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Telescope implant receives expanded indication, reimbursement
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NEW YORK – VisionCare announced here at Vision Expo East that the FDA expanded the indication for its telescope implant to include patients as young as 65 years.
In addition, as of January, CMS is reimbursing the procedure under a revised code in the ambulatory surgery center setting and at rates comparable to the hospital setting, according to the company.
The telescope implant is part of VisionCare’s comprehensive treatment program called CentraSight, which involves diagnosis, surgical evaluation, implantation and postoperative care, according to company literature.
Reena Mishra, senior director of marketing for CentraSight, told Primary Care Optometry News that the implant, a miniaturized Galilean telescope, is indicated for end-stage age-related macular degeneration. She explained that it minimizes the impact of central scotoma by magnifying images 3X and projecting them onto the healthy portion of the retina. It can be implanted in 1 hour in an outpatient setting.
Mishra said optometrists evaluate and screen patient candidates and then provide the postoperative vision rehabilitation, usually over the course of six visits. The optometrist will need to customize the patient’s visual acuity with spectacles after the procedure, and “rehab is crucial,” she said.
She explained that patients are screened with the use of an external stimulating device to ensure the device will be effective for them.
“Patients must demonstrate at least a five-letter improvement with the simulator” per the FDA, Mishra said. They are also required to be between 20/160 and 20/800.
In the patient selection process, clinicians must determine the patient’s goals, she said. Patients will be unable to drive once the device is implanted, because it minimizes peripheral vision.
Prior to the recent expansion, the device was indicated for patients who were a minimum of 75 years old when it was initially approved in July 2010. Now it can be implanted in patients as young as 65, and the procedure can be performed in an ambulatory surgery center, with reimbursement equivalent to hospital levels, Mishra said.
She noted that the device, which is “about the size of five IOLs,” is not noticeable in the eye. The natural lens is removed during cataract surgery, and the device is implanted. – by Nancy Hemphill, ELS, FAAO
Disclosure: Mishra is employed by VisionCare