Original articleJoint Management of Cataract Surgery by Ophthalmologists and Optometrists
Section snippets
Data Source
With approval by the Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board, an observational Medicare database study was conducted. The publicly available Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data 2012–2013: Physician and Other Supplier Public Use File (hereafter the Physician and Other Supplier PUF) were obtained from the CMS.11 The CMS created the data set based on information from CMS's National Claims History Standard Analytic Files, which have final-action Medicare Part B FFS claims. These claims
Results
The total Medicare allowed payments to ophthalmologist surgeons and to optometrists involved in the joint management of cataract surgery among FFS Medicare beneficiaries in the 50 United States and District of Columbia were estimated to be $1340789466 in 2012, decreasing 11% to $1188124136 in 2013. By contrast, the number of FFS Medicare beneficiaries having cataract surgery increased 0.8% from 1099142 in 2012 to 1107900 in 2013 (Table 1). Our data do not include the approximately 28% of
Discussion
By using publicly available 2012 and 2013 FFS Medicare databases, our study provides the most recent and most complete descriptive epidemiologic characteristics of the joint management of cataract surgery by ophthalmologists and optometrists among FFS Medicare beneficiaries. There are several noteworthy findings. First, nationwide, approximately 1 in 10 FFS Medicare Part B beneficiaries who underwent cataract surgery in 2012 and 2013 had their postoperative care managed jointly by an
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Clinical and economic impact of an ambulatory cataract surgery center without anesthesia in an area with poor ophthalmologic coverage
2021, Journal Francais d'OphtalmologieBilling of cataract surgery as complex versus routine for Medicare beneficiaries
2019, Journal of Cataract and Refractive SurgeryCitation Excerpt :The highest rates were in the Southeast and Midwest (regions with lower use of complex cataract surgery codes in our study). However, additional research would be needed to explore the underlying causes for the geographic variation in the use of complex cataract surgery codes that we observed.23 We hypothesize that the patient-level differences we identified for complex cataract coding might have been attributable to underuse of and/or delayed access to appropriate ophthalmic care in these patient populations, leading to more mature cataracts at presentation.
Comparing Access to Laser Capsulotomy Performed by Optometrists and Ophthalmologists in Oklahoma by Calculated Driving Distance and Time
2017, OphthalmologyCitation Excerpt :In 2014, 16 years after receiving laser privileges, Oklahoma optometrists represent 42% of all Oklahoma YAG laser capsulotomy providers who submitted >10 claims to Medicare and performed 33% of all YAG laser capsulotomies. Likewise, approximately 27% of all cataract surgeries performed on Oklahoma Medicare beneficiaries are jointly managed by optometrists and ophthalmologists.18 Our data are unable to differentiate YAG laser providers who participated in joint cataract surgery management from those who did not.
Ambulatory surgery centers: Possible solution to improve cataract healthcare in medical deserts
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Financial Disclosure(s): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
Supported by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Rochester, Minnesota; and Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc, New York, New York. The sponsors or funding organizations had no role in the design or conduct of this research.
Author Contributions:
Conception and design: Erie, Hodge, Mahr
Analysis and interpretation: Erie, Hodge, Mahr
Data collection: Erie, Hodge, Mahr
Obtained funding: none
Overall responsibility: Erie, Hodge, Mahr