The American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons and AANS/CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves recently sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Coverage and Analysis Group Director Louis Jacques, MD, in response to the coverage decision for PILD to treat lumbar spinal stenosis.
The National Coverage Analysis for PILD issued a decision not to cover the procedure, which the organizations support. According to the letter, “overall our field of neurosurgery has not embraced the use of this procedure due to concerns regarding its effectiveness as compared to our current surgical options.”
Literature on PILD is predominantly industry-funded, according to the report, and “the improvements in the patients did not meet a minimally acceptable outcome based on the definitions.”
More Articles on Spine Surgery:
MIS TLIF Learning Curve: A Spine Surgeon’s Journey
How to Apply Data for Better, Cost-Effective Spine Care: Spotlight on Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Dr. William Abdu
Spine Surgeon Reimbursement Roundtables: Where Research & Reimbursements Are Headed
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