State Liaison Biographies
Arizona
Dr. Sucher is a physiatrist who directs the EMG labs in a rheumatologic group
with several locations in the Phoenix area. A graduate of Northwestern University
Medical Center, he has been a member of the AANEM since 1980. With a practice
dedicated entirely to EDX, he has been involved with coding and billing issues
for many years and sees the opportunity to improve patient care by educating
insurers and other medical groups. Dr. Sucher is currently serving as a member
of the AANEM Professional Practice Committee.
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California
Dr.
Sahagian is a fellow member who first joined the AANEM in 1999. He completed
his residency and fellowship at UCSD. A private practice neurologist in North
County San Diego, Dr. Sahagian is involved in the practice’s payor contracting.
He is disappointed when he sees patients who have had inferior testing by untrained
providers; providing care for them is difficult as they are frequently hesitant
to undergo repeat testing.
Connecticut
Dr.
Menkes specializes in peripheral nerve diseases such as Guillain-Barré
syndrome and CIDP at the University of Connecticut Health Center. He is a fellow
member who joined the AANEM in 1992. He believes that it is important to explain
to payors that not all providers performing NCS are equally qualified, and looks
forwarding to advocating for the AANEM’s promotion of excellence in electrodiagnosis
and neuromuscular medicine. Dr. Menkes is also a Colonel [O-6] in the Connecticut
Air National Guard and is both Chief of the Medical Staff and the Chief of Aerospace
Medicine for the 103rd Airlift Wing.
Florida
Dr.
Robert Dehgan, from St. Augustine, FL, has been an AANEM member since 1994 and
is currently the Vice-President of Florida's Society of Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation (PM&R). He has 12 years of experience, and currently works
in private practice.He is board certified in physical medicine & rehabilitation
(PM&R), and fellowship trained in electrodiagnostic (EDX) medicine at Albany
Medical College. Dr. Dehgan is currently serving on the Carrier Advisory Committee
and is a delegate to Florida's Medical Association. In 2007, he submitted a
resolution to disallow physical therapists, chiropractors, podiatrists, and
family practitioners from doing nerve conduction studies (NCSs) and needle EMG.
This resolution was strongly.
Illinois
Dr.
Steven Wolf is a neurologist in private practice in Des Plaines, Illinois. He
is a fellow of the AANEM. Dr. Wolf has reviewed EMG claims for an independent
organization and has previously worked with the Illinois State Attorney General's
Office concerning EMG abuse.
Indiana
Dr.
John Kincaid is joining the State Liaison Program from Indiana. He is a veteran
member of AANEM and is certified by the American Board of Electrodiagnostic
Medicine (ABEM). Dr. Kincaid has served on 24 AANEM committees and is the AANEM's
delegate to the AMA House of Delegates. In addition, he is a CAC member for
the Indiana Medicare carrier and has been a consultant to several health insurance
companies for reviewing coverage policies, new technologies, and fraudulent
billing practices. Dr. Kincaid has been full time faculty in the neurology department
at Indiana University 's School of Medicine for 27 years, and holds a joint
appointment in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Louisiana
Dr.
Stephen Kishner hails from Louisiana State University's department of PM&R
in New Orleans . He has 21 years of experience, is a fellow of the AANEM, and
has served on nine committees since joining the AANEM in 1986. He previously
served as a state liaison for the American Academy of Physical Medicine &
Rehabilitation. Dr. Kishner also has experience as a consultant for a Medicare
fiscal intermediary reviewing fraudulent claim. He expresses a strong interest
in reimbursement issues and in educating people what quality means in the field
of electrodiagnostic (EDX) medicine.
Maryland
Dr.
John E. Wilson from Baltimore, MD is a fellow of the AANEM. He is in his tenth
year of practice, and is an active member of the AANEM's Professional Practice
Committee. He has served as an alternate on the Carrier Advisory Committee and
has met with large payors in his state to discuss EDX issues. He also received
the AANEM Outstanding Advocate Award at the 2007 AANEM Annual Meeting for his
efforts in advocating for quality EDX medicine.
Massachusetts
Dr. Eric Ensrud is a neurologist from Boston, MA . He is a fellow of the AANEM. Dr. Ensrud has a long standing interest in promoting quality, effective, and appropriate EMG testing.
Minnesota
Dr.
Joel Gedan is a neurologist from Edina, MN. He has been in practice for 24 years,
focusing primarily on EDX medicine. Dr. Gedan has done medical-legal work and
has reviewed cases for insurance companies, such as State Farm, for inappropriate
and fraudulent billing. He is interested in learning more about reimbursement
issues and maintaining high standards for providers performing EDX studies.
Michigan
Dr.
Kneiser is a fellow member who joined the AANEM in 1994. She sees a need to
educate payors about quality EDX testing. In 7 years of private practice, Dr.
Kneiser has seen varying levels of quality in some review work she has done
and is motivated by these shortcomings to improve practices through advocacy.
With an undergraduate degree in engineering, she brings a unique perspective
to the technical side of testing. She was one of the first physicians to take
the ABEM maintenance of certification exam in 2002, and has served as an oral
examiner for the ABPMR each of the past 3 years.
Mississippi
Dr. Moore is joined a private practice in Jackson after completing a neurology residency and clinically neurophysiology fellowship at Duke University Medical Center. He joined the AANEM in 2006 and become a fellow member upon passage of the ABEM in 2007. He has assisted his carrier advisory committee on issues related to EMG policies, and worked with the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure to address concerns with traveling neurophysiology labs and nonphysician performance of EDX studies.
Nevada
Dr.
Y. Swamy Venkatesh is a fellow of the AANEM, joining in 1993. He has over 12
years experience in neurology and has been a consultant to insurers. He currently
works in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Nevada 's
School of Medicine. Dr Venkatesh is concerned about the companies now doing
NCSs without supervision and without accompanying EMG studies. His desire is
to educate relevant bodies regarding the use of EDX testing.
New York
Dr
Joseph Carcione has been an AANEM member since 1991. He resides in Yonkers,
NY, and has practiced neurology for over 16 years in a single-specialty practice.
Over the past 10 years he has been involved with the special investigations
unit of a major national healthcare company, assisting in the adjudication and
prosecution of over 30 million dollars of fraudulent claims.
New Jersey
Dr.
Alexander Pendino of
Hamilton,
NJ, is a fellow of the AANEM
and has been a member since 1995. He has 13 years of experience as a neurologist
and currently works in private practice. He has served on a Carrier Advisory
Committee, as a peer reviewer, an expert witness, and has assisted with writing
coverage policies. Dr.
Pendino feels it is necessary to educate payors, regulatory agencies, and physicians
about quality EDX testing, and has personally testified on behalf of the Neurological
Association of New Jersey at the state legislature regarding a bill that defined
needle EMG as the practice of medicine.
North Carolina
Dr.
Yapundich is a fellow member who first joined the AANEM in 1997. He is a Past
President of the North Carolina Neurological Society, a Board Member of the
North Carolina Medical Society, and serves as a neurology representative to
the state’s Carrier Advisory Committee (CAC). Dr. Yapundich looks forward
to using his experience and connections to advance the AANEM’s agenda
for quality EDX medicine.
Ohio
Dr.
David Shuster has been in practice since 1990, previously as Medical Director
of the Rehabilitation Institute of Ohio and currently in private practice. He
is a fellow of the AANEM and is board certified in Pain Medicine and Spinal
Cord Injury Medicine. Dr. Shuster is Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic
Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine and Restorative Care at Wright State University
, Boonshoft School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Physical Medicine
and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington .
Oklahoma
Dr. Pettingell joined the AANEM in 1999 and became a fellow member after passing the ABEM in 2001. In his solo private practice outside Tulsa, Dr. Pettingell is board certified by ABPMR, ABPMR subspecialty pain management and ABIME. He is proud of the time he spends maintaining and improving his knowledge and skill in electrodiagnostic medicine. In his dedication to quality care, he has done chart review and worked to educate nurse reviewers on proper performance of EDX studies. He looks forward to using information from the State Liaison Program to advocate for his patients and improve care in Oklahoma.
Oregon
Dr. Peter Grant, of Medford, OR, is a fellow of the AANEM. He has been
an active member since 1986, serving on a variety of committees. Dr. Grant
is a fellow of the AANEM and has lectured extensively in the area of fraudulent
and abusive EDX practices and how to identify and combat them. In addition
to his work in the fraud arena, he is the chair of the Accreditation committee
for the AANEM.
Pennsylvania
Dr. Warfel is a private practice physiatrist who practices at several of the group’s locations in southcentral Pennsylvania, and serves as a clinical assistant professor at Cornell University Medical College in New York City. He joined the AANEM in 1993 and became a fellow member after passing the ABEM in 1998. He has served on the Professional Practice Committee, Web Site Patient Information Task Force, and is currently on the Course Selection Committee, and Podcast Committee. He looks forward to using the tools of the State Liaison Program to build relationships and ensure the viability of quality EDX testing.
South Carolina
Dr.
Richard Gordon of Charleston, SC, has focused on pain management and rehabilitation
in private practice for over 14 years. He has been a member of AANEM since 1997.
In an effort to affect change, Dr. Gordon recently mailed over 200 information
packets urging physicians to demand quality EDX evaluations. He sent similar
packets to insurance companies, contacted the SC Board of Medical Examiners,
the South Carolina Medical Association, and AAPM&R to inform them regarding
the use of mobile EDX labs that do not meet published guidelines.
Tennessee
Dr.
George Lee practices neurology and neurophysiology in Nashville, TN. He is currently
in private practice. He believes that physicians must be able and willing to
appropriately address payor concerns and requests for assistance in drafting
coverage policies. Dr. Lee is in the early stages of contacting payors and believes
the training and experiences provided by the State Liaison Program will help
him be more effective.
Texas
Goran
Jezic, MD is a diplomate of the ABEM and a fellow of the AANEM. He has maintained
a dedicated EDX lab in Houston, Texas since 1996 and is currently working in
a solo diagnostic consulting practice. Dr. Jezic believes that in order to ensure
quality patient care and preserve scarce healthcare dollars, the privilege of
practicing EDX medicine must be restricted to appropriately trained and credentialed
physicians.
Utah
Dr.
Ockey works in a multispecialty private practice and is a fellow member who
joined the AANEM in 1996. A physiatrist who specializes in pain management,
Dr. Ockey is interested in seeing the quality of electrodiagnostic studies increased
by educating insurance payors and referring physicians about electrodiagnostic
medicine in general and about the differing levels of training and expertise
in those performing these studies.
He hopes to use the
training in the State Liaison Program to promote higher quality of care for
patients undergoing
electrodiagnostic studies.
Virginia
Dr.
Douglas Wayne is from Richmond, VA and is currently in an orthopaedic group
practice. He serves as a Carrier Advisory Committee member and has previously
reviewed claims for fraudulent billing.He has contacted some insurance companies
to educate them about reimbursement for EDX procedures and would like additional
training.
Washington
Dr.
Mohammad Saeed has been a fellow of the AANEM and has been a member since 1978.
During this time, he has served on six AANEM committees. He currently resides
in Tacoma, WA and works at the Electrodiagnosis & Rehabilitation Associates
of Tacoma. Dr. Saeed was recognized as the recipient of the 2005 AANEM Advocacy
Award for his efforts in educating payors, including workers compensation in
his state.
