title: Utilization of interventional techniques in managing chronic pain in the Medicare population: analysis of growth patterns from 2000 to 2011.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Reports from the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) continue to express significant concern with the overall fiscal sustainability of Medicare and the exponential increase in costs for chronic pain management.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study is an analysis of the growth of interventional techniques in managing chronic pain in Medicare beneficiaries from 2000 to 2011.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the use of all interventional techniques in chronic pain management.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was performed utilizing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Supplier Procedure Summary Master Data from 2000 to 2011.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Interventional techniques for chronic pain have increased dramatically from 2000 to 2011. Overall, the increase of interventional pain management (IPM) procedures from 2000 to 2011 went up 228%, with 177% per 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries. The increases were highest for facet joint interventions and sacroiliac joint blocks with a total increase of 386% and 310% per 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries, followed by 168% and 127% for epidural and adhesiolysis procedures, 150% and 111% for other types of nerve blocks and finally, 28% and 8% increases for percutaneous disc procedures. The geometric average of annual increases was 9.7% overall with 13.7% for facet joint interventions and sacroiliac joint blocks and 7.7% for epidural and adhesiolysis procedures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The limitations of this study included a lack of inclusion of Medicare participants in Medicare Advantage plans, as well as potential documentation, coding, and billing errors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Interventional techniques increased significantly in Medicare beneficiaries from 2000 to 2011. Overall, there was an increase of 177% in the utilization of IPM services per 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries, with an annual geometric average increase of 9.7%. The study also showed an exponential increase in facet joint interventions and sacroiliac joint blocks.
authors.affiliation: Pain Management Center of Paducah, Paducah, KY, USA. drlm@thepainmd.com
authors.forename: Laxmaiah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manchikanti
authors.forename: Frank J E
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Falco
authors.forename: Vijay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Vidyasagar
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pampati
authors.forename: Allan T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Parr
authors.forename: Ramsin M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Benyamin
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fellows
authors.forename: Joshua A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hirsch
mesh_terms: D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States