium will be honored at the 2017 Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) Marie Feltin Award Ceremony. Congratulations, Dr. Slocum! Read more.

Do you have a newsworthy story to share with your peers? Send us an email at: pressinquiries@aapmr.org.