March 7-9, 2008

• Review Course and Cadaver Workshop - March 7- 8
• FIPP Exam - March 9
  

• Review Course in Fluoroscopy
• ABIPP Competency Certification Exam in Fluoroscopic Interpretation and Radiation Safety
• Cadaver Workshop - May 17-18 (Basic and Intermediate)
  

• ASIPP 10th Annual Meeting Celebration
• Featuring Practice Management for Interventional Pain Physicians and Professionals
• Legislative Session and Capitol Hill Visits
• Abstract Presentations

• Board Review Course
• Coding, Compliance and Practice Management
• Controlled Substance Management
• ABIPP Competency Examinations
• ABIPP Part I Examination
  

• Review Course and Cadaver Workshop

• Review Course and Cadaver Workshop In Spinal Cord Stimulation

At the end of December Congress put a short- lived hold on a huge physician reimbursement cut. This year there are many problems we must address; the July 1 reimbursement cut, ASC payment cuts, NASPER funding, and increased costs, reimbursement denials, and ACOEM and ODG Guideline issues which will affect reimbursement. The issues seem insurmountable but with your help, we can tackle each one of these issues, one-by-one and win.

1. Physician Reimbursement Cuts
2. ASC Cuts
3. NASPER Funding

Send a letter addressing all three issues through Capwiz: http://capwiz.com/asipp/issues/alert/?alertid=11058511=CO

Our government officals need to hear from our patients as well. This is easy to accomplish; print out the patient letter we have provided and ask all your patients to sign it (the last page of the word document for your state, see link in paragraph above). After you obtain these signatures your staff can send them as a Capwiz letter using the following link: http://capwiz.com/asipp/issues/alert/?alertid=11058731=CO

If you have any questions, call the ASIPP office for assistance: 270-554-9412.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that $371.5 million in improper Medicare payments has been collected from or repaid to health care providers and suppliers as part of a demonstration program using recovery audit contractors (RACs) in California, Florida and New York in 2007. Nearly $440 million has been collected since the program began in 2005.

"We need to ensure accurate payments for services to Medicare beneficiaries and by taking this important step, people with Medicare can be assured they are being charged correctly for their share of their health care services," Acting CMS Administrator Kerry Weems said. "The RAC demonstration program has proven to be successful in returning overpayments to the Trust Fund and identifying ways to prevent future improper payments. We will use the lessons we learned from the demonstration program to help us implement the national RAC program next year." To view the entire Press Release: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media /press/release.asp?Counter=2943

For more information on the RAC program and to view the FY 2007 Status Document, visit: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/RAC/

A doctor accused of prescribing pain narcotics to patients he never met will plead guilty to a charge that arose from an Internet pharmacy in Alabama, the U.S. Attorney's Office there announced yesterday.

Dr. Harold C. Spear III, charged with prescribing hydrocodone pain pills over the Internet, insisted yesterday that his business is legitimate and that he will fight to retain his pain management practice once his license to practice is reinstated. He has not yet pleaded guilty to anything, but "I'm helping" federal authorities in Honolulu, he added.

His lawyer, Michael Green, said yesterday that "we're in the process of negotiation," and the case will "be resolved in a way other than going to trial."

The Alabama charge will be transferred to the federal court in Honolulu, where Spear is facing an additional 20 counts of prescribing OxyContin pain pills for "no legitimate medical purpose," according to federal officials in a 2007 case.

MiamiHerald.com

In coming weeks, private audit companies will begin scouring mountains of medical records. Their mission: Determine if health care providers erred when billing Medicare and require them to return any overpayments to the federal government. The auditors will keep a tidy percentage for their services.

The contractors have shown they're pretty good at their work. In just three years, they've returned more than $300 million to the federal government -- and that's just from three states. That experiment is winding down. But a larger, national program will soon take its place.

The rollout of "recovery audit contractors" will be gradual. They'll monitor health care providers in 19 states beginning this spring. In October, an additional five states will join.

Read More

On May 16 - 18, ASIPP will hold a Review Course in Fluoroscopy & Cadaver Workshop in Spinal and Non-Spinal Interventional Techniques covering basic and intermediate levels. The course will be held at the Memphis Marriott Downtown and the Medical Education Research Center (MERI) in Memphis, TN.

At the completion of the Fluoroscopy course, physicians will also have the opportunity to sit for the ABIPP Competency Certification Examination in Fluoroscopic Interepretation and Radiation Safety.

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.

Register early and save. Registrations received on or before April 25 may take advantage of the early registration discount.

The Memphis Marriott Downtown is our host hotel for this event. Book your room on or before April 23 to recieve the ASIPP discount group rate of $159. Call 1- 888-557-8740.

Meetings

In marketing as in medicine, perception can be everything. A higher price can create the impression of higher value, just as a placebo pill can reduce pain.

Now researchers have combined the two effects. A $2.50 placebo, they have found, works better one that costs 10 cents.

The finding may explain the popularity of some high- cost drugs over cheaper alternatives, the authors conclude. It may also help account for patients' reports that generic drugs are less effective than brand-name ones, though their active ingredients are identical.

The New York Times

On February 15, 2008, the Food and Drug Administration made available a Draft Guidance for Industry: Good Reprint Practices for the Distribution of Medical Journal Articles and Medical or Scientific Reference Publications on Unapproved New Uses of Approved Drugs and Approved or Cleared Medical Devices (Draft Guidance). This Draft Guidance is intended to address a policy gap left by the expiration of Section 401 of the FDA Modernization Act (FDAMA`). Its publication comes after several years of silence by FDA on the dissemination of reprints discussing unapproved uses of approved products (so-called "off- label uses"), following the decision in Washington Legal Foundation v. Henney. (Arent Fox Legal Update, Feb. 21, 2008)

Read More

MONTREAL, Feb. 28 /CNW Telbec/ - Two of Canada's leading pharmaceutical companies are joining forces with the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) and Quebec's Health and Social Services Ministry (MSSS) to help in the battle against chronic pain and give a boost to Quebec's pain researchers and clinics affiliated with Quebec's four medical-research universities.

The partnership - a first in Canada - is designed to strengthen what is already the country's leading pain research and treatment network, the Quebec Pain Research Network (QPRN), which links pain clinics at Quebec's four university-hospital networks and more than 75 doctors and researchers specialized in chronic pain.

In support of the agency's mission to promote and protect the public health, FDA's Strategic Plan focuses on four strategic goals: Strengthen FDA for today and tomorrow; Improve patient and consumer safety; Increase access to new medical and food products; Improve the quality and safety of manufactured products and the supply chain

FDA

The Online Abstract Submission deadline has been extended to March 31, 2008. ASIPP is seeking abstracts submissions 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 by the submission deadline of 5 pm Central Standard Time (CST) March 31, 2008.

Click here for rules and submission directions.

The Centers for Medicare  Medicaid Services (CMS) is now accepting quality measure suggestions for consideration for possible inclusion in the proposed set of quality measures to be published in the 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Proposed Rule for the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). For details, visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/pqri and select the Measures/Codes tab on the left side of the page. Next, scroll down to the Downloads section and select "Notice of 2009 Measure Suggestions."

CMS

For your convenience, you may now pay your dues online. Click here then click on "Renew Here." No password is required to renew. If you have questions or need assistance contact the ASIPP office at 270-554-9412 Ext. 208

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.

Fellowship Trained Physician — Northwest Indiana

Outpatient Interventional Pain Physician — Atlanta, Georgia

BC/BE Physiatrist — Shrewsbury, New Jersey

100% Pain Practice — Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Partnership Opportunity — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Interventional Pain Physiatrist Wanted — Nevada

Interventional Pain Specialist — Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Pain Management Opportunity — Pennsylvania

Entrepreneurial Opportunity — Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Florida Opportunities

Pain Medicine Fellowship Program Opportunity

Interventional Pain Specialist — Paducah, KY and Marion, IL

Interventional Pain Medicine Physician — St. Cloud, Minnesota