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As the number of patients suffering from chronic pain rises in Louisiana, it can be increasingly difficult to secure an appointment with a specialist, according to a WWL Radio report.

Some Colorado physicians are experimenting with new ways to curb prescription drug overdose in response to a steadily increasing addiction rate in the state, according to a Denver Post report.

Brandon Earp, MD, has been named chief of orthopedics at Faulkner Hospital in Boston, according to a report from The Boston Globe.

The following transactions or developments between hospitals and physician groups took place within the past month, beginning with the most recent.

In the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's annual payment policy report (pdf) to Congress, MedPAC officials recommended that Medicare payments for ASCs increase by 0.5 percent for the 2013 calendar year.

Five pain management physicians discuss the role of patient contracts in prescribing narcotics.

Tucson (Ariz.) Medical Center is undergoing a $109 million expansion that includes development of a new surgery center, according to an Inside Tucson Business report.

During a Tuesday meeting at the Kenai (Alaska) Peninsula Borough Assembly chambers, Assembly President Gary Knopp addressed a perceived "divide" between Central Peninsula Hospital and independent physicians pursuing the construction of an ASC, according to a Peninsula Clarion report.

A New Jersey proposal would instate approximately 1,000 price codes controlling how much physicians, surgery centers and hospitals can charge for outpatient treatments for auto accidents, while abolishing another 117 price controls due to physician backlash, according to an NJ.com…

Representatives from the ASC Association recently met with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on payment policies in surgery centers, according to an ASCA release.