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 is available on the ASIPP 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.

Doctors face a 10% cut in Medicare payments beginning July 1 after the Senate failed to take up legislation that would have averted the cuts. Republican senators blocked efforts by Democrats to call up the bill, which was approved in the House by an overwhelming bipartisan vote. Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, president of the American Medical Association, said the cuts would force many doctors to "limit the number of new Medicare patients they treat." (Pear, The New York Times, July 27, 2008)

Congress continues to battle out a legislative resolution to the pending Medicare reimbursement cuts. As we are near the July 1 deadline for the 10.1 payment reduction, a decision must be made soon.

Interventional pain management faces drastic cuts and this issue will affect your future as well as the future of your patients. But it is not too late to contact Congress and make your voice heard.

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 by 100 members.

In an effort to obtain a voice for interventional pain management in the AMA, we ask you to join the AMA if you are currently a member.

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

New Jersey took an important step this week toward becoming one of the first states with universal health care when lawmakers approved a bill expanding a health insurance program for low-income families. (Lu, Philadelphia Inquirer, June 27, 2008)

Most New York doctors charged with misconduct by the state Health Department will have their names made public and all will have just one day to produce office records demanded by investigators under a patient safety bill agreement announced by Gov. David A. Paterson. The bill also expands infection-control training from doctors and physician assistants to those studying to work in those professions. (Ochs, newsday.com, June 24, 2008)

The California delegation to AMA's House of Delegates presented a number of important resolutions at the association's annual meeting in Chicago last week. One resolution which was adopted as policy is regarding pain management.

A Lexington doctor has been suspended from practicing medicine because of alleged over- prescriptions of pain medicine, the second time in two weeks that a local doctor has been disciplined by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure for such problems. (Blackford, Herald-Leader, June 27, 2008)

U.S. drug regulators are close to allowing doctors to electronically prescribe potentially abusive medications like painkillers, rather than requiring written orders, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman said last week.

The diversion and abuse of prescription medicine has become the greatest challenge drug enforcers have faced in more than a generation, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said.

Pills such as oxycodone and Percocet have all the kick of heroin without the stigma of being seen as low- class street drugs. Their availability in suburban communities has made them the drugs of choice for many teenagers.

The Georgia Society of Pain Physicians' (GSIPP) Annual Meeting/Pain Summit will once again be held at Lake Oconee, in Greensboro, GA on August 8-10, 2008.

For the 3rd consecutive year, the meeting will take place at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton at Reynold's Plantation. This year promises to be another wonderful venue at this incredible resort.

The meeting agenda will cover various interventional and pain practice related topics by nationally and internationally renown speakers. To date presentations will be provided by: Gabor Racz, MD, Rick North, MD, Ted Kline, MD, John Nelson, MD, Aaron Calodney, MD, Leonardo Kapural, MD, Jeff Petersohn, MD and Jennifer Bolen, JD.

GSIPP President welcomes all ASIPP members to attend and see firsthand just how beautiful the South really is.