May 3, 2006

Letter to MedPac Regarding 2007 Physician Fee Schedule

CMS recently issued a letter to Glenn Hackbarth, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Chair, with information regarding the 2007 physician fee schedule (PFS), conversion factor, sustainable growth rate (SGR), and other data used in making estimates.

This letter along with other detailed information on the SGR and PFS updates can be found on the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Web site.

New CMS Competitive Acquisition Program Selects Vendor

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the selection of BioScrip as the Vendor for the initial phase of the new Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP) for certain Part B drugs and biologicals that begins on July 1, 2006. The Cap program offers physicians the option to acquire many drugs they use in their practice from an approved CAP vendor thus reducing the time they spend buying and billing for drugs.

Read more about CAP at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=1840

Pain Physician Journal Now Accepting Article Submissions

The Pain Physician Journal, recently included and indexed on MEDLINE, is accepting manuscript submittals for publication consideration. Pain Physician is a peer-reviewed, multi-disciplinary journal written by and directed to an audience of interventional pain physicians, clinicians and basic scientists with an interest in interventional pain management and pain medicine.

Pain Physician is the official publication of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP). Pain Physician requires that all manuscripts be prepared in accordance with the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals, with the exception of reference citations and format. For information on manuscript submittals go to http://www.painphysicianjournal.com/infoforauth1.php Submit articles to: editor@painphysicianjournal.com

Pain Physician, April 2006 is now available online at www.painphysicianjournal.com

Make Plans to Attend ASIPP Annual Meeting- Register Online

The ASIPP 8th Annual Meeting and SIPMS 1st Annual Meeting will be held on June 24-28 in Washington, DC. Along with the Annual Meetings, plan to attend the Legislative Session and take part in the Capitol Hill visits. This year promises to be a memorable event with the second day of our legislative session moving to Capitol Hill.

On Tuesday, June 27, the ASIPP annual meeting will convene in the Cannon Caucus Room on Capitol Hill where we will be honored with the presence of several congressional speakers. This will be an informative and exciting event and we encourage you to register early.

The Annual Meeting Brochure along with registration and hotel information can be found on the ASIPP Web site. Make Plans to Attend ASIPP Annual Meeting-Register online today!

http://www.asipp.org/meetings.htm

Limbaugh Charged with Prescription Fraud

After a much publicized three-year investigation into drug use by Rush Limbaugh the ultra-conservative commentator was booked on a single charge of prescription fraud in a deal said to spares him a trial. Limbaugh surrendered at the Palm Beach County Jail and was booked on a warrant charging him with illegally deceiving multiple physicians to receive overlapping prescriptions commonly known as “doctor shopping.”

Read more on Limbaugh at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12536446/

Update on Correct Coding Initiative

CMS has released an update on the Correct Coding Initiative (CCI) in Interventional Pain Management effective April. 1, 2006 to June, 2006. There are no changes from January 2006 updates.

Click here for April, 2006 CCU updates.

Medicare Learning Network Announces New Provider Education Products

The Medicare Learning Network recently announced the availability of new provider education products. The electronic version of the Evaluation & Management Services Guide, which provides evaluation and management services information regarding medical record documentation; International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification and American Medical Association Current Procedural Terminology Codes; and key elements of service is now available from the Medicare Learning Network at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/eval_mgmt_serv_guide.pdf

Register for ABIPP Part I and Pain Medicine Board Review Today

Come to the “Gateway to the West” for ASIPP’s premiere Comprehensive Pain Medicine Board Review Course for physicians seeking board certification or re-certification for ABMS Pain Medicine examination or for American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP) Part I examination.

The exam will be held on Aug. 5 – 9 in St. Louis. This five-day in-depth review Board Review Course is a CME activity which also serves as an ideal review for the specialty of pain medicine. To register on-line or for more information on the review course or to register, visit our Web site…Meetings

Put your Board Review Course to work and apply for the ABIPP Part 1 exam which will be administered on Aug. 10, 2006.  Registration is separate for the exam and the minimum requirements for eligibility are as follows:

A primary ABMS board certification.

An active license to practice medicine in the United States.

Visit the ASIPP Web site for more information … click here. Send your application in today!

Medicare Policy Assigns a Cap to Physical Therapy

A Medicare policy change went into affect in January that ascribes a $1,740 cap to outpatient rehabilitation. But Medicare has implemented a temporary process doctors can go through to secure coverage above the limit for patients who need it.

A physician can secure an automatic exception by accurately diagnosing a patient with a condition or complexity approved by Medicare for extended therapy. The list of codes that will trigger such an exception, along with additional information, can be found online at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=1782

Subscribers can read about the cap at: AMA News

More AMA News Stories

Know When to Say No for Better Time Management

Physician’s time is scarce and demands are never-ending. But a recent AMA News story suggests physicians can better manage their time and stay on task by using one two-letter word: No.

The article suggests four steps to enable physicians to say “no” a little better.

1. Acknowledge the value of the question being asked and affirm the person’s motives and needs.
2. Share with them why you have to say no.
3. Share with them the consequences of dealing with his or her issue at the moment.
4. Remain rational throughout the process rather than emotional.

Court Lowers Bar on Scientific Evidence

A New York appeals court ruling could open the door for unreliable scientific evidence to enter the courtroom. In a unanimous opinion, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court said experts did not need to show peer-reviewed medical literature to prove their medical opinion was accepted in the scientific community.

Many physicians fear the appeals court ruling goes against state precedent upholding rigorous scrutiny of what testimony is permitted to be heard by jurors and the ruling could cause a “ripple effect” opening them up the legal system for even more lawsuits.

Subscribers can read these stories and more at AMA News

Read ‘Highly Accessed’ Articles

More than 9,300 people have accessed the article “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, 2006. 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 20,000 people. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2474/5/15

You can also access the article, “Risk of whole body radiation exposure and protective measures in fluoroscopically guided interventional techniques: a prospective evaluation.” The article, written by Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Kim A. Cash, Tammy L. Moss, Jose Rivera, and Vidyasagar Pampati, was published in 2003, has been viewed by more than 10,000 people, and is available to open access on the BioMed Central Web site. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2253/3/2

State Society News

Georgia Society of Interventional Pain Physicians GSIPP will hold their annual summer meeting at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, GA (one hour from Atlanta) on July 21-23.

California Society

California Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (CSIPP) will hold its Annual Meeting and board elections on Tuesday, May 16, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. at:

Morton's Steakhouse

South Coast Plaza Village

1641 W. Sunflower Ave.

Santa Ana, CA  92704

Guest speaker will be Carl Brakensiek, MBA, JD, Executive VP of the California Society of Industrial Medicine and Surgery. Brakensiek’s topic will be "Upcoming Changes in Workers' Compensation in California.” Workers’ Compensation continues to be volatile, with further legislative changes inevitable and pending. Mr. Brakensiek's expertise in this area is unequaled in the state and should prove to be enlightening

Please RSVP and send nominations to sheri@pcpmc.com

All CSIPP board positions are open.

If your state society has any news you would like to share, please e-mail your news items to mmartin@asipp.org