Summary: Medicare places a new reimbursement hurdle for providers who perform spinal neurostimulator services. However, payment is not restricted where the pain practitioner's paperwork passes muster.In the Cold War spy thriller, Firefox, Clint Eastwood's character is in the Soviet Union on a clandestine mission for the American government. He is ...

SUMMARY: Many anesthesia groups have a chronic pain component; but how beneficial is it from an overall financial standpoint? While some make it work, it is very difficult to set up and maintain a profitable pain practice.Some of our anesthesia clients are actively involved in the provision of chronic pain management services. Usually, the chronic ...

SUMMARY: The prevalence of opioid usage among America's patients has generated the need for a set of protocols to be used by those providing acute pain care. A consortium of 15 medical societies has recently provided best-practice recommendations.The second law of thermodynamics, which is an axiom of accepted science, says that, over time, things t...

SUMMARY: As of February 22, at least six lawsuits have been filed opposing certain regulations arising from the No Surprises Act. A recent ruling in one of these cases has just changed the legal landscape in favor of anesthesia providers.Not every battle is a losing one. Every now and then, you win. That seems to be the case—at least for the t...

Every year, the government's watchdog agency produces a list of healthcare services and procedures they plan to scrutinize for the purpose of determining the potential for significant abuse by the provider community. The 2022 list contains a few items that will be of interest to anesthesia and chronic pain providers.There is an age-old teaching th...