Learn all about coding updates at Jan. 22 webinar
Because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updates healthcare billing codes annually, vascular surgeons need to have updates as well.
Articles & Press Releases
Recent Articles
Registration open for VRIC
Register today for the 2020 Vascular Research Initiatives Conference, to be held Monday, May 4, in Chicago.
Advocacy: Coding and Reimbursement Committee experiences lead to greater sense of awareness
BY JEFFREY SIRACUSE, MD
As a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery’s Coding and Reimbursement Committee (two years), I have been able to attend both CPT and RUC meetings in conjunction with the American Medical Association (AMA).
Vital importance of funding for pair of separate needs
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has two dedicated member-supported service organizations fulfilling very distinct needs: the SVS Foundation and the SVS Political Action Committee.
Save the date for 2020 SVS Foundation Gala
Attendees had a “spectacular” evening at the 2019 SVS Foundation Gala, and organizers urge all members attending the 2020 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) in June to keep that Friday evening clear for this year’s event.
JVSVL: Lytic therapy, DVT and QOL
Quality of Life After Pharmacomechanical Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis of Proximal Deep Venous Thrombosis
Vascular Annual Meeting 2020 Program Taking Shape
The program for the 2020 Vascular Annual Meeting is taking shape, from the educational programming to the more practical offerings under consideration for the new Practice Pavilion. (See story on page 12)
CMS Releases Medicare Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued its CY2020 final rules on Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs (HOPPS).
Visit the Practice Pavilion at VAM 2020
A major “something new” – a Practice Pavilion – is coming to the Exhibit Hall at the 2020 Vascular Annual Meeting.
Help the SVS Foundation Help Patients; Please Give Today
It is the “giving” time of year. The SVS Foundation asks that your giving plans include the Foundation, to fund not only things – research awards, patient education fliers, community awareness projects – but also people.
Why diabetes can damage your blood vessels, and how to know if you’re at risk
ROSEMONT, Ill., Nov. 25, 2019 – When patients meet vascular surgeon Dr. William Jordan, there is a 30 to 40 percent chance they have diabetes, whether they know it or not.
Your SVS: Wellness Program Launches
The Society for Vascular Surgery has officially launched a member support component of its wellness program, designed to help vascular surgeons enhance their personal resilience and continue development of a compassionate and accountable peer community.
Education: Submit Research Abstracts for VRIC, VAM
Calling SVS members: Your research is wanted, whether the topic covers EVAR follow-up, how to perform celiac artery decompressions with a supra-celiac aorta to celiac bypass, or the biology behind vascular smooth muscle cell responses.
Your SVS: Renew SVS Membership by the End of 2019
Graduated Candidates in Year 4: Transition to Active Membership
With approximately six weeks left in 2019, it’s time for SVS members to pay their 2020 dues.
New Program Will Teach Surgeons To Lead
Vascular surgery leaders are selecting the first 20 participants for the new Leadership Development Program, aimed at accelerating the leadership development of the next generation of vascular surgeons.
SVS: W.L. Gore & Associates Block Grant Will Support Vascular Quality
W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. will support a new Society for Vascular Surgery initiative to advance patient safety programs and the quality of vascular care.
Recent Articles
Advocating for ‘fair and equitable coverage’ of vascular services
Among the many projects of the SVS Coding and Reimbursement Committee, advocating appropriate coverage for vascular services continues to be a major focus. In 2021, the committee, led by chair Sunita Srivastava, MD, will continue to increase its coverage initiatives, working with government and private payers.
Continuing the cause of the SVS Branding Toolkit
A new SVS Branding Toolkit is the culmination of hard work over the past two years by the Public and Professional Outreach (PPO) Committee, according to campaign spearhead and committee chair Joseph L. Mills, MD. And there’s more to come for 2021.
Pushing forward VA facilities for the betterment of vascular surgery
The SVS VA Vascular Surgeons Committee is looking ahead this year to reclaim procedural volume at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities—ravaged by COVID-19—and to facilitate construction of hybrid suites.
Inaugural leadership program overcomes pandemic difficulties
The inaugural cohort of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Leadership Development Program had to show some resilience early.
CMS confirms Physician Fee Schedule cuts; SVS members asked to contact lawmakers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) has delivered a blow to vascular surgery in the form of a 7% cut in total payment for the services it provides. The cuts are included in the agency’s final rule for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and were slated to take effect Jan.1, 2021.
Dalman to trainees: ‘Vascular surgery is a tremendously rewarding career’
For aspiring vascular trainees, interview season is a time of great stress as well as opportunity. Graduating medical students and residents prepare the pitches of a lifetime.
Appropriateness Committee seeks to push ahead with new guidelines
It was a central plank of the presidential agenda set out by immediate past president Kim Hodgson, MD. And now the SVS Appropriateness Committee has targeted further development of the Society’s first set of Appropriate Use Criteria guidelines.
New committee to deliver diversity position statement
The newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee plans to implement the recommendations from the DEI Task Force.
Grant Helps Amputees Get Up and Walk More Quickly
A grant from the SVS Foundation has helped amputees in the Fresno, Calif. area get up and walking more quickly than is typical.
References for December VA article
The below are the references for the article about research opportunities within the Department of Veterans Affairs, which ran in the December 2020 Specialist.
VAM 2021 taking shape, schedule changes to expand programming
Though many individual components will remain the same, the 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) will have a different look and feel.
Fund hope with the SVS Foundation
A gift to the SVS Foundation funds not just things—patient education fliers, research awards and community awareness projects—but also hope for a better future.
Society launches mobile apps for staging of CLTI
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has launched three new mobile apps to help guide surgeons in the treatment and management of chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI).
SVS member named to AMA RUC
The American Medical Association's Board of Trustees has named Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) longtime coding expert and member Robert M. Zwolak, MD, as the AMA alternative representative to the organization’s RVS Update Committee (RUC), and alternative vice chair.
Audible Bleeding now flows through SVS
The Society for Vascular Surgery would like to welcome the popular Audible Bleeding podcast into its communications family.
Recent Articles
Advocating for ‘fair and equitable coverage’ of vascular services
Among the many projects of the SVS Coding and Reimbursement Committee, advocating appropriate coverage for vascular services continues to be a major focus. In 2021, the committee, led by chair Sunita Srivastava, MD, will continue to increase its coverage initiatives, working with government and private payers.
Continuing the cause of the SVS Branding Toolkit
A new SVS Branding Toolkit is the culmination of hard work over the past two years by the Public and Professional Outreach (PPO) Committee, according to campaign spearhead and committee chair Joseph L. Mills, MD. And there’s more to come for 2021.
Pushing forward VA facilities for the betterment of vascular surgery
The SVS VA Vascular Surgeons Committee is looking ahead this year to reclaim procedural volume at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities—ravaged by COVID-19—and to facilitate construction of hybrid suites.
Inaugural leadership program overcomes pandemic difficulties
The inaugural cohort of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Leadership Development Program had to show some resilience early.
CMS confirms Physician Fee Schedule cuts; SVS members asked to contact lawmakers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) has delivered a blow to vascular surgery in the form of a 7% cut in total payment for the services it provides. The cuts are included in the agency’s final rule for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and were slated to take effect Jan.1, 2021.
Dalman to trainees: ‘Vascular surgery is a tremendously rewarding career’
For aspiring vascular trainees, interview season is a time of great stress as well as opportunity. Graduating medical students and residents prepare the pitches of a lifetime.
Appropriateness Committee seeks to push ahead with new guidelines
It was a central plank of the presidential agenda set out by immediate past president Kim Hodgson, MD. And now the SVS Appropriateness Committee has targeted further development of the Society’s first set of Appropriate Use Criteria guidelines.
New committee to deliver diversity position statement
The newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee plans to implement the recommendations from the DEI Task Force.
Grant Helps Amputees Get Up and Walk More Quickly
A grant from the SVS Foundation has helped amputees in the Fresno, Calif. area get up and walking more quickly than is typical.
References for December VA article
The below are the references for the article about research opportunities within the Department of Veterans Affairs, which ran in the December 2020 Specialist.
VAM 2021 taking shape, schedule changes to expand programming
Though many individual components will remain the same, the 2021 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM) will have a different look and feel.
Fund hope with the SVS Foundation
A gift to the SVS Foundation funds not just things—patient education fliers, research awards and community awareness projects—but also hope for a better future.
Society launches mobile apps for staging of CLTI
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has launched three new mobile apps to help guide surgeons in the treatment and management of chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI).
SVS member named to AMA RUC
The American Medical Association's Board of Trustees has named Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) longtime coding expert and member Robert M. Zwolak, MD, as the AMA alternative representative to the organization’s RVS Update Committee (RUC), and alternative vice chair.
Audible Bleeding now flows through SVS
The Society for Vascular Surgery would like to welcome the popular Audible Bleeding podcast into its communications family.