MO-D-213AB-01: A Brief History of Medical Physics Reimbursement

Medical Physics
James M Hevezi

Abstract

"Corporate memory" is important in many areas of medical physics, but especially so in the area of economics. To appreciate where medical physics currently resides in the reimbursement arena, it is imperative that we know from whence we came. This talk will trace the history of medical physics reimbursement, chiefly in the area of radiation oncology since most of our reimbursement codes appear in that clinical specialty. We will begin with the initiation of the Harvard RBRVS system and the effect it had on our field. Subsequently, we will trace the impact of new technological advances in the field and how, at each juncture, the reimbursement associated with these advances directly impacted our employment opportunities and salaries. Although much of the operations of the three chief panels associated with health care reimbursement, the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Editorial Panel, the Relative-Value Update Committee (RUC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are confidential in nature, the history of how these panels operate and their impact on how health care is reimbursed is important to our field. For those of us who have labored in this arena over the years, there are successes and failures as new...Continue Reading

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