Eyeworld

Financial considerations Working with premium IOL patients requires extra testing, staff time, and time with the doctor. Care should be taken to set a price that reflects these efforts so that a premium IOL practice can be sustained. Some practices choose to have the doctor explain the pricing while others defer this portion of the decision-making process to the technicians or a surgery counselor. The cost of the procedure can be complicated and you need to have several people who can explain it. Billing for elective procedures is straightforward since it is cash based. It is recom- mended that payment be made before the service is rendered on elective procedures. Commonly performed diagnostic testing and procedures include: • Refraction • Pachymetry • Corneal topography • Manual and automatic keratometry • Biometry by applanation, immersion, or non-contact optical coherence • Endothelial cell count • Corneal aberrometry • Additional cognitive services by the surgeon to perform complex IOL calculations • Additional patient services during the post-operative visits (such as accommodative training) Since some of the above procedures or tests may not be covered by insurance for routine cataract surgery, patients may be responsible for additional charges. These charges can be included in a global surgical fee that will incorporate the cost of the IOL, pre-operative testing, and post-operative management. Other surgeons charge for the various components of the premium IOL experience in an a la carte fashion with one price for the premium IOL and the patient paying additional monies for LRI or laser cor- rection touch ups. If the implanting surgeon does not perform laser vision correction, identifying and creating a relationship with a refractive surgeon is important. This relationship can be beneficial for both parties. The advantage of the one price strategy is that pa- tients only pay once, which they appreciate. Legal considerations Sample consent forms are available from insur- ance companies like OMIC. It is helpful to have premium IOLs delineated clearly and have pa- tients place initials next to the chosen IOL to avoid confusion. If patients change their mind, they need to resign the consent form. It is also helpful to document when the fees are collected and by whom. A discrepancy between the con- sent and the fee collected can alert the physician of confusion about the intended IOL. Insurance Insurance coverage for premium lenses is variable. Generally, it will be the patient's responsibility to pay for premium lenses. The mission of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery is to advance the art and science of ophthalmic surgery and the knowledge and skills of ophthalmic surgeons. It does so by providing clinical and practice management education and by working with patients, government, and the medical community to promote the quality of eyecare. American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, 4000 Legato Road, Suite 700, Fairfax, VA 22033 704-591-2220 • ascrs@ascrs.org • www.ascrs.org Copyright 2011 by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the American Society of Ophthalmic Administrators. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. None of the con- tents may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system (currently available or developed in the future), or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Premium intraocular lenses May 2011 • 37

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