Federal Action
National Updates – July 2022
US Military Updates Practice Guideline on the Management of Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense have released an update to their joint guideline on managing pain: Use of Opioids in the Management of...
CMS Takes Action on AACIPM Recommendations Regarding Bundled Payments for Integrative Pain Management
In an exciting turn of events, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) have released a draft of the Physician Fee Schedule for 2023 for public comment—and it is clear that the collective efforts of AACIPM and its member organizations on the 2022 PFS have...
National Updates – June 2022
Supreme Court Refuses to Expand Criminal Liability in Opioid Prescribing Cases The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously held that physicians who are authorized to prescribe controlled substances can only be convicted for violating the Controlled Substances Act when they...
National Updates – May 2022
NIH Pain Consortium Symposium to Highlight Whole Person Health Approach for Pain Management on June 1st and 2ndThis year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pain Consortium Annual Symposium on Advances in Pain Research will focus on “Pain Management Through the...
National Updates – April 2022
NCCIH Requests Information on Determinants for Whole Person Health The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) is soliciting public comment as it seeks to define a set of key determinants of health that address factors that can influence...
SPOTLIGHT TO ACTION: PCORI Accepting Nominations – Apply by 5/10
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued a call for nominations to fill seats on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors. As the needs of the PCORI Board of Governors significantly overlap with the expertise and...
AACIPM responds to CDC Opioid Guideline
In response to CDC’s release of the draft CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids—United States, 2022, AACIPM has issued a public comment on behalf of 44 individual and organizational signatories representing a broad spectrum of health care providers,...
SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Christine Goertz on the Past, Present, and Future of PCORI
After serving on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors for 12 years, Dr. Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D., will be leaving the Board at the end of September 2022. Given that the needs of the PCORI Board of Governors significantly...
National Updates – March 2022
Congress Considers Payment for Non-opioids in the NOPAIN ActThe Non-Opioids Prevent Addiction in the Nation Act (NOPAIN Act) has been introduced in the Senate. If passed, this bill would temporarily establish Medicare reimbursement for a period of five years for...
National Updates – February 2022
CDC Releases Opioid Guideline for Public Comment The CDC has officially released the draft CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids—United States, 2022. The docket is now open for public comment, and it will remain open until April 11, 2022. In order to...
CDC Releases Opioid Guideline for Public Comment
The CDC has officially released the draft CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids—United States, 2022. The docket is now open for public comment, and it will remain open until April 11, 2022. Federal Register Notice Full Docket, including links to the...
Spotlight: CDC’s Chad Helmick Speaks on the Past (and Future) of Pain Policy upon Eve of Retirement
After an illustrious 42-year career, including 240 publications and unparalleled advocacy in pain management, Charles (Chad) G. Helmick III, MD (CAPT, USPHS, RET) is officially retiring from CDC on December 31. It is with bittersweet hearts that we at AACIPM announce...
National Updates – November 2021
CMS Issues 2022 PFS, Delays Changes to Pain Coding but Directly Quotes AACIPM Letter CMS has released the final physician fee schedule for 2022, making updates to Medicare Part B payment policies, coverage of opioid use disorder services furnished by opioid treatment...
CMS Responds to AACIPM’s Letter on Physician Fee Schedule
CMS Issues 2022 PFS, Delays Changes to Pain Coding but Directly Quotes AACIPM Letter CMS has released the final physician fee schedule for 2022, making updates to Medicare Part B payment policies, coverage of opioid use disorder services furnished by opioid treatment...
Spotlight: New Specialty in Pain Management Pharmacy Could Improve Interdisciplinary Care Teams
Following up on last month’s announcement that the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) is taking active steps toward the creation of a new specialty in Pain Management Pharmacy, AACIPM reached out to Cara M. Brock, PharmD, CPE, and President of the Society of Pain and...
National Updates – October 2021
NIH HEAL Initiative Announces Funding Opportunities Related to Health Equity in Pain Management, Myofascial Pain, and Sickle Cell Disease The HEAL Initiative from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released information on a number of funding opportunities...
Spotlight on AccendoWave: Innovative Device that Objectively Measures Pain and Improves Patient Experience Named Quarterfinalist in UCSF Health Awards
AccendoWave is an exciting new system that uses machine learning technology to objectively measure and manage pain without relying on the current standard of subjective pain data. Harnessing active comfort management technology through use of a tablet computer, EEG...
Updates from HHS – September 2021
Updates from HHS AHRQ Releases Systematic Review of Interventional Treatments for Acute and Chronic Pain The Evidence-based Practice Center Program at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has completed and released their evidence review of...
AACIPM Issues Recommendations to CMS on Payment for Pain Care Services
The result of this effort was shared agreement across multi-stakeholder leaders representing payers, providers, patients In response to a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule regarding changes to the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule,...
Partner Educational Opportunities
New Study Proves Benefits of Teaching Patients Self Care, Provider Education Available A recent study of 263 adults with chronic low-back pain has shown that patients who take a single 2-hour pain relief skills class show clinically meaningful reductions in pain...
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