ASIPP 10th Annual Meeting

Please join us for the ASIPP 10th Annual Meeting on June 21-25, 2008. This year marks an important milestone; ten years as "The Voice of Interventional Pain Management."

This year's highligts are:

• ASIPP 10th Annual Meeting Celebration
• Featuring Practice Management for Interventional Pain Physicians and Professionals
• Legislative Session and Capitol Hill Visits
• Abstract Presentations

Abstract Submittal Deadline March 31

ASIPP is seeking abstracts submissions for the 10th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians is now open. The Online Abstract Submission deadline is March 31, 2008. The meeting will be held June 21- June 25, 2008 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Washington, DC.

To be considered for a presentation at the meeting, abstracts must be submitted by the submission deadline of 5 pm Central Standard Time (CST) March 31, 2008.

Click here for rules and submission directions.

Meetings

The end to the of short- lived hold on a huge physician reimbursement cut is near. The time to act is now!

We have created a new Capwiz letter in an effort to gain renewed attention from our legislators to this dire situation . We are facing devastating physician reimbursement cuts and even greater cuts to ASC and office-based procedures. It will take a concerted effort on the part of the entire ASIPP membership if we are to get the ears and eyes of Congress and convince them to act.

Send a letter addressing all three issues through Capwiz: http://capwiz.com/asipp/issues/alert/?alertid=11058511&type=CO

Our government officals need to hear from our patients as well. This is easy to accomplish; print out the patient letter we have provided and ask all your patients to sign it (the last page of the word document for your state, see link in paragraph above). After you obtain these signatures your staff can send them as a Capwiz letter using the following link: http://capwiz.com/asipp/issues/alert/?alertid=11058731&type=CO

If you have any questions, call the ASIPP office for assistance: 270-554-9412.

In order for ASIPP to secure a seat on the AMA House of Delegates, we must meet the requirement of the AMA membership of at least 35% of our active members. Currently this number falls short of this.

In an effort to obtain a voice for interventional pain mangement in the AMA, we ask you to make certain you renew your AMA dues by March 31 if you are currently a member and if you are not a member please join by the same deadline.

Thank you in advance for taking this important action in assuring IPM is represented in important issues considered by the AMA.

Join or Renew

For the first time in nearly a decade, the ASIPP, AAPM, ISIS, the American Medical Association (AMA), and more than 70 other medical specialty societies have worked together to coordinate a comprehensive multi-specialty survey of America's physician practices. The survey will collect up-to-date characteristics of thousands of physician practices from virtually all specialties, and be used in efforts to positively influence national decision makers to ensure accurate and fair representation for all physicians and patients.

Getting our nation's policy-makers to understand today's landscape and the requirements for care is critical. These data will allow medicine to articulate the challenges of running a practice that provides expert patient care, while operating a business that is sustainable. The study results will not only help in the short-term but will allow future generations of doctors to continue providing superior care to their patients.

One particularly important section of the study pertains to practice expenses and the amounts that are attributable to you. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have indicated that the results of this study will be used to help determine physician payment. Please encourage your staff to make this information available as the survey's success depends on accurate and complete data. This information will remain confidential. The survey firm, Dmrkynetec, will not identify any individuals or entities participating in this research.

Dmrkynetec, a survey firm with extensive experience in the area of physician practice finance, has been retained to administer the survey. Dmrkynetec will contact randomly selected physicians and practice managers in order to collect their confidential responses. Please watch for this survey and complete it thoroughly and accurately. Thank you in advance for doing your part to represent our profession.

Survey FAQs

On May 16 - 18, ASIPP will hold a Review Course in Fluoroscopy & Cadaver Workshop in Spinal and Non-Spinal Interventional Techniques covering basic and intermediate levels. The course will be held at the Memphis Marriott Downtown and the Medical Education Research Center (MERI) in Memphis, TN.

At the completion of the Fluoroscopy course, physicians will also have the opportunity to sit for the ABIPP Competency Certification Examination in Fluoroscopic Interepretation and Radiation Safety.

This course is an essential component for interventional pain physicians and will provide educational opportunities to assist you in providing high quality, competent, safe, and cost-efficient services to your patients.

Register early and save. Registrations received on or before April 25 may take advantage of the early registration discount.

The Memphis Marriott Downtown is our host hotel for this event. Book your room on or before April 23 to recieve the ASIPP discount group rate of $159. Call 1- 888-557-8740.

Meetings

Samuel "Sam" Hassenbusch, III, MD, PhD lost his fight with glioblastoma multiforme on February 25th 2008, at home in the company of his beloved family. His family, friends, ASIPP and the entire pain community deeply mourn his passing. We have lost a true shining star.

More on the life of Dr. Hassenbusch

A pictorial celebration of his life

On March 13, 2007 Senators Richard Durbin and Jeff Sessions sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking member of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, Senators Tom Harkin and Arlen Specter, respectively.

In their letter they request the inclusion of funding for NASPER in the Fiscal Year 2009 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill.

Letter

Methadone is playing a prominent role in surging drug overdose deaths in Maine and New Hampshire. Maine leads the nation in Methadone death rates, while the Granite State is tied for fourth. (fosters.com)

fosters.com (Foster's Daily Democrat)

In 2008, the OIG plans to review several areas of interest to ASC Review readers: the appropriateness of payments and oversight for interventional pain management, which now accounts for $2 billion in Medicare billing annually; the appropriateness of ASC payment rates and the new rate-setting methodology; patient care and safety in physician owned hospitals; coding on transfers versus discharges; areas with high density of independent diagnostic testing facilities and of high utilization of ultrasound; several issues related to long-term-care hospitals; and issues related to reassignment of physician payments and benefits (Scott Becker's ASC Newsletter, March 13, 2008).

OIG Work Plan

Pain Physician journal will feature three special topical issues this year, in addition to the regular bimonthly publications. The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians' official journal, Pain Physician, will feature these special issues:

Ethics - Topics will cover:
1. general issues in normative and applied medical ethics as relevant to the care of pain;
2. clinical ethical issues focal to under- and/or over- treatment of pain;
3. conceptual and practical issues related to informed consent;
4. conceptual and practical issues related to (institutional) review of (experimental, quasi- experimental and/or clinical) studies of pain assessment, and/or therapeutics;
5. ethical issues relevant to medico-legal concerns and/or development and articulation of health policy and law.

Health Policy and Practice Management

All written materials should follow Pain Physician manuscript for author's instructions. The topical issues will also undergo peer review.

For more information contact Holly Long at hlong@asipp.org

The New Hampshire Society of Interventional Pain Physicians Annual Meeting will be on March 26, 2008 at CR Sparks in Bedford, NH. The meeting will feature Dr. Ramsin Benyamin, Executive Vice President of ASIPP, presenting a lecture on Vertebroplasty and Sacroplasty.

NH Annual Meeting Agenda

Registration Form

ASIPP is offering a new feature for those who advertise on our Postions Wanted section of the ASIPP Website. As a service to our advertisers and our members, we will list the link to each current job posting.

Fellowship Trained Physician — Northwest Indiana

Outpatient Interventional Pain Physician — Atlanta, Georgia

BC/BE Physiatrist — Shrewsbury, New Jersey

100% Pain Practice — Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Partnership Opportunity — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Interventional Pain Physiatrist Wanted — Nevada

Interventional Pain Specialist — Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Pain Management Opportunity — Pennsylvania

Entrepreneurial Opportunity — Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Florida Opportunities

Pain Medicine Fellowship Program Opportunity

Interventional Pain Specialist — Paducah, KY and Marion, IL

Interventional Pain Medicine Physician — St. Cloud, Minnesota