Contents

 Commentary

n MESSAGE FROM THE MEDICAL EDITOR
Bargaining with the Devil   
Stuart M. Weinstein, MD

n FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
Dueling Outcomes 
Joel M. Press, MD

n LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 
Vincent Arlet, MD

 Current Concepts  

n INVITED REVIEW
Performance Measurement and Pay-for-Performance: The Next Wave 
David A. Wong, MD, MSc; Charles Mick, MD; Pamela Hayden

n CURVE/COUNTERCURVE
Steroid Use in the Management of Spinal Cord Injury 
Michael Fehlings, MD, PhD, FRCS(C); Darrel Brodke, MD; Jeffrey C. Wang, MD

n LITERATURE REVIEW
New from the Journals 
Paul M. Arnold, MD, FACS; Christopher Spock, BS; Jonathan N. Grauer, MD; Robert J. Gatchel, PhD

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

 Socioeconomics & Politics  

n PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
Interventional Pain Management 
Brian S. Foley, MD

n CODING Q & A
Lateral Extracavitary Codes 
NASS Operative Coding Committee, William Mitchell, Chair

n REGULATORY POLICY
Status of 2006 Physician Fee Update 
Charles Mick, MD

n ETHICAL/LEGAL
The Physician Investor---A Godsend or Pariah 
Marjorie Eskay-Auerbach, MD, JD; Edward C. Benzel, MD

n ADVOCACY/LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS/PAC
NASS6 Members Take P4P Message to Capitol Hill 
Jeffrey J. Wise, MD

 NASS News  

Spine Across the Sea