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SDMS Sound NewsTM
 Volume 5, Issue 6
June 30, 2003

 ISSN 1543-0448

 
  In This Issue...

This issue of SDMS Sound News is sponsored by the SDMS Educational Foundation.

SDMS Sound News is a way of sharing important or time-sensitive news with our members. It supplements our print newsletter, News Wave and provides links to new information and services available on the SDMS web site. SDMS Sound News is published monthly. An archive of past issues is available at http://www.sdms.org/lists/soundnewsarchive.asp 		 
  SDMS Member: [[FirstName]] [[LastName]]
Membership Expires: [[ExpDate]]
Email Address: [[Email]] 		 
  1. Don't Miss Your Chance to Vote!

Only a few days remain until the end of the 2003 SDMS Board of Directors election. Voting will end at 11:59 pm (central time) on July 2.

Members in the following membership categories are eligible to vote in this election: DMS, TEC, FEL, APS® (check your membership card if you are unsure of your membership category). The open Board positions include:

  • President Elect
  • Vice President
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Region 2 Director (Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North & South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming)
  • Region 7 Director (Canada)

Candidate Forums: Special "discussion forums" have been setup where members can communicate directly with the candidates on issues.

        http://www.sdms.org/members/forums/

Frequently Asked Questions: Answers to questions you may have about the voting process.

        http://www.sdms.org/members/vote/default.asp#faq

Candidate Profiles: Each candidate has provided a statement and information about their professional experience.

        http://www.sdms.org/members/vote/candidates.asp

Voting Instructions: Simple steps for placing your vote!

        http://www.sdms.org/members/vote/default.asp#instructions

Please remember TO VOTE before 11:59 pm on July 2! 		 
  2. Standards for Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders

Industry standards for the prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WRMSD) are now available thanks to the efforts of professionals from key constituencies within the diagnostic medical sonography field. These include professional organizations and equipment manufacturers, as well as credentialing, accreditation, and governmental agencies. Members of these groups attended a consensus conference hosted by the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) in Dallas, Texas on May 13-14, 2003. Joan P. Baker, MSR, RDMS, RDCS, FSDMS, chaired this project to develop risk-reducing industry standards that serve to address the multifaceted problem of WRMSD in sonography.

For more information, visit:

  http://www.sdms.org/news/release06172003.asp

The industry standards are available at:

  http://www.sdms.org/pdf/wrmsd2003.pdf (requires Acrobat Reader) 		 
  3. Act Now for BIG Savings on the BIG Time in BIG D

Save $100 on a full 2½ day registration by submitting your registration and payment on or before August 22. It's time to register for the best conference in sonography, the SDMS 2003 Annual Conference.

    BIG Time in BIG D
    October 16-19, 2003
    Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion
    Dallas, Texas

Conference Registration brochures were mailed to SDMS members in May and can be viewed/printed from the SDMS website.

  • SDMS CME Credits: up to 17.5 for 2½ day program
  • Optional SDMS Credits: up to 10.0 for Pre-conference Tutorials and Lunch and Learn sessions
Complete the Registration Form in the back of the brochure or register online with a credit card! Contact meetings@sdms.org for more information. 		 
  4. SDMS Teddy Bear

This month's featured sale item is this irresistible, cuddly 8" brown teddy bear which is outfitted with a red shirt with

I Sonography

in white letters. This cute bear makes a perfect gift for anyone on your gift-giving list." Quantities are limited. Sale prices expires July 31st.

Item# Description Member Price Non-Member Price
4006 Teddy Bear $10  $5 $15  $10

To print an order form, visit:

  http://www.sdms.org/products/orderform.asp 		 
  5. State Medicare Regulation List for Vascular Studies Updated

Thirty-nine states either require or recommend sonographer credentialing and/or lab accreditation for reimbursement for non-invasive vascular studies. The number of states that have such standards in place for Medicare providers continues to grow with five states recently added to the list.

SDMS has a current listing available for SDMS members. This listing includes the states, the Medicare Carrier, the carrier policy number (if available), and the effective date that the policy went into effect. The SDMS is working with a coalition of ultrasound organizations to support the expansion of credentialing/accreditation policies by local Medicare carriers.

For more information, visit:

  http://www.sdms.org/members/gov/medicare.asp 		 
  6. New Requirement Now In Place for Vascular Lab Technical Directors

The Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Laboratories (ICAVL) has set a new policy requiring the "Technical Director" of an accredited lab to be credentialed. This new policy went into effect at the beginning of this year. Labs were provided with plenty of notification lead-time for this new policy with the first notification distributed in the spring of 2000.

Accredited vascular laboratories will be required to meet this requirement upon submission of their reaccreditation applications. A one-year transition period for labs without a current credentialed Technical Director is available for ICAVL accreditation applicants, however, an action plan providing for Technical Director credentialing within the year must be submitted with the lab accreditation application. Sandy Katanick, Executive Director for ICAVL, provided this quote for Sound News; "This was the right thing to do for the profession and for the patients served in these laboratories."

For more information on ICAVL, visit:

  http://www.icavl.org/ 		 
  7. Recommended Software Upgrade

Adobe has released an update to their FREE Acrobat Reader software. Version 6.0 is available for download if you use Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP or Mac OS (10.2.2 or later).

We recommend you upgrade your Acrobat Reader to version 6.0 to ensure you can view/print all of our SDMS website content in the future.

If you are unsure which version of Acrobat Reader is installed on your computer, there is a web page that will check for you. Visit:

  http://www.sdms.org/hawk/acrobatcheck.asp

Acrobat Reader Version 6.0 is available for FREE at:

  http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html 		 
  8. News & Notes

The News & Notes column includes links to web-based news articles of interest to sonographers. To submit articles, send the URL to webmaster@sdms.org

 		 
  9. Important Dates

2003
June 30 SDMS Educational Foundation Awards deadline
July 14 Student Sonographer Poster Competition deadline
July 14 Sonographer Poster Competition deadline
July 31 SDMS Educational Foundation General Scholarship deadline
July 31 SDMS Educational Foundation - Trudy Dubinsky Memorial Scholarship deadline
July 31 SDMS Educational Foundation - SDMS Presidential Scholarship deadline
Aug 22 SDMS 2003 Annual Conference Early Bird Registration deadline
Oct 1-31 Medical Ultrasound Awareness Month (MUAM)
Oct 16 - 19 SDMS 2003 Annual Conference
Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion
Dallas, Texas
Nov 30 SDMS Educational Foundation General Scholarship deadline

A Big Time in Big D
October 16-19, 2003
Dallas, Texas
 
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NOTE: Viewing and/or printing some of the web pages highlighted in SDMS Sound News may require Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or above. You can download a free copy at the Adobe website.
Questions, suggestions, or comments? Send an email to webmaster@sdms.org
© Copyright 2003. Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Plano, TX. All Rights Reserved.