Blurring of local and remote practice models threatens IOM's future
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In this issue of Neurology®, Nuwer et al.1 present the results of a recent survey of American Academy of Neurology members concerning practice patterns for intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring (IOM). The study confirms the continued growth of IOM but also sheds light on striking differences between 2 practice models—“local” monitoring and the “remote” telemetry. For historical reasons, a single Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code has applied to both models, generating considerable ambiguity and resulting in lack of transparency, particularly to third-party payers, which now presents a serious challenge to the field and to neurologists providing IOM services. On November 1, 2012, with the issuance of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services's (CMS's) Final Rule for Medicaid physician payments,2 this challenge became a crisis that threatens to limit IOM services available to Medicare patients.
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Go to Neurology.org for full disclosures. Funding information and disclosures deemed relevant by the authors, if any, are provided at the end of the editorial.
See page 1156
- © 2013 American Academy of Neurology
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Disputes & Debates: Rapid online correspondence
- Intraoperative monitoring practice patterns and coding
- Marc R Nuwer, Professor, UCLA Dept NeurologyMRN@UCLA.edu
- Marc R Nuwer, Los Angeles, CA; Bruce H Cohen, Akron, OH; Katie M Shepard, Minneapolis, MN
Submitted March 21, 2013 - The "nearby and available" (local) IOM practice model
- Stanley A. Skinner, Director of Neurophysiology, Abbott Northwestern Hospitaldrskinnermd@yahoo.com
- Stanley A Skinner, Minneapolis, MN
Submitted March 14, 2013
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