Register For A Webinar From Dr. Laxmaiah Manchikanti Titled ‘Evidence-Based Interventional Techniques: An Algorithmic Approach To Keeping It Simple, Safe, and Successful’

All Interventional Pain Physicians need to understand how to maximize this approach. As Interventionalists, how do we improve quality of health care, decrease expenses, and create a more balanced approach to our specialty? Evidence-Based Medicine is a foundation for a system overhaul, but not a fix-all. Used appropriately, this principle emphasizes incorporating the best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values. But how do you get started? How can physicians integrate the concepts into their personal and professional habits, to create logical solutions to patients' problems?

Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD advocates a step-by-step implementation of guidelines to apply pain management techniques based on the best available evidence. While it may not apply to every patient, the evidence-based approach promotes validity of treatment and compliance, while avoiding unnecessary procedures.
 
Discussion points will include:

• How Medicaid, Medicare and private insureres apply Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) and Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER)
• Daily reading strategies to stay current in EBM and CER
• Comparative Effectiveness and The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Date: March 30, 2010 | 7:00pm EST (90 minutes)
Speaker: Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD - Chairman of the Board, American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians
Credits: 1.5 CMEs

Click here to register for the Webinar!

Send Your Letter to Congress Today

We have a major issue regarding the coverage for discography. CMS is now completely denying discography in ASCs. From past experience we fear it may likely come to other levels as well -  office and hospital outpatient setting.
 
We have tried to work with CMS on this matter but they tell us they are unable to do anything. Fortunately Congress has agreed to send CMS letter asking them to reconsider its policy. Below is the link for the letter proposed by Democrat Bart Stupak and Republican Ed Whitfield. We need many more signatures in order to make the kind of impact needed to convince CMS.
 
Congressional Discography Letter
 
Please help preserve patient access to discography by contacting your representatives and ask them to sign on to this letter. We have very little time so please act quickly. Use the following link to send your letter through Capwiz: http://www.capwiz.com/asipp/issues/alert/?alertid=14776446&type=CO
 
I also urge you to get your colleagues, staff, and patients involved. As we have indicated in the past, it is easy to get your patients involved. Print out the letter above, ask them for their support and thier signature then have your staff enter their letter on Capwiz.

Below is a sample letter you can customize for your patients to sign. Please don't wait; act today.

Patient Letter

WPS Final Policy

WPS published the final policy on paravertebral facet joint block and facet joint denervation. They have accepted most of the suggestions from ASIPP’s draft policy.

One very good aspect of the policy is that a patient is allowed 2 diagnostic blocks per region, maximum of 3 levels, per region (cervical and thoracic is one region, lumbar and sacral is second region) followed by 4 therapeutic injections in one year after the diagnostic period ends, or a maximum of 2 radiofrequency neurotomies per year with strict documentation requirements.

This policy goes into effect on or after 3/18/2010.

Click here for the policy

Click here for the comments.

Noridian Lumbar Facet Blocks Draft Policy Favorable

Great News! Noridian Administrative Services proposed a draft policy for lumbar facet blocks which is very positive and favorable to ASIPP's position. ASIPP decided it was in the best interest of interventional pain management that it submit it's own proposed LCD while the multi-society alliance, consisting of 12 or 14 societies, submitted a separate letter.

Noridian Administrative Services Proposed Draft Policy: 

http://www.asipp.org/Noridian/2010NordianDraftpolicy.pdf.

The new policy correlates extremely well with what ASIPP has presented with the exception of radiofrequency neurotomy; the duration is 9 months between 2 neurotomies.

This policy allows appropriate diagnostic management with 4 facet joint injections either intraarticular injections or medial branch blocks per year in the therapeutic phase.

ASIPP Proposed Policy:
http://www.asipp.org/Noridian/ASIPPProposedFacetJointLCD.pdf

Multi-society proposed Policy:

http://www.asipp.org/Noridian/MultisocietyproposedLCD%20082809.pdf

ASA proposed Policy:
http://www.asipp.org/Noridian/ASAProposedLCDforFacets083109.pdf

Thus, you may want to compare the policy submitted by ASIPP with the one enacted; these two appear more similar than the side-by-side comparison with the multisociety policy.

The Noridian policy will start accepting comments on the present proposal on 5/11/2010 and the comment period will end 08/23/2010.

Once again, this illustrates that evidence and comparative effectiveness research is extremely important. Using Lincoln's philosophy, "We will stand with anybody who stands right. We will stand with them while they are right, and part with them when they are wrong".

Health Care Reform - Summary of Key

Provisions of House & Senate Legislation

The Senate has passed their version of the Health Care Reform bill in
the form of H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Unlike the House's bill, the Senate's bill does not include the public
health insurance option, differs in Medicaid expansion, abortion, tax
subsidies, and comes in at $871 billion vs. the House's bill cost of
$1.052 trillion.

For a side-by-side comparison, click here.

Payment Rates 2010
The good news is that interventional pain management professionals have finally won the 10-year fight on increasing practice expense (PE) value. The bad news is that surgery centers are still not being paid fair reimbursements for procedures, such as discography, which are not covered under CMS guidelines. For more information on Practice, Physician, ASC and HOPD Payment Rates 2010, click to view Dr. Laxmaiah Manchikanti’s letter to ASIPP membership.

Who is your IPM CAC Representative?
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 (CAC), which make local decisions about Medicare coverage. It spite of the great efforts it took to secure this position, many states are still unrepresented.

It is critical that IPM have representation in every state. Do you know who your representative is? More Information on CACs.

Healthcare Reform - Contact Congress Today

The healthcare reform bill contains many elements that could have dire consequences to our specialty of interventional pain management and the nation in general. We urge you to contact Congress immediately and ask your government officials to say "no" to the healthcare bill as it is currently written.

Once again we have provided you a Capwiz link to send your message. While we provide sample text for those who chose to use it, the letter is editable and you should feel free to change it as you desire. The important thing is to let Congress know how you feel about the bill.

Capwiz link for physicians: http://www.capwiz.com/a sipp/issues/alert/alertid=13785876&type=ML

We also encourage you to get staff, patients and family involved. We have provided a link appropriate for non-physicians as well. Capwiz link for non-physicians: http://www.capwiz.com/a sipp/issues/alert/?alertid=13805151&type=ML

Clink on the following link to access a Word document that you print out, ask your patients to sign, and then send it for them using the patient Capwiz link above.  Patient letter

Noridian Facet Joint Issues and Misinformation

Three members of ASIPP's board of directors (Ramsin Benyamin, MD, President, Frank Falco, MD, Vice-President of Financial Affairs, and Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD, CEO and Chairman of the Board) who were particularly involved in the Noridian policy issue sent out a public response in an effort to dispel some of the misinformation that has been released regarding the facet joint procedures for which Noridian was denying coverage. Read more...

Click here for FULL letter to members

Click HERE for ASIPP Letter to Noridian Administrative Services -

RE Discussion of Telephone Conference and Questions

Click HERE for ASIPP Draft Proposed Facet Joint LCD PolicyReferenced in above letter

Click here to see multi society letter

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.

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

Click here for photos of the ASIPP New Orleans Meeting

Click here for photos of the ASIPP 11th Annual Meeting

 ASIPP Photo Gallery of Past Meetings Available Here.

The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians is Committed to Promoting Awareness and Understanding of Interventional Pain Management Through a Multitude of Media Events and Public Relations Efforts

The Following is a Sample of Communications:

• View Dr. David Kloth on Fox Business Happy Hour discussing the rationing of care by TriCare, a government-backed managed care provider.

• Dr. Scott Glaser, interventional pain physician and ASIPP Board member joins the show, HealthRadio, to discuss what should be done to reduce the amount of unnecessary deaths due to pain medication addictions. Click here to listen.

• Dr. David Kloth on Fox's Strategy Room discussing Michael Jackson.

• Dr. Kloth’s video on IPM is now available on the The Doctors Channel.

• Health Radio’s Spine Universe. Click here to listen.
• Health Team Channel 8 on drug monitoring programs. Click here for an online video of the interview and a printed article of the same interview.

• Dr. Laxmaiah Manchikanti’s interview with Dailyfinance.com
• Videos on the Doctors Channel regarding NASPER
• Dr. Manchikanti’s interview with American Medical News

• Dr. Kloth interviews with Dr. DeSilva on Health Radio about the number of electronic devices in use continuing to climb and the increase of a new ailment called Cubital Tunnel Syndrome or “Cell Phone” Elbow.

• Dr. Kloth was on SIRIUS Doctor radio Monday, June 8th, 8:30am to 9am EST.
• Dr. Manchikanti’s radio interview with Dr. Mary Zennett of Health Matters about NASPER.

• Tabloid Insert in the Chicago Tribune on Back Pain and IPM.