• 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

There is still time to register for the Annual Meeting which 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. To date many states remain unrepresented. The list includes: AK, HI, ID, IA, MN, MS, MT, NE, NM, ND, OR, RH, SC, SD, UT, and VT. If any of these are your state, please commit to join us on the Hill.

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!

Recent Pain Physician Articles Address Guidelines' Potential to Reduce Patient Care Quality

According to recent Pain Physician articles, guidelines released by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) may prevent injured workers from receiving the majority of the medically necessary and appropriate pain procedures.

According to primary author Dr. Laxmaiah Manchikanti, "the ACOEM recommendations do not appear to have been based on a careful review of the literature, overall quality of evidence, standard of care, or expert consensus. Thus, they may result in reduced medical quality of care; may severely hinder access to appropriate, medically needed and essential medical care; and finally, they may increase costs for injured workers, third party payers, and the government by transferring the injured worker into a non-productive disability system."

Read Press Release

Healthcare industry claims processors and claims-flow watchers report at least four-fold increases in rejected Medicare claims processed by Blues plans on May 23, the first day a federally mandated National Provider Identifier was required.

iHealth Beat

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...

Doctors and pharmacists are having trouble cutting off drug abusers because of the state's clunky process for checking a patient's previous prescriptions, says Attorney General Jerry Brown, who wants to make the information instantly available. (MercuryNews.com)

MercuryNews.com

It's been said that once something is posted online, it is there forever. Some physicians have learned that the hard way, after disgruntled patients starting filling Web sites with complaints. (American Medical News)

amdnews.com

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

The healthcare sector is not immune to the weak economy and, as such, some ASCs may be finding themselves increasingly in financial trouble. This was the subject of a McGuireWoods teleconference entitled "10 Keys to Turning Around Financially Troubled Ambulatory Surgery Centers: A Case Study Approach." Brent Lambert, MD, FACS, one of the founders of Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America, and Tom Mallon, the CEO of Regent Surgical Health, presented examples of some solutions for ASCs that are struggling financially. (Wasek, Becker's ASC Review, May 13, 2008)

Becker's ASC Review

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval for a new indication for Cymbalta® (duloxetine HCl) for the management of chronic pain, the company announced last week. (CNN)

The submission is based on outcomes of clinical trials in chronic osteoarthritis pain of the knee and chronic low back pain, in addition to data from previously completed pain studies in diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP) and fibromyalgia. Cymbalta was studied in chronic pain of at least moderate severity in adults who required daily treatment for an extended period of time

CNNMoney.com

A broad coalition of corporations, consumer groups, and pharmaceutical providers has moved closer to compelling millions of doctors to file prescriptions electronically. Supporters such as AARP and AT have touted electronic prescriptions as an easy, effective way to avoid deadly medication errors and save healthcare providers billions. Under a proposal before the Senate, Doctors in the government's Medicare program would receive bonuses when they use online prescribing software, beginning with 2% increases in 2009. Those who don't adopt the technology by 2011 would see their pay cut 1%, growing to 2% by 2013. (Boston.com)

Boston.com

The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC) to "correct the wrongs" of its physician ranking program, according to a statement from the MMS. (Boston.com)

Boston.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