New Medicare and Medicaid Study Results Reported from University of Miami (Intersocietal Accreditation Commission Accreditation Status of Outpatient…

New Medicare and Medicaid Study Results Reported from University of Miami (Intersocietal Accreditation Commission Accreditation Status of Outpatient Cerebrovascular Testing Facilities Among Medicare Beneficiaries The VALUE Study)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Current study results on Medicare and Medicaid have been published. According to news reporting out of Miami, Florida, by VerticalNews editors, research stated, "Accreditation of cerebrovascular ultrasound laboratories by the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) and equivalent organizations is supported by the Joint Commission certification of stroke centers. Limited information exists on the accreditation status and geographic distribution of cerebrovascular testing facilities in the United States."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Miami, "Our study objectives were to identify the proportion of IAC-accredited outpatient cerebrovascular testing facilities used by Medicare beneficiaries, describe their geographic distribution, and identify variations in cerebrovascular testing procedure types and volumes by accreditation status. As part of the VALUE (Vascular Accreditation, Location, and Utilization Evaluation) Study, we examined the proportion of IAC-accredited facilities that conducted cerebrovascular testing in a 5% Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services random Outpatient Limited Data Set in 2011 and investigated their geographic distribution using geocoding. Among 7327 outpatient facilities billing Medicare for cerebrovascular testing, only 22% (1640) were IAC accredited. The proportion of IAC-accredited cerebrovascular testing facilities varied by region (chi(2)[3] = 177.1; P< .0001), with 29%, 15%, 13%, and 10% located in the Northeast, South, Midwest, and West, respectively. However, of the total number of cerebrovascular outpatient procedures conducted in 2011 (38,555), 40% (15,410) were conducted in IAC-accredited facilities. Most cerebrovascular testing procedures were carotid duplex, with 40% of them conducted in IAC-accredited facilities. The proportion of facilities conducting outpatient cerebrovascular testing accredited by the IAC is low and varies by region."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "The growing number of certified stroke centers should be accompanied by more accredited outpatient vascular testing facilities, which could potentially improve the quality of stroke care."

For more information on this research see: Intersocietal Accreditation Commission Accreditation Status of Outpatient Cerebrovascular Testing Facilities Among Medicare Beneficiaries The VALUE Study. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, 2016;35(9):1957-1965. Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine can be contacted at: Amer Inst Ultrasound Medicine, Subscription Dept, 14750 Sweitzer Lane, Ste 100, Laurel, MD 20707-5906, USA.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting of Miami, Miller Sch Med, Dept. of Public Hlth Sci, Miami, FL 33136, United States. Additional authors for this research include K.F. Wang, C.H. Dong, M.B. Farrell, G.V. Heller, H.L. Gornik, M. Hutchisson, L. Needleman, J.F. Benenati, M.R. Jaff, G.H. Meier, S. Perese, P. Bendick, N.M. Hamburg, J.M. Lohr, L. LaPerna, S.A. Leers, M.P. Lilly and C. Tegeler.

Keywords for this news article include: Miami, Florida, United States, North and Central America, Medicare and Medicaid, Stroke, Diagnostics and Screening, Health Policy, Medicare, University of Miami.

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