April 7, 2010
CMS Tells Contractors to Delay Doc Payments for 10 Days Again |
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Left stranded by Congress taking a two-week holiday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the second time this month has told contractors to delay reimbursements to physicians and other healthcare providers for 10 business days to temporarily avoid the 21.2% Medicare pay cuts that go into effect on April 1.
"CMS believes Congress is working to avert the negative update that will take effect April 1. Consequently, CMS has instructed its contractors to hold claims containing services paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Update (including anesthesia services) for the first 10 business days of April," CMS said in a media release. "This hold will only affect claims with dates of service April 1, 2010, and forward. In addition, the hold should have minimum impact on provider cash flow because, under the current law, clean electronic claims are not paid any sooner than 14 calendar days (29 for paper claims) after the date of receipt. "
HealthLeaders Media |
CCI Second Quarter Updates Released |
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The second quarter CCI updates have been released. ASIPP has posted these latest updates on our website. Click HERE to see IPM updates.
CCI Updates |
Make Plans Today to Attend the Most Exciting ASIPP Annual Meeting Ever! |
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Mark your calendars now to attend ASIPP's 12th annual meeting will be held June 26-30,2010 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City.
We are offering three separate sessions focused on the Future of Interventional Pain Management: Evidence-Based Medicine, Comparative Effectiveness, and Practice Management. We are building on the information presented last year, while encompassing the changes in the legislation and political environment. We have several prominent speakers in the line-up, such as, Dr. Roger Chou; Dr. Gabor Racz; Medical Economist CEO, J.D. Kleinke; Founder and President of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review; Deputy Assistant Administrator, and many others.
In addition to the information-packed presentations on EBM and Comparative Effectiveness, we will also offer a practice management series of presentations, which will cover the essential coding and compliance lectures. This series is ideal for physicians and is invaluable for their staff. You could easily consider sending your staff to this meeting as an investment. They will walk away armed with the information they need to better understand the billing and coding issues they face on a daily basis.
Since last year s gala celebration was such a success, we decided to reprise this event with a celebration in the theme of An Evening in the Windy City. The evening will start with a cocktail mixer and move right into dinner, a brief business meeting, awards, and then entertainment from comedian and hypnotist, Flip Orley. After this, we will crank-up the fun and begin an evening of socializing, dancing and celebrating. On Monday, June 28, we will prepare for our Capitol Hill visits. Tuesday morning, June 29th, we will once again go as a group to Capitol Hill and make our voices heard. This is your opportunity to speak with your representatives and senators about the legislative issues that affect you and your practice.
For more information, click HERE for the brochure.
Mark your calendar today! |
Mark Your Calendars for April 20 Webinar: How Interventional Pain Practices Can Stay Ahead Of Government Enforcement Efforts |
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Sometimes it seems like the rules change every day, and Interventional Pain Practices are supposed to keep up with it all. Vicki Myckowiak, JD of Myckowiak and Associates is here to help. In an intensely practical session, Vicki will give you the information you need to spend less time dealing with government enforcement efforts and more time enjoying the practice of medicine.
Topics will include:
- Understanding the enforcement efforts and how they specifically impact interventional pain
- Understanding the Office of Inspector General hotspots for pain
- Implementing easy and practical systems to stay compliant
Mark your calendar for April 20th at 2pm EST. More information is coming soon |
Few Openings Remain for April Documentation for Dummies |
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Make your plans today to attend the Documentation for Dummies Review Course April 23-25, 2010 - Memphis, TN.
The meeting will be held at the historic Peabody hotel in Memphis.
The Documentation for Dummies session is not only an essential element in Interventional Pain Management, but also beneficial to you as a physician and to your practice. Coding, compliance, and practice management are areas which are critical to our field yet ones in which few have adequate training. In today s environment of ever-changing regulations and litigations, we cannot afford to ignore these important and complex subjects.
Register Online Today! |
FDA Approves New Version of OxyContin Intended to Thwart Abuse |
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A revised version of OxyContin intended to prevent abuse of the widely used opioid analgesic has now been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
OxyContin is commonly prescribed for patients requiring around-the-clock medication for the management of chronic pain, such as those suffering from cancer or other long-term conditions. However, due to its euphoric effects, OxyContin has become increasingly subject to misuse by illicit drug users and has emerged as one of the most widely abused prescription medications on the market. In 2008, the number of people using OxyContin for non-medical reasons approached 500,000, according to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Drug Watch |
Submit your Abstract for Consideration Today |
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The Online Abstract Submission (see step-by-step procedures below) for the 12th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) is now open. The meeting will be held June 26- June 30, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, VA.
Abstract submission deadline will be April 30, 2010. Those selected will be notified and will receive free registration to the annual meeting.
Selected abstracts will be presented along with posters at the annual meeting on Saturday June 26 or Sunday June 27.
Submit your abstract today! |
Controlled Substance E-Prescribing Outlined in DEA Rule |
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Washington -- The Drug Enforcement Administration on March 24 unveiled a long-awaited interim final rule allowing the electronic prescribing of controlled substances.
The regulations are in addition to, not a replacement of, existing prescribing rules. The agency said they should give physicians, pharmacies and hospitals the ability to issue paperless controlled substance prescriptions while preserving safeguards on dispensing.
American Medical Association |
Many Health Professionals Buying iPad, But its Effect on Healthcare Still in Question |
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By random and unscientific measure, about one in 10 people in line to buy an iPad at a San Diego Apple Store Saturday were health providers hoping to use it for patient care.
Kevin Kaloha, an intern at nearby UCSD School of Medicine, said he was in line on orders from his Radiology Department chiefs. "They told me to come down here and buy one," he said. "I think they want to test it and try it out to see how we can use it for imaging."
HealthLeaders Media |
Health Reform Final Package Ensures More Funding for Primary Care |
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Washington -- Physicians who provide primary care to patients are among those the federal government will single out for more support under the final health system reform package that is now the law of the land.
On March 30, President Obama signed a package of amendments to the main health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The House and Senate on March 25 adopted the amendments to address a number of concerns House members had with the underlying Senate-authored law.
American Medical Association |
MGMA: Physician Compensation in Academic Practice Trails Private Practices |
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Annual compensation for primary care and specialty care groups in academic practice grew by only 2.9% for primary care physicians and 2.4% for specialists between 2008 and 2009, a survey released by the Medical Group Management Association Monday shows.
Academic Practice Compensation and Production Survey for Faculty and Management: 2010 Report Based on 2009 Data found that primary care physicians reported compensation of $158,218, while specialty care physicians reported compensation of $238,587, a difference of $80,369. In addition, the survey found that compensation from academic practices trailed private practices for the last decade.
HealthLeaders Media |
Pfizer Pays Docs $35 Million to Advise, Speak |
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Pfizer Inc. paid around $35 million to doctors in the second half of last year to test its medicines, make speeches and lead forums sponsored by the drug company.
The world's biggest drug maker is divulging for the first time how much it pays docs for various purposes, a practice that's heavily criticized by public watchdogs and politicians such as Iowa Senator Charles Grassley.
Portfolio.com |
Opinion: Financial Reform: Far from a Done Deal in Congress |
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It's funny how fast the Beltway consensus can change. A few months ago, health care reform was dead. Then it got undead. Financial regulatory reform was supposedly dead, too, but now that Republicans have supposedly learned that pure obstructionism is a losing play, it's being treated as a done deal. Democrats like Obama's economic adviser Larry Summers and Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd are saying it's going to pass, perhaps as early as next month. So are key Republicans like Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, who recently put the odds of passage at "100%." Let's just say that seems high.
It is conceivable that a new wave of bipartisan cooperation will sweep financial reform into law - even though the House version passed last year with zero Republican votes; even though Dodd's version passed through committee last month with, yes, zero Republican votes; even though Big Finance is blasting boatloads of money around Washington to block reform. It's at least plausible, as I've written, that if President Obama succeeds at framing reform as a stark banks-vs.-people choice, and enough Republicans get nervous about the political price they might pay for siding with Wall Street, a deal could be cut to get the issue out of the news before November. And the most recent behavior of Republicans - their hopeful rhetoric about reform, their sudden openness to concessions on the consumer financial-protection agency they've been bashing for months - is consistent with a desire to cave rather than fight.
Time |
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American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians ®
81 Lakeview Drive, Paducah, KY 42001
Phone 270.554.9412, Fax 270.554.5394
E-mail asipp@asipp.org
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