We hope that this edition of the “Banding Bulletin” finds you well! This month, we have a few announcements to make, as we continue to “ramp up” for 2016!
CMS Cuts Reimbursements for Colonoscopy in 2016
I know that this is not news to any of the endoscopists out there, but CMS has cut the 2016 reimbursements for colonoscopic procedures by up to 17%. Band ligation using the CRH O’Regan System not only helps you to provide the finest care for your symptomatic hemorrhoid patients, but it also provides your practice with a great way to attract new patients, as well as to develop a valuable new revenue stream.
If you are not currently offering these treatments to your patients, please contact ME and we will get you more information, and arrange for a training session at your practice.
For those of you wanting to expand your current hemorrhoid practice, please contact SHAUN GERRITS. Shaun and your Account Manager have worked with hundreds of groups and will be able to provide you with a number of helpful operational and marketing suggestions in order to “help the cause”.
The Medical Device Excise Tax is on Hold!
For the next 2 years (hopefully this will be extended in the future), the Federal Excise Tax on medical devices has been suspended! The moratorium on this tax will directly benefit your practice, with immediate savings when you now purchase your technology from CRH! When faced with all of the cutbacks that we have been witnessing, the elimination of this tax will be a welcomed relief to all.
The New CRH O’Regan System!
Every year we send out surveys to our existing Partners using the CRH O’Regan System, in order to get feedback regarding our technology and recommended techniques. We’ve listened to your comments, and we are excited to announce that we will soon be introducing the NEW CRH O’Regan System! We will continue to update you as the release date approaches, and we will be reaching out to you and your staff in order to make certain that you are ready to go with the new ligator when it becomes available. Stay tuned!
ASGE MKSAP VIII Alert!
I’ve now had my 3rd email or call in regard to a question in the latest MKSAP dealing with the treatment of an anal fissure. Their answer (and so the one you should use, I’m guessing) is diltiazem. There are enough arguments going on in the Presidential debates for all of us, so I’m not going to argue this point! The literature is mixed in regard to both groups of medications, but our rationale is based on the fact that 2 significant meta-analyses published by ASCRS stated that NTG was “better than placebo” and that the nitrates were “equivalent to placebo”; and the dissatisfaction with NTG in regard to post treatment headaches is avoided by lessening the dose of administered NTG!
First Webinars Announced for 2016!
We’d like to thank you for the positive feedback we’ve received in regard to our series of informational webinars for our trained Partners! These have given us a great opportunity to discuss some of the FAQs that we receive as well as to respond to any questions that have popped up along the way. Our first set of presentations in ’16 will be held on Thursday, March 3rd. You will be receiving invitations with the specifics in the next couple of weeks.
Thanks for checking out our Bulletin! Please let me know if we can help with anything at all, and we’ll be in touch again soon.
Best,
Mitch
Mitchel Guttenplan, MD, FACS
Medical Director
CRH Medical Corporation
C: 770.363.0125 F: 770.475.9953
E: mguttenplan@crhmedcorp.com
W: www.crhmedicalproducts.com
