[Oradlist] Certificate of Need for CBCT

[Sharon Brooks]

Most of my billing is under dental tomography 0322. I have tried 
billing medical for some cases but have had little success.

Isn't it amazing how interconnected all these issues are?

Sharon

On Apr 6, 2005, at 5:10 PM, Allan G Farman wrote:

> Sharon: Will the designation of digital volume tomography affect your 
> insurance claims regarding medical CT? I use CT codes for billing 
> purposes and most of my cases arfe for surgical pathology diagnosis 
> and treatment planning. Just a thought. Best wishes, Allan
>
>>>> slbrooks at umich.edu 04/06/05 4:19 PM >>>
> Hello, Friends
>
> I just received an interesting e-mail from our head radiation safety
> officer for the University of Michigan. As many of you know, I have an
> i-CAT CBCT. Like many states, Michigan requires that all x-ray machines
> be registered and this machine is duly registered as a "dental
> tomography" unit. So far, so good.
>
> The head health physicist for the state recently contacted the RSO and
> asked whether this was a CT unit, because if it is, we have to go
> through all the paperwork for a Certificate of Need (CON) to justify
> why we have this machine. I have heard from the Xoran people that
> Michigan has the most onerous CON program in the entire country. The
> original idea was that hospitals had to justify purchases of costly
> equipment based on a need for the equipment, showing that the service
> to be provided was not available in other areas close by. Theoretically
> it would save health care dollars by not duplicating equipment.
>
> He was asking about details of how the machine works and whether we had
> to call it a CT scanner. I told him that an alternative designation
> sometimes seen in the literature is Digital Volume Tomography (DVT) and
> that I would be happy to call it that if it would make the state
> happier.
>
> I thought I would share this with you in case others who are
> contemplating buying one of these machines have similar concerns from
> their state or university. I'll let you know what they say. The state
> health physicist is a pretty reasonable guy, but like many government
> officials, he holds pretty close to the letter of the law, not just the
> spirit.
>
> Sharon Brooks
>
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*****************************
Sharon L. Brooks, DDS, MS
Diplomate, American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology

University of Michigan School of Dentistry
Department of Oral Medicine/Pathology/Oncology
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1078 USA
Tel: +1 734-764-1595   Fax +1-734-764-2469
slbrooks at umich.edu