View Associated Notes
Category 3 - THERAPEUTIC PROCEDURES
13870 - Additional Information
(Note: See para T1.8 of Explanatory Notes to this
Category for definition of an Intensive Care Unit)
MANAGEMENT of a patient in an Intensive Care Unit by a specialist or consultant physician who is immediately available and exclusively rostered for intensive care - including initial and subsequent attendances, electrocardiographic monitoring, arterial sampling and bladder catheterisation - management on the first day (H)
Fee: $412.55 Benefit: 75% = $309.45
(See para TN.1.9, TN.1.10, TN.1.11 of explanatory notes to this Category)
Associated Notes
Category 3 - THERAPEUTIC PROCEDURES
TN.1.9
Intensive Care Units - (Items 13870 to 13888)
TN.1.9 Intensive Care Units - (Items 13870 to 13888)
'Intensive Care Unit' means a separate hospital area that:
(a) is equipped and staffed so as to be capable of providing to a patient:
(i) mechanical ventilation for respiratory failure for at least 24 hours; and
(ii) invasive cardiovascular monitoring; and
(b) is supported by:
(i) at least one specialist in the specialty of intensive care who is immediately available and exclusively rostered to the ICU during normal working hours; and
(ii) a registered medical practitioner who is present in the hospital and immediately available to the unit at all times; and
(iii) a registered nurse for at least 18 hours in each day; and
(c) has defined admission and discharge policies.
"immediately available" means that the intensivist must be predominantly present in the ICU during normal working hours. Reasonable absences from the ICU would be acceptable to attend conferences, meetings and other commitments, which might involve absences of up to 2 hours during the working day, provided suitable cover is available. Outside normal working hours the specialist must be immediately contactable and, if required, available to return to the ICU within a reasonable time.
"exclusively rostered" means that the specialist's sole clinical commitment is to intensive care.
For Neonatal Intensive Care Units an 'Intensive Care Unit' means a separate hospital area that:
(a) is equipped and staffed so as to be capable of providing to a patient, being a newly-born child:
(i) mechanical ventilation for a period of several days; and
(ii) invasive cardiovascular monitoring; and
(b) is supported by:
(i) at least one consultant physician in the specialty of paediatric medicine, appointed to manage the unit, and who is immediately available and exclusively rostered to the ICU during normal working hours; and
(ii) a registered medical practitioner who is present in the hospital and immediately available to the unit at all times; and
(iii) a registered nurse for at least 18 hours in each day; and
(c) has defined admission and discharge policies.
Medicare benefits are payable under the 'management' items only once per day irrespective of the number of intensivists involved with the patient on that day. However, benefits are also payable for an attendance by another specialist/consultant physician who is not managing the patient but who has been asked to attend the patient. Where appropriate, accounts should be endorsed to the effect that the consultation was not part of the patient's intensive care management in order to identify which consultations should attract benefits in addition to the intensive care items.
In respect of Neonatal Intensive Care Units, as defined above, benefits are payable for admissions of babies who meet the following criteria:-
(i) all babies weighing less than 1000gms;
(ii) all babies with an endotracheal tube, and for the 24 hours following endotracheal tube removal;
(iii) all babies requiring Constant Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) for acute respiratory instability;
(iv) all babies requiring more than 40% oxygen for more than 4 hours;
(v) all babies requiring an arterial line for blood gas or pressure monitoring; or
(vi) all babies having frequent seizures.
Cases may arise where babies admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit under the above criteria who, because they no longer satisfy the criteria are ready for discharge, in accordance with accepted discharge policies, but who are physically retained in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for other reasons. For benefit purposes such babies must be deemed as being discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and not eligible for benefits under items 13870, 13873, 13876, 13881, 13882, 13885 and 13888.
Likewise, Medicare benefits are not payable under items 13870, 13873, 13876, 13881 13882, 13885 and 13888 in respect of babies not meeting the above criteria, but who, for whatever other reasons, are physically located in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Medicare benefits are payable for admissions to an Intensive Care Unit following surgery only where clear clinical justification for post-operative intensive care exists.
Category 3 - THERAPEUTIC PROCEDURES
TN.1.10
Procedures Associated with Intensive Care - (Items 13815, 13818, 13832, 13834, 13835, 13837, 13838, 13840, 13842, 13848, 13851, 13854 and 13857)
TN.1.10 Procedures Associated with Intensive Care - (Items 13815, 13818, 13832, 13834, 13835, 13837, 13838, 13840, 13842, 13848, 13851, 13854 and 13857)
Item 13815 covers the insertion of a central vein catheter, including under ultrasound guidance where clinically appropriate. No separate ultrasound item is payable with item 13815.
Item 13818 covers the insertion of a right heart balloon flotation catheter. Benefits are payable under this item only once per day except where a second discrete operation is performed on that day.
Items 13832, 13834, 13835, 13837, 13838 and 13840
These items cover extracorporeal life support services in an ICU. Benefits are payable only once per calendar day for a patient, irrespective of the number of medical practitioners involved.
Items 13832 and 13840 include the use of ultrasound guidance where clinically appropriate. No separate ultrasound item is payable with these items.
Item 13839
Provides for collection of blood for diagnostic purposes by arterial puncture.
Medicare benefits are not payable for sampling by arterial puncture under item 13839 in addition to item 13870 and 13873 on the same day.
Item 13842
This item provides for intra-arterial cannulation (including ultrasound guidance) for either or both intra-arterial pressure monitoring or blood sampling.
If a service covered by item 13842 is provided outside of an ICU, in association with, for example, an anaesthetic, benefits are payable under item 13842 in addition to item 13870 and 13873 when performed on the same day.
Where this occurs, accounts should be endorsed "performed outside of an Intensive Care Unit" against item 13842.
Item 13848
Item 13848 covers management of counterpulsation by intraaortic balloon on each day and includes initial and subsequent consultations and monitoring of parameters. Insertion of the intraaortic balloon is covered under item 38609.
Items 13851 and 13854
Items 13851 and 13854 cover the management of ventricular assist devices in an ICU. Benefits are payable only once per calendar day per patient, irrespective of the number of medical practitioners involved.
Item 13851 covers management of ventricular assist devices on the first day where the ICU admission relates to the device implantation or complication. Management on each day subsequent to the first is covered under item 13854.
Item 13857
This item covers the establishment of airway access and initiation of ventilation on a patient outside intensive care for the purpose of subsequent ventilatory support in intensive care. Benefits are not payable under item 13857 where airway access and ventilation is initiated in the context of an anaesthetic for surgery even if it is likely that following surgery the patient will be ventilated in an ICU. In such cases the appropriate anaesthetic item/s should be utilised.
Related Items: 11600 13815 13818 13832 13834 13835 13837 13838 13840 13842 13848 13851 13854 13857 13870 13876
Category 3 - THERAPEUTIC PROCEDURES
TN.1.11
Management and Procedures in Intensive Care Unit - (Items 13870, 13873, 13876, 13888 and 13899)
TN.1.11 Management and Procedures in Intensive Care Unit - (Items 13870, 13873, 13876, 13888 and 13899)
Medicare benefits are only payable for management and procedures in intensive care covered by items 13870, 13873, 13876, 13882, 13885 and 13888 where the service is provided by a specialist or consultant physician who is immediately available and exclusively rostered for intensive care.
Items 13870 and 13873
Medicare Benefits Schedule fees for Items 13870 and 13873 represent global daily fees covering all attendances by the intensive care specialist in the ICU (and attendances provided by support medical personnel) and all electrocardiographic monitoring, arterial sampling and, bladder catheterisation performed on the patient on the one day. If a patient is transferred from one ICU to another it would be necessary for an arrangement to be made between the two ICUs regarding the billing of the patient.
Items 13870 and 13873 should be itemised on accounts according to each calendar day and not per 24 hour period. For periods when patients are in an ICU for very short periods (say less than 2 hours) with minimal ICU management during that time, a fee should not be raised.
Item 13876
Item 13876 covers the monitoring of pressures in an ICU. Benefits are paid only once for each type of pressure, up to a maximum of 4 pressures per patient per calendar day and irrespective of the number of medical practitioners involved in the monitoring of pressures within an ICU.
Item 11600
Item 11600 covers the monitoring of pressures outside the ICU by practitioners not associated with the ICU. Benefits are paid only once for each type of pressure, up to a maximum of 4 pressures per patient per calendar day and irrespective of the number of practitioners involved in monitoring the pressures.
Item 13899
Item 13899 covers the discussion and documentation of goals of care for a gravely ill patient lacking current goals of care by an intensive care specialist outside an Intensive Care Unit. Benefits are paid only once per patient admission (including instances of use of corresponding emergency medicine goals of care items 5039, 5041, 5042 and 5044), unless precipitated by a subsequent ICU referral or Cardiac Arrest/Medical Emergency Team call where the clinical circumstances change substantively with a resultant expectation that the original goals of care require amendment.
Item 13899 cannot be co-claimed with item 13870 or 13873 on the same day.
Notes:
“gravely ill patient lacking current goals of care” and “preparation of goals of care” are defined in the General Medical Services Table.
“gravely ill patient lacking current goals of care” means a patient to whom all of the following apply:
(a) the patient either:
(i) is suffering a life‑threatening acute illness or injury; or
(ii) is suffering acute illness or injury and, apart from the illness or injury, has a high risk of dying within 12 months;
(b) one or more alternatives to management of the illness or injury are clinically appropriate for the patient;
(c) either:
(i) there is not a record of goals of care for the patient that can readily be retrieved by providers of health care for the patient and that identifies interventions that should, or should not, be made in care of the patient; or
(ii) there is such a record but it is reasonable to expect that, due to changes in the patient’s condition, the goals recorded will change substantially.
“preparation of goals of care” for a patient, by a medical practitioner, means the carrying out of all of the following activities by the practitioner:
(a) comprehensively evaluating the patient’s medical, physical, psychological and social issues;
(b) identifying major issues that require goals of care for the patient to be set;
(c) assessing the patient’s capacity to make decisions about goals of care for the patient;
(d) discussing care of the patient with the patient, or a person (the surrogate) who can make decisions on the patient’s behalf about care for the patient, and as appropriate with any of the following:
(i) members of the patient’s family;
(ii) other persons who provide care for the patient;
(iii) other health practitioners;
(e) offering in that discussion reasonable options for care of the patient, including alternatives to intensive or escalated care;
(f) agreeing with the patient or the surrogate on goals of care for the patient that address all major issues identified;
(g) recording the agreed goals so that:
(i) the record can be readily retrieved by other providers of health care for the patient; and
(ii) interventions that should, or should not, be made in care of the patient are identified.
Patients could be assessed for “a life-threatening acute illness or injury” (and suspicion that alternatives to active management may be an appropriate clinical choice) through the use of tools that assist in predicting end-of-life, such as the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICTTM).
“offering reasonable options for care” means that the patient must be provided with reasonable alternatives to continued intensive/active treatment or escalation of care, including where the patient has not directly asked for such information (in recognition that patients may not ask if they are not aware of such alternatives).
“recording the agreed goals” should be undertaken using standard forms (where available) appropriate to the facility in which a patient is receiving care.
Patients with existing goals of care plans are eligible if such records cannot be readily retrieved by the medical practitioners; or if their condition has changed to the point the record does not reflect the patient’s current medical condition and it is reasonable for new goals of care to be developed.
Providers of goals of care services should be appropriately trained to provide end-of-life care options and goals of care discussions.
Item 13899 should not be claimed where the goals of care are defined only in relation to a sub-set of the patient’s major issues.
Related Items: 11600 13870 13873 13876 13882 13885 13888 13899
Legend
- Assist - Addition/Deletion of (Assist.)
- Amend - Amended Description
- Anaes - Anaesthetic Values Amended
- Emsn - EMSN Change
- Fee - Fee Amended
- Renum - Item Number Change (renumbered)
- New - New Item
- NewMin - New Item (previous Ministerial Determination)
- Qfe - QFE Change