Safety and clinical effectiveness of intracranial pressure monitors for purposes of Medicare coverage.
The National Center for Health Care Technology, authorized by Congress in 1978, has established a mechanism within the Public Health Service for responding to medical and scientific issues related to Medicare reimbursement. NCHCT relies primarily on the private sector for such evaluations. The process established by NCHCT includes participation by appropriate federal agencies, medical speciality societies, and health insurance and manufacturing associations. A typical NCHCT assessment recently completed is that of intracranial pressure monitors. The NCHCT assessment concludes that ICP monitors provide a means of measuring ICP, as well as aid the neurosurgeon in selecting an appropriate course of therapy for many intracranial diseases (e.g., infections, hemorrhage, trauma, tumor, and hydrocephalus). Invasive ICP monitoring devices are judges to be sufficiently developed for clinical use and will provide accurate measurements of ICP.
D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007427:Intracranial Pressure; D006278:Medicare; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical / Q000191:economics*