by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jan 9, 2026 | Cellular / Tissue-Based Products, CTP / Skin Substitutes, Uncategorized
I understand why CMS did it. There has been wild abuse of the Cellular Tissue Product (CTP) / skin substitute wastage code. The payment model incentivized practitioners to use large pieces even on small wounds, because they could get paid for the amount they wasted....
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Jun 18, 2024 | Uncategorized
Paracelsus.-Fife-for-handout Here’s the PDF of the presentation I gave at the recent Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society meeting on using the PARACELSUS scoring system to diagnose pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) – since you can’t trust a biopsy! I am NOT a Dermatologist...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Mar 17, 2023 | The Patient's Voice, Uncategorized
I have been raising awareness about the direct link between documentation and surgical dressing supplies – and why DME companies have become so “demanding” in terms of the documentation they need to see. The DME companies have been audited nearly to death by Medicare...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Mar 15, 2023 | Uncategorized
I got yet another email from a patient about her experience in a wound center. She’s got many complex medical problems, but she’s a retired nurse and has a good sense of what works to heal her recurrent lower extremity ulcers. She’s wheelchair bound but manages to...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Feb 17, 2022 | Uncategorized
Great opportunities to advance wound care knowledge, next week in Philadelphia! — Caroline Wound Week™ 2022 is an innovative, unparalleled educational opportunity that will feature superior content delivered by multidisciplinary faculty with true clinical...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 24, 2021 | Pyoderma Gangrenosum, Uncategorized
I am going to post a series of patients with confirmed or presumed pyoderma gangrenosum, most of who’s biopsy findings did not confirm the diagnosis. However, their response to a trial of prednisone was dramatic and the wounds closed with prednisone (or in some cases,...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | May 5, 2021 | Uncategorized
CutisCare has launched “Hyperbaric Aware,” a national campaign to elevate awareness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Despite the fact that Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has been in common use since the 1960’s and is an effective healing option for...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Apr 15, 2021 | Fight the Good Fight, Uncategorized
I ask my nurses to leave the discarded dressings on top of the trashcan so that I can have a look at them. There’s a lot you can learn from used dressings. I am worried about the fact that drainage can be copious despite compression, that patients on oral...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Sep 17, 2020 | Don't Miss This, Uncategorized, US Wound Registry
Wound Clinic Leaders: Please Take This Survey The US Wound Registry is focused on improving the quality of care and outcomes of patients with chronic wounds and ulcers. As a CMS-recognized Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR), we are trying to understand real-world...
by Caroline Fife, M.D. | Aug 20, 2020 | Lymphatic Imaging & Lymphedema, Uncategorized
For more than two decades I’ve had the opportunity to work with Dr. Eva Sevick and her team at the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston on the development of real-time lymphatic imaging. In fact, above is a photo of me many years ago, with one of...
