March 1, 2006

Opioid Guidelines to be Included in National Guideline Clearinghouse

ASIPP is proud to announce the 2006 “Opioid Guidelines in the Management of Chronic Non-Cancer Pain” has been accepted for inclusion in the National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC). An abstract of the guidelines will be presented on the NGC Web site later this spring.

Currently you can access the guidelines in the January 2006 Pain Physician journal (Volume 9, Issue 1). Originally published in 2003 the current guidelines were developed over a six-month period by a large group of pain practitioners representing both academic and private practices.

“These guidelines should help pain physicians prescribe opioids safely, effectively, and appropriately,” said lead author, Andrea Trescot. The document, with more than 350 references, reviews the best available evidence as well as the consensus of national experts regarding opioids. Topics covered include the economic impact of chronic pain, drug diversion, opioid metabolism, drug interactions, prescription drug monitoring programs, clinical effectiveness, adherence monitoring, and principles of opioid use.

You may also view the guidelines on the ASIPP Web site at:

http://www.asipp.org/Guidelines.htm

ABIPP Certification Update

To date, 18 physicians have qualified for ABIPP diplomate status by reciprocity.

Recipients of this certification qualified by fulfilling the following requirements:

o  Active license to practice medicine in USA

o  Approved residency and/or fellowship                                                      

o  Current primary ABMS Board Certification

o  Current ABMS – Pain Medicine Subspecialty Certification

o  Competency Certifications

               o  Competency Certification in Controlled Substance Management

               o  Competency Certification in Coding, Compliance, And Practice Management

o   Current FIPP Certification

To find out more about the ABIPP certification follow this link…ABIPP

CRNAs Run New Hampshire Pain Clinic

In April, 2004, Cottage Hospital Pain Clinic was surveyed by the American Academy of Pain Management’s Pain Program Accreditation service and was awarded full 3-years accreditation as an Outpatient, Modality Oriented pain program.

The director of the pain center is Jack Neary, MS, CRNA-ARNP, FAAPM and his staff, according to the hospitals most recent newsletter, is comprised of CRNAs, ARNPs, and RNs. They provide patient consultations, evaluate and treatment of acute and chronic pain problems. The treatments provided by the staff include anesthetic blocks for pain relief including epidural steroids, stellate ganglion blocks, selective nerve root blocks, and trigger point injections.

In a “Statement on Nurse Anesthesia Training in Pain Medicine” adopted by the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Committee on Pain Medicine on March 25, 2004 it is stated that “There is no precedent, no historical charge, for nurse anesthetists to practice pain medicine. To read the entire statement which was included in the committee’s Sept. 7, 2004 Annual Report, click here…

Read about this program in The Cottage Chat newsletter http://www.cottagehospital.org/pdfs/CottageChatSummer.pdf

For more on the Pain Clinic…Click here

AMA Answers Frequently Asked Questions

On Feb. 8, President Bush signed the federal budget bill into law. The bill which was sponsored by Rep. Charles Norwood (R-GA) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) (both ASIPP supporters and NASPER sponsors), contained legislation to halt a 4.4 percent Medicare physician pay cut which had gone into effect on Jan. 1. While the reversal of the cut is a very good thing for physicians and their patients, it has generated a large volume of billing questions. The AMA recently addressed the confusion by providing answers to a few frequently asked questions.

Read the Q & A update AMA

Police Say Doctor Traded Pain Meds for Favors

Louisville – A Louisville television station reported last week that a Louisville anesthesiologist was charged with improperly prescribing the painkiller OxyContin while practicing pain management.

The physician faces 12 criminal charges for writing unwarranted OxyContin prescriptions. According to the arrestreport, the physician wrote the prescriptions for two people in exchange for services and equipment and detectives say the drugs were “prescribed without a medical exam.”

Read more…Click here

Budget Keeps New Specialty Hospitals on Hold

The debate over physician-owned specialty hospitals is still on. Last month President Bush signed into law the federal budget bill which includes a provision that continues the suspension of new specialty hospitals for another six months or until the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) submits a final report on the issue.

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 charges Health & Human Services with developing a “strategic and implementing plan” regarding physician investment in specialty hospitals. The report must address whether the physician investment in a specialty hospital is proportional; whether the investment is legitimate; and whether HHS should require annual disclosure of investment information. Read more on this subject at modernphysician.com or subscribers can read more about this issue at: amanews.com

Participate in Epidural Steroid Injection Practices Survey

Practicing Interventional Pain physician, are invited to participate in a nationwide survey regarding Epidural Steroid Injection practices. This is a Web based survey with 73 questions that can be completed in one or multiple sittings with the use of a username and password.

Once on the Web site (link provided below), you will get a box explaining that the site certificate is self-signed.
Choose “Accept”, then you'll receive a prompt for username and password to gain access to the site:

The username is: esisurvey

Password is: participant

Once inside the survey space (which resides in an internal server for security purposes), register a private username and password which will enable you to take the survey completely or stop mid-survey and continue later as you have time.

Thank you for you anticipated participation.
If you have any questions or concerns, please send them to the following e-mail address esi_survey@solutionslabs.com

To participate, use the following link: http://www.solutionslabs.com/survey_portal.html

CMS Care Management Pilot Off to Good Start

Washington – Medicare’s care management demonstration project recently reached a milestone when enrollment of chronically ill beneficiaries passed the 100,000 patient mark. The federal government is saying the program will lighten physicians’ loads but many remain skeptical of outside intervention.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services began enrollment last August for this three-year pilot project. The program seeks to use third-party disease management firms to help maintain and improve chronically ill seniors’ health.

Find more information on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Medicare Health Support pilot program at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ccip/

Subscribers can read more at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/03/06/gvsc0306.htm

Broader Conscience Clauses Expand Physicians’ Right of Refusal

Legislators in at least nine states this year have proposed sweeping legislation granting physicians and other health professionals the right to refuse to provide any medical service on the grounds of conscience, without fear of firing, discipline or liability. According to the amednews.com, the controversial proposed legislation would also give hospitals and third-party payers the same conscience rights.

The bills are loosely based on a model crafted by the conservative Chicago-based Americans United for Life. Bills are pending in Alabama, Michigan, Missouri, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia. A similar measure narrowly failed in South Dakota last month.

Subscribers can read this story at: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/03/06/prl20306.htm

Look For Your Pain Physician Journal

The January 2006 Pain Physician Journal (Volume 9, Issue 1) has been mailed out to all ASIPP members. If you have received a Pain Physician journal with any pages missing, please notify us and we will send you a replacement copy.

If your journal has missing pages, click on the e-mail link at the bottom provided at the bottom of this page. Please include your name, address, and the pages missing from your journal. You can also read the journal online by visiting the Pain Physician Web site: http://www.painphysicianjournal

Staff and Member Updates

Boswell address change – Since leaving the Cleveland Clinic last November Pain Physician Editor-In-Chief, Mark Boswell, MD, PhD, can now only be reached by e-mail at: boswellmv@earthlink.net