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P A I N
M A N A G E M E N T
As you know, Medicare doesn't cover post-op pain management as a
separately billable service, and other carriers' rules and requirements
for justification can make getting paid for pumps a tricky business.
Ms. Izlar points out that, among facilities that host a large number of
insurance cases, whether pumps are reimbursed is a significant factor
in whether they're used.
That's why a vendor's value-added service of billing for its customers' pump uses may be a highly worthwhile incentive. "Pump companies offering third-party billing arrangements let it be a financially
beneficial option to give the best pain control, as opposed to one that
burdens an anesthesia practice, facility or patient," says Ms. DeBusk.
Motivation for analgesia
Pain pumps aren't perfect. Ms. Izlar recently polled a group of anesthesia provider peers and found their current use to be "inconsistent,"
in large part due to dissatisfaction with catheters kinking, breaking or
dislodging in ambulatory patients. "Pain pumps work much better for
total knees, for instance, when the patient is staying in the hospital
overnight," she says. "We've found they're not as sturdy when the
patient goes home, ambulating and walking freely."
As a result, any use of pain pumps should be supported by a facility-wide education and quality assurance program in order to ensure
uniformity and assess effectiveness: in short, to know if the pumps
are working, says Mr. Nash. "If you want pumps to be successful,
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | F E B R U A R Y 2013
