by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 13, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Fight the Good Fight
Check out the entire series here. I know this story qualifies as hearsay. I could provide the names of the companies involved, but I can’t afford the legal bills. Since I can’t provide the details, you don’t know whether to believe me, but here goes: A doctor called...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 12, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Fight the Good Fight
Check out the entire series here. In 2015, CMS moved to “package pricing” for CTPs/skin subs in the hospital-based outpatient clinic. When that happened, the cost of the product was incorporated into the charge for the visit, and that caused a sudden and dramatic...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 11, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
Check out the entire series here. Dr. Fife, I have been following your posts about CTPs. I work in a city where most wound providers are not wound certified, they debride every wound they see, they can’t stage a pressure injury, they know very little if anything...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 10, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Fight the Good Fight
Check out the entire series here. Here’s another message that I agreed to post anonymously that asks many questions we are asking: Why are two products made in the same tissue lab and identical as far as any of us can tell, priced completely differently, with one of...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 9, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Fight the Good Fight
Check out the entire series here. Dr. Fife, I thought you should see this advertisement for “research” with CTPs/skin subs. It’s not an isolated case. Many of them are doing this where the MACs have cracked down on Rebate programs, particularly in nursing...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 5, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
I’ve collated and summarized the answers to the questions I have been asking. THANK YOU – to everyone who took the time to explain this complex system. This post is long. However, if you want to understand how we got here – you will know when you are done reading....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 5, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Featured
Check out the entire series here. Let’s talk about the column that is NOT discussed in this table (from a manufacturer’s advertisement previously posted), and that is the patient responsible portion. I added a column to represent the patient co-pay if the patient does...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 4, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Fight the Good Fight
Check out the entire series here. This morning I got an email from a friend and colleague who is one of the best and most ethical wound care practitioners that I know. His letter below points out the problem that started this mess, which is the methodology behind...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 4, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
Check out the entire series here. I am getting a lot of comments by folks who feel that they should remain anonymous because otherwise they put their job at risk. I am going to post anonymous comments from people I know well enough to trust. If you want to send me a...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 3, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Featured
Check out the entire series here. Here is another example. Feel free to keep sending me examples and I will redact the names of the company and post. Can anyone tell me why no invoice is needed to submit these claims and exactly how these profits are being realized?...
