TY  - JOUR
T1  - REaligning reimbursement policy and financial incentives to support patient-centered out-of-hospital care
AU  - Munjal K, Carr B
Y1  - 2013/02/20
N1  - 10.1001/jama.2012.211273
JO  - JAMA
SP  - 667
EP  - 668
VL  - 309
IS  - 7
N2  - 
Retrospective studies estimate that between 7% and 34% of Medicare patients transported by ambulance to an emergency department could have been safely treated in an alternate environment.1- 2 However, Medicare and other payers provide no reimbursement for out-of-hospital care including response, triage, and patient assessment and treatment unless the patient is transported to an emergency department. The Medicare ambulance billing guide states, “The Medicare ambulance benefit is a transportation benefit and without a transport there is no benefit.”3 With most private insurers mimicking Medicare,2 this payment policy significantly affects the behavior of EMS agencies contributing to an inefficient use of out-of-hospital care resources.

SN  - 0098-7484
M3  - doi: 10.1001/jama.2012.211273
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2012.211273
ER  -