While Omada Health’s Prevent program is designed for individuals with prediabetes, it can be adapted to patients who already have diabetes, because the program is built on behavior change and modification, explained Mike Payne, MBA, MSci, chief healthcare development officer at Omada Health.

Read More: http://www.ajmc.com/interviews/mike-payne-on-behavior-change-and-modification-in-diabetes-care

Medicare to Cover Procedures within the TCAR Surveillance Project Sponsored by the Society for Vascular Surgery

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Silk Road Medical, Inc., a company dedicated to surgical and endovascular innovation to prevent the devastating burden of stroke, announced the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended coverage for the TransCarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR) procedure under the existing National Coverage Determination 20.7.  TCAR is eligible for coverage when patients are treated with any FDA-approved proximal embolic protection device and FDA-approved carotid artery stent system indicated for the transcarotid approach and entered into the new national TCAR Surveillance Project.  The TCAR Surveillance Project is sponsored by the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Patient Safety Organization (PSO) and has been deemed scientifically valid and clinically relevant by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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As outlined on the CMS Carotid Artery Stenting (CAS) Investigational Studies web page, this decision is effective immediately and provides coverage for TCAR procedures in hospitals participating in the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) of the SVS PSO. Reimbursement for TCAR will apply to Medicare beneficiaries who are deemed to be high risk for adverse events from traditional carotid revascularization surgery, also known as carotid endarterectomy.

Read More: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/silk-road-medical-announces-new-medicare-coverage-option-for-transcarotid-artery-revascularization-tcar-procedures-300328841.html

NEW CAROTID ARTERY STENT PROCEDURE TO BE EVALUATED BY
THE SOCIETY FOR VASCULAR SURGERY PATIENT SAFETY ORGANIZATION

CHICAGO, Illinois, Sept. 9, 2016 -- A surveillance project to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of transcarotid artery revascularization (TCAR) in comparison with carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is being launched by the Society for Vascular Surgery Patient Safety Organization (SVS PSO).

Carotid artery stenting (CAS) and CEA are performed in patients with atherosclerotic narrowing of the carotid artery in order to reduce stroke risk. In the TCAR procedure, a stent is inserted into the common carotid artery through a small neck incision (transcarotid), whereas typical carotid stents are inserted with a long catheter inserted in a groin artery (transfemoral) that must pass through the aorta to reach the carotid artery which is a potential source of stroke with the trans-femoral approach.

During TCAR, stroke risk is also reduced by temporarily reversing blood flow direction in the carotid artery, so that any debris dislodged by the procedure will not travel to the brain where it could cause stroke. Initial publications suggest that TCAR may have a lower stroke rate than standard transfemoral CAS, potentially due to avoidance of a catheter manipulation in the aorta combined with carotid artery flow reversal.

Read More: https://vascular.org/news-advocacy/svs-pso-launches-new-tcar-surveillance-project