A Wisconsin-based pain management practice and surgery center chain that shut down last year left physicians on their own to rebuild their practices, according to a Fox 6 report.
Advanced Pain Management temporarily halted procedures during the pandemic and then paid $1 million to resolve a federal lawsuit related to alleged kickbacks and unnecessary lab tests. The company that provides services to Advanced Pain Management filed a petition for Chapter 128 receivership, a bankruptcy alternative, in September.
Despite the challenges, physicians still saw tens of thousands of patients at the Advanced Pain Management clinics in 2020, according to the report. Six of the chain's locations closed in March and four more closed between Sept. 22 and Oct. 31.
Some of the physicians have come together to form three new practices to see patients. All of the Advanced Pain Management ASCs remain closed.
Physicians and patients report trouble accessing medical records from Advanced Pain Management, although the court-appointed receiver for the company said patients can retrieve medical records through a form on the APM website.
"It has been very, very difficult and challenging," said Thomas Strauss, MD, a founding member of Advanced Pain Management, of the closure. He also said it was hard to reestablish communication with existing patients.
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