·  ASIPP To Offer ABIPP Part II Exam

·  Commentary: Congressional Spenders Ignore Deepening Government Waste

·  Review Course and Cadaver Workshop Dec. 4-6

·  HHS Employs New Tougher Standards in Calculation of Improper Medicare Payment Rates for 2009

·  ASIPP Adds Resident/Fellow Board Members

·  'Doc Fix' NOT What The Doctor Ordered; National Physician Group OPPOSES Pay 'Raise' in House; Failed in Senate, Still a Bad Idea in the House; Payoff to AMA? New Survey Shows Money is Not Primary Concern of Doctors

·  To Help Healing, Doctors Pay More Attention To Pain

·  Commentary: The "Costs" of Medical Care

·  DEA Enforces Written Order Requirement for Schedule II Drugs

·  Where Are the Doctors to Implement ObamaCare?

·  Upcoming State Society Meetings

·  Physicians Wanted

ASIPP To Offer ABIPP Part II Exam

For the first time, ASIPP will be offering the ABIPP Part II practical examination in September 2010. Make plans now to participate in the prep course and examination.

The ABIPP Part II practical examination prep will be offered during the April 23-25, 2010 meeting in Memphis, TN.

ABIPP will accept the World Institute of Pain's (WIP) Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice (FIPP) certification as fulfillment of the ABIPP Part II for certification prior to April 2009. Absolutely, no FIPP certification will be accepted after September 2009.

A revised application indicating this change is now available on the ABIPP Web site.

Commentary: Congressional Spenders Ignore Deepening Government Waste

To get a handle on how out of control federal spending has become, consider this: It surged to $30,000 per household in 2009. That's up from $21,000 (adjusted for inflation) in the 1980s and '90s. Yet rather than cut back, Congress plans to spend even more.

Lawmakers want an additional 11 percent domestic discretionary spending hike in 2010, as well as an expensive new health care entitlement. In the absence of spending restraint, closing these budget deficits would require permanent tax increases exceeding $8,000 per household.

Heritage Foundation

Review Course and Cadaver Workshop Dec. 4-6

Register now to attend the Intrathecal Implantables & Discal Therapies Review Course and Cadaver Workshop December 4-6 in Memphis, TN. This is a busy weekend in Memphis, so hotel rooms will be released after this Friday and will more than likely be filled immediately.

This intensive comprehensive review course and cadaver workshop in spinal cord stimulation, intrathecal implantables and discal therapies will cover all aspects of these techniques providing a comprehensive overview of the subjects, with extensive case discussions and interactions with the faculty. During the 2½ day event, participants will be presented with lectures on spinal cord stimuation, intrathecal implantables and discal therapies. In order to provide a more focused learning experience, you will be provided the opportunity to choose either spinal implantables or discal therapies for the hands-on lab.

Whether you have been practicing these procedures for many years or you are new to the field with basic skills, we are confident you will find this comprehensive review course and hands-on cadaver workshop to be beneficial, as it is essential to learn new and relevant information to survive in the new millennium.

The seminar will be conducted at the Peabody Memphis and the world famous Medical Education and Research Institute ( MERI) in Memphis, TN.

Register Today

HHS Employs New Tougher Standards in Calculation of Improper Medicare Payment Rates for 2009

As part of the Obama Administration's goal of reducing waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) significantly revised and improved its calculations of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) error rates in 2009, reflecting a more complete accounting of Medicare's improper payments than in past years. These improvements will provide CMS with more complete information about errors so that the Agency can better target improper payments.

For 2009, CMS improved how it reviews Medicare claims for inpatient hospital services and eliminated the use of past billing records as part of a complex medical review based on recommendations from the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Members of Congress and CMS clinical experts. As a result of this heightened scrutiny and more complete accounting of Medicare FFS claims, CMS is reporting a 2009 FFS error rate of 7.8 percent, or $24.1 billion, compared to 3.6 percent in 2008. In addition, CMS is taking further steps to ensure: (1) providers are submitting all required clinical and medical documents to support a claim, (2) providers' signatures on medical documents are legible, (3) a provider's claims history can no longer be used to fill in missing treatment documentation, and (4) a requirement that medical information from a health care provider be included to support durable medical equipment claims, in addition to the records from suppliers.

HHS

ASIPP Adds Resident/Fellow Board Members

ASIPP board members voted to create two new board positions to represent residents and fellows and allowing members of other organizations to serve as board members.

Haroon Hameed was named as a new board member to represent fellows and residents until the next elections are held.

The ASIPP board also announces the assignment of committee chairmen during the recent board meeting.

Political Action Committee (PAC): Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Chairman Public Relations Committee: David Kloth, Committee Chairman Ethics Committee: David Caraway, Chairman Research Committee: Ramsin Benyamin, Chairman ASIPP Foundation: This is a tax-free, not-for-profit organization that has been established to provide scholarships, grants, and other funding for worthy causes, including research and fellowships: David Schultz, President

If you are interested in participating on one of the above committees, please contact Interim Director of Operations, Erica Moore, emoore@asiipp.org or 270-554-9412 ext. 217

'Doc Fix' NOT What The Doctor Ordered; National Physician Group OPPOSES Pay 'Raise' in House; Failed in Senate, Still a Bad Idea in the House; Payoff to AMA? New Survey Shows Money is Not Primary Concern of Doctors

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) called on the House of Representatives to defeat HR 3961, the so-called "Doc Fix" if it comes to a vote this week. "This is NOT what the doctor ordered, despite that the AMA claims. It's bad for doctors, seniors and taxpayers," said Kathryn Serkes, Director of Policy and Public Affairs for AAPS and Take Back Medicine.

Doctors: "It may freeze the physician Medicare pay cuts for next year, but it's a far shot from a permanent solution. It just trades one complicated federal formula for another, and still leaves physician pay subject to Congressional whim in the future." Patients: "Physicians are bailing out of Medicare at the rate of 25-33% percent. This does absolutely nothing to assure doctors that it is financially safe to start taking Medicare patients again. And common sense says the only way to offset more pay is to cut back on care."

Taxpayers: "This is a blatant effort by House Democrats to shuffle money around so they can pretend that HR 3962, which passed last week, doesn't increase the deficit."

PR Newswire

To Help Healing, Doctors Pay More Attention To Pain

The old notion that pain is somehow "good" for you should be put to rest for good, say health officials. They are increasingly recognizing that control of pain leads to more rapid recovery for hospitalized patients, and can even cut costs.

While pain can function as the body's alarm that something is wrong, it can also be counterproductive, says Dr. Lynn Webster, who directs the Lifetree Clinical Research and Pain Clinic in Salt Lake City.

NPR

Commentary: The "Costs" of Medical Care

We are incessantly being told that the cost of medical care is "too high"-- either absolutely or as a growing percentage of our incomes. But nothing that is being proposed by the government is likely to lower those costs, and much that is being proposed is almost certain to increase the costs. There is a fundamental difference between reducing costs and simply shifting costs around, like a pea in a shell game at a carnival. Costs are not reduced simply because you pay less at a doctor's office and more in taxes-- or more in insurance premiums, or more in higher prices for other goods and services that you buy, because the government has put the costs on businesses that pass those costs on to you.

Read all of Dr. Sowell's Part I of IV articles by clicking here.

The "Costs" of Medical Care: Part II http://209.157.64.200/focus/news/2377774/posts?page=2 Although it is cheaper to buy a pint of milk than to buy a quart of milk, nobody considers that to be lowering the price of milk. Although it is cheaper to buy a lower quality of all sorts of goods than to buy a higher quality, nobody thinks of that as lowering the price of either lower or higher quality goods. Yet, when it comes to medical care, there seems to be remarkably little attention paid to questions of both quantity and quality, in the rush to "bring down the cost of medical care." There is no question that you can reduce the payments for medical care by having either a lower quantity or a lower quality of medical care. That has already been done in countries with government-run medical systems.

The "Costs" of Medical Care: Part III One of the strongest talking points of those who want a government-run medical care system is that we simply cannot afford the high and rising costs of medical care under the current system. First of all, what we can afford has absolutely nothing to do with the cost of producing anything. We will either pay those costs or not get the benefits. Moreover, if we cannot afford the quantity and quality of medical care that we want now, the government has no miraculous way of enabling us to afford it in the future.

Real Clear Politics

DEA Enforces Written Order Requirement for Schedule II Drugs

Concerned about the diversion of controlled substances in nursing homes, hospice care organizations and long-term-care facilities, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration no longer is allowing pharmacies to dispense schedule II drugs based on chart orders.

The DEA has taken actions against long-term-care pharmacies in Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin for violating the Controlled Substances Act. The agency says the federal law requires that, except in emergencies, doctors provide written orders directly to pharmacists. Following an emergency, a written order authorizing the prescription is required within seven days. Pharmacists who fill schedule II orders without a written prescription could face fines or criminal prosecution from the DEA.

American Medical News

Where Are the Doctors to Implement ObamaCare?

Health care reform will fail to achieve its promise of affordable access to medical care unless the nation's physician workforce is substantially expanded to meet the demand that newly insured patients will place on an already over-burdened system.

A comprehensive strategy for growing the physician workforce - as well as other allied health professionals such as nurses and physicians' assistants - should be developed and supported with a federal investment at the same time health insurance is expanded to cover millions of additional people.

Wall Street Journal

Upcoming State Society Meetings

WVASIPP Plans Annual Meeting June 11-13, 2010

Mark your calendars now and make plans to attend West Virginia Society of Interventional Pain Physician annual meeting at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, June 11-13, 2010.

Featured topics include SCS for Angina, Facial Pain, Peripheral Nerve Pain, Epigastric and Abdominal Pain, Pelvic Pain, Pulsed Radiofrequency, Minimally invasive techniques for spinal disease and much more

Featured faculty includes: Timothy Deer, MD, course director; Ken Alo, MD, Giancarlo Barolat, MD, Ricard Bowman, MD, Christopher Kim, MD, Matthew Ranson, MD, Lou Raso, MD, Harold Cordner, MD, Nagy Mekhail, MD, Sudhir Diwan, MD, Raj Patel, MD, John Schmidt, MD, Stan Golovac, MD, Lora Brown, MD, Richard Weiner, MD, Salim Hayek, MD, Leo Kapural, MD and cochairs Richard Rauck, MD, Robert Levy, MD, PhD, and David Caraway, MD, PhD.

Session fees discounted for WVSIPP and ASIPP members. For more information call Michelle Byers, Director of Education: michellebyers@roadrunner.com

To Register

Save the Date: CASIPP Annual Meeting in May

Mark your calendar for the California Society of Interventional Pain Physicians Annual Meeting May 14-16, 2010 in Santa Barbara.

Join Your CASIPP Colleagues On The American Riviera:

• Earn CME hours with distinguished faculty
• Stay at the storied Biltmore Four Seasons
• Book Now! Special Room Rate for early
• For more information or to register contact sbcme2010@aol.com or by phone at 661-435-3473

FSIPP Annual Meeting Dates Set for May

The Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (FSIPP) has scheduled it's annual meeting for May 22 and 23, 2010 at Gaylord Palms on Orlando. http://www.flsipp.org/FSIPPFlyer2010.pdf

Keynote speakers and topics include:

·  Mary Lee Jensen, MD Vertebroplasty, the History, Evolution of Evidence, and Present Day Position

·  Gabor Racz, MD - Epidural Lysis and Facet Radiofrequency Ablation with Innovations in Pain Management

·  Rick Derby, MD - Discography and Intradiscal Therapies including Development of Stem Cells

·  Deborah H. Tracy, MD, MBA - Legislative Update, Healthcare Reform

·  Harold Cordner, MD - Regulations Regarding Pain and Controlled Substances

·  Spinal Cord Stimulation and More

Physicians Wanted

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

Physicians Wanted