At the 10th Annual Orthopedic, Spine & Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference in Chicago, Mark Coleman, MD, senior partner of National Spine and Pain Centers gave a presentation titled "Evolving Clinical Developments in Interventional Pain Management, The Mild Procedure." He discussed the traditional methods of treating back pain, including physical therapy and epidural steroid injections. When these treatments fail, some patients may be candidates for spine surgery.
"There is a real treatment gap for interventional pain management physicians, particularly for physicians in ASCs," said Dr. Coleman. "Mild has given us the ability to fill this gap."
The mild procedure doesn't include implants, hardware or general anesthesia and can have a quick turnaround. "This is a huge opportunity for interventional pain physicians and ASCs," said Dr. Coleman. The procedure is predicated on procedures interventional pain management physicians already perform. The procedure is incisionless and could provide cost savings of $20,188, or 85 percent, compared to spinal surgery performed in a hospital, according to Dr. Coleman's presentation.
"For elderly patients, hospital stays after spine surgery is a big issue," said Dr. Colman. "Mild is done in one or two hours and my patients usually go home in 90 minutes. Traditionally surgery can include a hospitalization anywhere from two to five days. Medicare is very interested in this procedure."
Currently, there isn't a billable code from Medicare for the procedure in an ASC, which means the procedure is still a ways off before it will become widely available, said Dr. Coleman. Physicians can bill it under an AMA CPT code. With that information, Medicare will track utilization and try to make a determination of how they will pay for it. As a result, the procedure is cash-pay in the surgery center.
"I think mild is really going to be a game changer in respect to the offerings pain management physicians have for patients with spinal stenosis," said Dr. Coleman. "Patients will gravitate toward you instead of you having to market yourself. It's going to be good for the healthcare market as well in terms of economics and it's much less expensive than other procedures we currently offer."
Dr. Coleman quoted mild studies showing its effectiveness for appropriately indicated patients. "The concept of mild is known well in interventional realms and the spine care world," said Dr. Coleman. "Compared to many new interventional pain management procedures and products that have come through over the past 10 years, mild is by far the most extensively studied."
In the eight clinical studies that enrolled patients so far, there were no major device- or procedure-related complications. There will be two more journal articles released this month on the procedure as well. "In the clinical efficiency data where 58 patients were studied and looked at pain and functionality and pain was measured," said Dr. Coleman. "This procedure was effective in 79 percent of all patients studied. The functional improvement matched the pain reduction, which you don't always see in spinal stenosis trials."
"There is a real treatment gap for interventional pain management physicians, particularly for physicians in ASCs," said Dr. Coleman. "Mild has given us the ability to fill this gap."
The mild procedure doesn't include implants, hardware or general anesthesia and can have a quick turnaround. "This is a huge opportunity for interventional pain physicians and ASCs," said Dr. Coleman. The procedure is predicated on procedures interventional pain management physicians already perform. The procedure is incisionless and could provide cost savings of $20,188, or 85 percent, compared to spinal surgery performed in a hospital, according to Dr. Coleman's presentation.
"For elderly patients, hospital stays after spine surgery is a big issue," said Dr. Colman. "Mild is done in one or two hours and my patients usually go home in 90 minutes. Traditionally surgery can include a hospitalization anywhere from two to five days. Medicare is very interested in this procedure."
Currently, there isn't a billable code from Medicare for the procedure in an ASC, which means the procedure is still a ways off before it will become widely available, said Dr. Coleman. Physicians can bill it under an AMA CPT code. With that information, Medicare will track utilization and try to make a determination of how they will pay for it. As a result, the procedure is cash-pay in the surgery center.
"I think mild is really going to be a game changer in respect to the offerings pain management physicians have for patients with spinal stenosis," said Dr. Coleman. "Patients will gravitate toward you instead of you having to market yourself. It's going to be good for the healthcare market as well in terms of economics and it's much less expensive than other procedures we currently offer."
Dr. Coleman quoted mild studies showing its effectiveness for appropriately indicated patients. "The concept of mild is known well in interventional realms and the spine care world," said Dr. Coleman. "Compared to many new interventional pain management procedures and products that have come through over the past 10 years, mild is by far the most extensively studied."
In the eight clinical studies that enrolled patients so far, there were no major device- or procedure-related complications. There will be two more journal articles released this month on the procedure as well. "In the clinical efficiency data where 58 patients were studied and looked at pain and functionality and pain was measured," said Dr. Coleman. "This procedure was effective in 79 percent of all patients studied. The functional improvement matched the pain reduction, which you don't always see in spinal stenosis trials."
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