December 29, 2010
Medicare Clarifies Same-Day History and Physical Guidance for Surgery Centers |
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CMS has issued guidance clarification stating ambulatory surgery centers may perform a patient's history and physical on the same day of surgery.
CMS also stated that if the history and physical is conducted in the ASC n the same day as the surgical procedure, some elements of the required pre-surgical assessments may be incorporated into the H & P; however, this does not apply to the anesthesia/procedure risk assessment, which must be performed by the physician immediately prior to surgery after the H&P.
CMS |
ASIPP Abstract Registration Open |
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The Online Abstract Submission for the 13th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) is now open. The meeting will be held June 25- June 29, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, VA.
To be considered for a presentation at the meeting, abstracts must be submitted and completed by the submission deadline of 5:00pm Central Standard Time (CST) Monday, May 2, 2011.
Abstract submission must be completed through ASIPP's interactive online form. Click HERE to access form.
Submit Abstract |
Reserve Your Spot Today for 2011 Review Course and Cadaver Workshops |
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Registration is now open for the February and April Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop in Interventional Pain Management. Both courses feature Basic, Intermediate, and Comprehensive Interventional Pain Management Examination section levels. The courses will be held on February 18-20 and April 8-10 in Memphis, Tenn. In order to maintain an optimal participant/instructor ratio, space in both courses is limited so please register early to assure a spot in the course and in the level of your choice.
During the 2½-day Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop, you can improve existing skills and/or learn new techniques. You will have the opportunity for personal interaction with our distinguished faculty comprised of excellent teachers and lecturers. It is always our goal is to create a thorough and compelling educational experience for you.
Whether you have been practicing interventional pain management for many years or are new to the field with basic skills, we are confident you will find these courses and workshops to be beneficial to you in your practice. With the ever changing dynamics in healthcare and in the specialty of interventional pain management, it-is essential that we continue learning and exploring new procedures and techniques in our specialty.
Both courses will take place at the Marriott Memphis, 2625 Thousand Oaks Boulevard (901-362-6200) on Friday. Ask for the ASIPP reduced room rate of $129 when making your accommodations. On Saturday and Sunday we will transport you the Medical Education and Research Institute (MERI) for a hands-on learning experience.
Click HERE for February Registration
Click HERE for April Registration
Register for 2011 Course Today |
J&J, AstraZeneca Pain-Drug Trials Halted |
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Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca Plc stopped studies of experimental painkillers over concerns that a class of drugs once expected to generate as much as $11 billion in annual sales may raise the risk of joint damage.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration told J&J last week that the development program for its drug fulranumab had been put on hold, Jeffrey Leebaw, a spokesman for New Brunswick, New Jersey-based J&J, said in an e-mail. London-based AstraZeneca said yesterday it has voluntarily stopped early-stage research of a similar medicine. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Tarrytown, New York, said yesterday the FDA had halted trials of its treatment in the class known as anti-nerve growth factors.
Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, suspended trials of the pain drug tanezumab in June after reports that patients in one of its studies needed joint replacements. The move left nerve-growth inhibitors "a tainted class" and has lowered investor's expectations, said Ziad Bakri, a Cowen & Co. analyst in New York.
Bloomberg Businessweek |
Indiscriminate Pain Contracts Can Undermine Patient Trust: Ethicists Offer Criticism |
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As the misuse of opioids has grown, more physicians have urged patients to sign so-called pain contracts in an effort to prevent medication diversion.
But these contracts, also called opioid treatment agreements, can be used indiscriminately and harm rather than enhance the physician-patient relationship, according to an article by a panel of physicians and pain-policy experts in the November issue of The American Journal of Bioethics.
"It is not that any of us disagree with the notion that agreements can, in fact, be very helpful in certain circumstances," said Myra Christopher, co-author of the article. She noted that patients with a history of substance abuse or mental illness may be aided by documents that inform them of the risks and benefits of opioids and set out a care plan.
AMA news |
New Study Shows Dramatic Shifts in Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions among the States between 1998 and 2008 |
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Although the overall rate of admissions to substance abuse treatment in the U.S. remained stable between 1998 and 2008, at about 770 admissions for every 100,000 persons in the population, a new study shows striking changes and variations in admission rates by region. For example, the rate of admissions for alcohol as the primary drug has declined by 15 percent nationally. However admission rates for alcohol in West North Central states (Ark., Iowa, Kan., Minn., Mo., N.D., Neb. and S.D.) remained the same.
At the same time that admissions for alcohol treatment were declining, admission rates per 100,000 population for illicit drug use were increasing. In fact, one consistent pattern in every region was the increase in the admission rate for marijuana use which rose 30 percent nationally. From 1998 through 2008, marijuana treatment admission rates were highest in the West North Central and Middle Atlantic states (N.J., N.Y. and Pa.).
As indicated in an earlier SAMHSA report, Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions Involving Abuse of Pain Relievers: 1998 and 2008: http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k10/230/230PainRelvr2k10.cfm, the treatment admission rate for opiates other than heroin (mainly narcotic pain relievers) rose 345 percent nationwide during these 11 years. The new study shows that increased admissions for pain reliever abuse occurred in every region of the nation and were highest in the New England (Conn., Mass., Maine, N.H., R.I. and Vt.) and the East South Central states (Ala., Ky., Miss. and Tenn.).
SAMHSA TEDS Report |
Justice Department Accuses Mayo Clinic of Falsely Billing Medicare |
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The Department of Justice has accused the Mayo Clinic, based in Rochester, Minn., of violating the False Claims Act by falsely billing federal healthcare programs, such as Medicare, for lab tests that were never performed, according to a report by the Star Tribune.
The allegations stem from whistleblowers David Ketroser, MD, and three former Mayo Clinic patients who claimed the organization billed healthcare programs for thousands of pathology tests that were never rendered over the course of several years. The whistleblower lawsuit was filed in 2007, and the federal government decided to join the lawsuit in September, according to the report.
Dr. Ketroser said he first suspected Mayo's suspicious billing practices while he was representing patients in malpractice cases against the healthcare organization. After requesting from Mayo a frozen tissue slide for one of his patients, he was told the slide had been thrown out. Later, he found that Mayo had billed for a second test the same day the first test was performed but could not relinquish the test. Dr. Ketroser said that "they didn't do them" and that he had "encountered it at least 10 or 12 times," according to the report.
Becker's ASC Review |
GOP Senate Leader Questions Obama's Medicare Fraud 'Crackdown' |
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WASHINGTON - Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, is pressuring President Barack Obama's administration to defend how it has spent money fighting Medicare fraud.
"Medicare fraud data doesn't support rhetoric or spending to crack down on criminal healthcare fraud," Grassley said last week in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Grassley expressed concern about what he called "the stagnating number of criminal prosecutions" for healthcare fraud despite increased federal spending to fight fraud.
Healthcare Finance News |
State Society News |
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New Jersey Interventional Pain Society Hosts Biannual Meeting Jan 31
The New Jersey Pain Society is hosting a biannual meeting Thursday January 13,2011. The meeting is set for 6:30 to 10:30 pm at Pines Manor in Edison, NJ.
Speakers will include:
- Scott Woska, MD- Speak about Tunnel Syndrome
- Dr. Christopher Winfree - Nerve stimulator implants for peripheral nerve injuries
- Mark Mannigan- to speak about Out of Network and Pip
- Laurie Clark- Legislative update
- Dr. Magaziner - Protocol Committee
Several local and state politicians have also been invited to attend.
Pines Manor is located at 2085 Route 27, Edison, NJ 08817
Please fax your RSVP to 732-297-5770 |
Physicians Wanted |
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Visit the ASIPP Web site to find available positions for IPM physicians.
Physicians Wanted |
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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
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