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MedPAC: CMS should collect data on heart, lung surgeons

Quality Improvement Monitor, January 20, 2005

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) says Medicare should gather data to pay cardiothoracic surgeons who bring their staff with them to care for surgery patients.

CMS should determine the cost of clinical staff brought to the hospital when it revises calculations of physician practice expenses, even though that task could be daunting, MedPAC said. The commission did not set a deadline for this to occur.

A surgeon's clinical staff may include physician assistants, surgical technologists, and nursing assistants. They may assist in the operating room, help prepare the patient for surgery, or educate the patient.

The data could help Medicare pay more for better outcomes and create an incentive for hospitals and surgeons to improve communication, MedPAC said.

Congress ordered MedPAC to conduct the study as part of the Medicare reform law.

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