New Interventional Pain Management Law in Tennessee

If you have a pain management practice in Tennessee, don't miss the latest legislation as presented by Memphis Healthcare Attorney, Charles Key:

Clients and Friends:
 
(Following are the highights from a) new piece of Tennessee legislation I thought would be of interest to you, 2012 Tenn. Public Chapter 961. 
 
Public Chapter 961 adds new language to Tenn. Code Title 63 (which governs the licensing and regulation of health professionals) that:

• Creates a defined term, "interventional pain management," meaning "the practice of performing invasive procedures involving any portion of the spine, spinal cord, sympathetic nerves of the spine[,] or block of major peripheral nerves of the spine in any setting that is not [a licensed health care facility, e.g., a hospital, ASC, or nursing home under Tenn. Code Ann. Title 68]."

• Requires that advance practice nurses (e.g., nurse practitioners, CRNAs) and physician assistants perform interventional pain management procedures only under the direct supervision of a physician who has the following qualifications and is physically present in the same building during the time the procedure is performed by the nurse practitioner:  a Tennessee-licensed MD or DO "actively practicing spinal injections" current privileges to give spinal injections at a Tennessee-licensed health care facility board certified in anesthesiology, neurosurgery, neuromusculoskeletal medicine, orthopedics, physiatry, radiology, or other ABMS subspecialty board in pain medicine, has completed an ACGME-accredited pain fellowship, or is board certified in a different ABMS or ABPS/AAPS specialty and has completed a post-graduate training program in interventional pain management approved by the medical or osteopathic licensing board.

• Recognizes exceptions for "major joint injections" other than sacroiliac injections, soft tissue injections or epidurals for surgical anesthesia or labor analgesia.

The new law is effective July 1, 2013.
 
Charles
Charles M Key
Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP
The Renaissance Center
1715 Aaron Brenner Dr., Suite 800
Memphis TN 38120-4367
Direct: (901) 537-1133
Mobile: (901) 481-3321
Fax: (901) 537-1010
Email: ckey [at] wyattfirm [dot] com