“Never events” NCD
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Medicare will categorically not cover instances when the incorrect surgical procedure is performed on a patient, when surgery is performed on the wrong body part, or when a specific procedure is performed on the wrong patient, according to a Jan. 15 national coverage determination. The final decision is part of a CMS effort to reduce "never events" identified in 2002 by the National Quality Forum (1"The Gray Sheet" Dec. 8, 2009, In Brief)