Becker's ASC Review

37 ANESTHESIA What North American Partners in Anesthesia did in the past year By Carly Behm M ellville, N.Y.-based North American Partners in Anesthesia has grown its footprint despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Here›s what the company did in the past year: 1. NAPA is expanding anesthesia services to more Virginia patients through its partnership with Bon Secours- Richmond (Va.), a subsidiary of Bon Secours Mercy Health. 2. NAPA entered into a clinical partnership with Lawrence (Mass.) General Hospital, the company announced Jan. 19. 3. NAPA partnered with Atlanta-based Piedmont Orthopedics l OrthoAtlanta to deliver anesthesia services to an ASC in Fayetteville, Ga., the company announced Jan. 12. 4. New Bedford, Mass.-based Southcoast Health will not renew NAPA›s contract with the health system aer working with the group for three years, according to a Jan. 7 report. 5. NAPA inked a deal to provide anesthesia services for two facilities affiliated with Cheverly-based University of Maryland Capital Region Health that went into effect July 6. 6. NAPA pulled its anesthesiologists from Berwick, Pa.- based Commonwealth Health System›s hospitals June 30, aer a dispute around reconciliation payments. 7. NAPA signed an agreement to provide services at Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, N.J., according to a May 21 announcement. 8. NAPA partnered with Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital to absorb the practice›s anesthesiologists and certified registered nurse anesthetists May 8. n How incorrectly documenting your anesthesia service can cost you your reimbursement By Patsy Newitt C orrectly listing the details of anesthesia services is critical for claims submission and payment, according to a blog post by Tony Mira, founder of Anesthesia Business Con- sultants, a MiraMed company. There are three officially recognized modes of anesthesia from a billing and compliance perspective: 1. Regional anesthesia: The use of local anesthesia to block pain from a large part of the body — spinal, epidural or block anesthesia. 2. General anesthesia: Anesthesia administration where the patient loses consciousness or the ability to purposefully respond. 3. Monitored anesthesia care: When anesthesia providers are asked by surgeons to stand by in the event a patient needs to be put under. When documenting regional anesthesia, it's important to provide specifics on the type and location of a regional block. The full details of the regional block or blocks can be helpful in determining what may or may not be billed. Many payers don't provide reimbursement for MAC. In many MAC cases, however, a sedation drug like propofol is used and a patient loses consciousness, and MAC cases become general anesthesia cases intraoperatively. If the MAC ends up being general anesthesia, Mr. Mira recommends reflecting this in documentation so payers are more likely to reimburse. n Anesthesia market to hit $2.4B by 2025, market report says By Eric Oliver T he U.S. general anesthesia drug market is projected to hit $2.4 billion by 2025, according to a Feb. 22 report from researchandmarkets.com. The market was worth around $2 billion in 2020. The analyst firm believes the U.S. anesthesia market will grow at a com- pound annual growth rate of 3.4 percent from 2020-25. The firm believes an aging population, increasing cancer numbers and growing emergency surgery rates will drive the anesthesia market's growth. The hospital sector holds the largest share of the market, and it's expected to remain that way through the forecast period. n

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