May 17, 2006

Make Plans to Attend ASIPP Annual Meeting- Register Today

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’s event promises to be not only informative but also memorable with the second day of our legislative session taking place on 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. We encourage you to sign up for and participate in the Capitol Hill visits which will take place on June 27- 28. This is your opportunity to make your voice heard! But please register early – late registrants (after June 12) may not be able to meet with their state representative. We will make every effort to schedule your request but to increase the likelihood of your visit; we strongly encourage you to register soon.

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

Montana ASCs Challenge - Update

ASIPP recently reported that two Montana ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) have been challenged for performing interventional pain procedures. One of the surgery centers, Yellowstone Surgery Center LLC, was reportedly told by DPHHS Medicare and Medicaid surveyors that the facility could be closed for performing pain procedures, pain control procedures, and/or pain management. In addition, the centers were also advised that extended stay for non-medicare and non-medicaid patients up to 23 hours can not be done in an ASC.

Upon learning of this situation ASIPP quickly began investigating. Based on CMS-Baltimore sources, it appears that this issue is tied to a misinformed surveyor and regional office and not a new CMS directive. ASIPP was later informed there had been NO change in CMS’s policy regarding interventional pain procedures performed in an ASC. CMS will in fact pay for interventional pain procedures that are listed as ASC procedures.

After assistance from ASIPP with letters, calls and public awareness, the Montana DPHHS has officially reversed its decision to close the Ambulatory Surgery Center for supposed violations of the 23 hours stay and pain management injections.

Doc Loses Title and Does Time Over Prescription Fraud

A Houston physician is sentenced to 10 years in prison and loses her right to use the title “doctor” after illegally prescribing pain medication and wheelchairs - a scam that reaped millions of dollars. According to the Houston Chronicle, a federal judge ordered Callie Hall Herpin to no longer call herself a doctor, saying she is a “disgrace to every physician in this country who adheres to the ethics of the medical profession and to the Hippocratic oath.”

Read the Houston Chronicle story.

Commission Dropped Charges: Didn’t Clear Doctors Name

A physician who passed through the fire of an investigation doesn’t deserve a public exoneration, based on a court ruling by Washington state’s Medical Quality Assurance Commission. Neurosurgeon Michael Lawrence was investigated for “unprofessional conduct” but the charges were later determined to be “baseless” Unfortunately, although the commission withdrew its charges against Lawrence, it never issued a public exoneration of him.

Lawrence sued the commission seeking a public clearing of his name, but the state Court of Appeals sided with the Health Department. (Lawrence v. Department of Health) The Court ruled that professional courtesy may have entitled Lawrence to a hearing to clear his name, but legal process didn’t require it.

Lawrence was accused of tearing the dura of 25 patients between 1998 and 200, a high rate of tears for a “reasonably prudent neurosurgeon.”

Interventional Pain Management Added to New CMS-855I Form

Interventional pain management has now been added as a physician specialty category to the CMS-855I form. The form is used to change specialty code designation to 09 for interventional pain management The addition was added to the updated 2006 version dated 4/2006 - see page 8, section D.

Find the 4/2006 form on the ASIPP Web site at: http://www.asipp.org/documents/cms855i.pdf

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!

AMNews Stories

Monitoring the profession

More medical boards are cracking down on sexual misconduct. The Texas-based Federation of Stat Medical Boards is an important player in helping boards meet the goals of promoting quality care and protecting patients and the profession.

The federation and its member boards are tackling areas such as sexual boundaries between patients and physicians, scope of practice, physician competence and international medical schools’ credibility. Recent guidelines and policies were passed in an effort to help medical boards do a better job regulating MDs and DOs:

1. Report from the Special Committee on Scope of Practice. Adopted in 2005, the report is a guide outlining patient safety and quality-of-care issues that medical regulators and legislators should consider when making decisions about scope of practice.
2. Model Policy for the Use of Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain.  Adopted in 2004, the policy provides model language for state boards to clarify positions on the appropriate use of controlled substances to treat pain. It also suggests language to encourage better pain management and alleviate uncertainty among physician who want to prescribe pain medication.
3. Model Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of the Internet in Medical Practice. These guidelines, adopted in 2002, spell out what is the appropriate use of Internet in the context of medical practice. They are based on the premise that the physician-patient relationship is paramount and address concerns such as providing medial services via the Internet.

Consent based on “reasonable person” standard

For the second time, a New Jersey Appellate Court has ruled that a woman claiming her physician failed to obtain her informed consent before performing an abortion should have her day in court. And informed consent is at the heart of the issue.

In reversing the lower court’s dismissal, the appellate court applied several “well-settled” principles of informed consent to the record in the case. Under these principles, a physician has the duty to:

• Obtain a patient’s informed consent before treating or operating on that patient
• Explain, in terms understandable to the patient, what the physician intends to do.
• Explain all the material medical information and risks.
• Disclose any alternative medical treatments that might not be recommended.

Subscribers can read more about this case at AMA News

Tattoos and permanent makeup can lead to a lasting headache

Since 2003 The FDA has received many reports of adverse reactions with tattoos and permanent makeup.  Some of these complaints resulted in a 2004 FDA alert to consumers to avoid certain shades of ink manufactured by Premier Pigments, a Texas manufacturer of permanent cosmetic pigments. The company has since taken the colors off the market but the increasing number of available pigments and shades continue to raise concerns.

Among the problems tattoos can create are allergic reactions, infections from unsterile tattooing equipment, formation of granulomas and keloids surrounding the tattoo or makeup and of course removal of the tattoo.

Health care consulting industry is enjoying boom times

The health care consulting industry is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 8.5% from 2004 to 2009, according to Kennedy Information, which provides research and other information about professional services. This sustained growth is reflected in revenue projections for the industry.

Note: The figures include all types of health care consultants, from those who specialize in pharmaceuticals to those who work with physicians and insurers. Source: AMA New

State Society News

Illinois Society

The Illinois State Society held a special meeting on May 5, in conjunction with the ASIPP Competency Review Courses, at the Westin on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. ISIPP president Scott Glaser, M.D. reported on the status of Illinois’ progress on their bill to implement a controlled substance monitoring program which will meet the requirements of NASPER. The Illinois state bill is currently stalled in committee but it is hoped that it will be revived again after the November elections. A physician’s advisory committee will meet this summer to work on the bill’s passage.

Honored speakers at the event were ASIPP CEO, Laxmaiah Manchikanti, M.D. and Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL). Biggert has been a friend to IPM and AIPP and when approached in 2004 for her support of NASPER, she understood the need and demonstrated her support by co-sponsoring it in the House of Representatives. Biggert spoke on several issues important to physicians, such as HHS funding for NASPER and pay-for-performance.

(Rep. Biggert with Manchikanti, Glaser, and ISIPP members)

Louisiana Society

The Louisiana Society (LSIPP) met on April 27th at which time elections were held for new officers. New officers are as follows: J. Michael Burdine, MD - President, Melanie Firmin, MD – Vice President, Adolfo Cuadra, MD – Secretary, and Alan Ostrowe, MD – Treasurer. Congratulations to all of you. Also during the meeting the LSIPP members voted unanimously to form a PAC and Jimmy Ponder, MD will be the Director of this committee.

Georgia Society

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.