May 10, 2006

ASIPP Completes Successful Competency Review and Examination

The 2006 Controlled Substance Management & Coding Compliance and Practice Management Competency Review courses and Competency Exams held on May 4 – 8 in downtown Chicago, concluded Monday afternoon. The final registrant attendance for the review course and exam surpassed 190, with 18 vendors, 13 staff, and 14 faculty members.

This year the competency exam in controlled substance was opened up to non-physicians for the opportunity to acquire associate certification in controlled substance. Many RNs, LPNs, NPs, and PAs took advantage of this opportunity and sat for the exam.

In addition to the comprehensive review courses and exams, the meeting featured an opportunity for advocacy. The Illinois state society (KSIPP) hosted a meeting which featured in along with ASIPP CEO Laxmaiah Manchikanti and Illinois Rep. Judy Biggert as distinguished speakers. On Saturday, May 6, Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was on-hand to meet with ASIPP members at a fundraiser in his behalf.

Dates for next years course will be forthcoming soon – mark your calendars in advance for next year!

ASIPP and Manchikanti Featured in The Paducah Sun

The Paducah Sun published an article recently which featured ASIPP CEO Laxmaiah Manchikanti and detailed the progress of NASPER as well as the continued growth and activity of ASSIPP.

Read the Paducah Sun Article… Click here

Heroin Painkiller Mix Tied to Dozens of Deaths

The USA today reported on a new deadly trend of mixing powerful painkillers with heroin. In many of the reported cases, heroin was mixed with fentanyl, a potent form of synthetic morphine that is used to treat extreme pain.

DEA officials were reported as saying that the trend is extremely unusual – heroin is typically diluted with common household substances such as sugar, flour, or starch which helps increase profits. It is unclear why dealers might have mixed fentanyl with heroin. Officials say it might have been part of a marketing strategy to attract addicts.

Read the USA Today story.

Make Plans to Attend ASIPP Annual Meeting- Register Online

The ASIPP 8th Annual Meeting and SIPMS 1st Annual Meeting will be held on June 24-28 in Washington, DC. Along with the Annual Meetings, plan to attend the Legislative Session and take part in the Capitol Hill visits. This year promises to be a memorable event with the second day of our legislative session moving to Capitol Hill.

On Tuesday, June 27, the ASIPP annual meeting will convene in the Cannon Caucus Room on Capitol Hill where we will be honored with the presence of several congressional speakers. This will be an informative and exciting event and we encourage you to register early.

The Annual Meeting Brochure along with registration and hotel information can be found on the ASIPP Web site. Make Plans to Attend ASIPP Annual Meeting-Register online today!

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

Letter to MedPac Regarding 2007 Physician Fee Schedule

CMS recently issued a letter to Glenn Hackbarth, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Chair, with information regarding the 2007 physician fee schedule (PFS), conversion factor, sustainable growth rate (SGR), and other data used in making estimates.

This letter along with other detailed information on the SGR and PFS updates can be found on the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Web site.

Time Is Running Out - May 15th Enrollment Deadline Nears

According to a Health and Human Services (HHS) news release, Medicare and its partners will be holding more than 1,000 enrollment events all over the country this week, to help people with Medicare enroll in a prescription drug plan before the May 15th deadline. In addition to the availability of thousands more volunteers at State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) and many other advocacy and support organizations for seniors and people with a disability, Medicare will have 6,000 customer service representatives and enhanced online support will be available.

Read the HHS news release and get more information…http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2006pres/20060508.html

Illinois clamp down on cold meds hasn’t helped prescription drug abuse

A May 3 Chicago Tribune article addressed the issue of the rising abuse of prescription painkillers by teens. Illinois, along with many other states requires photo ID to buy cold medicine but opioids can be purchased with nothing more than an easily faked prescription slip.  

A 17-year old Villa Park teen had done just that – in fact, more than 30 times before she was finally caught. The teen began by visiting emergency rooms and faking illness, usually walking away with painkillers. Later she moved on to forging prescriptions using her home computer. Rarely was her forged prescription questioned by the pharmacist.

The teen said she believes that electronic prescription tracking, which allows physicians, pharmacists and law enforcement to check a patient’s history of obtaining controlled substances, is the only way to prevent this felony act.

For Illinois, a bill is pending in Springfield that would expand monitoring of controlled substance to include all scheduled medications. Currently the measure has yet to leave the House Rules Committee. Additionally, some states such as Kentucky and Indiana have initiated safeguards to eliminate prescription forgery. The addition of features such as watermarks, heat-sensitive ink and paper that displays the word “VOID” if the form is copied, scanned or faxed are a few of the methods being used to curtail forgery.

This article can be accessed at:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-0605030209may03,1,7909052.story

Pain Physician Journal Now Accepting Article Submissions

The Pain Physician Journal, recently included and indexed on MEDLINE, is accepting manuscript submittals for publication consideration. Pain Physician is a peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary journal written by and directed to an audience of interventional pain physicians, clinicians and basic scientists with an interest in interventional pain management and pain medicine.

Pain Physician is the official publication of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP). Pain Physician requires that all manuscripts be prepared in accordance with the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals, with the exception of reference citations and format. For information on manuscript submittals go to http://www.painphysicianjournal.com/infoforauth1.php Submit articles to: editor@painphysicianjournal.com

Pain Physician, April 2006 is now available online at www.painphysicianjournal.com

Register for ABIPP Part I and Pain Medicine Board Review Today

Come to the “Gateway to the West” for ASIPP’s premiere Comprehensive Pain Medicine Board Review Course for physicians seeking board certification or re-certification for ABMS Pain Medicine examination or for American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP) Part I examination.

The exam will be held on Aug. 5 – 9 in St. Louis. This five-day in-depth review Board Review Course is a CME activity which also serves as an ideal review for the specialty of pain medicine. To register on-line or for more information on the review course or to register, visit our Web site…Meetings

Put your Board Review Course to work and apply for the ABIPP Part 1 exam which will be administered on Aug. 10, 2006.  Registration is separate for the exam and the minimum requirements for eligibility are as follows:

A primary ABMS board certification.

An active license to practice medicine in the United States.

Visit the ASIPP Web site for more information … click here. Send your application in today!

AMA News Stories

Know When to Say No for Better Time Management

Physician’s time is scarce and demands are never-ending. But a recent AMA News story suggests physicians can better manage their time and stay on task by using one two-letter word: No.

The article suggests four steps to enable physicians to say “no” a little better.

1. Acknowledge the value of the question being asked and affirm the person’s motives and needs.
2. Share with them why you have to say no.
3. Share with them the consequences of dealing with his or her issue at the moment.
4. Remain rational throughout the process rather than emotional.

Court Lowers Bar on Scientific Evidence

A New York appeals court ruling could open the door for unreliable scientific evidence to enter the courtroom. In a unanimous opinion, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court said experts did not need to show peer-reviewed medical literature to prove their medical opinion was accepted in the scientific community.

Many physicians fear the appeals court ruling goes against state precedent upholding rigorous scrutiny of what testimony is permitted to be heard by jurors and the ruling could cause a “ripple effect” opening them up the legal system for even more lawsuits.

Subscribers can read these stories and more at AMA News

Read ‘Highly Accessed’ Articles

More than 9,300 people have accessed the article “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, 2006. 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 20,000 people. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/5/15

You can also access the article, “Risk of whole body radiation exposure and protective measures in fluoroscopically guided interventional techniques: a prospective evaluation.” The article, written by Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Kim A. Cash, Tammy L. Moss, Jose Rivera, and Vidyasagar Pampati, was published in 2003, has been viewed by more than 10,000 people, and is available to open access on the BioMed Central Web site. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2253/3/2

State Society News

Georgia Society of Interventional Pain Physicians GSIPP will hold their annual summer meeting at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, GA (one hour from Atlanta) on July 21-23.

California Society

California Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (CSIPP) will hold its Annual Meeting and board elections on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. at:

Morton's Steakhouse

South Coast Plaza Village

1641 W. Sunflower Ave.

Santa Ana, CA  92704

Guest speaker will be Carl Brakensiek, MBA, JD, Executive VP of the California Society of Industrial Medicine and Surgery. Brakensiek’s topic will be "Upcoming Changes in Workers' Compensation in California.” Workers’ Compensation continues to be volatile, with further legislative changes inevitable and pending. Mr. Brakensiek's expertise in this area is unequaled in the state and should prove to be enlightening

Please RSVP and send nominations to sheri@pcpmc.com

All CSIPP board positions are open.

If your state society has any news you would like to share, please e-mail your news items to mmartin@asipp.org