Contents

 Commentary

n MESSAGE FROM THE MEDICAL EDITOR
NASS is on a Mission 
Stuart M. Weinstein, MD

n FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
Time to Put on Your SCRUBBS! 
Thomas J. Errico, MD

n LETTER TO THE EDITOR 
"Customer" Mentality Speaks Volumes
John S. Kirkpatrick, MD

 Current Concepts

n COVER STORY
Treating Back Pain: A National News Story 
 "An Operation to Ease Back Pain Bolsters the Bottom Line"
By Reed Abelson and Melody Peterson. Reprinted with permission from the New York Times, December 31, 2003.

Response to the New York Times
Thomas J. Errico, MD, President, North American Spine Society

n CURVE/COUNTERCURVE
Controversies in Surgical Treatment for LBP: Fusion or Disc Replacement? 
Paul C. McAfee, MD; Warren Yu, MD; Jeffrey C. Wang, MD

n SPECIAL FEATURE
NASS Endorses JCAHO Universal Protocol 
David A. Wong, MD, MSc, FRCS(C); Stanley A. Herring, MD

n LITERATURE REVIEW
New from the Journals 
Gert K. Polzhofer, MD; Inneke H. Drespe; Johathan N. Grauer, MD; Alexander Vaccaro, MD; David Bagnall, MD; Robert J. Gatchel, PhD

n  ABSTRACT REVIEW
NASS Annual Meeting Abstracts 
Michael Shaufele, MD; Scott Boden, MD

 Socioeconomics & Politics

n PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
Chart Reviews: Win! Win! 
Annette Grady, CPC, CPC-H

n CODING Q & A
Evaluation and Management Service on the Same Day as a Procedure 
Ray Baker, MD

n ADVOCACY/LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS/PAC
NASS Delivers Message to Congress on Capitol Hill Day: Fix the Formula 
Tom Faciszewski, MD

 NASS News