Changes to Implementation of Pain Management Provider Registration

 

by: Kelli Robinson (Kelli is a dual member of both the Health Care Law Consulting Group and the Labor & Employment practice at Sirote.)

 On January 17, 2014, the Board announced a modification in its implementation of registration for providers of pain management services.  As reported earlier, pain management services are those medical services that involve the prescription of controlled substances in order to treat chronic non-malignant pain by a physician who treats pain.  The Board defines the provision of pain management services as:

• A physician practice which advertises or holds itself out to the public as a provider of pain management services; OR
• A physician practice which dispenses opioids; OR
• A physician practice with greater than 50% of the patients being provided pain management; OR
• A physician practice in which any of the providers of pain management services are rated in the top 10% of practitioners who prescribe controlled substances in Alabama, as determined by the Alabama Prescription Drug Monitoring Database on an annual basis.

Until further notice, however, the Board is not requiring the top 10% prescribers to register as providers of pain management services.

All other requirements remain in effect; consequently, physicians must still register with the Board if they are engaged in:

• A physician practice which advertises or holds itself out to the public as a provider of pain management services; OR
• A physician practice which dispenses opioids; OR
• A physician practice with greater than 50% of the patients being provided pain management.

The Board also reminds physicians that the requirements for registration are for physicians treating chronic, non-malignant pain, not for physicians who treat acute pain or malignancy-related pain.  Additionally, the Board’s registration requirements do not apply to a licensed hospice program or any physician providing pain management services for that program, or to any facility maintained or operated by the United States government.

To help physicians determine whether registration as a provider of pain management services is required, the Board recently published the following questions on its web site:

1. Do you treat chronic non-malignant pain? If your answer is NO, you do not need to register as a provider of pain management services. If your answer is YES, please proceed to the following question.
2. Do you advertise or hold yourself out as providing treatment for patients with chronic non-malignant pain? If your answer is YES, you should register as a provider of pain management services. If your answer is NO, please proceed to the following question.
3. Does the ultimate user (patient) physically leave your medical practice with an opioid? If your answer is YES, you should register as a provider of pain management services. If your answer is NO, please proceed to the following question.
4. Do you treat more than fifty percent (50%) of your patients for chronic non-malignant pain? If your answer is YES, you should register as a provider of pain management services.

The Application for Alabama Pain Management Registration plus instructions can be found on the Board’s web site.
Email Kelli Robinson or visit her attorney profile.