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DECEMBER 2016/JANUARY 2017 Vol. 10 No. 1 VEINTHERAPYNEWS.COM
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An ACP recognized resource for news and information for and about the phlebology community
New CPT codes simplify billing for MOCA technique By Larry Storer While 2017 will bring some unknowns to everyone in healthcare with the election of a new president, beginning Jan. 1, 2017, it will actually be easier for physicians to get reimbursed when using the non thermal, non tumescent technique mechanical occlusion chemically assisted (MOCA) for treating incompetent veins. Two new Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Category 1 codes – CPT 36473 and CPT 36474 – have been finalized and published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) effective Jan. 1 for the technique of MOCA using ClariVein. The new codes describe ablation of the incompetent veins in the lower extremities using MOCA as the technique. It’s not that ClariVein is a brand new device. Even without its own CPT code,
Steve Elias, MD, FACS, FACPh
Adi Renbaum, MBA
physicians have performed more than 85,000 procedures with it since Steve Elias, MD, FACS, FACPh, completed the first in man clinical trial of ClariVein in late 2009.
valuable clinical time jumping through hoops to secure reimbursement.
It’s just that if physicians believed it to be the best tool for vein ablation for a particular patient, they had to bill it through a non-specific billing code and then spend
The new codes are important because they will allow automated claims adjudication, substantially simplifying and allowing consistent and predictable reimbursement policies for physicians, Medicare and commercial payers.
It is expected that after Jan. 1 the use of non-specific billing codes, such as CPT 37799 (Unlisted Vascular Procedure), and notations in the (paper) CMS-1500 claim form’s Box 19 for local use (and electronic equivalent), will no longer be required for MOCA, thus making it more accessible for doctors and patients. Adi Renbaum, principal and owner of ANR Consulting and a seasoned advisor who has worked with specialty medical societies and physicians to overcome payment barriers, said the two new codes will eliminate a significant reimbursement obstacle for physicians (not being able to bill for what may the best tool to treat a specific vein in a particular situation). There is a primary code – CPT 36473 – which can be billed by the physician when NEW CPT CODES continued on page 24
Pharmacist takes issue with webinar content bias By Michael Haulsee, PharmD
that it was going to be a one-sided presentation rather than a well-balanced overview of sclerosants and compounding pharmacies.
I recently attended a webinar presented by Dr. Nick Morrison in association with the American College of Phlebology titled "Compounded Sclerosants." As a pharmacist of 30 years, 19 of which I have owned and operated a compounding pharmacy, I was looking forward to this presentation from a well-respected phlebologist. However, very soon into the webinar, I realized
In my opinion, in order to effectively critique or criticize a subject in a public forum, one must be well-versed in all aspects of the argument at hand. Dr. Morrison admitted he knew nothing about USP 797, the rules and regulations
by which sterile compounding pharmacies work and are inspected. USP 797 is very stringent in reference to the environment sterile preparations are made, the training of the staff, testing of the final product and record keeping of the same. Adhering to USP 797, a pharmacy, when dispensing a COMPOUNDING continued on page 22
7HOH³H[ DFTXLULQJ 9DVFXODU 6ROXWLRQV Teleflex Inc., a company that makes devices used in surgery, cardiac, respiratory and emergency care, is acquiring Vascular Solutions for about $1 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2017 and will add to Teleflex's adjusted earnings in 2017. Teleflex's offer of $56 per Vascular share in cash represents a premium of 1.6 percent to the stock's close on Dec. 1. The sale comes about 10 months after Vascular Solutions and its founder CEO Howard Root were found not guilty in a
criminal prosecution related to alleged "off-label" promotion of its varicose veins treatment, Vari-Lase Short Kit. Shares of Vascular Solution, which makes devices for minimally invasive coronary and vascular procedures, have nearly doubled since Root was exonerated in February. "Following the jury verdict in February ... I am not willing to assume much longer the personal risk associated with being the CEO VASCULAR SOLUTIONS continued on page 13
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