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Outpatient Surgery E-Weekly

Malpractice Verdicts Often Favor Physicians

Physicians come out on the winning end of 80% of malpractice claims that end in jury verdicts, according to researchers at Massachusetts General Hos...

Study: CT Colongraphy Effective in Finding Polyps

A CT-scan-based, laxative-free "virtual colonoscopy" may be as effective as standard colonoscopy in finding potentially cancerous polyps, according ...

Wrong-Site Prevention Video Shows the Right Way

Wrong-site, wrong-patient and wrong-procedure surgery must be prevented at all costs. The 3 steps of the Joint Commission's Universal Protocol make ...

Archive > August, 2004 Vol. V, No. 8

Coding & Billing

When Medicare Won't Cover Knee Arthroscopy

Lolita Jones, RHIA, CCS

Lolita Jones, RHIA, CCS Important news if your facility hosts orthopedic cases: You may no longer bill Medicare for arthroscopic debridement and lavages if those procedures are performed alone for patients with severe osteoarthritis. Medicare's decision was hardly unexpected, given the much-publicized July 2002 New England Journal of Medicine study concluding that debridements and washouts were ineffective for severe osteoarthritis patients who didn't also have mechanical knee problems. Here's what the coverage ruling means to you.

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