The PMR pain fellows at UM have told me that doing an accredited fellowship is a big asset when trying to find work with neurosurgery or orthopedic groups.
I believe the ABPM is only recognized in three states.
Possibly, but maybe not. What surgeons really care about is that you can do basic procedures in high volume (including discography) and that your knowledge is solid concerning spinal pathology.
Why?
So that the non-surgical patients can be kept in the practice under your care instead of being returned to the PCP or pain doc.
They could care less if you can do Celiac Plexus neurolysis and probably don't want you doing intradiscal stuff that may get in the way of fusions or open discectomies.
Check CINN in Chicago, only one of their Physiatrists is ACGME fellowship trained-and even then, not at an anesthesia program. See Slipman at Penn, Patel (U. Rochester spine center, etc.) Midwest Orthopaedics (at Rush) in Chicago, Texas Back Institute-same story. TOCA in Phoenix, etc..
I'm out west and would say it's similar out here.
ABPM is only recognized in three states, however, they are probably the organization that is most vigorously attempting to create the "pain residency"
There is alot of talk of decreased reimbursement for pain procedures in the future. One reasonalble way for medicare to do this would be to limit who is reimbursed for these procedures. Another which medicare maybe already working on with the AHA is to decrease pain procedure reimbursement to ASCs and private offices. There may then be hospital credentialing issues for unaccreditted physicians depending on the local politics
That's purely speculative. If you look at the cuts for '07 and those slated for '08, their strategy is to decrease the reimbursements to near nothing. The whole argument by CRNAs wanting to perform procedures is that there is a problem with patient access. There aren't a whole lot of pain docs in practice right now. You really think state legislatures are going to restrict access further?
