Posted by admin on August 4, 2010 under Medicare | 
Politico Pulse Logo - ASIPP Blog
DOC-FIX WATCH – Frustrated with a six-month patch, medical associations continue to push Congress on Medicare payments.
First up: The American Society of Interventional Pain physicians hits the Hill tomorrow pushing for (what else?) a permanent SGR fix – like the AMA, ASIPP is insistent that nothing less will do, even if it’s not political reality.
Their past president and spokesperson, Dr. David Kloth, tells Pulse: “What the House and Senate passed will get us six months but the bottom line is we need a long-term solution or we are going to lose a lot of doctors.”
Posted by admin on June 17, 2010 under Healthcare |
FROM:
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERVENTIONAL PAIN PHYSICIANS
81 LAKEVIEW DRIVE
PADUCAH, KY 42001
www.asipp.org
Rubenstein Public Relations
Contact: Adam Mazur Tel: 212.873.8073
Email: amazur@rubensteinpr.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATIONAL SOCIETY OF PHYSICIANS RAILS AGAINST OBAMACARE’S COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH
Practicing Doctors Warn About Increased Government
Control of Private Medical Decisions
PADUCAH, KY, APRIL 9, 2010 – A leading national medial society with thousands of physician members is again speaking out against the newly passed healthcare reform legislation, particularly the creation of a single panel that will be charged with determining insurance carriers’ coverage decisions for treatment of patients nationwide.
ASIPP, The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, is strongly opposed to a provision in the law for the creation of the new non-profit organization called the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. The institute, comprised of a 19-member board of directors chosen by the U.S. Comptroller General, is expected to begin meeting within the next six months and will be comprised of methodologists and statisticians rather than actively practicing clinicians. Current plans do not include the use of physician experts or medical societies related to the field under review.
Dr. David Kloth, board member, past president and national spokesman for ASIPP says, “This is perhaps the prime example of how the government will come between patients and their doctor.”
ASIPP says this will result in continued and increased healthcare rationing and that the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute will wield too much control over the private medical decisions of individuals, including determining both the clinical and cost effectiveness of procedures, treatments, drugs and medical devices. The society believes this will be extremely damaging to the cutting-edge developments across the entire spectrum of medicine. Such government guidelines and authority in health care will result in a centralized decision-making process, ASIPP says. The scenario is similar to the counterproductive and flawed system practiced in the United Kingdom for decades and where many common chronic pain treatments are now denied coverage.
“The most important aspect of establishing any type of guidelines is that there are practicing physicians who have the hands-on knowledge working in tandem with those who understand and can analyze the research (methodologists),” added Dr. Kloth. “Without the expertise of both, based on our recent experience, the guidelines will be overly restrictive and not in the best interest of our patients.”
ASIPP agrees that health care reform is mandatory for the country but is very concerned with many aspects of the new laws. Rather than exercise a monopoly over health care coverage decisions, ASIPP believes that the government should encourage and incorporate input from practicing physicians, researchers and policy makers alike.
ASIPP says that if the government’s goal is to ultimately reduce the amount of waste, fraud and abuse in the U.S. healthcare system, the answer isn’t the rationing of medicine by an appointed panel but to work with actively practicing doctors who know the treatments and can help create ethical and appropriate treatment coverage guidelines.
For interviews with David Kloth, MD, national spokesman for the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) please call (212) 843-8073 or email amazur@rubensteinpr.com.
About The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians
ASIPP’s mission statement is to promote the development and practice of safe, high quality, cost-effective interventional pain management techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of pain and related disorders, and to ensure patient access to these interventions. Founded in 1998 by current CEO Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD, ASIPP is a rapidly growing not-for-profit organization that supports the needs of physicians who practice Interventional Pain Management across the country.
Since its inception, the organization has had substantial impact on the practice of interventional pain medicine, resulting in an impressive list of major achievements. In 2005, ASIPP succeeded in passing The National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act (NASPER), which provides and improves patient access to quality care, and protects patients and physicians from the deleterious effects of controlled substance misuse, abuse and trafficking. ASIPP is headquartered in Paducah, KY and currently has over 4,000 members. For more information, visit www.asipp.org or call 270.554.9412. Ext. 215.
