by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 3, 2022 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Healthcare Payment Policy, Tales of the Medicare Disadvantaged
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Request for Information seeking public comment on the Medicare Advantage program. The goal of this program was described as, “more equitable, high quality, and person-centered care that is affordable...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 22, 2022 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Fight the Good Fight, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
I will probably get a lot of unhappy messages about this post, but given the sweeping changes that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed for cellular and/or tissue-based products (CTPs), it might be time to “say the quiet part out loud.”...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jul 14, 2022 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
The 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (CMS-1770-P) went on display late afternoon July 7, 2023. The proposed rule involves sweeping changes to the way that cellular and/or tissue based products for skin wounds (CTPs) are paid for in the physician office setting....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | May 6, 2021 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Do the Right Thing: Thoughts on Quality, Fight the Good Fight
Dear Manufacturer of Cellular and/or Tissue-based Products (CTPs) — commonly known as “skin substitutes”: I feel compelled to explain the math of using CTPs in the hospital-based outpatient department (HOPD). A friend who is a podiatrist just told me about the...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 15, 2020 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Dr. Marissa Carter, Fight the Good Fight
Here’s a fascinating perspective on the cost effectiveness of CTPs by Marissa Carter, PhD, who is a well known researcher in the field of wound care. She’s also authored several informative blogs about the origins of COVID-19 and the challenges of developing a...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 20, 2020 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Healthcare Payment Policy
I feel like I should start this blog like the beginning of Star Wars, “Long ago, in a galaxy far away…“ Back in 2013, when insurance was less complicated, the US Wound Registry provided data for a medical student project under the supervision of Dr. Adelaide...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Dec 6, 2019 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Fight the Good Fight, Healthcare Payment Policy
Re-printed from Today’s Wound Clinic We are at an important crossroads in the field of wound management. From the perspective of new technologies, the future is bright. Unfortunately, the future of the field itself is dismal. Under Medicare’s new Quality Payment...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 10, 2019 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Healthcare Payment Policy
Guest blog post by Dr. Helen Gelly Using the claims data from Medicare that are publicly available, a newly published study which I co-authored looked at various parameters that will eventually impact the bundled pricing payment model. Because a number of insurance...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 18, 2019 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, The Patient's Voice, Uncategorized
An increasing percentage of my wound center patients have Medicare Advantage plans offered by private payers. As I’ve discussed on previous blogs, it’s getting very hard to use cellular and/or tissue-based products (CTPs) on chronic wound patients with Medicare...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 15, 2019 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, Fight the Good Fight, Health Information Technology and Wound Care, Quality Payment Program
Since clinicians were first offered a financial incentive to purchase and use an electronic health record (EHR) to obtain bonus money (or avoid penalties), they have been required to use only “certified EHR technology” (CEHRT). The names of the various payment...
