HOUSTON, March 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spine Pain Management, Inc. (OTCQX:SPIN), a technology-driven, medical service, device and healthcare solution company servicing the multi-billion dollar spine injury sector, today announced it has opened an affiliate diagnostic center in San Antonio, the second most populated city in Texas with over 1.3 million people. This brings expansion of the company's geographic footprint to cover three strategic regions in the State of Texas.
"The main reason Central Texas Pain Center (CTPC) became an affiliate of Spine Pain Management is its Quad Video HALO Technology V.2.0," said Daniel Frederick, M.D., the center's owner. "This technology is bringing transparency to the diagnostic pain management field and offers a competitive advantage when marketing our services to doctors and attorneys working in the spine injury arena."
The Central Texas Pain Center began treating patients as a SPIN Affiliate in February 2013, and is a well-established Texas based medical group with extensive experience in spine diagnostic procedures for accident patients in the San Antonio area.
William F. Donovan, M.D., CEO of Spine Pain Management, said, "I am pleased that the Quad Video HALO Technology V.2.0 was a deciding factor in Dr. Frederick's decision to work with us. The Quad Video HALO system, along with potential cases resulting from the education programs developed by Spine Pain Management for attorneys and doctors who treat personal injury spine cases, should be a valuable asset to CTPC and our other affiliate centers."
A detailed description of the Quad Video HALO Technology V.2.0 can be found in both Spine Pain Management's press release dated Feb. 20, 2013 and also on the new company website: http://www.spinepaininc.com.
Special Educating Programs for Attorneys and Doctors
As was first reported in SPIN's last conference call, the company was asked by a third party provider to develop a series of specialized programs for attorneys, doctors and other provider organizations who manage patients with spine injuries who are parties to personal injury suits. These programs include "Documentation Standards of Medical Video Documentation" and "Documentation and Visualization of Medical Injuries" utilizing the Quad Halo Video 2.0 system. Some of these programs are directed to continuing legal and medical education programs (CLE/CME) which are required education/training for attorneys and doctors to maintain their professional licenses. The CLE/CME credit hours are determined by the state legal and/or doctor associations. The development of these standards is based on SPIN's patent pending technology of QUAD HALO Video system with its associated hardware and software technology. To date, the Florida State Bar association has approved the "Documentation Standards of Medical Video Documentation" education program for its members, and the first CLE in Florida was given on January 17, 2013 in Tampa to a large group of 59 plaintiff and defense attorneys. It was well received and appropriate follow-up contacts have been implemented by SPIN's Florida marketing staff. Over the next few months, presentations of these programs to various professional groups are expected to be expanded into Texas and then future states as SPIN expands nationally.
New Revenue Sources Added
After three years of operation using only its core business model of pre-funding diagnostic spine injections for accident victims, SPIN has grown its shareholder equity (SE or Book Value) per share from a minus $.04 a share at the end of Q3 09, to a positive $.35 a share at the end of Q3 2012. These results were reported on SEC filings, including SPIN's 10-Q Q3 2009 (SE a minus $599,960 with shares outstanding 16,317,682) and its 10-Q Q3 2012 (SE a positive $6,380,305 with shares outstanding 18,365,882). Additionally during this period, quarterly income, excluding extraordinary items has been positive in all but one quarter. This extremely rare performance for any "start-up" should be solid evidence that SPIN's core business model is sound and expanding.
Last spring, management felt with "proof of concept" successfully in place for the core business model, additional revenue streams complementary to the core business should be investigated. The first step in this process was completed with the acquisition of the first generation "Four Camera HALO" technology in May of 2012. During the past eight months, additional research and development has been undertaken to advance this system from a working concept to the now fully commercialized Quad Video HALO V.2.0. Coinciding with current delivery of this new system, the first of several additional revenue sources has now been implemented for new and existing centers to include:
- Each affiliate will either lease or buy the hardware from SPIN;
- A DVD, with anti-tamper security, of the procedure will be sold by SPIN to the attorney as a case cost to be included in the patients' medical record; and;
- In addition to SPIN affiliates, units will be sold by independent medical Sales representatives to outside hospitals and clinics.
In addition to these revenue sources, additional revenue sources are also being beta tested, such as individual case storage in a restricted secure "chain of custody" environment for a monthly storage fee.
Dr. Donovan stated: "It has been a busy and innovative past year in achieving and introducing QVH2 and the CLE/CME programs. During the past three years, as our business model was implemented, we encountered numerous obstacles to overcome. We anticipated 'copy cats' of our business model, including private 'mom-and-pop' clinics both in Texas and Florida. We believe the HALO development will separate us from most competitors. We have also faced unexpected obstacles, including old, unknown lawsuits involving SPIN that arose from events well before the start of the SPIN business model. Overcoming these obstacles and moving on, in some cases, has been a painful step. While road bumps in our business may periodically appear, management believes the worst is now behind us, and we look forward to a healthy 2013 and beyond."
About Spine Pain Management, Inc:
We are a medical services and technology company facilitating diagnostic services for patients who have sustained spine injuries resulting from traumatic accidents. We deliver turnkey solutions to spine surgeons, orthopedic surgeons and other healthcare providers that provide necessary and appropriate treatment of musculo-skeletal spine injuries resulting from automobile and work-related accidents. Our care management services help reduce the financial burden on healthcare providers that provide patients with early-stage diagnostic testing and non-invasive surgical care, preventing many patients from being unnecessarily delayed or inhibited from obtaining needed treatment. We believe that our services and technology brings strong transparency and impartiality to all parties involved in the settlement of patient cases.
Additional information about the company, along with a video can be found at its website at www.spinepaininc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release includes forward-looking statements as determined by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events, or developments that the company believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include general economic and business conditions, the ability to acquire and develop specific projects, the ability to fund operations, healthcare services demands, changes in healthcare practices, government regulation, and other factors over which the company has little or no control. The company does not intend (and is not obligated) to update publicly any forward-looking statements. The contents of this press release should be considered in conjunction with the warnings and cautionary statements contained in the company's recent filings with the SEC.