Interventional Pain Medicine - History

History

Early efforts at interventional pain date back to the origins of regional analgesia and neural blockade, and gradually evolved into a distinct specialty. Tuffer described the first therapeutic nerve block for pain management in 1899. Von Gaza developed diagnostic blockade in pain management, using procaine for determining the pain's pathways. Modern day contributors include Bonica, Winnie, Raj, Racz, Bogduk, and others. The term "interventional pain management" was first used by pain management specialist Steven D. Waldman in 1996 to define the emerging specialty. The subspecialty of interventional pain management has received a specific specialty designation by the United States National Uniform Billing Committeeto allow its practitioners to bill Federal healthcare programs including Medicare and Medicaid. Physicians who practice interventional pain management are represented by a variety of pain management organizations including the Society For Pain Practice Management and the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.

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