THURSDAY | OCTOBER 29, 2020
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The ABIPP Part I Examinations for ABIPP Part I, Written Examination for ABIPP Board Certification, and ABIPP Competency Certification Will Now Be Held Online. |
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The first opportunity to take the exams will be Saturday, December 5 at 10 am CST. If you are interested in appearing for either of these exams, you must submit an application. All candidates must be approved prior to signing up for the examination. Qualifications are listed in the applications linked below:
Four (4) hour exam beginning at 10 am CST
Two (2) hour exam beginning at 10 am CST
We will post and announcement future examinations as they are set. If you have question about the exam or eligibly, you may contact Melinda Martin at mmartin@asipp.org
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ABIPP Information | abipp.org |
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Amniotic Tissue Intraarticular Injections |
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Many ASIPP members have recently been approached by sales representatives claiming that amniotic or umbilical cord tissue products are now covered by Medicare and many private insurers for intraarticular injections and interventional pain management procedures.
Based on collective evidence, unfortunately, these claims appear to be INACCURATE, subjecting patients and providers to high risk.
Amnion is covered for limited cutaneous wound healing applications and for a handful of neurosurgical and ophthalmic surgical uses, it has a product reimbursement code (also known as a Q code). If a physician submits the right combination of ICD-10 and CPT codes, Medicare may pay these claims.
Based on review of Medicare local coverage determination (LCD) documents, biologics for intraarticular injections and interventional pain management procedures are Experimental and Investigational. Hence, there is NO coverage for these products for intraarticular injections and interventional pain management procedures.
It's the recommendation of ASIPP that you avoid billing Medicare and private insurance for these products when used to treat orthopedic and pain management conditions. Our concern is that by billing these products to a federal program like Medicare, not only could there be significant Medicare clawbacks, but knowingly billing Medicare for products that you know are not covered can result in serious criminal penalties. Even, initial losses could be extensive.
For additional information on coverage guidelines from many private insurers that state that these products are NOT covered, experimental and investigational. Please check the websites of commercial carriers.
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Even more troubling is the fact that this latest surge is coming as cooler weather is forcing people indoors. |
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New Wave of COVID-19 Infections Taking Hold in America |
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HealthDay News — A third surge of COVID-19 cases now has a firm grip on the United States, with an average of 59,000 new infections being reported across the country every day.
That tally is the highest since the beginning of August, and the likelihood is high that the country will soon see the most new COVID-19 infections a day since the pandemic began, The New York Times reported. This latest surge differs from the previous two: Instead of acute outbreaks in specific regions, such as the Northeast this spring and the South this summer, the virus is now simmering at a worrisome level across nearly the entire country. Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming each set seven-day case records on Tuesday. Even New Jersey, which managed to bring the virus under control last spring, has seen a doubling in cases in the past month.
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What Will Barrett's SCOTUS Ascension Mean for Healthcare? |
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Affordable Care Act, abortion laws all in play |
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WASHINGTON -- Sure, Amy Coney Barrett's ascension to the Supreme Court will have a big effect on how healthcare cases at the court are decided. But it will also affect something else -- which cases get to the court at all.
The Supreme Court "picks and chooses what cases they take on appeal, and it takes four votes to hear a case," said Katie Keith, JD, MPH, an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University who blogs for Health Affairs. With the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her replacement with Justice Barrett, the court has gone from having four generally liberal justices to three, so there likely will be cases now that won't even be heard by the high court because there aren't enough votes to take them up, she said.
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Imaging Review Course
Only purchase if you attended the live webinar course
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Controlled Substance Management
Only purchase if you attended the live webinar course
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Board Review Course
Only purchase if you attended the live webinar course
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Documentation, Coding, Compliance, and Practice Management
Only purchase if you attended the live webinar course
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Purdue will also admit to violating federal anti-kickback laws by paying doctors to write more prescriptions for the company's opioids. |
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Purdue Pharma to Plead Guilty to Opioid-Related Crimes |
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HealthDay News — Purdue Pharma, maker of the opioid painkiller OxyContin linked to the opioid epidemic, will plead guilty to three federal crimes as part of a settlement of more than $8 billion, the Associated Pres reported Wednesday.
The company will plead guilty to three counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and violating federal anti-kickback laws, the Justice Department officials told the AP. The plea bargain does not absolve company executives or owners, including members of the Sackler family, from criminal liability.
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Imagine Your Patient's Health Data All in One Place |
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A unified medical record has its charms -- and a few kinks |
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There definitely seems to be a lot of good that's coming from newly being on a unified electronic medical record (EMR) across all of our hospital systems.
Until just recently, our hospitalized patients were taken care of on the inpatient services under one EMR, and our outpatient practices used a different one. And all of our different regional hospitals, including our two largest academic medical centers, used different systems, speaking different languages that made cross-talk nearly impossible.
Just the recent experience of bringing these all together shows how critically useful having all of our health information contained in one place could be. It could lead to better care for our patients, and a better healthcare system overall.
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Recordings of Virtual Annual Meeting Now Available |
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If you missed the ASIPP Virtual Annual Meeting in September, you may still register to view the recorded version. All sessions from the September 4-6, 2020 meeting are available through June 2021 for a reduced fee. On-demand registration also provides access to all of the great re|sources available in the exhibit hall.
A significantly reduced add-on fee is available for those who pre-registered for the live meeting, as well as for fellows, residents and medical students. Registrations for those who did not pre-register for the live meeting will also be accepted.
CME Statement
Recorded sessions for this meeting are not eligible for CME credits.
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Patients with chronic pain may benefit from close monitoring to detect signs of premature aging. |
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Exercise May Moderate Link Between Chronic Pain and Premature Aging |
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Patients with chronic pain may have shorter telomere length compared with people without chronic pain, according to a cross-sectional study published in the Journal of Pain. These findings suggest that chronic pain may be associated with premature aging,
A total of 116 adults (mean age, 54.25 years) participated in this study. Sixty seven participants had chronic pain while 49 participants did not have chronic pain. Eighty six study participants had a physical disability caused by poliomyelitis or spinal cord injuries.
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'Trumpcare' Does Not Exist... Except for Marketing 'Junk' Insurance |
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Online media companies cash in from ads |
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"Trumpcare" insurance will "finally fix healthcare," said an advertisement on Facebook.
A Google ad urged people to "Enroll in Trumpcare plans. Healthcare changes are coming."
The problem is, there's no such thing as "Trumpcare."
Facebook and Google have promised to crack down on lies and misinformation about politics in the run-up to next month's presidential election, but they have run tens of thousands of ads in the past year containing false claims about health insurance reform and plans.
The "Trumpcare" ads don't appear to have a political aim and don't advocate for the reelection of President Donald Trump over former Vice President Joe Biden. Nonetheless, the Facebook ads touting these nonexistent products have been viewed some 22 million times in the past year, disproportionately in battleground states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to Facebook data.
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Pain Experts Urge New Nomenclature for Illicit
Fentanyl Analogs
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What’s in a name? In the case of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, the authors of an editorial in the Journal of Pain Research (2020;13: 2131-2133) think the answer is “a lot,” as they argue that a distinction should be made between the medically appropriate form of the drug and its myriad often-illicit analogs.
The authors acknowledge that referring to the analogs as “fentalogues” is largely symbolic, but feel it is an important reminder to the general population, government officials and media that illicit forms of fentanyl have largely driven up overdose rates. As of 2018, roughly 20 analogs have been identified since fentanyl was first synthesized in the 1950s.
“Discernable distinctions … are rarely drawn between licit pharmaceutical fentanyl, illicit fentanyl analogues and certain highly potent analogues approved only for ungulates,” the authors wrote.
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Medtronic DTM Spinal Cord Stimulator Shows Success In Relieving Back Pain |
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Medtronic has released positive 12-month results from a clinical trial comparing its DTM spinal cord stimulation system to conventional spinal cord stimulation therapy with its Intellis system for the treatment of back pain.
Four things to know:
- At 12 months, 84 percent of patients treated with the DTM system reported at least 50 percent pain relief, compared to 51 percent of patients treated with conventional spinal cord stimulation.
- Sixty-nine percent of patients said they favored DTM spinal cord stimulation.
- Pain relief was calculated by the visual analog scale, which recognizes 50 percent pain relief as a therapy's standard for success.
- Most DTM spinal cord stimulation patients in the study passed the 50 percent pain relief mark, with 70 percent noting significant relief at 12 months.
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Protect Yourself From Counterfeit PPE |
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As the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) has remained at the forefront during the COVID-19 epidemic, there has been a heavy reliance on imported and online sources. However, many of these masks are counterfeit respirators, such as the KN95 masks from China, as opposed to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved N95 respirator.
“This is a huge concern, and it’s something that we’ve been stressing because these counterfeits are putting people’s lives in danger,” Tener Veenema, PhD, MPH, RN, a professor of nursing at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, in Baltimore, said in a virtual news brief held by the American Nurses Association (ANA).
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ASIPP® Partners with Fedora Billing And Revenue Cycle Management Company
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ASIPP is now able to offer unique benefits for revenue cycle management with billing, etc.
Fedora is a company known to many of our board members and others. ASIPP® has reached an agreement with Fedora to provide exclusive discounts on billing or revenue cycle management that will decrease practice costs and promote growth, or at least stop deterioration. It is not just a billing company; they streamline the billing and receivable process and constantly update payor regulations keeping your practice up to on date on a daily basis.
Some of the ASIPP® Billing Program highlights are below:
Up to 50% savings for ASIPP® members for their billing or revenue cycle management for their offices and surgery centers:
- Expertise in interventional pain management billing for all types of services
- 99% Clearing House Rate
- 95% First-Time Claim Passage
- 23.4 Average Days in A/R
- Eligibility and Benefits Verification
- Pre-Certification/Prior Authorization
- Denials and A/R Management
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Join The Group Purchasing
Organization Today
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ASIPP® has formed a partnership with Henry Schein and PedsPal, a national GPO that has a successful history of negotiating better prices on medical supplies and creating value added services for the independent physician. Working with MedAssets, PedsPal provides excellent pricing on products like contrast media that alleviate some of the financial pressures you experience today. While the cost of contrast media has skyrocketed due to the single dose vial issue, because we have partnered with Henry Schein, this could enable you to purchase Omnipaque 240mg/50mL for slightly above $4.50.
Click on “view our discounted supplier prices” (Username: ASIPPmember and Password: Save) or click on the words "join for free now" and begin saving today!
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Essentials of Regenerative Medicine in Interventional
Pain Management
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Essentials of Regenerative Medicine in Interventional Pain Management is a book to bring concise, collective, and comprehensive information to interventional pain physicians practicing regenerative medicine in managing chronic pain. Regenerative medicine is an integral part of interventional pain management within the definitions of interventional pain management and interventional techniques.
Each chapter contains an introduction of the subject, historical context,pathophysiology, applicability of regenerative medicine with its evidence base, indications, anatomy, technical aspects, complications, and precautions for each topic when available and applicable. This comprehensive book consists of 35 chapters, more than 350 figures, and 50 tables.
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| ORDER | Essentials of Regenerative Medicine in IPM
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Control Your Waiting Room TV
Customized waiting room TV exclusively for ASIPP® members. Create your own ad-free television broadcasts using our videos, custom informational slides and your own YouTube videos. Even add local weather reports, news and live messages.
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In addition, PainExam has now collaborated with ASIPP and offer 2 new programs:
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2020 12th Annual Scientific
Meeting
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