The room block for the October Spinal Cord Stimulation Review Course and Cadaver Workshop ends on Sept. 30. We highly recommend you register for the course and book your hotel as soon as possible. After Sept. 30, rooms will be difficult to secure.

The course will be held on Oct 24-26 in Memphis, TN at the Westin Memphis Beale Street and the Medical Education Research Institute (MERI). The course is a CME activity that will cover all aspects of spinal cord stimulation and intrathecal implantable infusions systems, through didactics, extensive case discussions, faculty interaction and hands-on instruction.

Whether you have practiced spinal cord stimulation for many years or you are new to this procedure with only basic skills, you will find this course to be beneficial to you in building or refreshing your skills. A special certificate of attendance will be provided at the conclusion of the meeting.

Take advantage of the early registration discount by registering before September 30. For more information go to http://www.a sipp.org/meetings.htm

Kentucky's acclaimed computer tracking system for combating illegal prescription drugs has received $400,000 to continue its work and improve efficiency.

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) received the prescription drug monitoring program grant for its KASPER (Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting) program from the U.S. Department of Justice for Sept. 1, 2008 through Aug. 31, 2010. The funding is earmarked to increase KASPER use by health care and law enforcement professionals, expand analysis of KASPER data to support improvements in public health and safety, and to foster collaboration and data sharing with other states that have prescription monitoring programs.

The Physician Practice Information Survey will take surveys through the end of the year. We need at least 100 surveys to be completed and returned which is only one-tenth of the surveys mailed. To date, 73 usable surveys have been returned. Interventional pain management has done very well compared to many other specialties. But we should strive for 100% in order to get the most benefit from the survey. .

The results will be used to positively influence national decision makers to ensure accurate and fair representation for all physicians and patients, and to articulate the challenges of running a practice that provides expert patient care, while operating a business that is sustainable.

If you have been selected to participate in this important effort and have any questions about this survey, please call 1-877-816-8940 toll-free and ask to speak with one of dmrkynetec's executive interviewers about the 2008 Physician Information and Practice Expense Survey. Also, please inform your staff of your desire to participate in this survey and the importance of accepting incoming calls, faxes or e- mails from dmrkynetec, the firm administering the survey.

ASIPP, AAPM, ISIS, the American Medical Association (AMA), and more than 70 other medical specialty societies are conducting a comprehensive multi-specialty survey of America's physician practices. If you received a survey ASIPP encourages you to participate.

On September 17, 2008, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) posted a report (OEI-05-07-00200) entitled, "Medicare Payments for Facet Joint Injection Services." The most significant finding stated in the report is that an estimated 63% of facet joint injection services allowed by Medicare in 2006 did not meet Medicare program requirements, which resulted in approximately $96 million in improper payments. Medicare payments for facets have more than doubled between 2003 and 2006. The OIG based these estimates on evaluation of 646 claims for correct coding and medical necessity. The claims error rate for facet injections is much higher than reported for most Medicare services. This report will serve as the topic of the upcoming December Practice Management column.

In the meantime, you can access the full report by clicking the following link:

http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-05-07- 00200.pdf

.

Minimally invasive spine procedures involving the use of facet fixation products are expected to grow faster than other sectors of the spine surgery market over the next five years, according to US Markets for Minimally Invasive Spine Technologies 2008. The high growth rate is due to increasing adoption of facet screws, bolts and allograft implants, says the report from Millennium Research Group, a leading provider of strategic information to the healthcare sector (Wasek, Becker's ASC Review, Sept. 13, 2008).

A new study has found that doctors are rarely criminally prosecuted or sanctioned in connection with the prescribing of narcotic painkillers (Meier, The New York Times, Sept. 20, 2008).

The study, published this month in the journal Pain Medicine, found that 725 doctors, or about 0.1 percent of practicing physicians, had been prosecuted or sanctioned by state medical boards between 1998 and 2006 on charges arising from illegally or improperly prescribing narcotics. Of that group, 25 doctors specialized in pain treatment.

"The widely publicized chilling effect of physician prosecution on physicians concerned with legal scrutiny over prescribing opioids appears disproportionate to the relatively few cases," the study reported.

The standard Medicare Part B monthly premium will be $96.40 in 2009, the same as the Part B premium for 2008. This is the first year since 2000 that there was no increase in the standard premium over the prior year.

The 2009 Part B premium of $96.40 is the same as the amount projected in the 2008 Medicare Trustees Report issued in March. This monthly premium paid by beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part B covers a portion of the cost of physicians' services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment, and other items.

Florida law that takes effect this fall addresses some of the contracting and payment issues that its supporters said have been upsetting doctors there for years ( Berry, amednews.com, Sept 22/29, 2008 issue)..

The law requires that plans honor a member's assignment of benefits when that member sees an in- network physician, bars insurers from selling network discounts to third parties without a physician's consent, and tells insurers that payments older than 12 months cannot be subject to overpayment claims.

As the fall of financial giants Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch hit the news earlier this week, some of you breathed a giant sigh and said, "Thank God I work in healthcare."

Healthcare is infallible, right? Regardless of how bad the economy is, people will always need healthcare. People get sick no matter how much or how little money they have in their bank accounts. And we've all heard about how sick the baby boomers are and how much they'll need our hospital systems in the coming years. It's the safest industry out there-economically speaking.

ASIPP is now offering a new feature for those who advertise on our Positions Wanted section of the ASIPP Website. As a service to our advertisers and our members, please find the link to each current job posting.

Fellows hip Trained Physician - Northwest Indiana

Out patient Interventional Pain Physician - Atlanta, Georgia

Pain Management Opportunity - Pennsylvania

Entrepre neurial Opportunity - Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Florida Opportunities

Pain Medicine Fellowship Program Opportunity

BC/ BE Physiatrist - Shrewsbury, New Jersey

Part nership Opportunity - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

100% Pain Practice - Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Natio nal Pain Institute - Florida

Interv entional Pain Specialist - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

MAYO CLINIC - Cardiac Anesthesiologist

Interven tional Pain Physiatrist Wanted - Nevada