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Wound care alert: Survey results show Santyl transition continues

Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, January 10, 2008

In December, HCPro surveyed long-term care nurses about your decision whether to transition Medicare Part D patients to Collagenase SANTYL® Ointment-the only enzymatic debrider listed on the 2008 Medicare Part D formulary file.

More than half of the homes surveyed (52% of the 186 total respondents) had transitioned their Medicare Part D patients to Santyl before 2008. The vast majority (61%) of those who had not transitioned by 2008, said they are "very likely" to do so this month.

Message from HealthPoint 

Effective January 1, 2008, CMS has communicated that all products without an approved FDA application have been removed from the 2008 Formulary Reference File (FRF). This decision affects all drugs that have not been approved through a BLA, NDA, or ANDA pathway.

Therefore, as of January 1, 2008, therapeutic options in the Dermatological Wound Care Agent Class are greatly reduced, limiting your options on Medicare Part D formularies and potentially placing a considerable burden on you as a healthcare professional.

More specifically, current eligible formulary wound care drugs such as Accuzyme® Ointment, Accuzyme® SE, Panafil® Ointment and Panafil® SE and other products which contain papain/urea and papain/urea/chlorophyllin complex sodium, were removed from the 2008 Medicare FRF. As of January 1, 2008, these affected enzymatic wound care agents have limited eligibility for reimbursement coverage under the Medicare Part D program.

Santyl status

By contrast, the status of Healthpoint's FDA approved Collagenase SANTYL® Ointment was not affected by this CMS decision, and will continue to be eligible for reimbursement under the 2008 Medicare Part D benefit. Over 95% of Medicare Part D patients currently have unrestricted formulary access to Collagenase SANTYL® Ointment.

Therefore, if you haven't already, you may want to consider transitioning patients who depend upon Medicare Part D for their prescription drugs and who are currently being treated with Accuzyme® and Panafil® products, and other products which contain papain/urea and papain/urea chlorophyllin complex sodium, to treatment with Collagenase SANTYL® where clinically appropriate.

The advantages of this action are twofold:

1. Enables patients to benefit from the only FDA approved enzymatic debrider available.

2. Helps ensure continuity of care across treatment settings for Medicare patients.

Click here http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB227B6UTZR7N to provide additional feedback on this issue in our updated, confidential survey.

Healthpoint will continue to provide clinical information and support in an effort to minimize any disruption to you and your patients. We look forward to assisting you and continuing to build our valued relationship moving forward.

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