Optical coherence tomography (OCT) developer NinePoint Medical said the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 2017 final fee schedule includes a substantial reimbursement increase for esophageal procedures performed using its NvisionVLE imaging system.
As of January 1, 2017, reimbursement for current procedural terminology (CPT) code 43252 (upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with optical endomicroscopy) has increased by 131% from $1,088 to $2,509.64 in the hospital outpatient setting and by 86% from $608.39 to $1,134.02 in the ambulatory surgical center setting, NinePoint said. That CPT code is used for esophageal procedures performed with the NvisionVLE imaging system with real-time targeting, NinePoint said.
The vendor's OCT system allows physicians to perform volumetric laser endomicroscopy procedures that produce real-time, cross-sectional images; they can then evaluate and mark tissue for potential disease that may not be visible with conventional imaging modalities such as white light endoscopy or ultrasound, according to the vendor.
