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American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians News  | June 15, 2016
IN THIS ISSUE
  1. ASIPP To Offer 3 courses in August: Regenerative Medicine, Interventional Techniques and Controlled Substance and Practice Management
  2. Pain Physician Earns Impact Factor of 3.407
  3. Many Faces of MACRA: We Will Bring You the News of the Impact on IPM
  4. Sacroiliac joint injection policy finally reversed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee: Encouraging News
  5. Medicare Unmasked: Behind the Numbers 
  6. Long-Acting Opioids Carry Higher Risk of Death 
  7. Cigna Aims to Cut Opioid Use by 25% 
  8. Listen to ASIPP's Newest Podcast
  9. ABIPP Certification Made Simple
  10. ICD-10-CM Book Now Available: Order Your Copy Today!
  11. Tarantula Toxin Study Identifies Therapeutic Target for IBS-Related Chronic Abdominal Pain
  12. State Society News
  13. Physicians Wanted
august
                           
                           
  

impactPain Physician Earns Impact Factor of 3.407

                           

Total Citations:   3,082  
Journal Impact Factor:   3.407   
Rank in Category (by Journal Impact Factor):  8 of 31 journals in "Anesthesiology" and 53 of 192 journals in "Clinical Neurology"     
5-Year Impact Factor:    3.694        
Immediacy Index:           0.710
Eigenfactor™ score:       0.00719
 
Source: Journal Citation Reports®, 2016 release, a Thomson Reuters product.
  
sijSacroiliac joint injection policy finally reversed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee: Encouraging News

The Tennessee Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (TNSIPP) and Graf Hilgenhurst, MD, President of TNSIPP, have negotiated and presented evidence for the coverage of sacroiliac joint injections. They utilized ASIPP guidelines and systematic reviews published by the  American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) for sacroiliac joint injections (Manchikanti L et al. An update of comprehensive evidence-based guidelines for interventional techniques of chronic spinal pain: Part II: Guidance and recommendations. Pain Physician 2013; 16:S49-S283 and Simopoulos TT et al.  Systematic review of the diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic effectiveness of sacroiliac joint interventions. Pain Physician 2015; 18:E713-E756).

Finally, Blue Cross Blue Shield has agreed and updated their draft sacroiliac joint policy to change sacroiliac joint injections as medically necessary procedures when appropriateness criteria are met. This represents long fought success and advocacy of ASIPP and TNSIPP. Please check the policy for further details or contact Dr. Graf Hilgenhurst for further details.

Thank You and Congratulations!
numbersMedicare Unmasked: Behind the Numbers
 
See Medicare's payments to over one million medical providers from 2012 to 2014, and how doctors and other providers compare with peers in their state and nationwide.

Search the database by provider name, specialty and location to see the types and number of procedures performed and the amounts paid to each provider by Medicare.
 
Wall Street Journal
 


higherLong-Acting Opioids Carry Higher Risk of Death
 
Tennessee Medicaid patients who took long-acting opioids such as OxyContin for chronic, noncancer pain were more likely to die than those given other medications for their pain, even after excluding patients with risk factors for overdose, researchers reported.
In a retrospective records analysis, those given long-acting opioids had a significantly increased risk of death (HR 1.64, 95% CI 1.26-2.12) compared with those taking either anticonvulsants or antidepressants to treat their pain, Wayne Ray, PhD, of Vanderbilt University, and colleagues reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
  

cignaCigna Aims to Cut Opioid Use by 25%
 
The insurer Cigna has set a goal to cut opioid use among its customers by 25% over three years, which would restore usage to 2006 levels.

The announcement of this goal follows a flurry of activity aimed at curbing the country's opioid epidemic,
including   recommendations   issued earlier this year by the CDC for prescribing opioid medications for chronic pain.
To achieve its goal, Cigna says it will tap its prevention, wellness, and chronic disease management programs, and work with clients, physicians, and others to increase prevention and treatment of substance use disorders.
  
Health Leaders Media

podcastListen to ASIPP's Newest Podcast
 
In this month's ASIPP Podcast we take a look at some of the content of ASIPP's ICD-10-CM pocket book; learn about the amazing life of Dr. John Bonica, a pioneer of pain medicine; in the news segment we have a story about a pill that could prevent tooth decay, a spider that could hold the key to a new type of pain medication, the reason NSAIDs have such a cardiac risk, and much more.
 
Click HERE to access Podcast
 
abippABIPP Certification Made Simple
 
The American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP) has developed certification programs that recognize accepted levels of knowledge and expertise in the interventional pain management profession, with the goal of improved patient care. Hundreds of qualified physicians have made the commitment to become ABIPP certified. ABIPP is recognized in 11 states. Ten states have no statutes governing specialty boards. Approval is pending in remaining states.
 
ABIPP is a Specialty Board providing certifications in the following areas:
Board Certification in Interventional Pain Management
Either with ABMS pain medicine board certification or  ABMS primary certification only

Competency Certification in:
* Interventional Pain Management
Regenerative Medicine
Controlled Substance Management
Coding, Compliance, and Practice Management
Fluoroscopic Interpretation and Radiological Safety
Endoscopic Spinal Decompression
 
Click HERE to view Pathway to ABIPP Certification

More information  www.abipp.org
book
ICD-10 Book Now Available: Order Your Copy Today!

 
The initial impression of ICD-10 implementation was that it went well for both providers and CMS, however, shortly after the October 1, 2015 date when Medicare claims began processing, providers found out otherwise. In some cases, Interventional Pain Management providers continue to struggle with "finding the right code" to report for their patient's condition.

CMS released a publication "Clarifying Questions and Answers Related to the July 6, 2015 CMS/AMA Joint Announcement and Guidance Regarding ICD-10 Flexibilities" http://tinyurl.com/CMS-ICD-10-ClarifyQ-A that provided additional details as to how this ICD-10 family of codes "free pass" was going to work.
 
In short, CMS stated, "The recent Guidance does not change the coding specificity required by the NCDs and LCDs. Coverage policies that currently require a specific diagnosis under ICD-9 will continue to require a specific diagnosis under ICD-10. It is important to note that these policies will require no greater specificity in ICD-10 than was required in ICD-9, with the exception of laterality, which does not exist in ICD-9. LCDs and NCDs that contain ICD-10 codes for right side, left side or bilateral do not allow for unspecified side."
What this means is that:
  • Interventional Pain Management providers are still being held responsible for reporting the correct ICD-10 code or risk Medicare claims denials.
  • Many Interventional Pain Management procedures are included in the various Medicare contractor's Local Coverage Policies (LCD) and include very specific lists of ICD-10 codes that meet medical necessity for the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
  • In some cases, Medicare contractors have separate LCD policies for each type of interventional pain procedure and often multiple pages in length.
Don't be one of the providers that have the misunderstanding if they report a valid ICD-10-CM code in the same family of codes, Medicare will accept that.
 
Busy Interventional Pain Management providers don't have time to check the Medicare LCD each time they perform a procedure.
 
Make your medical practice easier and use the ASIPP® new ICD-10-CM Pocket Guide for assistance navigating through the complexity of ICD-10 coding.

  
This book is 5.25 x 8.25 and can easily be placed in your jacket or any carrying case. For only $400 you will receive both the electronic and paper versions. You can recover your cost by avoiding mistakes in just one single case.
  
Order immediately to avoid any future losses. Get it for yourself and get copies for all your partners and staff. Multiple copies can be transferred to your EMR and save you money.
  
Also take a 10% discount for 5-9 copies or a 20% discount for 10 copies or more.


tarantulaTarantula Toxin Study Identifies Therapeutic Target for IBS-Related Chronic Abdominal Pain
  
In most neurons, including those mediating pain signals (nociceptive neurons), information, in the form of action potentials, is initiated through voltage-gated sodium channels (Na v ). Local anaesthetics block pain signals through non-specific inhibition of Na v . Persistent pain may result from activation of distinct sensory nerve fibers in the pain pathway leading to acute, protective reflexes, or ill-adapted responses.  
 
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco sought to dissect out the specific contribution of different subtypes of Na v   in mediating chemical, mechanical or thermal pain. Identification of selective Na v   modulators from the venom of tarantula   Heteroscodra maculate   allowed scientists to address this goal in a study published in   Nature   on June 6.   1
  
Hyatt 

     
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State Society News




CASIPP Annual Meeting
November 11-13, 2016
Early Bird Registration is Open for the California Society of Interventional Pain Physicians annual meeting. T he meeting is set for Friday, November 11 - Sunday, November 13, 2016  at the exquisite Bacara Resort & Spa,  Santa Barbara , California. 


 
Please send your State Society meetings and news to: Holly Long at hlong@asipp.org

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