Our clinic is looking into disposable options for nasopharyngoscopes for head/neck patients. Is there a brand that you like? I heard that the scopes can be charged to the patient's insurance company. What codes do you use when billing for the scopes? Thanks!
Disposable nasopharyngoscopes
- Thread starter echod
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there's a discussion in the business section. Only brand brought up is ambu, which I use. it's better than than the fiberoptic I used in res as the picture is just as good, but the gauge of the scope is smaller and more easily maneuvered. Not sure what we do for billing, but they're about $150 a piece plus a couple grand for the screen you plug em into. Well worth it.
D
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Agree. I assumed these would be like what Tiger electronic handhelds were to videogames. I was pretty surprised at the quality.
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Ambu good.
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I’ve been very impressed by the cost/quality of the disposable scopes, especially ambu. I scope other orifices, but the scopes are similar.
If you do a high volume of scopes and have the infrastructure to cheaply and quickly reprocess them then reusable scopes still are more cost effective, but factoring in processing and repair costs it’s not a win by a lot.
If you do the occasional scope, then disposables will be far more cost effective especially if you haven’t invested the up front capital for a reusable scope and screen system.
Quality wise they’re somewhere in between an older fiber optic scope and a new digital scope. Picture is closer the the latter but has a lower frame rate/a bit of lag.
As for billing the reimbursement is the same in the office, so use whatever is cheapest for you. In the OR the patient can be charged for disposable equipment, not in the office.
If you do a high volume of scopes and have the infrastructure to cheaply and quickly reprocess them then reusable scopes still are more cost effective, but factoring in processing and repair costs it’s not a win by a lot.
If you do the occasional scope, then disposables will be far more cost effective especially if you haven’t invested the up front capital for a reusable scope and screen system.
Quality wise they’re somewhere in between an older fiber optic scope and a new digital scope. Picture is closer the the latter but has a lower frame rate/a bit of lag.
As for billing the reimbursement is the same in the office, so use whatever is cheapest for you. In the OR the patient can be charged for disposable equipment, not in the office.
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A little bit off topic but tangential. Are there any cheap options for video monitor with scope? I've seen the screen with the ambu scope, but we have an Olympus. The nurse cleans the scope afterwards. I see a good bit of head and neck, but certainly not enough to justify anything expensive.