Two ASIPP Members Named to Pain Management Task Force
We are pleased to announce two members of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians have been appointed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to sit upon the newly created Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force. ASIPP nominee and member, Andrea Trescot, MD, and ASIPP member, John V. Prunskis, MD, were selected to sit upon the 28 member panel.
The Task Force was established to propose updates to best practices and issue recommendations that address gaps or inconsistencies for managing chronic and acute pain. The Task Force, which will be chaired by ASIPP member, Vanila M. Singh, M.D., chief medical officer, HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, consists of representatives from relevant HHS agencies, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
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ASIPP Offers 3 Courses June 29 to July 1 in Orlando
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HOTEL:
Reservation Group Call-In Center
Toll Free: 1.866.360.7395
Local: 407.503.9276
Fax: 407.503.9208
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HOTEL:
Reservation Group Call-In Center
Toll Free: 1.866.360.7395
Local: 407.503.9276
Fax: 407.503.9208
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HOTEL:
Reservation Group Call-In Center
Toll Free: 1.866.360.7395
Local: 407.503.9276
Fax: 407.503.9208
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FDA requires strong warnings for opioid analgesics, prescription opioid cough products, and benzodiazepine labeling related to serious risks and death from combined use
After an extensive review of the latest scientific evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it is requiring class-wide changes to drug labeling, including patient information, to help inform health care providers and patients of the serious risks associated with the combined use of certain opioid medications and a class of central nervous system (CNS) depressant drugs called benzodiazepines.
Among the changes, the FDA is requiring boxed warnings – the FDA’s strongest warning – and patient-focused Medication Guides for prescription opioid analgesics, opioid-containing cough products, and benzodiazepines – nearly 400 products in total – with information about the serious risks associated with using these medications at the same time. Risks include extreme sleepiness, respiratory depression, coma and death. Today’s actions are one of a number of steps the FDA is taking as part of the agency’s Opioids Action Plan, which focuses on policies aimed at reversing the prescription opioid abuse epidemic, while still providing patients in pain access to effective and appropriate pain management.
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Current Performance Measures Lack Appropriate Validity for Clinical Use
Approximately 2500 performance measures for US physicians are listed by the National Quality Measures Clearinghouse. The use of these measures for assessing performance has steadily increased in recent decades across most healthcare systems. Performance scores are also used to identify care value as it relates to fee-for-service payments to clinicians. Despite their proposed benefit, some policymakers and physicians find no real meaningful value in current
performance measures
, according to a perspective piece published in the
New England Journal of Medicine
.
The quality of performance measures has become an increasing topic of discussion in recent years. Most recently, the Performance Measurement Committee of the American College of Physicians (ACP) developed a set of criteria to assess the validity of various performance measures, with review criteria including importance (eg, meaningful clinical impact), appropriate care, clinical evidence base, measure specifications (eg, clarity of measure), and measure feasibility and applicability.
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Physician Burnout in the Electronic Health Record Era: Are We Ignoring the Real Cause?
Physician burnout is reaching crisis proportions in the United States (1). Studies have noted a rising prevalence of emotional fatigue. One study suggested that more than half of physicians in some disciplines are burned out and that this proportion is increasing. The number of clinicians leaving the workforce represents a major concern to health care professionals and to the health of the nation. Many factors contribute, but the physician's interaction with electronic health records (EHRs) is especially important now that EHRs have been broadly adopted across the country.
Although EHRs have great potential to improve care, they may also have perverse effects. Some studies suggest that U.S. physicians now spend as much time on “desktop medicine” (interacting with the computer) as they do face to face with patients (2, 3). Providers must divide their attention between patients and the EHR, and many believe that this compromises patient–physician relationships (4). Although few physicians support reverting to paper, there is a growing sense within the medical community that the EHR is driving professional dissatisfaction and burnout.
Access to this article may be limited.
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Orthopedic surgeon charged with murder of Stryker sales rep in South Carolina: 5 things to know
South Carolina-based orthopedic surgeon Adam Lazzarini, MD, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and obstructing justice after a CrossLink Orthopaedics/Stryker sales representative died of a gunshot wound in Dr. Lazzarini's home last October, according to
The State
.
Here are five things to know.
1. Local law enforcement investigated the shooting and called it "unintentional or accidental" at the time, and Dr. Lazzarini turned himself in Thursday to the Lexington County Detention Center to await a bond hearing.
2. The shooting occurred when the sales representative was visiting Dr. Lazzarini in his home; the sales representative died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.
3. The circumstances of the shooting have not yet been made public.
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Midwest SIPP Meeting June 9-10 in Chicago
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to an exciting new Interventional Pain Meeting, the First Annual Midwest SIPP Meeting. Midwest SIPP is in collaboration with Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Iowa Societies of Interventional Pain Physicians. This meeting will invite participation from physicians from all of these states, plus, academic and private practice physicians from across the United States.
We hope to foster a collegial environment where all the practicing fellowships can interact and share ideas with other academic and private physicians. The first meeting will take place in Chicago, Illinois, June 9-10, 2018. Our goal is to present cutting edge, information to practitioners of all levels and provide a forum to interact and discuss evidence based medicine to improve the quality of care and access to care for patients. There will be many opportunities for you to network with colleagues from across the Midwest and the United States, and attend educational sessions to expand your knowledge on current available treatment options to patients and practitioners.
A
UDIENCE
The courses are intended to present interventional pain management specialists, nurses, and other healthcare providers an in-depth review of multiple areas of interventional pain management.
OBJECTIVES
Discuss established and evolving concepts in interventional pain management: • Interventional Techniques • Regenerative Medicine • Spinal Cord Stimulation • Spinal Endoscopic Decompression • Minimally Invasive Interventional Therapies • Coding, Billing, and Compliance • Managing Burnout • Discuss Present and Future Healthcare Environment
OUTCOME
Participants in the MidWest SIPP Conference will learn to operate comprehensive interventional pain care centers more efficiently, so that patients will receive the best care available. They should leave with greater knowledge of interventional pain management as it applies to their patients and practice.
VENUE AND LODGING
The Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago
909 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
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Opioid Use Associated With Subjective Measures of Disease in Ankylosing Spondylitis
According to the results of a study published in the
Journal of Rheumatology
, opioid use in patients with
ankylosing spondylitis
may be associated with subjective measures of disease and depression, but not objective measures of inflammation.
In a prospective cohort study of patients with ankylosing spondylitis, 706 participants underwent comprehensive clinical evaluation. Disease activity (assessed using the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index), functional impairment (evaluated with the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index), radiographic severity (measured with the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Radiology Index and Stokes Ankylosing Spondylitis Scoring System), C-reactive protein levels, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, in addition to other clinical and sociodemographic factors, were evaluated at baseline and every 6 months for 2 years. Researchers assessed the relationship between clinical factors and chronic and intermittent opioid use.
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Interventional Pain Management Reports
is an Open Access online journal, a peer-reviews journal dedicated to the publication of case reports, brief commentaries and reviews and letters to the editor. It is a peer-reviewed journal written by and directed to an audience of interventional pain physicians, clinicians and basic scientists with an interest in interventional pain management and pain medicine.
Interventional Pain Management Reports
is an official publication of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) and is a sister publication of
Pain Physician
.
Interventional Pain Management Reports Interventional Pain Management Reports
is an open access journal, available online with free full manuscripts.
The benefits of publishing in an open access journal that has a corresponding
print edition journal are:
- Your article will have the potential to obtain more citations.
- Your article will be peer-reviewed and published faster than other journals.
- Your article can be read by a potentially much larger audience compared with traditional subscription-only journals.
- Open Access journals are FREE to view, download and to print.
So submit today your:
- Case Reports
- Technical Reports
- Editorials
- Short Perspectives
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Essentials of Interventional Techniques
in Managing Chronic Pain Available for Order!
- Comprehensive textbook of interventional techniques in managing chronic pain
- Covers spinal interventional techniques, peripheral nerve blocks, sympathetic interventional techniques, soft tissue and joint injections and implantables
- Step-by-step guidance backed up by the latest evidence
This comprehensive review covers the full and latest array of interventional techniques for managing chronic pain. Chapters are grouped by specific treatment modalities that include spinal interventional techniques, nonspinal and peripheral nerve blocks, sympathetic interventional techniques, soft tissue and joint injections, and implantables. Practical step-by-step and evidence-based guidance is given to each approach in order to improve the clinician's understanding. Innovative and timely,
Essentials of Interventional Techniques in Managing Chronic Pain
is a critical resource for anesthesiologists, neurologists, and rehabilitation and pain physicians.
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March/April 2018 Issue Features
Systematic Reviews
- Discography in Chronic Spinal Pain
- Neuropathic Pain in Acute and Subacute Neuropathies
- Vitamin D Supplementation for Low Back Pain
Comprehensive Review
- Chronic Pelvic Pain: A Review
Randomized Trials
- Fluoroscopic Guided Radiofrequency of Genicular Nerves
- Effects of a Sustained Release Formulation of Sodium Nitrite on Patients with Diabetic Neuropathy
- Pulsed Radiofrequency in an Animal Model of Neuropathic Pain
- Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment for Chronic Post-Surgical Orchialgia
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DOJ NEWS
DEA Suspends the Registration of Morris & Dickson Company from Distributing Controlled Substances
The Drug Enforcement Administration today announced the issuance of an Immediate Suspension Order served on Morris & Dickson Company, a wholesale pharmaceutical distributor, located in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Morris & Dickson Company has been the subject of a DEA investigation that alleges that this distribution center failed to properly identify large suspicious orders for controlled substances sold to independent pharmacies with questionable need for the drugs. The investigation, which focused primarily on purchases of Oxycodone and Hydrocodone, revealed that in some cases, pharmacies were allowed to purchase as much as six times the quantity of narcotics the pharmacy would normally order. In spite of regulations which require distributors to identify such orders, DEA alleges that Morris & Dickson Company failed to identify these large suspicious orders resulting in millions of dosage units of Oxycodone and Hydrocodone being distributed in violation of the law.
Five Pennsylvania Physicians Charged with Unlawfully Distributing Buprenorphine and Defrauding Medicare and Medicaid
Five physicians of Redirections Treatment Advocates, LLC, an opioid addiction treatment practice with offices in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, have been indicted on charges of unlawfully dispensing controlled substances and health care fraud, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady of the Western District of Pennsylvania and United States Attorney William J. Powell of the Northern District of West Virginia announced today. These indictments represent the latest in a series of charges filed since Attorney General Sessions announced the formation of the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, a Department of Justice initiative that uses data to target and prosecute individuals that commit opioid-related health care fraud.
The defendants named in the indictments are:
- Dr. Krishan Kumar Aggarwal, 73, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a contractor at RTA in Weirton, West Virginia;
- Dr. Madhu Aggarwal, 68, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a contractor at RTA in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania;
- Dr. Parth Bharill, 69, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a contractor at RTA in Morgantown, West Virginia;
- Dr. Cherian John, 65, of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a contractor at RTA in Weirton, West Virginia; and
- Dr. Michael Bummer, 38, of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, a contractor at RTA in Washington, Pennsylvania.
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June 9-10, 2018
Midwest Societies of Interventional Pain Management Meeting
State Societies from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Iowa
.
Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago
Early registration rates are available through 5/9/18 - REGISTER NOW.
Hotel accommodations are available at the conference facility the Chicago Westin, Michigan Avenue. The link for rooms in the hotel block is available at:
MidWest SIPP hotel reservations
April 18-22, 2018
GSIPP 2018 Annual Meeting
Georgia Society of Interventional Pain Physicians
The Ritz Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee
July 19-22, 2018
FSIPP 2018 Annual Meeting, Conference, and Trade Show
Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians
One South County Road, Palm Beach, FL 33480
WVSIPP launches Regional Conference Series, WV PainCare
The West Virginia Society of Interventional Pain Physicians has created an educational series titled WV PainCare.
Huntington, WV - July 14, 2018
Lewisburg/Beckley, WV - October 20, 2018
Morgantown, WV - December 1, 2018
REGISTER
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