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American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians News  | October 28, 2015
IN THIS ISSUE

  1. Room Block Deadline TODAY for ASIPP's November Meetings - Register for One Today
  2. Opioids in the News 
  3. Annual Meeting Registration Open: Robert Laszewski to Be Saturday Featured Speaker  
  4. Payor, Coverage, and Policies: Denials & Appeals Webinar 
  5. ASIPP Asks That Medicare Advantage Program Honor Contract 
  6. Are Medicare ACOs Working? Experts Disagree 
  7. ASIPP Call for Abstracts 
  8.  Naproxen Alone Wins for Relieving Lower Back Pain
  9. Innervation Zone Lidocaine Injections Effectively Treat Myofascial Trigger Point-Related Neck Pain
  10. Med School Enrollment Hits New High
  11. Reasons for Nonadherence to Medications
  12. New Tool Suggests Dominance of Non-Painful Symptoms in Peripheral Neuropathy
  13. Pumpkin Seeds Sprout Numerous Health Benefits
  14. State Society News 
  15. Physician Wanted 
novemberRoom Block Deadline TODAY for ASIPP's November Meetings - Register for One Today
   

 
Regenerative medicine is a NEW and EVOLVING field for interventional pain management. Know if and when to offer these treatments.  
Choose to attend one of ASIPP's November meetings. You can attend the 2-day intensive Regenerative Medicine Workshop or the 1 day Hands-On Cadaver Workshop for IPM Techniques. 
 
Objectives for Regenerative Medicine Course
  • Attain understanding of regenerative medicine.
  • Attain eligibility for competency certification with the completion of both levels.
  • Incorporate regenerative medicine in treating your patients so that patients have better outcomes and reduced side effects.
  • Provide high-quality, competent, safe, accessible, and cost-efficient services to your patients.
Objectives for Cadaver Workshop for IPM Techniques 
Integrate multiple aspects of interventional pain management in treating your patients so that patients have better outcomes and reduced side effects.
  • Provide high-quality, competent, safe, accessible, and cost-efficient services to your patients.
  • Improve existing skills and/or develop new skills in the delivery of interventional techniques.
  • Review multiple areas of interventional pain management including fluoroscopic interpretation

 

BROCHURE

 

Accommodations
   
THE VENETIAN RESORT HOTEL CASINO
3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Hotel: 702.414.1000 | Reservations: 866.659.9643
http://www.venetian.com 
Inform the agent that you are booking for American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. We have secured a group rate of $159.
 
Cadaver Venue:
OQUENDO CENTER , 2425 E. Oquendo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89120
Phone: 702.739.6698 | Toll Free: 866.800.7326 |
obamaOpioids in the News
 
ASIPP has been champion of safe opioid prescribing from the beginning . We are proud sponsors of National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act (NASPER) which now has state monitoring programs in 49 states except Missouri. ASIPP also offers controlled substance courses and competency certification.

Please remember the advocacy of ASIPP before this issue was headlining.  Pain Physician has published many articles along this line of advocacy.
 

In addition, Academic Director Josh Hirsch has been actively tweeting on these issues.  You can follow him @JoshuaAHirsch
 
 
 
Obama announces new steps to combat heroin, prescription drug abuse

CHARLESTON , W.Va. - Faced with a nationwide epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse, the Obama administration announced Wednesday that it will take steps to increase access to drug treatment and expand the training of doctors who prescribe opiate painkillers.

The efforts, which President Obama unveiled at a forum here, are likely to have a modest effect on the steep increase in heroin and prescription drug overdoses, which now kill more people than car accidents each year, and the barriers to treatment that many addicts face.

The administration hopes to double the number of doctors who can prescribe buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opiate addiction, to 60,000 from 30,000 over the next three years. More than 40 medical provider groups have committed to training more than half a million doctors, dentists and others on the safe prescription of opiate medications.
  

Opioid Precaution During Cold and Flu Season: Medication Adjustment May Be Required

LG is a 44-year-old white, non-Hispanic man with a history of severe, debilitating chronic low back pain. His surgical history includes multiple lumbar surgeries with resultant hardware in place.  In addition to taking oral pain medication, LG is seen routinely for interventional treatment.  He is currently on a high-dose opioid regimen that includes oxycodone 40 mg (1) every 12 hours and immediate-release oxycodone 10 mg (1-2) up to 3 times daily for a total daily oxycodone dosage of 140 mg (morphine equivalent = 210 mg/d).  When originally seen in clinic, LG's oxycodone dosage was decreased by 80 mg/d from his previous oxycodone daily regimen with an understanding that further increases would not take place at this facility.  However, he was informed that an opioid rotation could be considered if the opioid regimen issued through this clinic did not provide effective pain relief. 
 
FDA Approves Belbuca (buprenorphine) Buccal Film for Chronic Pain Management
 
Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., a subsidiary of Endo International plc (NASDAQ: ENDP) (TSX: ENL), and BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BDSI), announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Belbuca (buprenorphine) buccal film for use in patients with chronic pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate. Belbuca, which is the first and only buprenorphine developed with a dissolving film that is absorbed through the inner lining of the cheek for chronic pain management, is expected to be commercially available in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2016 in seven dosage strengths, allowing for flexible dosing ranging from 75 μg to 900 μg every 12 hours. This enables physicians to individualize titration and treatment based on the optimally effective and tolerable dose for each patient.
 
 
FDA Approval for Buccal Buprenorphine (Belbuca) in Chronic Pain
  

                           
  
annualAnnual Meeting Registration Open: Robert Laszewski to Be Saturday Featured Speaker
 
Make plans to day to attend the 18th annual ASIPP meeting April 15-17, 2016 in Dallas, TX.
 
Robert Laszewski, National Expert on Health Policy is one of the keynote speakers on Saturday, April 16, 2016. 
Mr. Laszewski is president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, Inc. (HPSA), a policy and marketplace consulting firm specializing in assisting its clients through the significant health policy and market change afoot. Before forming HPSA in 1992, Mr. Laszewski was chief operating officer of a health and group benefits insurer.

Mr. Laszewski also publishes Health Policy and Marketplace Review, a blog focused on health care policy and marketplace activities. ( http://www.healthpolicyandmarket.blogspot.com/).

Here are two of his latest articles on Medicaid Expansion in Ohio and Flat Enrollment estimates for 2016.
 
  


                           
payorPayor, Coverage, and Policies: Denials & Appeals Webinar

Denials and Appeals Could Effect You Financially

Getting paid for services provided is essential to the financial success of your practice.  Key to getting paid is an understanding of the payor coverage policies that set forth the medical necessity, utilization and quality of care criteria as well as the coding requirements for provider services.  Failure to follow the mandates in these policies can lead to denial of payment and payor audits.

Vicki Myckowiak will provide a practical guide to understanding payor policies and using these policies to ensure that the documentation in your medical record accurately reflects the services provided and meets the requirements of the payor policies.  Vicki will also provide valuable information on steps to take in the face of denials or audits including a primer on the best practices for responding to a payor audit.
 
WEBINAR FEE:   $175  
DATE: November 17, 2015
LENGTH: 90 minute session 
TIME: 11:00am - 12:30pm CDT

SPEAKER:
Vicki Mykowiak, Esq.
 
 
Vicki Myckowiak is a principal of MYCKOWIAK ASSOCIATES, P.C.  She is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College and The National Law Center at George Washington University.  Ms. Myckowiak is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the American Bar Association, the American Health Lawyers Association, and the Health Care Compliance Association.

  
roomASIPP Asks That Medicare Advantage Program Honor Contract

On October 7 and 8, 2015 a group of 27 ASIPP leaders and members went to Washington, D.C. to voice concerns important to interventional pain management practitioners. Over the course of the two days on Capitol Hill, we met with 41 Senators and Representatives along with their staff.
  
One of the two main issues we discussed was the improper reimbursement patterns for Medicare Advantage plans (Fact sheet)
  
It is well known that Medicare Advantage has unilaterally chosen to deny payment for certain IPM procedures. These denials are in violation of policies set forth by the government for coverage. During our visits, we made elected officials aware of these violations and asked them to take action by asking CMS to hold Medicare Advantage accountable by honoring their contract in order to restore patient access to these procedures.


Medicare Advantage: Room for Improvement

WASHINGTON -- The Medicare Advantage program hasn't quite worked out as promised under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to healthcare policy experts.

They discussed the impact of the ACA on the program, as well as ways the Medicare Advantage delivery model could be improved, at the National Conference on Medicare and Medicaid and Dual Eligibles Summit, sponsored by America's Health Insurance Plans.

While designed to target the shortcomings of traditional fee-for-service Medicare, the idea that Medicare Advantage (MA) could reduce costs through better care coordination hasn't played out as intended, said Mark Miller, PhD, executive director of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).
  

disagreeAre Medicare ACOs Working? Experts Disagree
 
One of the missions of the 2010 federal health law is to slow the soaring cost of healthcare. A key strategy for Medicare is encouraging doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers to form accountable care organizations (ACOs) to coordinate beneficiaries' care and provide services more efficiently. Under this experimental program, if these organizations save the government money and meet quality standards, they can be entitled to a share of the savings. Participation is voluntary.
 
In August, Medicare officials released 2014 financial details showing that so far the ACOs have not saved the government money. The 20 ACOs in the Pioneer program and the 333 in the Shared Savings program reported total savings of $411 million. But after paying bonuses, the ACOs recorded a net loss of $2.6 million to the Medicare trust fund, a fraction of the half a trillion dollars Medicare spends on the elderly and disabled each year.
 
To help put this development in perspective, Kaiser Health News posed this question to several ACO experts: Three years in, the ACO program has many success stories, but it's not yet saving Medicare money. Is it working?
 

abstracts

Make your plans now to participate in the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians abstract and poster presentation at the 18th Annual Meeting, April 15-17 in Dallas, Texas.
  
The abstract submission deadline will be February 9, 2016.
  
The annual meeting is a great opportunity to share your abstract with hundreds of physicians who specialize in interventional pain management.
  
                           
Mark your calendar for December 10th and view this live webinar 'Coding: IPM Guide to 2016'. Get up to speed with the coding changes that are coming in 2016 for Interventional Pain Management practices. You are responsible for reporting the services correctly so you don't risk delays, denials, or incorrect payments. Use this guide for coding, billing, and compliance changes in 2016 in this 90-minute webinar with coding expert Marvel J. Hammer, RN, CPC, CCS-P, ACS-PM, CPCO.
naproxenNaproxen Alone Wins for Relieving Lower Back Pain
 
Among patients with acute, nontraumatic, nonradicular lower back pain (LBP) presenting to the emergency department (ED), adding cyclobenzaprine or oxycodone/acetaminophen (Percocet) to naproxen alone did not improve functional outcomes or pain at 1-week follow-up, a randomized, double-blind, three-group study has shown.
 
"These findings do not support the use of these additional medications in this setting," Benjamin W. Friedman, MD, MS, of Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues reported online in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
 
 
zone
Innervation Zone Lidocaine Injections Effectively Treat Myofascial Trigger Point-Related Neck Pain
 
Lidocaine-injection therapy in the intramuscular innervation zone effectively treats neck pain caused by myofascial trigger points in the trapezius muscle, according to research published in Pain Physician.
 
Previous research has shown that myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) are involved in neck pain. MTrPs are highly localized, irritable spots that are indurated and cord-shaped and can be palpated in the skeletal muscle. These points are fine and hypersensitive, and pain may be triggered when they are stretched, pressed, or contracted.
 
 
schoolMed School Enrollment Hits New High
 
WASHINGTON -- The number of people applying to medical school increased by 6.2% for 2015, which followed a 3.1% jump the previous year, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) announced Thursday.
 
A total of 52,550 people applied to medical school in 2014 for enrollment in 2015; of those, 38,460 were first-time applicants, an increase of 4.8% from the previous year, the AAMC said.
 
 
reasons
Reasons for Nonadherence to Medications
 
HealthDay News -- Eight reasons associated with patient's intentional nonadherence to medications have been identified in a report published by the American Medical Association (AMA).
 
Noting that data show about one-quarter of new prescriptions are never filled, and that about 50% of the time patients do not take their medications, the report discusses reasons for intentional nonadherence.
 
toolNew Tool Suggests Dominance of Non-Painful Symptoms in Peripheral Neuropathy
 
Scientists have developed a new tool for the assessment of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), according to research published in the October 2015 issue of The Journal of Pain.
 
The Treatment-Induced Neuropathy Assessment Scale (TNAS) is a brief yet comprehensive patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure that captures the multifaceted nature of neuropathy, distinguishing pain from non-painful aspects such as numbness and tingling.
 
 
pumpkin
Pumpkin Seeds Sprout Numerous Health Benefits
 
When you think of pumpkin seeds, you likely remember carving jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween and having to scoop out that messy mass of seeds. It turns out that those seeds can act as a potent medicine. Specifically, Cucurbita pepo, a member of the gourd family, has some significant medicinal uses. Although there are many different varieties of pumpkin, the two most studied are the C. pepo and C. maxima.
 
Hyatt 
     
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State Society News

 

 

 

NY and NJ Societies to hold Pain Symposium Nov. 5-8

The New York and New Jersey Societies of Interventional Pain Physicians will host a Pain Symposium titled Evolving Pain Therapies on November 5-8, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency, Jersey City, NJ. Click HERE for Schedule and more information.


 

 

SAVE the DATE: FSIPP Meeting May 20-22, 2016

The Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians will hold its annual meeting in 2016 on May 20-22. The meeting will be held at the Orlando World Center Marriott in Orlando.

Watch FSIPP.org for more details.

 

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

 

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Physicians Wanted

 

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