Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/808731
38 ANESTHESIA 4 Anesthesia Coding Updates for 2017 By Laura Dyrda A nesthesia Business Consultants identified the CPT updates for 2017 that will have the biggest impact on anesthesia and pain management in the next year. There were four common codes dealing with imaging that were deleted and replaced with codes that distinguish whether a proce- dure is done with or without im- aging guidance. Providers must now document whether image guidance is used. Here is the crosswalk: 1. Cervical and thoracic single shot injection (CPT 62310) • New code with image guid- ance: 62321 • New code without image guidance: 62320 2. Lumbar single shot injection (CPT 62311) • New code with image guid- ance: 62323 • New code without image guidance: 62322 3. Cervical or thoracic epidural catheter (62318) • New code with image guid- ance: 62325 • New code without image guidance: 62324 4. Lumbar epidural catheter (CPT 62319) • New code with image guid- ance: 62327 • New code without image guidance: 62326 CPT also restructured codes for moderate sedation, deleting sev- eral codes and adding six new sedation codes based on patient age and time under sedation. Se- dation less than 10 minutes isn't reported separately. The national conversion factor for anesthesia is now $22.0454 and the resource based relative value system conversion factor for pain management, flat fees is $35.8887. n Anesthesia Business Consultants, MiraMed Submit to Become Qualified Clinical Data Registry By Jessica Kim Cohen M iraMed and its subsidiary Anesthesia Business Consultants have submit- ted to become a Qualified Clinical Data Registry for the 2017 reporting year. 1. In 2016, MiraMed and Anesthesia Business Consultants became a Qualified Clinical Data Registry through MiraMed QCDR, which collect- ed quality and outcome data for more than 20 million patients. 2. MiraMed and Anesthesia Business Consultants plan to continue to use MiraMed QCDR for 2017, which will include individual and group reporting. In addition to quality reporting, MiraMed QCDR will also support reporting related to improvement ac- tivities and advancing care information. 3. MiraMed and Anesthesia Business Consultants say that the MiraMed QCDR data infrastructure will be particularly important in the coming year, given the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System payment adjustments under CMS' Medicare Ac- cess and CHIP Reauthorization Act's final rule. n 6 Things to Know Contaminated Medical instruments By Laura Dyrda H ealthcare providers are exposed to medi- cal waste and contaminated instruments on a daily basis. Appropriate handling, moving and disposal of the contaminated in- struments is crucial to maintain compliance and avoid the spread of disease. Here are six things to know about medi- cal waste and contaminated instruments in a healthcare setting: 1. Most waste generated from healthcare activities is non-hazardous; about 15 percent is hazardous material that may be infectious, toxic or radioac- tive, according to the World Health Organization. 2. Clinicians administer around 16 billion in- jections worldwide annually, but in some cases the needles aren't correctly disposed of. e needles — as well as other healthcare waste — may contain harmful microorganisms on the physical object while others contain toxic air pollutants when incinerated. 3. e World Health Organization recommends the following steps to avoid waste-management issues: • Build a comprehensive system to han- dle and dispose of waste • Address every team member's respon- sibilities • Allocate resources to effective waste management • Raise awareness about the risks of han- dling and disposing of waste • Select safe and environmentally friend- ly waste management options 4. Medical waste includes infections waste con- taminated by blood and other bodily fluids such as cultures and stocks of infectious agents from lab work; pathological waste such as human tissues and organs; sharps like syringes and needles; chemicals; pharmaceuticals; genotoxic waste; radioactive waste; and general waste. 5. e Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology recommends placing a three-part tag on the equipment to identify the sta- tus of cleaning. e tag should include the sections "Clean," "In Use" and "Dirty" and the tag should be perforated so it's easy to switch from one status to the other. When the patient begins using the in- strument, the provider tears the "Clean" section off so the bottom reads "In Use"; when the equipment is no longer in use, the provider rips off the second portion so the tag reads "Dirty." 6. Healthcare providers can use personal pro- tective equipment when handling and moving contaminated instruments. e PPE is based on the task performed and should be accessible and properly cleaned. e protection can in- clude masks, safety glasses, gowns and gloves. n