Know how and when to recoup the cost of unused drugs.
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Tag Archives: waste
Medication waste
Im needing some clarification on billing for medication waste. If a patient receives 80 units of Botox and the remaining 20 units is wasted from a 100 unit vial,then I would bill as:
J0585 x80 units
J0585 x20 units JW
J0585 x80 units
J0585 x20 units JW
Now what if the insurance company doesnt accept the JW modifier, then should I bill the above scenario as J0585 x80 units or J0585 x100 units?
Any guidance is appreciated!
Look to Blueprint to understand new EPA requirements on hazardous drug waste
Consider managing all your pharmaceuticals as hazardous waste, especially if you are a smaller facility. And warn your C-suite that you’ll be scrutinized for compliance once new environmental regulations take effect.
Final EPA rule on hazardous waste pharmaceuticals
Soon, flushing or rinsing hazardous waste pharmaceuticals down a drain into the sewers will be specifically prohibited by the EPA
Coding for Waste in a Unique Scenario
The rules for coding for waste are clearly documented. You can charge up to the SDV if the waste is documented and actually wasted.
I’m not able to find standards for coding if a drug is used for multiple patients in batch processing under the hood.
For instance: Drug X comes in a 500mg single dose vial. HCPCS description says 100mg/unit or 5 units per SDV. Say you batch process two IV’s under the hood with a single entry into an SDV. Common practice in high volume hospital pharmacy IV rooms.
But say the POS is an office setting: Pt. #1 gets 150mg, Pt. #2 gets 250mg. Waste is 100mg. (150+250+100=500mg or 5 units) I can see Pt. #2 could be billed for 4 units.
But does Pt. #1 get billed for 2 units, 1 unit, or 1.5 units? Then does Pt. #2 get billed for 4 units or 3.5 units? If you round the 150mg to 2 units and the 250mg+100mg waste to 4 units, you just billed 6 units for a vial that only contains 5 units.
The 837p SV104 segment allows decimal places. 837P version 5010:Field allows a decimal point in SV104.The field length of eight digits does not include the decimal point. If a decimal is used, the maximum number of digits allowed to the right of the decimal is three. Source:https://www.optum360coding.com/uploa…E%20Sample.pdf
Billng for drug waste from a MDV if a patient has an allergic reaction
I am looking for some guidance in coding/billing for drug waste due to a patient having an allergic reaction. I am aware that modifier JW is needed for waste from single dose vials, but is it necessary to report waste separately for unused drugs that are discarded from a multi-dose vial?
For example: if a patient is scheduled to receive 140mg of Bendeka, but due to a noticeable reaction the patient only receives 45 mg and the remaining 95 is wasted, how is this reported to still get paid for the remaining 95mg?
Thank you, and I appreciate your help!
Asia
The VA and HHS Partner to Help Fight Fraud, Waste, and Abuse
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Jan. 23 they are joining forces to share data, data analytics tools, and best practices to help identify and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse of government healthcare dollars. The effort will help America’s veterans by using gains […]
AAPC Knowledge Center
Medical Waste Threats And Disposal
Medical wastes or clinical wastes are unwanted biological products which are highly infectious in nature. It has to be disposed properly otherwise it could pose as a health and environmental danger. Medical wastes are found in hospitals, laboratories, research centers, tattoo parlors etc. Medical wastes are broadly classified into infectious waste and bio-hazardous waste. These medical wastes can easily spread any disease virally and can even pose a danger to life.
Effective medical waste disposal is the first and foremost way to prevent unwanted disease and prevent untoward infection towards human beings from medical wastes. All staffs in any hospitals or laboratories are equally responsible in housekeeping. Good housekeeping can reduce the infection to a great extent. It also cuts down the spreading of micro organism, bacteria, etc. Here you can find the need for proper medical waste disposal techniques and the risks involved with improper handling.
Advantages of proper Medical waste disposal
(a)It creates a healthy atmosphere free from microbes.
(b)Minimizes the risk of infection to staffs, visitors and other people.
(c)Cuts off unpleasant sights and bad odors
(d)Contaminations of water and ground soil are avoided.
(e)Reduces fleas and insects, also cuts off animal coming towards the medical waste.
Anyone who handles medical wastes must deal with it carefully otherwise they will be also easily prone to the infection. Most staff does not know the risks involved while handling medical wastes and the infections related with it. Supervisors have to make sure that they follow the guidelines while handling medical wastes. Sharp objects like used injections and needles pose serious infections like HIV, HBV, etc. It is good to get all the staff vaccinated for Hepatitis B Virus. If medical wastes are not properly disposed by staffs then it may easily spread to patients and other clients who visit hospital and laboratories.
Next important hazard is disposing medical waste in an improper way, for e.g. if a needle goes to the hand of a kid he/she may get easily infected with it unknowingly. Scavengers who handle medical wastes are also at risk, they must use proper equipments and state of the art technique while disposing the medical wastes.
Moreover while disposing the medical waste it must be done cautiously without polluting the environment. Staffs who dispose the medical wastes must be well trained and they must be observed by a supervisor. In addition every hospital must follow the segregation guidelines.
Dennis Tackleberky covers the waste management industry. Specializing in medical waste disposal, Texas medical waste services and waste management for Texas residents.
Medical Waste Management
Bio-medical wastes refer to wastes that are generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunization of human beings or animals or in research activities pertaining or in the testing of biological specimens. Biological specimens includes any preparation made from organisms or micro-organisms or product of metabolism and biochemical reactions intended for use in the diagnosis, the treatment of human beings or animals or immunization or in research activities.
Waste generated by health care activities includes a variety of materials, from used needles and syringes to soiled dressings, body parts, diagnostic samples, blood, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and radioactive materials. Poor management of health care waste potentially exposes health care workers, waste handlers, patients and the community at large to infection, toxic effects and injuries, and risks polluting the environment. It is inevitable that all medical waste materials are segregated at the point of generation, appropriately treated and disposed of safely. When wastes are incinerated at low temperatures or when plastics that contain polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are incinerated, dioxins and furans and other toxic air pollutants may be produced as emissions and in bottom or fly ash. Dioxins, furans and co-planar PCBs are toxic substances produced as by-products of industrial processes, which includes the combustion of wastes containing polyvinyl chloride. Dioxins, furans, co-planar PCBs and ot
her toxic air pollutants may then be produced as emissions and in bottom or fly ash.
The safe disposal of health-care waste generated at smaller rural clinics or larger facilities is possible where adequate, well-operated infrastructure exists. WHO estimated that, in 2000, contaminated injections with contaminated syringes has caused 21 million hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections (32% of all new infections), two million hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections (40% of all new infections) and at least 260 000 HIV infections (5% of all new infections). In 2002, the results of a WHO assessment conducted in 22 developing countries showed that the proportion of health-care facilities that do not use proper waste disposal methods ranges from 18% to 64%.
Different types of wastes produced by the medical field needs to be dealt with in different ways. Some wastes should be incinerated while others have to be stored securely while others have to be recycled. You should ensure that the proper steps are taken with regards to the type of waste being handled. There are different systems and services available in place to accommodate the medical waste disposal Texas and to help any hospital or clinic clean up safer, faster, and of course, greener.
Dennis Tackleberky covers the waste management industry. Specializing in medical waste, Dallas medical waste disposal and waste management for Texas residents.
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Medical Waste Treatment
Medical waste collection, sterilization and disposal represent an important matter for everyone, and not just for healthcare workers around the world, because it can create serious health or social problems in a community.
There is a serious danger and we all must become aware of the potential risks that managing medical wastes improperly can present. There is also a cost of improperly managed medical waste to local economies, persons and the environment from the improper handling, storage, transportation, treatment or disposal or medical waste.
Healthcare facilities can either find a safe and environmentally responsible medical waste disposal company or they can treat their wastes on-site using the proper technologies and devices on the market.
The responsibility for each phases related to medical waste management (collection, storage, transportation, sterilization and final disposal) returns to the service provider in charged or to hospital administrations that are responsible for such waste for as long as it presents a danger. Under these circumstances, it is important to choose a professional medical waste disposal company to take care of the collection and treatment especially if the healthcare facilities are not ready to do it.
Biomedical waste management is important for all of us, no matter what we do for living or where we live. For this reason, specialists try to develop medical waste treatment systems that become more and more effective in safety, speed, durability, reliability and flexibility. After being processed with those systems, the final treated waste is harmless and safe for disposal, just like ordinary municipal waste.
One of the medical waste treatments used worldwide is medical waste incineration. It is an approved method to dispose medical wastes and it has the advantage of reducing the volume of clinical and medical wastes a lot, the only remains being their ashes. Even though it is approved, the incineration method has certain disadvantages, especially because the ash is sent to the sanitary landfill. Disadvantages of incineration include its high costs and potential pollution hazards. Incineration do not eliminate waste, but change the form of waste into hazardous air emissions and toxic ash and it spread hazardous contamination worldwide; contaminating air, soil, and water.
Steam sterilization is another method which is also known under the name of autoclaving. In this process, medical wastes are put under very hot steam pressure for a certain period of time and at a specific temperature. After the process is completed, the liquid that results is discharged into the sanitary sewer system. Under these circumstances, people must understand the importance of executing this process faultlessly, because otherwise, the effects could be very harmful. These wasted waters reach faraway places and if they are not properly sterilized, they can bring diseases and infections with all kind of pathogenic agents. Other disadvantages of autoclaving are the risks of explosion of the pressurized vessel; high operational costs, high investment compare to productivity and needs specialized manpower. The output is also difficult to recycle; the only possibility is dumping in a landfill.
Another method for sterilizing bio medical waste is the microwave medical waste disinfection with pre-shredding. This technology is the most eco friendly process available to treat medical waste; there are no liquids, solid rejects or any kind of radiation emitted in the atmosphere. This treatment technology is the best way to minimize our environmental impacts while treating infectious and hazardous waste. The microwave disinfection has no need of effluent, liquid, water or steam, it renders its components unrecognizable with an 80% volume reduction and the output is potentially recyclable. The disadvantages of this technology are the need of a well trained manpower and a stable electricity supply.
Usually, when it comes to medical waste sterilization, more than one method is used to obtain the wanted results. For this reason, if you are interested in this domain, you should perform your own research and you will definitely opt for the most efficient, safe, reliable and environmentally friendly process possible.
Bio medical waste, biomedical waste, clinical waste collection, medical waste sterilization, medical waste treatment.