Philips announces large-scale study outcomes on use of IVUS in peripheral interventions

Royal Philips has announced the results of a new large-scale real-world analysis of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data on the health outcomes of peripheral vascular interventions guided by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). The study was conducted independently by…
SVS: Impact of Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule remains threat to patient care

The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule released Nov. 2 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) doubles down on the 3.75% cut to surgeons and surgical practices that will harm patient access to care, the Society…
Learn best-, worst-case and likely scenarios of upcoming planned cuts to Medicare

The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) will hold a Town Hall Nov. 10 to help members understand the upcoming planned federal cuts that would impact vascular surgery overall by more than -11%. Vascular surgeons are facing five different cuts as…
SVS task force continues fight to stop cuts

The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Medicare Cuts Task Force is continuing its work to stop the proposed cuts in physician reimbursement from going through as planned in 2022. The task force was created to respond to the proposed 2022…
Physicians draw attention to Medicare cuts as PAD Awareness Month kicks off

A coalition of physicians and other interested parties focused on peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has called on Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to take action to avoid proposed payment cuts that would hammer vascular care,…
SVS billing and coding workshop to take place Dec. 5 and 6

While a surgeon’s expertise is key to patient outcomes, coding and documenting the procedures are key to the surgeon’s payment and reimbursement. And, when it comes to billing and coding, a twist of an adage applies: What you don’t know…
Research letter highlights low adoption of supervised exercise therapy for PAD

A research letter published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes highlights a “very low” utilization of supervised exercise therapy (SET) in symptomatic peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients during the first 19 months after approval by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)…
Medicare: Surgical Care Coalition urges Congress to halt proposed cuts to care

The proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for calendar year 2022 (CY2022) released Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fails to address pending cuts to surgical care “and therefore continues to threaten patient care by reaffirming these…
Why donate to the SVS PAC?

A few years ago, in his presidential address to the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society (MVSS), Mark Mattos, MD, spoke eloquently about the need to “protect our specialty.” A large part of this, he argued, is protecting our patients; no other…
Medicare E&M coding changes and EHR physician burnout

A recent article published in Vascular Specialist summarized data regarding the undeniable relationship between electronic health records (EHRs) and burnout amongst physicians. There is ample irony in the fact that a graph depicting the increased focus on “physician wellbeing” in…

