AAN Publishes Guides for Practicing Teleneurology

AMERICAN BRAIN FOUNDATION

AAN Publishes Guides for Practicing Teleneurology

Given the continued use of telehealth since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the AAN’s Telehealth Subcommittee have released a new “Guide to Practicing Teleneurology” and a specialized “Telehealth Exam Tips for Patients with a Neuromuscular Disorder.” A third guide, “Telehealth Exam Tips for Patients with an Ocular Motor or Vestibular Disorder,” is expected later this summer. The “Guide to Practicing Teleneurology” will replace the “COVID-19 Implementation Guide” that was created early in the COVID-19 pandemic. This new guide focuses on outpatient audio-video conferencing, with discussions of patient workflows, physician licensure, appropriate technology, and tele-etiquette. Although the legislative and regulatory future of telehealth remains uncertain, the authors designed the content to be relevant for clinicians regardless of their practice location and patient population. The neuromuscular and ocular motor tips and tricks guides supplement the larger “Guide to Practicing Teleneurology” by providing specific guidance for conducting a telehealth exam based on a specific disease state. For example, the “Telehealth Exam Tips for Patients with a Neuromuscular Disorder” includes evidence-based considerations for virtual cranial nerve and motor assessments. The Telehealth Subcommittee was formed in April 2021 in response to the rapid switch to virtual care in early 2020. The AAN’s March 2020 webinar, “Telemedicine and COVID-19” remains one of the most popular resources on the Academy’s YouTube channel with nearly 15,000 views. The new exam guides and forthcoming resources aim to build on the sustained interest optimizing and sustaining telehealth into the future. These new resources will live on a refreshed telehealth webpage. With a simplified layout and improved search functions, the new webpage optimizes members’ ability to access updated information related to telehealth coding and payment, training materials, research, and advocacy opportunities. To access the exam guides and explore telehealth resources, visit AAN.com/telehealth. 

Applications Now Open for 2023 Next Generation Research Grants

Applications are open until September 1 for the American Brain Foundation’s 2023 Next Generation Research Grants. Award opportunities are available in ALS, cognitive aging, epilepsy, frontotemporal degeneration, health disparities, mal de débarquement syndrome, migraine, neuromuscular disease, Parkinson's disease, peripheral neuropathy, and stroke. Offered in collaboration with the American Academy of Neurology, the Foundation’s Next Generation Research Grants fund and support innovative investigations by the best and brightest early-career researchers. It is the Foundation’s belief that funding research across a broad spectrum of the brain is the best hope for finding better treatments, prevention, and cures for brain diseases and disorders. To date, the Next Generation Research Grants have provided millions of dollars to fund the innovative research of early-career investigators, encouraging passion for research and laying the groundwork for future success. Visit AmericanBrainFoundation.org/for-researchers to learn more and apply by the September 1 deadline. Applicants are encouraged to give themselves plenty of time to complete the process to ensure all materials are submitted on time. 