Wayne State University School of Medicine Neurology resident Advait Mahulikar, M.D., has been invited to meet with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., next year, educating them about the critical role of neurologists in health care and the need for reform related to the specialty.

Dr. Mahulikar was invited by the American Academy of Neurology to attend Neurology on the Hill, a public policy event to be held Feb. 26-27, 2018, at which he will get updates on current policy issues, such as physician reimbursement and the need for increased funding for neurologic research; gain insights from congressional leaders, consultants and AAN staff about the political process; and develop working relationships with members of Congress, their staff and fellow neurologists.

Dr. Mahulikar is likely the first resident from the WSU program to be invited, and one of only 40 residents out of 240 attendees.

"I feel extremely honored and privileged to have had this opportunity to participate in the meeting. I am very excited about it and I look forward to discussing burning issues and policies with the policy makers," he said. "Neurology has many such issues which need to be addressed."

With support and mentoring from Professor of Neurology Robert Lisak, M.D., Dr. Mahulikar wrote about one such issue as part of his application essay.

"One of the biggest if not the biggest issues facing Neurology is appropriate compensation for non-procedural time spent in evaluation and management of patients with complex chronic disorders," he said. "For example, when evaluating and managing a patient with multiple sclerosis, NPH, headache or peripheral neuropathies or seizures, a considerable amount of time is spent in evaluating the details of the history, explaining to the patient and family, counseling them in cases such as patients with medication overuse headaches. This needs to be taken into account when designing future payment models."