TONIGHT! Rescheduled: Strengthening Medicine in the 87th Texas Legislature with Dr. Diana Fite
Rescheduled: Strengthening Medicine in the 87th Texas Legislature with Dr. Diana Fite
![]() |
|
Rescheduled: Strengthening Medicine in the 87th Texas Legislature with Dr. Diana Fite
![]() |
|
Dr. Eduardo Bruera, Chair of Palliative, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine, and Dr. Joseph Arthur, (Conference Chair), Associate Professor in Palliative, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine, invite you and your colleagues to join us for this outstanding educational opportunity. We are happy to announce that registration for the 3rd Annual Interdisciplinary Pain and Opioid Crisis Seminar on April 23-24, 2021, is now open. - REGISTRATION IS NOW AVAILABLE - Please share the information about this virtual education day with your colleagues. We look forward to seeing you in April.
|
SPANISH VERSION NOW AVAILABLE. Take advantage of this free resource for members!
also available for Non-Members for only $50!
Medicare News for: 02/09/21
Frequently asked questions
|
Breaking news!
Texas Pain Society is excited to release its very own Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses, courtesy of the Texas Pain Foundation.As part of a TPS membership, CME hours are now available at little or no cost, compliments of Texas Pain Foundation. This is just one of the ways we are working to support our members.Access our new CME Resource Page HERE Interested in more free CME and benefits from TPS – consider joining today! |
Austin, Texas-based Pain Specialists of America named Pankaj Mehta, MD, as its chief medical officer, according to a Feb. 2 news release.
Dr. Mehta is a board-certified anesthesiologist who gained national recognition for his contributions to interventional pain medicine, the release said. He is a leader in pain management with a focus on spine pain, headaches, spinal stenosis, abdominal and pelvic pain. He trained at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, both in Boston, before completing a fellowship at Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Mehta is also the medical director at Killeen, Texas-based PSA Ambulatory Surgical Center and director of research and clinical training for PSA's ASCs, the release said.
Now you can earn CME credits from Dr. Mehta's panel about Indirect Compression from the 12th Annual Scientific Conference. Head over to our CME page to learn more!
ALERT Reminder –
Scams Targeting Health Professionals
We remind licensees to be on the alert for scammers impersonating the Texas Medical Board and other state and federal agencies.
In some instances scam callers may claim to be employees with the TMB, DEA, FBI or other law enforcement entity and may even attempt to spoof agency phone numbers or send documents on official-looking letterhead demanding money.
|
This video shows how to find information and resources on the TDI website for health care providers who participate in the Texas workers’ compensation system.
In an effort to address the opioid epidemic, a prominent goal of current research is to identify alternative treatments with equal or better benefits for pain while avoiding potential unintended consequences that could result in harms.
A systematic review assessing the effectiveness and harms of plant-based treatments for chronic pain conditions is underway. The review will be "living" in the sense that it will identify and synthesize recently published literature on an ongoing basis. For the purposes of this review, plant-based compounds (PBCs) included are those that are similar to opioids in effect and that have the potential for addiction, misuse, and serious adverse effects; other PBCs such as herbal treatments are not included. The intended audience includes policy and decision makers, funders and researchers of treatments for chronic pain, and clinicians who treat chronic pain.
The quarterly progress reports present the accumulating evidence and are updated on a regular basis. They include a description of the available studies and an appraisal of study quality.
This is the first progress report for an ongoing living systematic review on plant-based treatments for chronic pain. The systematic review will synthesize evidence on the benefits and harms of plant-based compounds (PBCs) such as cannabinoids and kratom used to treat chronic pain, addressing concerns about severe adverse effects, abuse, misuse, dependence, and addiction.
Those hurdles, set up by large, mostly national pharmacy chains, are frustrating physicians. As for their patients, it’s not uncommon for them to feel suspected of drug abuse, stigmatized, and driven to tears.
Pain physicians aren’t the only doctors saying their scrips are being held up. Nacogdoches obstetrician-gynecologist Benjamin Thompson, MD, who performs C-sections and other gynecologic surgeries, says Walmart pharmacies often deny a prescription unless they receive a written diagnosis or clinical data supporting the prescription’s legitimacy.
“These aren’t high volumes of medication coming out, either,” Dr. Thompson said. “They’re low doses, low tablet count. Usually, I prescribe 15 tablets for my postoperative patients.”
We are excited to announce a new Informed Consent Pain Management Agreement is now available! Take advantage of this free resource for members!
A Spanish update will be released soon. Stay Tuned.
It's also available for Non-Members for only $50!
View the article here. A Synopsis of Changes is below.
Have feedback or comments to submit? Send to us and we'll submit on behalf of TPS Membership. Let us know here.
Synopsis of Changes
CHANGES | FIELDS CHANGED |
---|---|
In the Covered Indications section - T5-L5 was changed to T1-L5 based on symptom onset, and documented by advanced imaging demonstrating bone marrow edema. Removed “confirmed by recent (within 30 days)”. These changes were made based on Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Stakeholder input. In the Limitations section – added active surgical site infection under Absolute contraindication. Deleted “greater than three vertebral fractures” from Absolute contraindication. Added “greater than three vertebral fractures per procedure” as a Relative contraindication. In the Summary of Evidence section – added a summary of the evidence to support changes made. In the Analysis of Evidence section – added an analysis of the evidence. In the Associated Information section – changed the wording from “Please refer to the Local Coverage Article: Billing and Coding: Percutaneous Vertebral Augmentation (PVA) for Vertebral Compression Fracture (VCF) (A57752) for documentation requirements that apply to the reasonable and necessary provisions outlined in this LCD” to “Please refer to the Local Coverage Article: Billing and Coding: Percutaneous Vertebral Augmentation (PVA) for Vertebral Compression Fracture (VCF) (A57752) for documentation and utilization requirements as applicable. |
Coverage Indications Limitations and/or Medical Necessity Associated Information |
Congrats to our Immediate Past President, Dr. Brian Bruel, for your installment on the Harris County Medical Society as Vice President! Watch the event live at 6:30pm on Friday, January 22nd.
Local Chapter Nominations
It is time to nominate local chapter Presidents and Vice Presidents!
When nominating, consider that these individuals will be the leaders in navigating what topics are important to your local area, TPS membership, and our industry. They will promote networking and lead the dialogue on various topics. Topics may include: Medicine/ Legal/ Pharmacy/Federal and State Legislative and Regulatory Updates, as needed.
To be eligible, nominees must be current TPS members. Visit the directory to see if they are a member.
Please use the link below to submit your nominations for President and Vice President.
Nominations are due by January 31, 2021.
|
The calendar year 2021 Physician Fee Schedule final rule includes information for Medicare-enrolled Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs):
We updated the OTP webpages and the Enrollment (PDF) and Billing & Payment (PDF) fact sheets with this and other new information.