Jan. 18, 2006

Register for FIPP Examination

Applications are now being accepted for the FIPP examination which will be held on March 12, 2006 in Memphis, TN. Successful completion of FIPP will satisfy requirements for the American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP) part II examination.

The deadline for applications is Feb. 1. Extensions may be granted upon request up to Feb. 10. For more details on the FIPP exam or to access the application follow this link…FIPP or contact Paula Brasher at (806) 743-3112 or by e-mail:  paula.brasher@ttmc.ttuhsc.edu

The examination is being held in conjunction with the Interventional Techniques Review Course (March 10) and the Comprehensive Interventional Cadaver Workshop (March 11).  For information on the review course, cadaver workshop and exam, visit our Web site…March brochure

ONDCP Report Calls for Improved Medical Education in Substance Abuse

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has released the report from the Leadership Conference on Medical Education in Substance Abuse, which contains physician training strategies for improving skills in the prevention, diagnosis and management of alcohol and drug use disorders.

The conference included leaders from the private sector, federal agencies, organized medicine, and licensure and certification bodies. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., told the conference participants the medical community has a pivotal role in helping to identify patients who may have substance use disorder and guiding them to appropriate treatment.

The Leadership Conference participants defined a set of essential core competencies for physicians. The competencies include: thorough understanding of the basic biomedical sciences; proper screening, prevention, and intervention; knowledge in co-occurring medical and psychiatric disorders; and a thorough understanding of clinical, legal, and ethical considerations of prescribing medications with abuse potential.

To read the full report visit the ONDCP’s Web site or follow this link…Report

CMS Creates New Code for Spinal Code Stimulator

Advanced Bionics announced in a recent press release that effective Jan, 1, CMS created a new series of “L” codes for spinal cord stimulation devices and the existing “E” codes have been discontinued. The 2006 Medicare payment rate for the Precision implantable pulse generator and charging system (L8687) represents an increase of more than 100 percent over the 2005 rate that did not differentiate between rechargeable and non rechargeable devices.

GAO Says U.S. “Distracted” from Cocaine Problem

A recently released report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns that competing priorities have distracted the U.S. from the battle against cocaine smuggling. Although the report does acknowledge a 68% increase in “in-transit” cocaine seizures between 2000 and 2004, it also warns of a possible reversal in the past progress. Reasons cited for concern were the reprogramming of resources to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The report also presents a lack of drug interdicting resources available to the Coast Guard as part of a potential drug interdiction problem. The Pentagon cited “war-fighting requirements” as the reason for fewer anti-drug flights, while the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that “unforeseen events such as Hurricane Katrina relief efforts may temporally impact asset availability.

The report contends the number of U.S. cocaine users remains stable, citing approximately two million. Additionally, the greater number of drug seizures could actually reflect more supply in the pipeline. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), who commissioned the GAO study, was quoted in the ASAM News as saying, “We need to be more effective and better prepared because these are routes that not only move illicit drugs today, but can easily move other more dangerous commodities such as terrorists in the future. 

Read the full GAO report at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06200.pdf

White House Drug Policy Office Launches Podcast

John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) took the war on drugs a step farther - technologically that is. Earlier this month the ONDCP launched its first “podcast” via the internet.

Podcasting technology allows users of personal audio media receive broadcasts of audio media through subscription, with the use of an internet feed. John Walters, Director and “Drug Czar,” stated in a press release, “We hope that by providing relevant and timely information via this new technology, more people will join us in educating our fellow citizens regarding the destructive effects of drugs.”

To subscribe to ONDCP’s postcast visit: http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/podcast/

Medicare Warns of Annual Pay Battles

The American Medical News reported this week on the current struggle on Capitol Hill to prevent Medicare pay cuts, saying the issue will be an annual one “unless doctors can prove they will be active players in a future pay-for-performance system,” according to the program chief.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, stressed that lawmakers are waiting for signs from physicians that show they are earnest and willing to improve healthcare by reporting how well they are meeting quality guidelines. In an attempt to encourage and assist in this effort, CMS has altered its Physician Voluntary Reporting Program to make it easier to utilize.

McClellan also stated, “There’s a strong congressional interest in not doing more than a one-year payment adjustment without seeing more visible progress in quality reporting and quality improvement programs.” He continued by saying, “It’s more urgent than ever for us to work with the physician community to make real progress to get to a system that Congress would feel comfortable legislating on for the longer term.”

Subscribers can read the full story along with the following American Medical News stories at...http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/

Other news in the Jan. 23 issue…

Medicare Part D less of a bargain than the VA for prescription drugs, study finds – The AMA and Families USA say the solution is to allow Medicare to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies.

AFL-CIO backs bills requiring health benefits – As state legislatures reconvene this month, the AFL-CIO and its member unions are preparing to battle Wal-Mart in state capitols over the issue of employee health benefits.

Wisconsin group to measure physician quality, efficiency – Wisconsin physicians lead an effort to make the first public report analyzing program that will measure the efficiency of physician practices based on a statewide repository of health insurance claims data.

Texas surgeons sue network over hospital “monopoly” – A physician-owned specialty hospital in Texas is taking on the local hospital network in a lawsuit that has both sides wrestling over competition and control in providing patient care. A court order stops the hospital from revoking the doctors’ privileges while the trial is pending, so patients won’t lose access to medical care.

Articles in the Jan. 16 issue...  

Medicare pay cut begins but likely to be short-lived – The AMA blasts Congress for leaving before keeping doctor pay at 2005 levels.

Pennsylvania groups sue over automatic Medicare enrollment – The suit claims automatic enrollment in prescription drug coverage would restrict Pennsylvania Medicare patients’ access to the physicians and services they have chosen under Medicare Part A and Part B. But doctors and Medicare policy specialists say benefits will not be affected.

Doctor found guilty after government search – Issue of patient privacy vs. government investigative authority still unresolved.

Buy your own lunch: no chance for reciprocity – One doctor’s crusade against gifts from the drug industry has grown into a small, but vocal group.

Two Articles ‘Highly Accessed’

More than 7,000 people have accessed the article on a randomized, controlled trial of spinal endoscopic adhesiolysis in chronic refractory low back and lower extremity pain, earning it a “highly accessed” flag on BioMed Central’s online journal, Anesthesiology. The article, authored by Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Mark V. Boswell, Jose J. Rivera, Vidyasagar Pampati, Kim S. Damron, Carla D. McManus, Doris E. Brandon and Sue R. Wilson, has been on the web site since Aug. 1. The “highly accessed” graphic appears on the journal’s table of contents and search results to identify those articles that have been especially highly accessed, relative to their age, and the journal in which they were published. See it at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcanesthesiol/

Also “highly accessed” on BioMed Central’s Musculoskeletal Disorders online journal site is the May 2004 article “Prevalence of facet joint pain in chronic spinal pain of cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions” by Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Mark V. Boswell, Vijay Singh, Vidyasagar Pampati, Kim S. Damron and Carla D. Beyer.  Musculoskeletal Disorders has been accessed by more than 18,000 people. See: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/5/15