A Personal Thanks and a Call to Service

Abstract

Most of us face daily challenges in pursuit of serving patients in pain. These include: 1) economic pressures from restrictive third-party payers, decreasing reimbursement and increasing overhead expenses; 2) demands for increased clinical services; 3) maintaining clinical knowledge and skills in an ever-evolving specialty; and 4) juggling practice, family, and personal time. These would be far more difficult without assistance from family, staff, and our Academy. It is easy to take for granted the hard work of others. We often fail to notice that the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) functions through the dedicated efforts of its physician volunteers. Their hard work makes our professional lives easier in many ways. For example, Coding and Reimbursement Committee members advocate on our behalf for procedural code recognition and increased reimbursement; Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee members campaign for optimizing regulations at the state and federal levels; and Program Committee members work throughout the year to provide an exceptional educational opportunity through the Annual Meeting. In February, my tenure as AAPM President will commence. In advance of this, I …