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

• Board Review Course
• Coding, Compliance and Practice Management
• Controlled Substance Management
• ABIPP Competency Examinations
• ABIPP Part I Examination

• Review Course and Cadaver Workshop

• Review Course and Cadaver Workshop In Spinal Cord Stimulation

ASIPP has extended the early register discount for the 10th Annual Meeting to May 31. ;The meeting will be held on June 21-25 in Washington, DC. We invited you to help us celebrate 10 years as "The Voice of Interventional Pain Management."

This year we are featuring a special course in Practice Management for interventional pain physicians and healthcare professionals. This course will provide essential information necessary for a successful practice. Take advantage of this educational opportunity by registering your staff to attend.

This year's highlights include:

• ASIPP 10th Annual Meeting & Gala Celebration
• SIPMS 3rd Annual Meeting
• Practice Management for Interventional Pain Physicians and Professionals
• Abstract Presentations
• Awards
• Congressional Speeches
• Legislative Session and Capitol Hill visits
• Washington Tour
  

On Monday afternoon, just following the legislative session, registrants are invited to join us for a tour of some of the great monuments of Washington. The tour will begin at 2 pm and will visit the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR Monument Park, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall and Memorials, the Korean Memorial, the WWII Memorial, the Capitol Library (exterior), and the Supreme Court (exterior).

Also we encourage you to attend Capitol Hill. We are currently making appointments and need your registration to secure your appointment. This year our goal is to have representation for each state. If you have never visited Capitol Hill before, don't miss this opportunity. For those of you who have participated in the past, we don't have to tell you what a powerful experience this will be. Remember if you attend Capitol Hill, you will receive an additional $150 discount on your registration.

Brochure and online registraion are now available.

Register Online Today!

Congress continues to discuss the Medicare reimbursement legislation that will address the pending cuts. As we are near the July 1 deadline for the 10.1 payment reduction, a decision must be made soon. We continue to ask for you to contact your senators and representative.

Your action is necessary to save interventional pain management from the drastic cuts we currently face. We can not afford to put this off until a later date. This issue will affect your future as well as the future of your patients.

Read more...

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt announced Wednesday a new electronic system - made possible by electronic health records - to improve patient safety and quality of care.

Developed by the Food and Drug Administration and called the Sentinel System, it will enable the sharing of Medicare patient data on drug and medical device use in real-time across a number of federal agencies and some private companies.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

ASIPP will offer a Comprehensive Pain Medicine Board Review Course for physicians seeking board certification or re-certification for the ABMS Pain Medicine examination or for the American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP) Part I examination. The review course will be held on July 28 - August 1 in St. Louis. This five-day intensive Board Review Course is a CME activity geared to prepare physicians for their pain boards but can also serve an in-depth review of the specialty of pain medicine.

ABIPP Part I To Be Administered in August

ABIPP Part 1 exam will be administered in St. Louis on Aug. 2, 2008 at the Chase Park Plaza. You must submit an application to determine eligibility to sit for this exam. The minimum requirements for eligibility are:

• A Primary ABMS or AOA board certification
• An active license to practice medicine in the United States
  

More information and application are avaiable on the ABIPP Web site.

ASIPP Competency Review Course and Exams

Online registration is now open for the 2008 Competency Review Course and Examinations in Coding, Compliance, and Practice Management & Controlled Substance Management.

The course will be held at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis on July 28 - August 2, 2008. This intensive review course is planned as a CME activity to prepare physicians seeking competency certification and to provide Interventional Pain Management Specialists and other healthcare providers an in-depth review of multiple areas of interventional pain management.

The Controlled Substance Management course will be held on July 28 - 29 with an optional exam on July 30. The Coding, Compliance, and Practice Management section will begin on July 31- Aug. 1. The examination for this section will be held on Aug. 2.

Brochures, Registration and Hotel Information

Google has launched its much-anticipated Google Health platform Monday. Google Health combines Google's search engine capabilities with an individual's online personal health records.

Google executives said the new product is designed make it possible for patients and physicians to collaborate more closely. Google tested the service by storing medical records for a few thousand patient volunteers at the not-for- profit Cleveland Clinic.

Users can access the service at google.com/health

Healthcare IT News

With a recent study showing that as many as 7,000 people are killed each year by faulty prescriptions based on illegible handwriting, an increasing number of doctors are trying to avoid problems by using a handheld computer to send prescriptions straight to the pharmacy. Five medical associations are urging their doctors to use e- prescriptions, and in April the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, a national association of drug plan administrators, started a national ad campaign to promote the practice. The PCMA, which supports legislation that would require e-prescriptions in Medicare, claims it could prevent as many as 1.9 million medication errors and save the federal government billions of dollars over the next decade. Experts predict that by the end of this year, about 85,000 doctors nationwide will be writing e- prescriptions.

New Orleans Times-Picayune

Acura Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday that King Pharmaceuticals Inc. has paid the drug maker $3 million to exercise its option to license a third opioid pain medicine using Acura's Aversion Technology.

Opioid pain medicines developed with Acura's proprietary Aversion Technology are designed to relieve moderate to severe pain and deter common methods of prescription drug abuse, including injection of dissolved tablets, snorting of crushed tablets and swallowing of excessive numbers of tablets.

Yahoo Finance

Many practices tell patients they have to pay a fee if they miss an appointment without notice. But a small number of physicians are taking a more up-front approach -- making patients reserve their slots with an appointment deposit that is cashed in case of a no- show. (Caffarini, amednews.com, June 2, 2008 issue)

amednews.com

Take advantage of ASIPP's online payment method to renew your dues. It's quick and easy just click on the link below and submit.

No password is required to renew. If you have questions or need assistance contact the ASIPP office at 270-554-9412 Ext. 208

Renew Membership

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.

National Pain Institute — Florida

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

Pain Management Opportunity — Pennsylvania

Interventional Pain Specialist — Paducah, KY and Marion, IL

Interventional Pain Medicine Physician — St. Cloud, Minnesota