·  Special Registration Price Available for Fellows

·  Register Now for Spinal Cord Stimulation, Intrathecal Implantables, or Discal Therapies Review Course and Cadaver Workshop

·  There is still time to take action: Noridian comment period extended to Oct. 31

·  Democrats Push to Reverse Medicare Payment Cuts to Doctors

·  Small Providers May Not Have to Deal with Red Flags Rule

·  Physician Groups Back Medicare Payment Reform Bill

·  PR Update

·  Ownership Loses its Luster: Physicians Less Likely to go Solo

·  Upcoming State Society Meetings

·  Physicians Wanted

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

Register Now for Spinal Cord Stimulation, Intrathecal Implantables, or Discal Therapies Review Course and Cadaver Workshop

Make plans now to attend the Intrathecal Implantables & Discal Therapies Review Course and Cadaver Workshop December 4-6 in Memphis, TN.

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. Fellows and Residents receive 50% off.

Register Today!

There is still time to take action: Noridian comment period extended to Oct. 31

Noridian has extended the comment period through the end of this month. This is good news as it buys us more time to convince them that this ruling will be devastating to the states currently covered under this carrier, and also do great harm to patient access.

Please e-mail the letter since it must be received by October 31, 2009. You may e-mail it to policyb.dra fts@noridian.com or to the directors as noted on the ASIPP sample letter.

Click on this link for a sample comment letter to assist you in contacting Noridian. You should customize it on your personal or business letterhead and expand as you desire. It is much more effective to send a letter that reflects the facts from your personal standpoint. To help you expound on your own letter, we are also providing the Comment letter sent by ASIPP . Please feel free to use the references and supporting evidence to assist you in creating your own letter.

We have provided a link to a sample comment letter to Noridian and also a Capwiz link to assist you in contacting Congress. Please don't delay - act soon and encourage others to respond as well.

If you have trouble with any of the links provided in this letter, you can access this information on the ASIPP Web site: http://www.asip p.org/index.html

Democrats Push to Reverse Medicare Payment Cuts to Doctors

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Senate Democrats struggled Tuesday to find enough votes to pass a controversial measure intended to ensure that doctors experience no cut in Medicare reimbursement payments over the next 10 years.

The bill would cost $247 billion and is separate from proposals to overhaul the nation's health care system expected to reach the House and Senate in coming weeks.

CNN

Small Providers May Not Have to Deal with Red Flags Rule

Congressmen filed a bill October 8 that would exempt a healthcare practice with 20 or fewer employees from the FTC's Red Flags Rule requirement.

The Red Flags Rule, which will be enforced starting November 1, 2009, requires healthcare entities considered to be "creditors" to implement an identity theft prevention program.

Further, the bill, filed by John Herbert Adler (D-NJ), Paul Collins Broun, Jr. (R-GA), and Mike Simpson (R-ID), lets off the hook an entity that: Knows all of its customers or clients individually Only performs services in or around the residences of its customers Has not experienced incidents of identity theft and identity theft is rare for businesses of that type

Media Health Leaders

Physician Groups Back Medicare Payment Reform Bill

Physicians' organizations are mounting a concerted campaign to roust support for a newly introduced bill in the U.S. Senate that would do away with the Medicare physician fee schedule under the sustainable growth rate formula.

"This legislation is going to move very quickly, so we need to act now to ensure that it passes," says Lori Heim, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "Senators need to hear from physicians today on the importance of voting in favor of each of these procedural votes. Healthcare reform really does require that we address the flawed current formula for Medicare payments. This would give us the basis for that fix."

HealthLeaders Media

PR Update

Dr. Glaser featured on radio show

Dr. Scott E. Glaser, MD, interventional pain physician and ASIPP board member was a guest speaker on health Radio Tuesday. He joined the show to discuss what should be done to reduce the amount of unnecessary deaths due to pain medication addictions.

Click here to listen to Dr. Glaser's interview.

Dr. Kloth posts article in The Huffington Post

David S. Kloth, MD, Founder of Connecticut Pain Care, and ASIPP board member recently presented an article on Health care reform in the Huffington Post, an internet newspaper, a news blogs video community. The manuscript was titled Real Healthcare Reform Starts with Prescription Drug Reform.

The objective of ASIPP's PR Campaign is to promote a basic understanding of the various modalities and benefits our specialty can offer, and to demonstrate what it is that makes IPM physicians unique in their approach to the treatment and elimination of chronic and/or acute pain. ASIPP believes that educating the national media, the general public, payors and even other physicians about new and emerging therapies in this rapidly expanding field is the logical and necessary next step for our specialty. If you would like to keep the PR campaign going, please contribute today. Member Contribution Form

Get involved in PR today

Ownership Loses its Luster: Physicians Less Likely to go Solo

When David Loxterkamp, MD, moved to the small waterfront town of Belfast, Maine, in 1984 to establish Seaport Family Practice, he was one of many physicians who owned at least part of their business. Now, he is one of the few.

Most of the doctors practicing in the community when he started have retired. Most of the new physicians are on the hospital payroll or have other employment arrangements. "It's been a pretty dramatic change," said Dr. Loxterkamp, who wrote an essay on the shift in the May/June Annals of Family Medicine. His is one of several recently published papers asking whether the decline in the number of physicians who own their practices is good for doctors and patients.

Amednews.com

Upcoming State Society Meetings

WVSIPP 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

Puerto Rico Society to Host Symposium, Oct 24-25

The Puerto Rico Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and the Pain Management Association of Puerto Rico are hosting a symposium Oct. 24,25, 2009 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Island Verde, Puerto Rico.

The information presented at the symposium will aid pain specialists across disciplines in caring for patients with various pan conditions. Faculty includes Dr. Craig T. Hartrick, attorney and legal advisor Jean P. Gauthier, Dr. Jan J. Kraemer, Dr. Francisco Lebron, Dr. Jose Rodriguez Hernandez, Dr. Renier Mendez, Dr. Luis Mejia and Dr. Oscar Soto Rafces.

Registration for the two-day conferences is $50 for members and $125 for nonmembers. For more information, call 787-721-2574 or email: e.amec@amec-pr.com

Physicians Wanted

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

Physicians Wanted