September 29, 2010
Lumbar Facet Blockade LCD Now in Notice Period |
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Great News! Noridian Administrative Services has posted notice of its edited policy for lumbar facet blocks and it is very positive and favorable toward ASIPP's position.
The notice period for the Lumbar Facet Blockade- Local Coverage Determination (LCD) began September 24, 2010, and ends November 8, 2010. Edits for the LCD will become active on November 9, 2010.
The new policy correlates extremely well with what ASIPP presented, except for radiofrequency neurotomy. The duration is 9 months between 2 neurotomies. Noridian - New draft Policy
This policy does permit appropriate diagnostic management with 4 facet joint injections either intraarticular injections or medial branch blocks per year in the therapeutic phase.
Noridian Lumbar Facet Blockade LCD |
Successful Resolution of the TRICARE Issues: Coverage Restored for Cervical and Lumbar Facet Joint Denervation, and Thoracic Epidurals |
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TRICARE issued covered policies in 2009 with elimination of coverage for lumbar and cervical facet joint denervation and thoracic epidurals. Since then, ASIPP and its board has worked diligently to find a solution for this through our government relations office in Washington and multiple legislators.
In January 2010, several of the board members met with TRICARE officials to discuss the lack of coverage for RF denervation also thoracic epidural. After multiple visits, presentations, calls, and letters, with the help of government officials, ASIPP Government Affairs Council, and many others, TRICARE has finally announced the addition of coverage of RF denervation procedure and also thoracic epidural procedure.
TRICARE Policy Manual is now available online at the TRICARE Manuals web site: http://manuals.tricare.osd.mil/index.cfm and in the search function select TRICARE Policy Manual (August 1, 2002) and enter C-129 (Chapter 4, Section 20.1, C-129, September 2, 2010).
TRICARE |
Pain Physician Journal September/October Issue Available Online |
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The September/October issue of Pain Physician is available now. Click HERE to view the table of contents and to download full article pdfs. Pain Physician is an open access journal.
Pain Physician |
Comprehensive Review and Billing, Coding Review Courses Scheduled for November |
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Register today to attend either the Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop or the Billing, Coding and Practice Management Review Course November 19-21 in Memphis, TN.
The Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop and the Comprehensive Review Course in Coding, Compliance and Practice Management are both designed to meet the unique needs of interventional pain physicians. With our excellent participant/instructor ratio, you will have the opportunity for personal interaction with our highly distinguished faculty of world-renowned teachers and lecturers, creating a thorough and compelling educational experience.
?During the 2½-day Comprehensive Review Course and Cadaver Workshop, you can improve existing skills and/or learn new techniques. 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 this course and workshop to be beneficial - as it is essential that we continue learning and exploring new procedures and techniques in our specialty. Click HERE to register.
The Comprehensive Review Course in Coding, Compliance and Practice Management is not only an essential element in Interventional Pain Management, but also beneficial to you as a physician and to your practice. Coding, Compliance and Practice Management is an area which is critical to our field yet one in which few have adequate training. In today's environment of ever-changing regulations and litigations, we cannot afford to ignore this important and complex subject. On Saturday evening, November 20th, we offer the opportunity for you to sit for the American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians Competency Examination. By successfully completing the coding, compliance and practice management competency examination, you are demonstrating to your colleagues, patients, insurers, payors, etc. that you understand the complexities of this aspect of our unique specialty. Click HERE to register.
Register by October 26 to receive a reduced registration fee and hotel discount. |
House Passes NASPER Reauthorization |
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As part of the ASIPP 12th Annual Meeting in June, ASIPP members lobbied on Capitol Hill for the reauthorization of NASPER in addition to physician payment reform, reimbursement reform for outpatient interventional surgical procedures in the ASC setting, and the National Pain Care Policy Act. Since then, ASIPP and its board have worked to keep the attention of Washington on these issues.
In a vote of 384 to 32, the house overwhelmingly approved the reauthorization of NASPER. Now this reauthorization bill (H.R. 5710) will head to the Senate for final approval before it can gain the signature of the President.
While this is not the final vote, it is an important step to the ultimate reauthorization of NASPER which we will continue to work to realize. For more details on the vote click on the following link: Final Vote Results H.R. 5710 |
Deadline for IPM Practice Benchmark Survey Extended |
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The deadline has been extended to October 31, 2010 to complete the Interventional Pain Management Practice Benchmark Survey.
This information will be utilized to determine data for interventional pain. There is no other source for this information in the Interventional Pain Management community and we must depend on one another for this key practice information.
Our purpose is to provide the ASIPP membership with timely information that you can use to compare your practice performance with your peers. The higher the level of participation, the more value the survey will have to our membership.
We urge you to complete the attached Interventional Pain Management 2010 Practice Benchmark Survey and send to Gary Janko by October 31, 2010.
Please Send Completed Survey To: ASIPP Practice Benchmark Survey c/o Gary M. Janko Executive Vice President Pain Solutions Management Group 21 Eastman Avenue Bedford, NH 03110
Benchmark IPM Survey |
Florida Prescription Drug Monitoring Program in Jeopardy |
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Contractual issues have threatened to tie up a prescription drug monitoring program set to launch in Florida in December. Officials are worried about the impact a delay might have on prescription drug abuse in the state.
The contractual issues came to light after Optimum Technology of Columbus, Ohio, filed a formal protest to the contract awarded to Health Information Design, an Auburn, Ala., company that was to run the monitoring database and system. Optimum said the bid submitted by HID did not comply with specifications, and that scoring on the bids relied on arbitrary methods.
Eulinda Smith, a spokeswoman for the Florida Dept. of Health, which was in charge of awarding the bids, said she didn't know how long it would take for the issue to be resolved but that the program will remain on hold until a contract has been awarded.
AMA |
Opinion: We Ignore Rise in Drug Abuse Among Kids |
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(CNN) -- Last week, the government released its National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It didn't make much of a news splash, but it should have -- and in years past, it would have.
When a serious war is taking place, officials throughout the administration hold press conferences and issue statements while print and televised media across the country report on it. Almost none of this happened, although the reasons for talking and reporting are greater than they have been in a very long time.
Here's the takeaway: Illicit drug abuse is seriously affecting our children, our schools, our workplaces and our society. And it is on the rise. In 2009, nearly 22 million Americans were regularly abusing illicit drugs: a rise of 1.5 million abusers of marijuana from 2008 and a rise of 2.3 million users from 2007, a rise of 205,000 abusers of Ecstasy from 2008, a rise of 188,000 abusers of methamphetamine from 2008 and a rise of 800,000 abusers of prescription drugs from 2008.
CNN |
What Do 50.7 Million Uninsured Mean to Physicians? |
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Washington -- As the number of uninsured Americans spiked in 2009, physicians began offering new payment options, networking with other doctors to boost referrals, and accepting more Medicaid and uninsured patients. Doctors say they're spending more time helping patients who can't afford prescriptions, tests and other needed care.
The uninsured population reached 50.7 million in 2009, according to Census Bureau estimates released Sept. 16 -- the largest number since 1987, when the Census began its current method of estimating the uninsured.
The 9.4% increase from 2008 numbers was driven largely by a sharp decline in employer-sponsored coverage due to the recession. In January 2008, the national unemployment rate was 5%; the rate doubled to nearly 10% by the end of 2009. Also, 2009 was the first year the Census recorded a drop in the number of insured: from 255.1 million in 2008 to 253.6 million in 2009.
AMA |
Million-Dollar Payouts to Researchers Often Go Undisclosed in Journal Articles |
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Highly paid consultants for orthopedic device makers disclose their company ties about half the time and rarely share details with readers about their financial relationships, according to a new study calling for more transparency.
Researchers examined payments from five orthopedic device makers to consultants in 2007 and then zeroed in on the 32 researchers, nearly all physicians, who received more than $1 million each to see whether those relationships were disclosed when they published articles the following year.
When writing directly about the firm's products, authors paid $1 million or more disclosed their compan
y tie half the time, said the Archives of Internal Medicine study, published online Sept. 13. Only one of the 26 orthopedics-related journals studied, The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, required authors to acknowledge they were paid more than $10,000.
AMA |
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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