Time Parameters for Glaucoma Procedures
Published In: Archives of Ophthalmology, v. 112, no. 6, June 1994, p. 755-758
Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 1994
Changes in physician reimbursement have emphasized the importance of determining physician time for procedures and services. This article gives the results of a survey given to members of the American Glaucoma Society concerning work times for preoperative, operative, and 90-day postoperative care for six common glaucoma procedures. Results indicated that there may be a significant underestimation of time for trabeculectomies in the original and new resource-based relative-value scale work values used by HCFA for Medicare reimbursement. In addition, the survey reflects that at least 50 percent of surgeons hospitalize patients on at least the first postoperative day. There were no apparent time efficiencies between high- and low-volume respondents. Further work is necessary to produce a valid resource-based payment system for these physicians.
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