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John Hocker, MD, former chief of orthopedics at St. Luke's Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla., recently died of pancreatic cancer, according to a report in The Florida Times-Union.

Here are 20 statistics about spine pain patient visits to physician offices, according to information presented by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

The House and Senate have passed a new payroll tax cut bill that also stopped the Medicare payment cut to physicians, and it will now head to President Barack Obama's desk, where it is expected to be signed, according to…

Johnson & Johnson executives discussed the significant failures for metal-on-metal hip implants in August 2009, well before the company announced a recall in 2010, according to a New York Times report.

A Stanford University study reveals that a low dose of the opioid antagonist naltrexone significantly reduces daily pain in patients with fibromyalgia, according to a Medscape News report.

Orthofix recently announced the hiring of Brad V. Niemann as the senior vice president of commercial operations for the company's global spine business.

Implementation of preoperative education for spinal surgery patients had a positive impact on patient satisfaction, especially for pain management, according to a study in the International Journal of Spine Surgery.

A Methodist Neurological Institute patient recently became the first in Texas to receive an implanted spinal device offering stronger help for chronic pain, according to a report by Health Canal.

Scott Glaser, MD, is an interventional pain management physician and president of the Pain Specialists of Greater Chicago in Burr Ridge, Ill. He shares five procedures interventional pain management physicians need to do in their practices in 2012.

HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has announced a proposed rule for certification requirements for electronic health record technology, to be effective in 2014.