by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Nov 1, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Fight the Good Fight
I have been trying to identify the problems in the CTP/skin sub industry in hopes that doing so could inform specific policy changes. Many weeks ago, the Alliance of Wound Care Stakeholders made five specific recommendations to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 24, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
Check out the entire series here. I’ve been asking how it is that CTP/skin sub companies can advertise “the spread” on their product? I have posted examples of this type of advertising displayed at medical meetings, on Linked in and sent as emails to practitioners. In...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 23, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
Check out the entire series here. I have been making my way slowly through the March 2023 report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), OEI-BL-23-00010, “Some Skin Substitute Manufacturers Did Not Comply with New ASP Reporting Requirements.” Some Skin...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 20, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
Check out the entire series here. “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” — Albert Einstein I previously posted the list of issues as I see them in this industry. Now I’d like to create a list of the attributes of a good...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 19, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
Check out the entire series here. “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” –John Dewey Thank you to everyone who has provided information or answers about this important issue. After reading your emails and messages on social media, it’s clear that...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 18, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes
I have talked about this issue before, but now that the new LCDs governing Cellular and/or Tissue-Based Products (CTPs/skin subs) have been withdrawn (and while we wait to see what the MACs and CMS will do next), maybe it’s worth bringing up again. The use of CTPs has...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 17, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Fight the Good Fight
I previously posted this ad from Linked in which has since been taken down. At the time, I thought it was some kind of joke. However, in the past few weeks, the way in which practitioners can make huge profits off the cost of a product has been explained to me. That...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Oct 16, 2023 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Fight the Good Fight
…With a Question About the per CM Sq. Price Variations for Products Check out the entire series here. I am in the Novitas Medicare Jurisdiction and I keep an eye on their Medicare Newsletter. Here are the instructions for submitting claims for CTPs/skin subs...
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...
