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. Join AMA >>>

For Immediate Release

ACOEM Guidelines May Result In American Workers Being Denied High Quality, Cost-Effective Pain Care

PADUCAH, KY – 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.”

Click here for complete ACOEM media release

Your Action is Needed to Prevent Cuts

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.

Physicians can send a letter addressing all three issues through Capwiz:

http://capwiz.com/asipp/issues/alert/?alertid=11058511&type=CO

Or send the letter on your own letterhead by using this sample letter to guide you. You may want to include the ASC fact sheet as well.

Our government officials need to hear from our patients as well. This is easy to accomplish; print out the patient letter we have provided (modify it to your state's officials) and ask all your patients to sign it. 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.

Need To Know Your Elected Officials?
Stay on top of the issues affecting interventional pain management, know your elected and appointed officials and contact the media in your area. You can make a difference by getting involved! Find out who represents you on Capitol Hill, go to Capwiz: http://www.asipp.org/Alert.htm

Change Your Specialty Designation
Use the CMS Form to Change your Specialty Designation to 09 - Interventional Pain Management

We are faced with the need to increase our 09 Interventional Pain Management specialty designation. Currently CMS claims there are too few IPM physicians, which negatively affects our reimbursement. Interventional Pain Physicians can now change their specialty code designation to 09 utilizing the CMS form CMS855I - see page 8, section D.

IPM Becomes 34th Specialty On CACs
In March 2005, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid mandated that Interventional Pain Management become the 34th medical specialty represented on state Carrier Advisory Committees, which make local decisions about Medicare coverage. Information on CACs.

ASIPP, AAPM, ISIS with AMA to Conduct Physician Practice Survey

Did you receive a survey?

For the first time in nearly a decade, ASIPP, AAPM, ISIS, the American Medical Association (AMA), and more than 70 other health care professional organizations, 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. Read more...

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