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American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians News | December 7, 2016
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 ASIPP National IPM-QCDR Registry Progressing
As you know, this is the most excitement opportunity for interventional pain management as a specialty and ASIPP as an organization.
We will soon be applying for CMS approval for QCDR. It is available to meet MIPS criteria and also hopefully become exceptional performers to yield significant bonuses.
So far over 110 practitioners have expressed interest to join this historic registry to meet criteria of Merit-Based Incentive Payment System to avoid penalties and reap bonuses and also provide an outcome registry to show how interventional pain management is effective.
As we have seen over the past several months, Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) has taken many turns. We have written a comment letter with 4,534 signatures and also went to Washington. We made great strides.
While MIPS requirements have been substantially relaxed in reference to penalties, we need to focus on making bonuses and also putting ourselves into exceptional categories which may yield bonuses of over 20% in the beginning.
To achieve this, the major tool is to publish measures excessively than required and follow through Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) registry.
The advantage of QCDR registry will be not only that we will use many of the existing measures, but also we have to incorporate multiple interventional pain management specific measures to show the outcomes. Thus, this registry will not only meet the criteria for MIPS, but will also provide us with outcome measures across the nation.
Consequently, the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) is developing a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) alongside our technology and analytics partner ArborMetrix. Our goal is for ASIPP to be a QCDR for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for 2017 and beyond, as the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) transitions to MIPS.
Why is ASIPP developing a QCDR?
As ASIPP has communicated over the past several months, the existing measures and reporting options available through CMS are not adequate for our specialty. They do not reflect the procedures and nuances of interventional pain management. The QCDR we are developing will provide ASIPP members the ability to meet CMS quality reporting requirements through MIPS while utilizing measures specific to the specialty.
Why do I need to participate in a QCDR?
Participating in a QCDR is one way to meet requirements mandated to you by CMS under MIPS. In 2017, if you are a solo practitioner, in a group practice, or work as a consultant, and you bill Medicare Part B, you are required to report through MIPS. Doing so will allow you not only to avoid negative payment adjustments but also potentially to receive gains in 2019 for reporting in 2017.
What are the benefits of participating in the ASIPP QCDR?
- You will be able to report on the specialty-specific measures ASIPP is developing. These measures will be more relevant, clinically appropriate, outcomes oriented, and meaningful to interventional pain physicians than general measures defined through MIPS. They will also help drive meaningful quality improvement in the specialty.
- You will meet CMS requirements for reporting in 2017 to avoid penalties of up to 4% of your Medicare reimbursements and the specialty-specific measures will give you a better chance to optimize incentives (even leading to exceptional performer) and avoid penalties under MIPS.
- You will be better prepared for CMS quality reporting in future years when penalties and incentives get even larger. By 2022, the impact on your CMS payments will range from a penalty of 9% to incentives of upwards of 9% (may be as high as 21 - 30%), depending on your reporting performance.
How do I enroll in the ASIPP QCDR?
The first step is to let us know you are interested by replying to this email. Once we have garnered enough interest, we will be in contact with details of the enrollment process. Participating in the ASIPP QCDR will be $500 per year for physician for ASIPP members, $750 for non-members. For physician assistants and nurse practitioners the cost is 20% less (i.e., $400 for members or $600 for non-members).
What is the timeline for participation?
ASIPP must enroll at least 200 physicians in our QCDR by November 30, 2016 to meet this initial milestone.
Where can I find additional information about QCDR participation?
The CMS website has information on QCDR. We will be making more ASIPP-specific information available soon.
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Repeal, Don't Replace: Instead of replacing Obamacare, Congress should pass market-based health care solutions
With Georgia Rep. Tom Price as the nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, there will be much discussion about his potential impact on the future of health care. Some will advocate that one strategy is necessary: repeal and replace. That's half right. Without a doubt, the sitting president's failed health care law should be repealed. The problem comes, however, the moment replace comes into the picture.
The very idea of replacing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, comes from the same fatal assumption of the failed law: that the success of a health care bill should be judged by how much it expands insurance coverage. Instead of addressing the underlying problems of cost, quality and access to actual health care, Obamacare focused entirely on the coverage question.
Related Reading in current issue of Pain Physician:
Laxmaiah Manchikanti, MD, and Joshua A. Hirsch, MD.
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REGISTER TODAY! Only a limited number of spots. Competency Exam will be in June. CLICK HERE to REGISTER |
 LIMITED TO 20 REGISTRANTS
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Click HERE for more information and to register.
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Pearl Harbor Survivors Gather for 75th Anniversary Reunion
 HONOLULU-Military officials, veterans and survivors of Pearl Harbor are gathering here Wednesday to mark a milestone anniversary 75 years after the Japanese attack.
Japanese war planes destroyed or damaged hundreds of ships and aircraft in a surprise assault that left 2,403 Americans dead. The event thrust the U.S. into World War II, and onto the global stage as a superpower.
Access to this article may be limited.
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Senate Clears Path for Bill to Speed FDA Drug Approvals
WASHINGTON-The Senate Monday cleared the final hurdle to passage of broad legislation aimed at boosting federal funds for biomedical research and speeding up government approval of drug and medical-devices, a goal pursued by the pharmaceutical industry over the objections of some consumer advocates.
The 85-13 vote cuts through the last remaining procedural obstacle before passage in the Senate, expected by Wednesday. Last week, the House overwhelmingly passed the legislation, which is expected to be signed into law by President Barack Obama before his term ends.
Access to this article may be limited.
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| Listen to November Podcast!
 On the November 2016 edition of the ASIPP Podcast we'll list the didactic courses ASIPP has scheduled for next year; we'll meet ASIPP's new director of operations; in the news segment we'll find out if pain is contagious, the latest medical marijuana news, some pediatric pain news, and much more; and we'll wrap things up with a study about whether rats are ticklish.
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Aetna and Humana Defend Merger, as Antitrust Trial Begins
WASHINGTON-The Justice Department and proposed merger partners Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. presented a judge Monday with starkly different visions of how the transaction would affect the marketplace, kicking off a second antitrust trial with major implications for the health insurance landscape.
Opening statements launched the government's second current court battle against consolidation among health insurers. One group of Justice attorneys has been on the second floor of the courthouse here challenging Anthem Inc.'s planned acquisition of Cigna Corp.On the sixth floor Monday, a different Justice team targeted the Aetna-Humana deal, arguing the merger would harm senior citizens who buy private Medicare plans and could hurt consumers who buy plans on Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
Access to this article may be limited.
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Crossing State Lines Is No Easy Jaunt for Insurers and Local Regulators
As Republicans gear up to overhaul the federal health law, they face pushback from a couple unexpected corners over one of their goals: Giving health insurers greater ability to sell policies to consumers across state lines.
Republicans for some time have billed interstate sales of insurance as a way to heighten competition and lower costs. It is one of the few specific health initiatives displayed on President-elect Donald Trump's transition website.
Access to this article may be limited.
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Action Observation May Hold Promise as a Potential Therapy for Patients With CRPS
Patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) may have impaired neural activity while observing others' motor activity, according to a study published in November in the Journal of Pain.1
In this study, women with upper limb CRPS (n=13; ages 31-58) and age-matched controls (n=13) were asked to visualize videos of hand motion, from the perspective of the hand owner, while in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner (3 Tesla).
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Will administer in June
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
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Blog: What to do about Non-Adherent Patients and MIPS?
All physicians have patients who for one reason or another fail to adhere to the physician's instructions. They don't get the tests they should, they don't take their meds, they smoke, and they eat too much. We are used to that and we hope this ends up being a minority of our patients. Unfortunately, the other day, I had the perfect storm of, for lack of a better term, non-compliant patients.
Sixteen out of 18 patients who, in some form or another, grossly failed to adhere to the medical plan to which they had previously agreed. I also had one no-show who, based on prior visits, would have been the 17th out of 19. Patients on insulin who were either not taking it or not checking their blood sugars, or often both. Patients who did not have their labs done, so there was no way to determine whether their meds were effective or even safe for them to take. Patients who gained 10 pounds since their last visit, even though they "eat healthy," but when asked what that means say, "I don't have dessert that often."
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Start Planning NOW!
ASIPP® Abstracts Submission for 2017 Annual Meeting OPEN
 Registration will be open for Abstract Submissions is now available.
The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians will hold its 19th Annual Meeting April 20-22 in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace.
This year, we will be making significant changes to the Abstract and Poster Sessions. Submissions will be in two categories: Resident/Fellow and Physician. Selected posters will be on display forall meeting participants during all breaks and meal times.
The Abstract Committee will select the top 25 for publication in Pain Physician and of those 10 will be selected for Abstract presentation and judging during the Annual Meeting. The top 3 will receive cash prizes.
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Physicians can't serve patients alone
n a recent study by PwC's Health Research Institute (HRI), 75% of patients said they would be comfortable seeing a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant instead of a physician for certain services. Fifty percent said they would see a pharmacist.
Now this doesn't mean that physicians aren't valued or needed in the new healthcare consumer dynamic. And I know many of you don't want to share your workload due to concerns about non-physician provider training (or lack thereof) and the fact that current fee-for-service reimbursement centers on you and your work, not those who complement your care.
But things are changing.
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State Society News
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Physicians Wanted To view or post a job, please go to: http://jobs.asipp.org/home To receive a member discount for posting a job, use member code: 20Member |
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