The Online Abstract Submission for the 10th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians is now open. The meeting will be held June 21- June 25, 2008 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Washington, DC.

To be considered for a presentation at the meeting, abstracts must be submitted and completed by the submission deadline of 5 pm Central Standard Time (CST) Friday, December 28, 2007.

Click here for rules an submission direction

All 3 final rules are now in. The brutal cuts to physician payments, specifically in the office setting, appear to be final for physician payments and ASCs. We really can't blame anyone except ourselves. Because our reaction has been so poor, we must stand up and take the blame.

Having admitted our own failures, let us do something about it. Let us NOW stand up and ACT. There is still time. up your efforts to contact your Congressional officials. We must act immediately if we are to make an impact.

Please send or continue to send letters. Your letters are not enough though you must get signatures from your patients and encourage your colleagues to get involved as well. It is up to you to make them aware and believe us they care. If you truly are interested in saving your practices and medicine in general, please act immediately.

To send a letter from yourself click on the Physician Capwiz Letter link below. You may edit the letter or send it as it is. You may send it through Capwiz or fax or mail the letter on your personal or business letterhead. The choice is yours.

Please take the time to send a letter today. Additionally, we urge you to have your patients sign the letter and support this effort as well.

• Capwiz Physician Letter
• Capwiz Patient Letter
• Capwiz Staff Letter
• Capwiz Citizen Letter
  

1. Customize and print off copies of the sample
2. Identify patients' state, putting the names of their Senators and Representative at the top of the page along with the President. Only one letter with all the names is necessary (see example).
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 or hand out to your patients for more information
   

• Example Physician Letter
• Example Patient Letter
• Example Staff Letter
• Example Citizen Letter

ASIPP has received notification and is pleased to announce that as per DEA Administrator Karen Tandy's promise, the notice regarding the Multiple Schedule II Rule, has now been prepared and will be published in the Federal Register on Nov. 19, 2007. The rule entitled, "Issuance of Multiple prescriptions for Schedule II Controlled Substance," will take effect on Dec. 9, 2007.

The final rule amends DEA's previous regulation to allow practitioners to provide individual patients with multiple prescriptions for a specific schedule II controlled substance, written on the same date, to be filled sequentially.

The new rule allows physicians to write three separate prescriptions with staggered fill dates. Patients can still be given the equivalent of a 90-day prescription for schedule II controlled substances when medically appropriate.

Tandy's Sept. 6, 2006 presentation "Dispensing Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain"

Make plans to attend ASIPP's comprehensive review course and hands-on cadaver workshop dedicated solely to vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty and Sacroplasty on February 16-18, 2007 in Memphis TN. This CME educational program will consist of didactics covering various aspects of vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty, followed by a comprehensive hands- on cadaver workshop.

The course is designed to prepare physicians seeking credentialing or as an in-depth review of vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty. Participants will experience a comprehensive learning opportunity focused on all aspects of vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, and Sacroplasty.

Register before Jan. 18, 2008 to obtain the early registration discount! Visit the ASIPP Web site for more information.

A clear indication that Michigan's 1993 tort reforms are working is that the state's largest physician medical malpractice insurer is cutting its premiums by 12 to 25 percent for Wayne County physicians, the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) announced today at a news conference in Detroit. (DETROIT, Nov. 20, PRNewswire-USNewswire)

The average decrease for all physicians in Wayne County will be 13 percent beginning January 1, according to American Physicians Assurance Corporation, a medical liability insurer based in East Lansing that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the publicly held American Physicians Capital, Inc. (APCapital). Statewide, American Physicians' malpractice insurance rates will be reduced by an average of 6.5 percent in 2008.

"Michigan's carefully designed tort reforms do not deny a truly injured patient from just compensation," said Sophie J. Womack, MD, a Detroit neonatalogist who serves as president of the Wayne County Medical Society of Southeast Michigan and as a member of the MSMS board of directors. "The reforms have helped reduce the 'lottery mentality' of each mal- occurrence, or bad outcome, from becoming a lawsuit."

The cost of chronic pain to Australia is $34 billion each year, but more than half of that is wasted owing to inadequate medical services and lack of doctor education about pain management, a landmark study has found.

Measuring the economic impact of pain for the first time, the study, by Access Economics and the University of Sydney's Pain Management Research Institute, found that chronic pain cost the economy $34.3 billion in 2007 - nearly $11,000 for each of the 3.2 million Australians living with the condition.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Tucked inside the tale of a Long Island pain management doctor who used unsafe infection control practices is a growing public health concern: the risks of transmitting blood-borne diseases through medicine vials that hold more than one dose and can be used for injections for multiple patients.

Reused needles and syringes have long been known to put patients and health care workers at risk of contracting hepatitis or H.I.V. through infected blood in the needles and syringes.

Reused needles and syringes have long been known to put patients and health care workers at risk of contracting hepatitis or H.I.V. through infected blood in the needles and syringes.

The New York Times

Large physician groups have long had a head start on solo and small practices in the medical marketplace because they can negotiate better health plan contracts. Now, a rising tide of evidence indicates that size also confers a quality advantage.

Researchers admit that the medical literature emerging on the relationship between group size and quality is far from a slam dunk. They argue, however, that bigger physician groups can pool capital to pay for electronic medical records systems and other quality initiatives that help them more reliably deliver guideline-based care.

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 Physician -- Louisville, Kentucky

Pain Management -- Florida

Pain Management Opportunity -- Pennsylvania

Entrepreneurial Opportunity -- Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Florida Opportunities

Pain Medicine Fellowship Program Opportunity

Interventional Pain Specialist -- Toledo, Ohio

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

Interventional Pain Medicine Physician -- St. Cloud, Minnesota

Entrepreneurial Opportunity -- Wooster, Ohio

Musculoskeletal Interventionalist -- Dallas, Texas

Interventional Pain Specialist - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Interventional Pain Physician -- New Hampshire

Interventional Pain Physiatrist Wanted - Nevada

ASIPP is now offering the Interventional Techniques In Chronic Spinal Pain to all meeting registrants at the special price of 50% off.

Interventional Techniques in Chronic Spinal Pain is the premier manual for interventionalists. With detailed descriptions of practical techniques in interventional pain management this is a must have publication for all interventioanl pain physicians. Additionally Eeach book comes with a complimentary CD version of the book.

To order your copy, go to ASIPP Web site.

ASIPP Publishing

Scott Haig's Time's article edxplores the new trend of "Google shopping" for doctors.