ASIPP enews

THURSDAY | JULY 30, 2020

How Did Sweden Flatten Its Curve Without a Lockdown?

— One expert credits a "good-enough strategy"; others worry that it won't last

Despite never implementing a full-scale lockdown, Sweden has managed to flatten its curve, prompting its health leadership to claim victory -- but others question the cost of the strategy, as the country has a far higher death toll than its Scandinavian neighbors.

In late July, Sweden's 7-day moving average of new cases was about 200, down from a peak of around 1,140 in mid-June. Its daily death totals have been in the single digits for two weeks, well below its mid-April peak of 115 deaths in a single day.

However, on a per-capita basis, Sweden far outpaces its Scandinavian neighbors in COVID deaths, with 567 deaths per million people compared with Denmark's 106 deaths per million, Finland's 59 deaths per million, and Norway's 47 deaths per million. The Swedish figure is closer to Italy's 581 deaths per million.

READ MORE MEDPAGE TODAY

Purchase recorded versions

of ASIPP® Virtual Review Courses

ASIPP® Annual Meeting 2020 Goes Virtual

Due to unavoidable circumstances related to COVID-19, ASIPP is transitioning its annual meeting scheduled September 4-6, 2020, in Dallas, Texas to a virtual meeting. This will provide you with many advantages:

Save time and money: More time in the office with patients and no fear of Covid exposure.
Attend the meeting from wherever you want.
Get back on track with your CMEs.
Revisit the sessions and explore exhibit booths even after the meeting ends. Virtual platform access will remain open until the summer of 2021.
Same great networking opportunities in virtual platform: Ability to host and request private meetings; talk with others while you visit exhibit booths, and so much more!
Still offering world-renowned speakers on relevant subjects to IPM, COVID-19 interfacing with IPM, and many other subjects including opioids and regenerative medicine.
Meeting kicks off with a presentation by a well-known figure in the industry, Randy Alvarez, President and CEO of Wellness Hour.

If you have already registered for the Annual Meeting, your registration fee has been transferred to the Virtual Annual Meeting. There is nothing you need to do now. You will receive information on how to attend the meeting in August.

REGISTRATION | BROCHURE

Order Now - Recorded Virtual Review Courses

The recorded version of our virtual review courses are available to purchase here

The following courses are offered:

Documentation, Coding, Compliance, and Practice Management Review Course
Controlled Substance Management Review Course
*Pain Medicine and Interventional Pain Management Comprehensive Review Course

*not available until the end of the live course July 26, 2020

ABIPP Recognizes Your Knowledge and Expertise

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 now offers the only competency

certification program for regenerative medicine.

For complete information about the examination requirements and to obtain an application packet, visit www.abipp.org or call 270-554-9412 x4217 or by email at summer@asipp.org .

TESTS OFFERED

ABIPP Part I - Theoretical written exam - TBD

ABIPP Part II - Oral and Hands-on practical exam - TBD

ABIPP Competency Exam - includes written, oral, and hands-on practical examinations TBD

Combined CSM/CCPM Exam for ABIPP Path – TBD

Competency Exam in Controlled Substance Management – TBD

Competency Exam in Coding, Compliance, and Practice Management - TBD

Regenerative Medicine Competency Exam - includes written, oral, and hands-on practical examinations – TBD

Pandemic Spike in Telehealth Levels Off

— But still significantly up among Medicare patients, HHS says

Telehealth's early bonanza during the pandemic has given way to persistently elevated use in primary care, a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report showed.

Analysis of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) data showed an increase in Medicare primary care visits from 0.1% of all primary care in February to 43.5% in April , representing an increase from about 2,000 to 1.28 million telehealth visits per week.

Meanwhile, there was a "precipitous" drop in in-person visits for primary care in mid-March as COVID-19 took hold in the U.S., then a rise from mid-April through May, according to the report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

READ MORE | MEDPAGE TODAY |

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ASIPP ^® Partners with Fedora Billing And Revenue Cycle Management Company

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.

You may view the ASIPP ® billing program website at the following link: https://www.asippbilling.com/

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

VIEW THE ASIPP® BILLING PROGRAM | CLICK HERE |

Join The Group Purchasing

Organization Today

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.

It will be easy for ASIPP ® members in good standing to enroll today and begin to realize the savings this partnership can bring. Members can join or see sample prices by going to http://pedspal.org/asipp/default.html

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!

LEARN MORE ABOUT GROUP PURCHASING | CLICK HERE |

CMS Updates Data on COVID-19 Impacts on Medicare Beneficiaries

On July 28, CMS released its first monthly update of data that provides a snapshot of the impact of COVID-19 on the Medicare population. For the first time, the snapshot includes data for American Indian/Alaskan Native Medicare beneficiaries. The new data indicate that American Indian/Alaskan Native beneficiaries have the second highest rate of hospitalization for COVID-19 among racial/ethnic groups after Blacks. Previously, the number of hospitalizations of American Indian/Alaskan Native beneficiaries was too low to be reported.

The updated data confirm that the COVID-19 public health emergency is disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities. This is due, in part, to the higher rates of chronic health conditions in these populations and issues related to the social determinants of health.

The updated data on COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations of Medicare beneficiaries covers the period from January 1 to June 20, 2020. It is based on Medicare claims and encounter data CMS received by July 17, 2020.

Other key data points:

Black beneficiaries continue to be hospitalized at higher rates than other racial and ethnic groups, with 670 hospitalizations per 100,000 beneficiaries
Beneficiaries eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid – who often suffer from multiple chronic conditions and have low incomes – were hospitalized at a rate more than 4.5 times higher than beneficiaries with Medicare only (719 versus 153 per 100,000)
Beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease continue to be hospitalized at higher rates than other segments of the Medicare population, with 1,911 hospitalizations per 100,000 beneficiaries, compared with 241 per 100,000 for aged and 226 per 100,000 for disabled
CMS paid $2.8 billion in Medicare fee-for-service claims for COVID-related hospitalizations, or an average of $25,255 per beneficiary