Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech

CMS Approved Coverage and Coding for Abdominal Ultrasound with Contrast Under the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System

September 23, 2016 By Bracco Diagnostics Inc.

Bracco Diagnostics Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Bracco Imaging S.p.A., a global leading company in the diagnostic imaging business, announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the request for coverage and coding for liver and/or abdominal ultrasound with contrast under the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS).

Effective October 1, 2016, liver and/or abdominal ultrasound procedures with contrast can be assigned Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code C9744, when performed in the hospital outpatient setting. 

“Obtaining approval for coding and coverage for contrast enhanced ultrasound is a milestone in the evolution of ultrasound in radiology,” said Vittorio Puppo, president and CEO, Bracco Diagnostics Inc. “The U.S. FDA’s approval of Lumason (sulfur hexafluoride lipid-type A microspheres) for injectable suspension for the characterization of focal liver lesions on March 31, 2016 enabled us to proceed with a submission for a new technology service for ultrasound of the liver and/or abdomen with contrast.” 

“This approval demonstrates Bracco’s leadership and commitment to the imaging community across imaging modality service lines,” said Fulvio Renoldi Bracco, head of global business unit imaging at Bracco Imaging. “We are proud to be a leader in contrast imaging and delivery systems and of our continuous investment in imaging activities to help improve patient care in the U.S.”

Lumason, which has been marketed as SonoVue for over 14 years in more than 40 countries, is a contrast agent made up of gas-filled microspheres that reflect sound waves to enhance the image in ultrasonography. With a proven safety and efficacy profile in echocardiography and ultrasonography of the liver, Lumason is packaged in a convenient three-part kit that does not require refrigeration or mechanical agitation. Each kit includes a Lumason vial containing 25 mg of lipid-type A lyophilized powder and 60.7 mg sulfur hexafluoride headspace; a prefilled syringe containing 5 mL of Sodium Chloride 0.9% Injection, USP (Diluent); and a Mini-Spike.1

In late 2015, CMS granted “pass-through” status for Lumason reimbursement, under the HOPPS. Contrast material is not separately paid by Medicare for outpatient hospitals under outpatient prospective payment systems unless the product has “pass-through” status. This additional payment is unique to Lumason among contrast agents used in ultrasound procedures.

Lumason is an ultrasound contrast agent indicated for use: 

  • in echocardiography to opacify the left ventricular chamber and to improve the delineation of the left ventricular endocardial border in adult patients with suboptimal echocardiograms 
  • in ultrasonography of the liver for characterization of focal liver lesions in adult and pediatric patients

Contraindications:

  • Known or suspected right-to-left, bi-directional, or transient right-to-left cardiac shunts 
  • History of hypersensitivity reactions to sulfur hexafluoride lipid microsphere components or to any of the inactive ingredients in Lumason

The risk for serious cardiopulmonary reactions may be increased among patients with unstable cardiopulmonary conditions (acute myocardial infarction, acute coronary artery syndromes, worsening or unstable congestive heart failure, or serious ventricular arrhythmias) [Warnings and Precautions (5.1)].1

About Bracco Imaging

Bracco Imaging S.p.A., part of the Bracco Group, is one of the world’s leading companies in the diagnostic imaging business. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Bracco Imaging develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic imaging agents and solutions that meet medical needs. 

Bracco Imaging offers a product and solution portfolio for all key diagnostic imaging modalities: X-ray Imaging (including Computed Tomography-CT, Interventional Radiology, and Cardiac Catheterization), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS), and Nuclear Medicine through radioactive tracers. The diagnostic imaging portfolio is completed by a range of medical devices and advanced administration systems for contrast imaging products.
___________________________________________________________________
Reference:
1 Lumason (sulfur hexafluoride lipid-type A microspheres) for injectable suspension full Prescribing Information. Monroe Twp., NJ: Bracco Diagnostics Inc.; March, 2016.

(Source: PR Newswire)

Related Articles Read More >

Dexcom One
How Dexcom’s portfolio goes beyond highly-anticipated next-gen G7
A portrait of Stryker executive Siddarth Satish
How Stryker includes users for product design in the digital age
A Medtronic HVAD pump opened up to show the inner workings
Medtronic investigates HVAD pump welds after patient deaths
Galien Foundation 2022 nominees
18 of the world’s most innovative medical technologies

DeviceTalks Weekly.

May 20, 2022
DeviceTalks Boston Post-Game – Editors’ Top Moments, Insulet’s Eric Benjamin on future of Omnipod 5
See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

Enewsletter Subscriptions

Enewsletter Subscriptions

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech 100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to E-newsletter
  • Attend our Monthly Webinars
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech