Plan to attend the March 6-8, 2008 Interventional Techniques Review Course, Cadaver Workshop, and ABIPP Part II Preparation.

The review course includes one day of didactics covering various interventional techniques and one and a half days of hands-on cadaver workshop designed to meet the needs of interventional pain physicians seeking to refresh or learn new skills and also for those who desire instruction for the ABIPP Part II examination.

During this 3-day event, you can improve existing skills, learn new skills, prepare for the interventional techniques certification, or prepare for the board examination. Whether you have been practicing interventional pain management for many years or are new to the field with basic skills, we are confident you will find this review course and cadaver workshop to be beneficial as it is essential to keep learning. We trust you will be eager to join us for this opportunity to professional enhancement.

The seminar will be conducted at the Westin Memphis Beale Street and the world famous Medical Education and Research Institute (MERI) in Memphis, TN. Make your plans early to attend. We look forward to seeing you in Memphis.

Meetings

Brochure

Online Registration

The deadline for the Physician Practice Information Survey has been extended through the end of January do to insuffient data. Interventional Pain Management nees 20 more surveys.

Please note that if you were selected to take the survey, you would have already received it. ASIPP did not distribute the surveys. They were distributed and are maintained by dmrkynetec survey firm. If you are unsure whether or not you received one, contact drmrkynetec at 877- 816-8940. They can assist you.

If you have recieved a survey (a limited number were sent out) and have questions, please call 1-877-816-8940 to speak with one of dmrkynetec's executive interviewers about the 2008 Physician Information and Practice Expense Survey.

The survey results will be used to positively influence national decision makers to ensure accurate and fair representation for all physicians and patients, and to articulate the challenges of running a practice that provides expert patient care, while operating a business that is sustainable. It is clear that by sending in your survey, you can directly affect your future.

If you received a survey, ASIPP encourages you to respond as soon as possible.

The first quarter CCI edits Version 15.0 are now available. There are no major changes.

CCI Updates

Three Bush administration rules limiting federal Medicaid spending will go into effect on April 1 without action by Congress and the Obama administration, but three others could be rescinded by the new administration alone -- including a rule ending federal funding for graduate medical education (Trapp, amednews.com, Jan. 12, 2009).

The six rules are part of a Bush administration effort to scale back the federal government's Medicaid obligations so the program covers only what President Bush contends is required by law. The new policies would reduce federal spending by at least $12.4 billion over five years. Health care organizations affected by the reductions have argued that the White House and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are overstepping their authority.

American Medical News

In the spirit of the New Year, I'm reading three- that's right, three-self-improvement books that I hope will help me be better organized and more efficient at home and at work. I'm learning how to manage paperwork and e-mail, make to-do lists that don't end up crumpled in the bottom of my purse sans checkmarks, and master time management once and for all. Most of all, I want to learn how to get more done in less time, so I have more time to enjoy my life. These days-with staff dwindling and budgets disappearing-doesn't everybody? (Shaw, HealthLeaders, Jan. 14, 2009)

In an effort to rein in health care costs, Massachusetts health officials have toughened their certificate-of-need requirements, including new rules for physician-owned ambulatory surgical centers (Sorrel, amednews.com, Jan. 12, 2009).

The state's Dept. of Public Health approved amendments to the state's CON law that require single-specialty surgery centers to demonstrate a community need before getting state approval to open a new facility. The physician-owned centers previously were exempt from the process, which largely regulated hospital projects.

Unsafe injection practices such as those of Dr. Harvey Finkelstein have exposed at least 60,000 patients to hepatitis B and hepatitis C in the past decade, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Ochs, Newday.com, Jan. 11, 2009).

Calling it "a wider and growing problem," the CDC documented 33 outbreaks that resulted in 448 people getting hepatitis B or C from doctors' offices or clinics from 1998 to 2008.

Physician investors are finding little comfort in the familiar adage that healthcare is recession-proof. It seems 2009 might be the year that proves that theory false ( Kirchheimer, Moderan Physician, Jan. 12, 2009)

As with other industries feeling the pinch of an economy in a downward spiral, physician-owned businesses are scrambling to shore up declining revenue and make tough decisions to prepare for an uncertain, if not grim, year ahead.

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Ending a practice doctors say underpaid them and led to higher costs for patients, UnitedHealth Group Inc. on Tuesday agreed to pay $50 million to establish a new database that will be used to determine rates for patients who choose physicians outside the insurance giant's network (Japsen, Chicago Tribune, Jan. 14, 2009).

Becker's ASC Review provides an analysis of the average staff hourly wages and the administrator's salary in an ASC by region of the county, based on the VMG Health 2008 Intellimarker.

If your state society has news to share, send it to mmartin@asipp.org

The AM CPT 2009 Professional Edition, AMA HCPCS 2009 Level II, and AMA Physician ICD-9-CM 2009 - Vol. 1 & 2 are now available online. Get prepared for the new year by purchasing your copies today.

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Visit the ASIPP Web site to find available positions for IPM physicians.