by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 15, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Guest Post by John Peters, Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) Executive Director Caroline, Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on the 2024 Final Rule and rate for APC 5061 / Code G0277 (hyperbaric oxygen per 30-minute segment)....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 13, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight, Obesity & Wound Care, US Wound Registry
We just published an article about the impact of underlying conditions on Quality-of-Life (QOL) measurement among patients with chronic wounds which sheds new light on the use of QOL assessment as well as the underlying medical complexity of these patients. On the...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 11, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight
The day after Thanksgiving, I underwent an emergency laparotomy for an internal herniation of the small bowel. I haven’t made a secret of the fact that I had weight loss surgery about 18 years ago. A “Peterson’s internal hernia” is a rare but known complication of...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 8, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight, Medicare Audits
This is part of my series of articles about Useful Information on Medicare Audits. Here are the “reasons for denial” codes for hyperbaric oxygen therapy posted on the Palmetto website. Although they are posted on the Palmetto website, these come from CMS and thus are...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 7, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
(Including How to Make it More Equitable for Practitioners & Patients) I got this thoughtful email from Dr. Timothy Johnson with a list of practical suggestions to help fix the broken system around CTPs/skin subs. He has given me permission to post his comments....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 5, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Medicare Audits
This is part of my series of articles about Useful Information on Medicare Audits. Noridian is the MAC for Medicare A/B of: Region E: California, Hawaii, Nevada, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands Region F: Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota,...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 1, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) working in collaboration with the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders and many other organizations is asking for your help to stop the proposed drastic cut in facility fees for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Please follow...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 30, 2023 | Fight the Good Fight
Check out this Medical Student Survey: Risks and Prevention of Barotrauma in Hyperbaric Facilities by the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society. Please submit your response latest by February 1, 2024. Thank you so much for your contributions and volunteerism!...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 29, 2023 | Dr. Helen Gelly, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Tis the season for surprises, but not all of them are joyous, and some are downright disasters. Unfortunately, the surprise CMS dropped in November cannot be passed on at your next white elephant holiday party. There have been a lot of questions and angst surrounding...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 27, 2023 | Featured, Medicare Audits
I am posting a series of articles with information directly from the websites of the various MACs. Anyone can access this information so I feel a little silly posting it, but several clinicians have told me about audits they are undergoing and they had not paid...
