ASIPP is offering a new feature for those who advertise on our Postions Wanted section of the ASIPP Website. As a service to our advertisers and our members, we will list the link to each current job posting.

Interventional Pain Specialist -- Paducah, KY and Marion, IL

Interventional Pain Medicine Physician – St. Cloud, Minnesota

Entrepreneurial Opportunity -- BE/BC Fellowship Trained Pain Physician(s)

Musculoskeletal Interventionalist -- Dallas, Texas

100% Pain Practice For an Anesthesiologist or Physiatrist -- Wisconsin

Pain Management Openings Fellowship Opportunities -- Florida

Interventional Physiatrist -- Wilmington, North Carolina

Pain Specialist -- Wisconsin

PainCare Holding, Inc.

The  Comprehensive Interventional Cadaver Workshop and Review Course, Oct 5-7, 2007 will feature instruction for all levels of expertise; basic, intermediate and a special advanced session on discography techniques for the advanced section. This section will include minimally invasive disc surgery and LASE. The course will provide informative lectures preceding the hands-on instruction.

The course is a CME activity which is ideal for physicians who are seeking board certification or for those who are looking for an in-depth review of interventional techniques. Don't miss this excellent opportunity for professional enhancement.

Online Brochure

CMS is accepting comment letters regarding "Revisions to Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule, and Other Part B Payment Policies for CY 2008." It is crucial that we send as many comment letters as possible before the cut-off date of Friday, August 31, 2007 at 5 pm.

Whether you practice in an office setting, ASC, or HOPD, it is essential that you participate in the effort to convince CMS to reevaluate payment methodology.  Comment letters can be sent by anyone, but physicians make a huge impact. You can edit the sample letter as appropriate for you, your friends, family, or patients.    

• 1. Click on the link to access the sample comment letter. Save the file on your computer.
• 2. You may then format the letter on your own letterhead and send it my mail to the address listed on the top of the letter. If you send your letter this way you MUST send the original with two additional copies (3 total).
• 3. You may also send them electronically using the link provided: CMS Comment Link
  

If you mail your comment letter please send it to the following address:
Centers for Medicare  Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: CMS-1385-P, Mail Stop C4-26-05, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244-1850.

Remember, it must be received by COB this Friday, August 31st.

On Monday, Governor Blagojevich signed the law which will expand the state's monitoring of highly habit- forming prescription drugs.  The legislation unanimously passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly last May. This new law, again, reasserts Illinois as a leader in the effort to stem the misuse of prescription medications.  The expansion and the seven day reporting cycle will now conform to the 2005 federal guidelines (the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act).  The expansion will also specifically comply with the federal HIPAA law (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).

Prior to this expansion, only medications such as Ritalin, Adderall, Oxycontin and Tylox were among those reported to the Illinois Department of Human Services' Bureau of Pharmacy. The new law will require the reporting of dispensed prescriptions, such as Vicodin, Tylenol #3, Valium and Xanax. Many of the medications not previously monitored contained the same active chemical as those which were monitored. The expanded pharmacy reporting will assist law enforcement in its effort to manage illegal activity, and the reporting will provide assistance to the medical community in its effort to manage the addiction behavior of patients.

Illinois Senate Bill 30

Please continue to send letters, faxes and make calls to Congress. Make your office "Lobbying Central" by encouraging your patients to also participate in this campaign.    We are near the end of the year and the pending cuts are now just around the corner. Please don't wait until the last moment to take action. We must once again contact our elected officials. It is crucial we continue to make them aware of our legislative issues.    

• Physician Payment Reform
• ASC Reimbursement Cuts
• NASPER Funding
  

1. Customize and print off copies of the sample
2. Identify patients' state
3. As your patients sign out, ask them to fill out and
4. Using the patient Capwiz link assign a staff
5. Also you can print off the ASIPP Advocacy page and post
   

Patient Letter

ASIPP Advocacy

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule late Friday that would update the existing conditions of coverage that ASCs must meet in order to bill for Medicare services. The new requirements will "reflect contemporary standards of practice in the ASC community, as well as recommendations from the HHS Inspector General ... [and] promote and protect patient access to quality services in ASCs," says CMS.

The agency says that the updated ASC procedure list and the pursuant changes in procedure mix in ASCs and office-based facilities are large parts of the impetus for the move.

The proposed new conditions of participation include the following, according to CMS:

• creating a more comprehensive quality assessment and performance improvement condition (QAPI) that enables ASCs to take tailored proactive steps to ensure quality care
• requiring the ASC's governing body to be responsible for the oversight and accountability for the updated QAPI program
• adding a disaster-preparedness plan standard to address emergency preparedness within the facility and interaction with local and state officials
• adding requirements for radiologic services provided in an ASC to ensure they are parallel to the requirements for furnishing laboratory services
• adding a new patient rights condition to address disclosure of physician financial interests in the ASC, advance directives, the grievance process and confidentiality of clinical records
• adding a comprehensive patient assessment requirement to ensure that accurate and thorough assessments are conducted to assure appropriate and safe surgery, and that patients would be able to tolerate a scheduled surgical procedure
  

Public comments will be accepted until Oct. 30; a final rule will be issued later this year.

Becker's ASC Review

CMS has posted to its Web site the long and anxiously awaited final rule that interprets the Stark law prohibitions and exceptions governing referrals that physicians make to entities in which they have a financial stake. "In general, in response to public comments, in this Phase 3 final rule, we have reduced the regulatory burden on the healthcare industry,"  CMS concludes in its summary.

The Phase 2 draft of the rule has been in effect since 2004. The rule is slated to be published in the Federal Register on Sept. 5 and go into effect 90 days later.

CMS Press Release

Stark Regulations - CMS Final Rule

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is concerned that nursing infants may be at increased risk of morphine overdose if their mothers are taking codeine and are ultra-rapid metabolizers of codeine. The agency has reviewed all available information on this subject since a medical journal reported the death of a 13-day old breastfed infant who died from morphine overdose. The morphine levels in the mother's milk were abnormally high after taking small doses of codeine to treat episiotomy pain. A genetic test showed that the mother was an ultra-rapid metabolizer of codeine.

"Our best advice to physicians prescribing codeine- containing products to nursing mothers is to prescribe the lowest dose needed for the shortest amount of time," said Sandra Kweder, M.D., deputy director of the Office of New Drugs in FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "And nursing mothers should always consult their physicians before taking any codeine containing products."

Codeine is an ingredient found in prescription and non-prescription medicines that are used to relieve pain or treat cough. Once in the body, some of the codeine is converted (metabolized) to morphine. Some people, due to their genetic makeup, metabolize codeine much faster and more completely than others. These people, called ultra-rapid metabolizers, are more likely to have higher-than- normal levels of morphine in their blood after taking codeine. Mothers who are ultra-rapid metabolizers may have higher-than-usual levels of morphine in breast milk.

FDA Press Release

In a significant policy change, Bush administration officials say that Medicare will no longer pay the extra costs of treating preventable errors, injuries and infections that occur in hospitals, a move they say could save lives and millions of dollars. (Robert Pear, August 19, 2007 - The New York Times)

Private insurers are considering similar changes, which they said could multiply the savings and benefits for patients. Under the new rules, to be published next week, Medicare will not pay hospitals for the costs of treating certain "conditions that could reasonably have been prevented."

The New York Times

The Kentucky Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (KSIPP) will hold its Annual Meeting in Lexington, KY on September 15 and 16 at the Hyatt Regency in beautiful downtown Lexington.

The meeting will begin at noon on Sat., Sept. 15 and end mid-day on Sun., Sept. 16. Lecture topics will include: Development of a DVD for Anatomical Sciences; SCS Controversies; Intrathecal Low Dose Opioids for Chronic Pain; Discography for IPM; Medicaid Forum for Drug Diversion; Legislative Challenges Facing IPM, and many other interesting and informative topics.

In addition to many informative lectures, we will also hold a fundraiser for Kentucky Congressman Ben Chandler who is a friend of ASIPP and serves on the Appropriations Committee. I hope all of you will attend. Mark you calendar, bring your staff and family and enjoy a wonderful weekend in Lexington, Kentucky.

Make your hotel reservations by contacting: Hyatt Regency Lexington 401 West High Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40507 859-253-1234 http://lexington.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp Tell the booking agent you are reserving under ASIPP to receive the discount rate of $129 - Reserve early as all unbooked rooms will be released on August 21.

Register Online

Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD takes his oath of office on August 17 at the historical Pouge Library at Murray State University

ASIPP CEO Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD was recently appointed to the Murray State University board of Regents by Kentucky governor Ernie Flectcher. The Murray State University Board of Regents is made up of eight members appointed by the Governor and three other members, including a teaching faculty representative, a non-teaching employee representative and the student body president.