Medicare updates info on pass-through devices
Other policies clarified for surgery centers
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published corrections to the final rule for the hospital outpatient prospective payment system that will result in slightly higher payments for transitional pass-through devices. The update to the Nov. 30, 2001, rule was published in the March 1, 2002, Federal Register. It can be accessed at www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a020301c.html under "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services."
In other news, CMS has clarified its policy regarding ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in the following areas:
• Requirements for ASCs for a separate waiting area and recovery room. CMS considers a "recovery room" to be an area where patients are brought to recover from procedures and are not yet discharged, according to an agency memo. A "waiting area" is the area set aside for patients and families outside of the areas used to prepare patients for their procedure, the procedure area itself, or recovery from their procedure. "Each ASC must have a distinct waiting area’ and distinct recovery room’ that are not used by patients for other purposes," CMS says. Medicare regulations do not address specific requirements for a pre-op area.
• Length of stay in an ASC for Medicare beneficiaries and nonbeneficiaries. Overnight stays should be infrequent and only occur in cases where an unanticipated medical emergency requires medical care beyond the capabilities of the ASC, CMS says. However, Medicare-certified ASCs may transfer non-Medicare patients to overnight care facilities such as skilled nursing facilities, recovery care centers, and other nonhospital, postoperative care facilities (on a routine or nonroutine basis) without jeopardizing their Medicare certification, according to the agency.
• Certification of an ASC without a sterile operating room. CMS has clarified that ASCs with only a "procedure room" or "treatment room" can be certified as long as the ASC meets the requirements in 42 CFR 416.44. That regulation states that every Medicare-certified ASC must have a functional and sanitary environment for providing surgical services. It also says that each operating room must be designed and equipped so that the type of surgery conducted can be performed in a manner that protects the lives and ensures the safety of individuals in the area.
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