Feb. 8 2006

FIPP Exam, Review Course & Cadaver Workshop Deadlines Extended 

The deadline for applications for the FIPP examination on March 12, 2006 in Memphis, TN, has been extended to Feb. 15. Successful completion of FIPP will satisfy requirements for the American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians ABIPP - Part II examination.

For more details on the FIPP exam or to access the application follow this link…FIPP or contact Paula Brashear at (806) 743-3112 or by e-mail: paula.brashear@ttuhsc.edu

Along with the FIPP examination ASIPP is offering the Interventional Techniques Review Course (March 10) and a Comprehensive Interventional Cadaver Workshop (March 11). The deadline for reduced price registration for both the Cadaver Workshop and Review Course has been extended to Feb. 15.

For information on the review course, cadaver workshop and exam, visit our Web site…March brochure

For more details on the deadline extensions, see News Alert on the ASIPP Web site.

Physician Task Force Confronts Scope-of-Practice Legislation

With 31 states and the District of Columbia expected to face legislation that may alter or expand the scope of more than 20 allied health professions this year, a steering committee of six state medical societies and six medical specialty groups has begun looking for solutions.

The committee with the support of the American Medical Association recently formed a coalition called the Scope of Practice Partnership. In 2006, partnership members plan to conduct research comparing allied health practitioners’ training and qualifications to that of physicians’ education and licensing.

The impending scope-of-practice legislation has also spurred a committee at the Federation of State Medical Boards to create a guide for medical boards and legislatures that outlines key patient safety and quality-of care issues to be considered when facing these legislative changes.

Find the Federation of State Medical Boards for the Special Committee on Scope of Practice informational guide: http://www.fsmb.org/grpol_policydocs.html

Subscribers can read more on this story at: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/

Pain Physician Journal Available on ASIPP Web site

The January 2006 issue of Pain Physician Journal (Volume 9, Issue 1) has been published and can be accessed on the Pain Physician Journal Web site: http://www.painphysicianjournal

Hard copies have been mailed - look for your Pain Physician Journal to arrive soon.

The Year Ahead on Capitol Hill

As the 2006 legislative session moves into full speed this month with lawmakers once again ready to battle out the issues of health care (as reported in the latest issue of the American Medical News). Meanwhile, seniors are trying out new Medicare benefits, and physicians are readying the fight to accomplish ongoing legislative priorities. Likely battles to watch for:

Medicare – physicians face a Medicare cut that will likely take effect at the beginning of next year unless they can secure a rate fix sometime this session.

Tort reform as legacy – Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, MD (R-TN), will be retiring from the upper chamber for a possible 2008 run for the White House and Dr. Frist has been vocal about his desire to leave a legacy of comprehensive federal liability reform.

Health IT gains followers – a growing number of experts attest to the potential to streamline care and improve quality trough the use of health information technology.

The uninsured – many believe President Bush will make health care access his top domestic initiative for the year 2006.

Subscribers can read more on this story at: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/

Certification Review Courses and Examinations: Controlled Substance Management & Coding, Compliance and Practice Management

Register soon for the May 4-8, Intensive Certification Review Courses in Controlled Substance Management and Coding, Compliance and Practice Management and the 2006 Competency Certification Examinations which will be held in Chicago.

Passing both exams will satisfy completion for ABIPP-Part I for physicians with current ABMS subspecialty certification in pain medicine by ABA, ABPMR, ABPN (but NOT non-ABMS certifications). Online registration is available. Visit our Web site at http://www.asipp.org/meetings.htm for more information.

Two Articles ‘Highly Accessed’

More than 7,500 people have accessed the article on a randomized, controlled trial of spinal endoscopic adhesiolysis in chronic refractory low back and lower extremity pain, earning it a “highly accessed” flag on BioMed Central’s online journal, Anesthesiology. The article, authored by Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Mark V. Boswell, Jose J. Rivera, Vidyasagar Pampati, Kim S. Damron, Carla D. McManus, Doris E. Brandon and Sue R. Wilson, has been on the web site since Aug. 1. The “highly accessed” graphic appears on the journal’s table of contents and search results to identify those articles that have been especially highly accessed, relative to their age, and the journal in which they were published. See it at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcanesthesiol/

Also “highly accessed” on BioMed Central’s Musculoskeletal Disorders online journal site is the May 2004 article “Prevalence of facet joint pain in chronic spinal pain of cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions” by Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Mark V. Boswell, Vijay Singh, Vidyasagar Pampati, Kim S. Damron and Carla D. Beyer.  Musculoskeletal Disorders has been accessed by more than 18,700 people. See: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/5/15

Surgery Battle Heats Up in Tennessee

The Tennessee Hospital Association, which lost a court battle two months ago over new state guidelines governing office-based surgery, will now ask state lawmakers to overturn the new rules that officials say will greatly expand the kinds of procedures performed outside of hospitals.

See http://www.modernphysician.com/article.cms?articleId=2304

Activism, Grouping & Technology Can Benefit Docs

What can doctors do to improve their business prospects in 2006? Place your bets on three activities: political and business activism; creative grouping; and physician entrepreneurs using “disruptive technologies” to improve productivity.

Read about this “three-step” program at:  http://www.modernphysician.com/article.cms?articleId=2299