On Tues., June 26, over 120 ASIPP members gathered in the Russell Senate building where they were honored with Congressional speeches form nine senators and representatives. At the conclusion of the Legislative Session, members went on to meet with their elected officials to present our legislative issues.

• Physician Payment Reform
• ASC Reform
• NASPER Funding

Members visited with more than 146 officials on the two days of meetings. We thank and applaud all the members who took time out of their busy schedules to represent interventional pain management and ASIPP on Capitol Hill.

Please mark your calendars today for the 2008 Annual Meeting, Legislative Session and Capitol Hill visits. Plan to celebrate the ASIPP 10th Anniversary Meeting as well as make your voice heard on Capitol Hill on June 21 - 25, 2008.

Physician fees would be cut by 9.9 percent in the coming year under a payment plan proposed Monday by Medicare, the federal government's health program for people 65 and older and some younger people with disabilities. (Pack, July 3, 2007, The Tennessean)

Congress has stepped in to prevent similar cuts in the past, and doctors' groups are urging lawmakers to intervene once again this year. It isn't clear what impact would result for patients on Medicare. Doctors have suggested that poor pay rates could cause more physicians to bolt from the federal health-care program, limiting choices for the elderly.

The Tennessean

The Centers for Medicare  Medicaid Services (CMS) projects that it will pay approximately $58.9 billion to 900,000 physicians and other health care professionals in calendar year (CY) 2008, under a proposed rule released today that would revise payment rates and policies under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). This proposed rule is a further step in Medicare's efforts to ensure that payment policies provide incentives to improve the quality of care.

"This proposed rule builds on the changes the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services made last year to pay more appropriately for practice expenses and to transform Medicare into an active purchaser of higher quality services, rather than just paying for procedures" said acting CMS Administrator Leslie V. Norwalk, Esq. "It also includes an important new initiative to encourage the use of electronic prescribing to improve the speed and accuracy of care furnished to beneficiaries, as well as proposals for additional quality measures for use in the Physician Voluntary Reporting Initiative in 2008."

The Tax Reform and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA) directed that quality measures in future years be developed through the notice and comment rulemaking process. In this proposed rule, CMS outlines measures from seven categories for inclusion in the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), provided that the measures are either endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF) or adopted by the AQA Alliance.

CMS Press Release

ASIPP is offering a Comprehensive Pain Medicine Board Review Course for physicians seeking board certification or re-certification for ABMS Pain Medicine examination or for American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians Part I examination.

The review course will be held on Aug. 5-10 in Nashville, TN This six-day intensive Board Review Course is a CME activity which is geared to prepare physicians for their pain boards but can also serve an in-depth review of the specialty of pain medicine.

To register on-line or for more information on the review course or to register, visit our Web site.

Meetings

ABIPP Part I To Be Administered in August

ABIPP Part 1 exam will be administered in Nashville, TN, on Aug. 11, 2007 and registration is now open. The minimum requirements for eligibility are:

• A Primary ABMS or AOA board certification
• An active license to practice medicine in the UnitedStates
  

ABIPP
Review Course Information

• ABIPP Application

A bill that would have allowed nurse anesthetists to perform interventional pain management procedures has officially died! The Louisiana Society of of Interventional Pain Physicians and the Louisiana Society of Anesthesiologists were able to defeat this bill and the attempts of the bill's sponsor to violate Louisiana legislative procedure.

S.B. 322 had passed the Senate last week and was scheduled to be voted upon in the House Health Committee. In violation of Louisiana's legislative rules, the sponsor deleted the text of an entirely different bill (HB 534) and attached the pain language to the new HB 534 pain bill. On Wednesday, 55 members of the House prevented a floor vote on the pain bill (39 supported; 11 abstained).

Legislators who opposed their position prevented the vote the following day. The Louisiana Medical Board assisted in the defeat by stating that pain is the practice of medicine (see opinion).

LSA's lobbyist remarked that the nurses' grassroots efforts resulted in their strong presence at each committee hearing. LA- ANA hired 4 lobbyists at the beginning of the session and ended the session with 7 or 8 lobbyists.

Authorizing nurse anesthetists to perform interventional pain management procedures appears to be a top priority for AANA. AANA's Vice President was a major player and based on the aggressive tactics used in the Louisiana case, it is likely that AANA will continue to advance this issue in other states, as they have already attempted in California.

July 2, 2007 - Atlanta - Dr. Phillippe C. Astin, III, 52, of Carrollton, Georgia, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for illegal distribution of prescription drugs, including Percocet, Adderall, Lorcet, and Xanax, outside the usual scope of medical practice and not for legitimate medical purposes. Astin was charged in a seven-count criminal indictment. He was initially charged in a federal criminal complaint issued last Friday, after DEA agents and officers from the Fayette and Carroll County Sheriff's Offices executed search warrants at his medical office last week.

David E. Nahmias, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, said, "Prescription drugs are controlled substances because if they are abused, they can cause serious addiction, illness, or even death. Dr. Astin allegedly prescribed such drugs like candy, with little regard for appropriate medical practice or the recipients' health. Dirty doctors should be on notice that they face federal prosecution and prison time as we work with the DEA and other law enforcement partners to protect the health and safety of our communities."

See Bloomberg.com for additional story.

DEA

The ASIPP Comprehensive Imaging Review in Interventional Pain Management will be held on July 13-15, 2007 in Las Vegas, with a competency certification in Fluoroscopic Interpretation and Radiation Safety for Physicians only to follow on July 16. Online brochure and registration are now available.

The comprehensive seminar, offered every other year only, is designed to provide interventional pain physicians with the ability to understand radiological evaluations and fluoroscopic interpretation.

This course is an essential component for interventional pain physicians and will provide educational opportunities to assist you in providing high quality, competent, safe, and cost-efficient services to your patients.

Brochure <http://www.asipp.org/documents/LasVegas07.pdf>

Register Today!

A survey of physician leaders said money and communication problems are among major barriers to providing good patient care. But there were some bright spots.

A lack of money and resources, poor communication among health care professionals and a desire to keep the status quo are among the biggest hurdles physicians struggle to overcome. When it comes to implementing quality and safety initiatives, many doctors fight to find the right balance between what's best for their patients and what's best for the health care organization.

AMANews.com

Interventional Techniques in Chronic Spinal Pain is the premier manual for interventional pain management physicians. This must have text book has an expected publication date of Summer 2007. All proceeds go to the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.

Pre-order your copy today!

The Georgia Society of Interventional Pain Physicians will hold its Annual Summer Meeting on July 20-22, 2007 at Lake Oconee, Greensboro, Georgia.

Registration Form and Information