American Academy of Neurology

Membership:As the world experienced the lingering disruptions from the third year of the waning COVID-19, the AAN continued to prove its value to neurology by reaching yet another record for membership recruitment and retention. Neurologists and neuroscience professionals from around the world now make up more than 40,000 AAN members, with 95-percent retention of US dues-paying neurologist members. This success is due to the AAN's ongoing commitment to grow the available resources for neurologists and members of a neurology care team no matter their practice setting, career stage, or geographic location.

Publications: The publication of scientific, scholarly, and practice-related content is a vital part of the AAN's activities, and essential to the careers of our members. The AAN's publications offer this content and resources to Academy members and provide an opportunity to generate revenue that helps keep membership dues low. The AAN introduced Neurology(R) Education in 2022, a peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research articles, reviews, and editorials on evidence-based teaching methods and curriculum innovations and provides the academic community with a forum to exchange ideas that enhance teaching and training in neurology and neuroscience. The weekly Brain & Life Podcast was launched to complement the Academy's bimonthly patient education magazine, Brain & Life(R), and 41 episodes featured people whose lives are affected by brain disease, neurology experts, and celebrity advocates including comedian George Lopez, actor Marilu Henner, and musician Peter Frampton. Lyell K. Jones, Jr., MD, FAAN, was selected to become editor-in-chief of Continuum: Lifelong Learning in Neurology(R), the AAN's continuing medical education review journal in April 2022.

Training/Tools/Resources: The AAN prepared members for a new track that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) established within the Quality Payment Program (QPP) called MIPS Value Pathways (MVP), which is available in 2023. The AAN prepared resources on the three MVPs relevant to neurology: Stroke, Episodic Neurological Conditions, and Neurodegenerative Conditions. Several key advocacy objectives were met in 2022, including increased funding for neurologic research and reduction of the high cost of prescription drugs addressed in the Inflation Reduction Act, which also extended telehealth flexibilities through the end of 2024. The AAN's efforts helped mitigate the planned reduction in 2023 Medicare reimbursements from 8.5 percent to two percent. The abatement of the pandemic allowed AAN members to return to Washington, DC, for Neurology on the Hill, a signature grassroots advocacy event. Neurologists pressed lawmakers to provide stability for telehealth, address overly burdensome prior authorization regulations, and enact policies to address the neurology workforce. More than 2,000 members contacted their representatives in Congress by responding to AAN Action Alerts on topics such as proposed Medicare reimbursement cuts.