title: Time parameters for glaucoma procedures.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Doheny Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles.
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Azen
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Linton
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Minckler
mesh_terms: D005901:Glaucoma / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015895:Relative Value Scales; D012599:Sclerostomy; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013997:Time Factors; D014130:Trabeculectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States