Over the past few months ASIPP has received an increasing number of reports from members of various states that Blue Cross Blue Shield is denying SI Joint injections. We also have learned that at least some of these denials are based on the misinterpretation of the ASIPP Guidelines.

ASIPP has taken action by sending letters to Illinois, Texas and California. If you have experienced denials for this procedure, please let us know so that we can contact BC/BS in your state.

ASIPP, AAPM, ISIS, the American Medical Association (AMA), and more than 70 other medical specialty societies are conducting a comprehensive multi-specialty survey of America's physician practices.

How the survey data will be used

Results from the survey will be used to positively influence national decision makers. The section of the study pertaining to your practice expenses is particularly important, and we request that you complete it accurately in its entirety. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has indicated it will use the results of this study to help determine physician payment. The survey firm, dmrkynetec, has been retained to contact randomly selected physicians and practice managers to collect responses. All responses will remain confidential.

IPM has only 65 completed surveys

At this time, our specialty has 65 completed surveys, with a goal to collect at least 100 responses per specialty. Please alert your staff regarding your willingness to participate in this survey and the importance of accepting incoming calls, faxes or emails from dmrkynetec. A postcard was mailed to the entire physician sample on June 11. If you received this postcard, it is an indication that you have been selected to participate in the survey. If you have been selected to participate in this important effort and have any questions about this survey, please call toll-free at (877) 816-8940 and ask to speak with one of dmrkynetec's executive interviewers about the 2008 Physician Practice Information Survey.

Not sure if you were selected for the survey?

Find out if you have been selected to participate in the survey by visiting the Physician Practice Information Survey Web site and entering your name and zip code.

If you have been selected, the Web site will provide instructions for helping you begin preparations for participating in the survey. Your cooperation is needed and greatly appreciated.

ASIPP and NANS is excited to present an upcoming course in spinal cord stimulation and intrathecal implantable techniques. The review course and hands-on cadaver workshop will take place on Oct. 24-26, 2008 in Memphis, TN.

The course will feature intermediate and advanced levels. Online registration and meeting information will be available by next week. Watch for more information and mark the date to attend.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed that the evidence is adequate to conclude that thermal intradiscal procedures do not improve health outcomes. Because of this CMS has determined that thermal intradiscal procedures are not reasonable and necessary for the treatment of low back pain and we propose to issue a national noncoverage determination for TIPs.

CMS is requesting public comments on this proposed determination. They are particularly interested in comments that include evidence not previously reviewed or that assess their evaluation of the evidence included in the determination.

After considering the public comments and any additional evidence CMS will make a final determination and issue a final decision memorandum.

More information on CMS proposed decision on Intradiscal Procedures, click here

The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) has decided to undertake a national public relations campaign targeted toward informing the millions of Americans who suffer from chronic pain about the relatively new and often confusing specialty of Interventional Pain Management (IPM).

It is our objective to provide an essential understanding of the differences between various pain care practitioners, to promote a basic understanding of the various modalities and benefits our specialty can offer, and to demonstrate what it is that makes IPM physicians unique in their approach to the treatment and elimination of chronic and/or acute pain.

The ASIPP believes that educating the national media, the general public, payors and even other physicians about new and emerging therapies in this rapidly expanding field is the logical and necessary next step for our specialty. We hope you will support this effort by making a contribution to the campaign.

Watch for more information on this important campaign in the upcoming weeks.

We need only 50 more ASIPP members to join the AMA in order to secure a seat on the House of Delegates. The AMA is currently offering a half-price registration special giving you even more incentive to join today!

If you are not a member of the AMA, please go online and join. The process is quick and easy. After you have done so, please send an e-mail to mmartin@asipp.org so we can keep track of our progress.

Thank you in advance for taking this important action to assure IPM is represented in important issues considered by the AMA.

Starting next year, doctors can earn additional money from Medicare if they use electronic prescribing systems, U.S. health officials said Monday.

The bonus program, which will continue for four years, is designed to streamline the prescription process and cut down on errors. According to CMS officials, in 2009 and 2010, Medicare will give doctors an additional 2 percent bonus on top of their fee for "e- prescribing." In 2011 and 2012, the bonus will drop to 1 percent, and in 2013, the bonus will drop again to 0.5 percent. "There are terrific human and financial costs to illegible prescriptions," Mike Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said during a Monday afternoon teleconference.

Bobby Joseph straightens his back, letting out a sigh of relief as electrical signals pulse through his leg, giving him respite from the piercing pain that has racked his body since Nov. 11, 2006. (Hlad, jdnews.com, July 20, 2008)

Before the surgery, 27-year-old Joseph woke up in pain every morning. Every step with his left leg brought with it a "shocking, stabbing pain." The drugs and the nerve blocks helped, but they didn't make the pain go away. Still, when Dr. Rick Foltz first proposed implanting a device in Joseph's spine to send pulses through his body, Joseph was skeptical.

Racecar driver Michael Roman shares the moving story of his 12-year struggle with chronic pain.

Roman, 42, injured his knee while working in an operating room in 1994. The injury became badly infected and grew worse until July 1995, doctors were unable to save the leg and were forced to amputate. They were able to completely remove the infection, but from the moment Roman woke up, he was in horrific pain.

In an effort to reach out to other pain patients and give them a place to talk about their struggles, Roman also started a web site, http://raceagainstpai n.com

While gruesome images of meth addicts grab the billboards, the number of people abusing prescription painkillers statewide has skyrocketed, with a startling increase in fatal overdoses. More Montanans die of prescription drug overdoses than any other kind, including illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine.