November 11, 2009
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. |
Special Registration Price Available for Fellows |
|
ASIPP has recently launched an initiative to assist Fellows and Residents in their endeavor of becoming a qualified interventional pain physician. We understand the cost challenges you face. In support of your efforts, ASIPP is offering its upcoming Spinal Cord, Intrathecal Implantables, or Discal Therapies Review Course and Cadaver Workshop at a special price of $500 to Fellows and Residents. We want it to be, not only an exceptional learning experience, but also a memorable one. We encourage residents to bring other interested residents and fellows to further offset the already reduced hotel and ground transportation costs. We want residents and fellows to use this meeting to not only improve their procedure competency, but also understand the importance of political advocacy, and to network with one another. If you have any questions, please contact Haroon Hameed, Founder of our Resident and Fellows Section (RFS), at hhameed1@jhmi.edu
This special offer is just available for the Dec. 4-6, 2009 course.
Click here and visit our Facebook page devoted to ASIPP members that are Fellows and Residents.
Register Today! |
Early Registration Deadline ends Friday for December Review Course and Cadaver Workshop |
|
Register before Friday to receive room rate discounts for 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 by November 13 to receive a room discount of $195 per night.
Register Today |
Pay-for-Performance Participation Can Be Pricey for Docs |
|
Pay for performance may be the rage, and the future of physician reimbursement-but it doesn't come cheap. Responding to all those requests for data, proper planning, training, coding, data entry, and modification of electronic systems cost physician practices between $1,000 to $11,100 in implementation costs per doctor, and from about $100 to $4,300 per year per clinician after the program was launched, according to a survey of eight physician practices participating in four quality reporting programs in North Carolina.
"One thing is clear," wrote Jacqueline R. Halladay, MD, the study's author and a UNC researcher. "Participation in quality-reporting programs requires resources that have measurable costs. The costs appear high, especially when compared with the modest reimbursement offered by many programs." The report added, "To date, the question of whether participation in quality-reporting is worth the time, effort and expense is largely unresolved."
The study was published Monday in the Annals of Family Medicine.
Click here for complete article.
Health Leaders Media |
Doctors Spending More Time Now With Patients |
|
MONDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Family doctors are now taking more time consulting with adult patients, seeing them more often and improving the quality of visits, a new study suggests.
"Patients spent more time with their primary care physicians during office visits in 2005 than they did almost a decade earlier, and overall they seemed to receive better care," said Dr. Lena M. Chen, from the University of Michigan Health System, the lead researcher of a study reported in the Nov. 9 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
US NEWS |
CMS Publishes Final 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule |
|
CMS has published the final 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule, which will go into effect January 1, 2010. The rule finalizes a 21.2% cut in the conversion factor used to calculate payments that will be implemented if Congress does not act to stop it. The rule also indicates that the new practice expense data collected through the AMA's Physician Practice Information (PPI) Survey will be incorporated into practice expense payments over a four year period beginning in 2010. At this time, CMS has declined to implement the spine surgery practice expense data collected from the PPI Survey.
Additionally, CMS has finalized their proposal to eliminate payment for consultations and will redistribute the savings to the visit codes.
CMS |
Congress Has History of Reversing Cuts |
|
In 1997, Congress passed a budget law that mandated tough curbs on Medicare spending, setting up formulas to reduce doctor payments if broad spending targets were exceeded. But when the formula began taking a serious bite out of doctor reimbursements in 2002, Congress acted to reverse the cuts -- a step it has repeated five times since then.
That history shows why some critics believe billions of dollars in budget savings Congress is promising through its health-care overhaul might never materialize.
Wall Street Journal |
House Passes Health Reform Bill, Debate Moves to Senate |
|
Washington -- The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a landmark, $1 trillion health system reform bill during a rare Saturday late-night vote Nov. 7, capping a day of heated debate over issues that had divided the Democratic caucus and threatened chances for final passage.
By a vote of 220-215, the House approved the Affordable Health Care for America Act. The measure is projected to cover 96% of Americans through a combination of individual and business mandates, health insurance reforms, and new government coverage subsidies. Thirty-nine Democrats and all but one Republican voted against the bill, which would also implement a public insurance option that would compete with private plans through a new insurance exchange.
American Medical News |
New Database for Out-of-Network Pay Set to Replace Disputed Ingenix System |
|
Health insurers' method for determining physicians' out-of-network payment rates is expected to change as early as fall 2010 with the introduction of a new, independent database to replace one run by the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Ingenix.
After an investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo concluded that rates had been set unfairly under Ingenix, many major insurers agreed to stop using it as soon as a new database was up and running. The insurers committed nearly $100 million for the nonprofit database, drawn from settlements they made with Cuomo's office regarding Ingenix.
American Medical News |
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 |
|
All contents
Copyright © 2008
American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians ®
81 Lakeview Drive, Paducah, KY 42001
Phone 270.554.9412, Fax 270.554.5394
E-mail asipp@asipp.org
|
