These are helpful and information Links related to IOECTR and Office-Based Surgical procedures in general. While the focus of this website is not clinical I will be including clinical links as they refer to the efficacy, cost-savings, safety, and benefits of IOECTR. If you perform endoscopic cubital tunnel surgery or other hand and wrist procedures, most of the information will be relevant except the specific code (in the case of cubital tunnel surgery you will need to report it with an Unlisted CPT code) and the reimbursement issues will be different.
ASC Contract Negotiation Guide: while this is not an office-based surgery guide, the concepts are the same; the ASC argument is that it’s less costly than the hospital or HOPD; the OBS argument is that the total costs are less than all facilities.
WALANT articles
Wide-Awake Anesthesia in the In-Office Procedure Room: Lessons Learned
Research article on WALANT and OBS
It appears that Mayo Clinic is active in OBS orthopedic procedures.
Negotiating OBS – BeckerASC.com
While the focus above is on cataract surgery the issues of OBS and the Site of Service Differential issues (aka the procedure considered to be “facility-only”) are the same.
Webster Orthopedics – WALANT PDF
Florida Orthopaedic Institute WALANT article
The Unicare policy above is interesting because it states that it “UniCare incorporates office-based site of service differentials in its fee schedule methodologies for most routinely and commonly performed office based surgeries.” It is not clear how this is determined or calculated–but it implies that they will pay a nominal “overhead fee” for OBS. It’s not clear how that works and I would need a patient account to gather more information.