Investigational: what's in a name.
The term "investigational" has become the fulcrum upon which coverage decisions turn. All third-party payers, including the federal government, use varying definitions of the term for the purpose of excluding treatments from coverage for payment. Unfortunately, no consistent definition of the term is available to payers to guide them in their coverage decisions.
McGivney
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American Medical Association, Chicago, IL.
D000574:American Medical Association; D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006278:Medicare / Q000592:standards*; D012106:Research; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States