Chest
Topics in Practice ManagementPulse Oximetry: Identifying Its Applications, Coding, and Reimbursement
Section snippets
Purpose and Scope
Pulse oximetry is widely used as a noninvasive tool to estimate the patient's arterial oxygen saturation (Sao2). Used for more than four decades, it often replaces an arterial blood gas study and yields a sufficient amount of information about a person's Sao2. In addition, overnight pulse oximetry is used as an economical means to suggest sleep apnea.1 Sometimes referred to as the “fifth vital sign,” along with BP, heart rate, temperature, and respiration rate, pulse oximetry is used in a
Conclusion
Although pulse oximetry is used in most health-care delivery settings, the reimbursement has been either combined with other procedures or reduced to minimal levels. These devices have become affordable so that today a pulse oximeter can be purchased for about the same price as a high-quality stethoscope. In spite of the minimal reimbursements or in most cases the lack of separate reimbursement, the clinical time spent for the procedure performance and documentation does not seem equitable.
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Overnight pulse oximetry for sleep-disordered breathing in adults: a review
Chest
(2001) - Cohen D. The 5th Vital Sign. RT for Decision Makers in Respiratory Care. October...
AARC Clinical Practice Guideline
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The author has no conflicts of interest to disclose.
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