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O P H T H A L M O L O G Y
Daniel Cook
Executive Editor
Focus on improved refractive outcomes to increase patient
satisfaction and pump up stagnant reimbursements.
T
he reimbursement reality of cataract surgery is all too
familiar to James Dawes, MHA, CMPE, COE, chief administrative officer at the Center for Sight in Sarasota, Fla.
This year, his physicians received a 13% cut in professional fees for simple cataracts and a 21% slashing of payments for complex cataracts. On the facility side, his payments have
stayed relatively flat, which means they're essentially decreasing.
"From the surgery center perspective, we're not making any headway," he says. "In fact, we're going backward. On the professional
side, we're going backward fast."
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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 | O C T O B E R 2013