MINUTES
CANS
Board of Directors Meeting
Sutton Place Hotel,
1.
Formal Call to Order
The following were present at the meeting presided over by Ronald Rich, M.D.,
President:
Drs. Abou-Samra, Bonner, Caton, Edwards, Hoyt, Hunstock, Kaczmar, Meredith,
Rodriguez, Shuer, Vanefsky, Wade; Consultants: Drs. Florin, Lippe, Smith;
Guests: Drs. Amyes, Ott and Dr. John Nelson (AMA).
The minutes of the
2.
CNS (Congress of Neurological Surgeons)
Dr. Rich stated that he received a response from the CNS about his
letter regarding flaws with the CNS electronic ballot process. The CNS Executive
Committee will review and report on their findings at the fall 2004 meeting.
3.
ER Survey
Dr. Scott Lederhaus prepared a summary
of date he gathered from a recent survey sent to CANS members about ER call.
He found that that (1) larger physician groups have better negotiating
power; (2) ER payments range from $200-$2000 (3) some neurosurgeons do not get
paid at all to cover the ER; (4) some neurosurgeons have dropped cranial
privileges. It was agreed that Dr. Lederhaus would present this summary of the
106 surveys returned at the Annual Business meeting
Dr. Wade summarized CSNS resolutions discussed
at the fall 2003 meeting:
a. Resolution:
Use of Physician Extenders was combined with Resolution:
Scope of Practice Guidelines for Advanced Practice Nurses and PAs in
Neurosurgery to form a work committee study to determine credentialing
guidelines for neurosurgical assistants;
b.
Resolution: Proposed CME Requirements by ABNS – a substitute
resolution was adopted to resolve that CSNS Executive Committee prepare a report
on CME requirements prior to the next meeting and that a forum be convened to
form a proposal for maintenance of competence.
c. Resolution:
Proposed Revision of CNS Bylaws, Nominations for Office – substitute
resolution adopted to propose bylaw change to include regional Members-at-Large
in the Executive Committee and that the CNS Nominating Committee be elected by
the CNS membership
d.
Resolution: Availability of Names of Neurosurgeons Sanctioned by AANS/CNS
– substitute resolution adopted to request AANS/CNS post this list to website
accessible to membership using passwords.
e.
Resolution: Creation of Peer Review Journal Dedicated to Socioeconomic
Issues – adopted amended resolution to evaluate feasibility of developing
a publication
f.
Resolution: Socioeconomic Impact of Maintenance of Certification –
adopted amended resolution to ask CNS/AANS to request the ABNS to include a
fiscal note as part of their Maintenance of Competency plan.
5.
Committees
Dr. Hunstock reviewed existing committees to update committee members as
follows:
Bylaws: Drs. Edwards and Vanefsky
Membership: Drs. Caton, Ott, Smith
Finance: Drs. Wade and Kaczmar
Communications: Drs. Bonner (editor),
Member Services: Drs. Kaczmar,
Wade, Caton, Abou-Samra
Awards: Drs. Rich, Shuer, Hoyt
Nominating: Drs. Edwards, Hoyt, Rich, Smith, Shuer
Workers’ Comp: Drs. Lippe, Hunstock,
CMA House of Delegates: Drs. Prolo, Wade
The Long Range Planning committee needs to meet every 4-5
years to make sure goals are being met and remain timely.
Drs. Sooho Choi, Lawrence Dickinson, Eldan Eichbaum, John Emery III,
Kavian Shahi, Amir Vokshoor and Clifford Douglas were approved for membership.
7.
Treasurer's Report
The CANS monthly operating income and expenses are stable. The Annual
Meeting will probably lose money since room block was not met and there will be
a penalty.
8.
Annual Meeting
The meeting attendance is lower than in past years despite a strong and
informative program. There was much discussion about what types of topics and
activities would attract more attendees next year.
Some Board members felt that while topics such as Medicare and
malpractice are important, there is not much that neurosurgeons can do to
improve the situation. It was agreed
that a different more upbeat approach should be pursued. It was decided that the
hot topic this year is ER coverage and reimbursement
9.
Future Meeting Sites
The
10.
Liaison with ACN
The Board decided to discontinue the joint Annual Meeting with the
Association of California Neurologists (ACN). It was agreed that the two
specialties have totally different agendas and would be better served by
separate meetings focused on each specialty’s unique concerns.
11.
Workers’ Compensation/Second Opinion
Dr. Hunstock reported that effective
The Board approved the three resolutions
written by Dr. Prolo who will present them to the CMA House of Delegates meeting
in March:
a. Resolution:
OMFS Advisory Committee Funding – requests CMA to sponsor
legislation to direct ten cents on each industrial claim to finance an OMFS
advisory committee to DWC
b. Resolution:
Nursing Ratios Limit Health Care Access – CMA sponsor
emergency legislation to
delay implementation of nurse-to-patient ratios across all shifts
c. Resolution:
Interim Policy Change of CMA House of Delegates (HOD) – requests
that CMA HOD reaffirms the HOD as a legislative assembly that sets policy for
CMA and that CMA staff and leadership must not violate the will of the HOD in the interval between annual sessions
13. Dr.
Nelson/ AMA
Dr. Nelson,
President-Elect of the AMA, was invited to speak to the Board prior to his
scheduled appearance at the CANS socio-economic meeting.
He stressed that physicians must work together and he will do his best to
represent neurosurgeons’ interests but he needs to know what they are. He
realizes that the communication structure of the AMA must be improved and he
encourages letters and e-mail messages from physicians.
He will work to make AMA more relevant to all physicians.
The next Board of Directors meeting will be held
JMT