Time parameters for glaucoma procedures
P. P. Lee, S. Rao, S. Azen, K. L. Linton and D. S. Minckler
Doheny Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles.
Changes in physician reimbursement and the practice environment have
emphasized the importance of determining physician time for procedures and
services. Forty-five percent of the members of the American Glaucoma
Society responded to a mail survey of estimates of the length of time and
number of visits for the preoperative, operative, and 90-day postoperative
care for six common glaucoma procedures. Results suggest a significant
underestimation of time for trabeculectomies exists in the original and new
resource-based relative value scale work values. Further, 47% to 53% of
surgeons hospitalize patients on at least the first postoperative day.
There were no apparent time efficiencies between "high-" and "low-volume"
respondents. Thus, careful attention should be paid to the accuracy of
certain time estimates and the resulting work values in the resource-based
relative value scale. Additional work in this and other areas may prove
illuminating.
