Billing for outpatient transplant pharmacy services.
OBJECTIVE
The economic impact of out-patient pharmacy services in a transplant program was evaluated.


METHODS
Full-time kidney transplant pharmacy services were implemented at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center (PSHMC) in the fall of 2008, with two pharmacists combining hours to provide one full-time-equivalent position. At PSHMC, posttransplantation patients are seen three times per week. The number of patient visits with pharmacists for 2010 was compared with the total number of patient visits. The face-to-face time spent with the patient was translated to a level of billing that was associated with a set reimbursement schedule. For each patient encounter in which a pharmacist was involved, the incremental difference between the nursing and pharmacy levels of billing was examined, as were the levels most often billed by pharmacists. The difference in billing levels between pharmacists and nurses for the same patient encounter was also evaluated.


RESULTS
Overall, pharmacist visits accounted for 208 (22%) of the 994 out-patient kidney transplant visits in 2010, with pharmacists billing at a higher level of acuity compared with nursing for the same patient encounter 48% of the time. This translated to an approximate increase of $100 per patient visit. For the one-year study period, pharmacists utilizing facility- fee billing increased out-patient reimbursement by approximately $10,000.


CONCLUSIONS
By utilizing outpatient facility-fee billing for pharmacy services, the transplant program at PSHMC increased reimbursement in the outpatient setting.
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital-Kidney Transplant Program, 101 West 8th Avenue, Spokane, WA 99220, USA. angela.maldonado@providence.org
Angela Q
AQ
Maldonado
Todd C
TC
Seiger
Christina L
CL
Urann
Jo Ann
JA
McCleary
Angela L
AL
Goroski
Okechukwu N
ON
Ojogho
D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement; D007356:Insurance, Pharmaceutical Services / Q000191:economics; D016030:Kidney Transplantation / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D009726:Nurses / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration; D010045:Outpatients; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D024382:Professional Role; D012051:Reimbursement Mechanisms