American Medical Association Issues Category lll CPT® Codes for Real-time Fluorescence Wound Imaging
Reimbursement Pathway Established for MolecuLight's i:X Procedure in Wound Care
TORONTO, Feb. 13, 2020 /CNW/ - MolecuLight Inc., the world's leader in handheld fluorescence imaging for real-time detection of bacteria in wounds, announced that the American Medical Association (AMA) has issued two new CPT category lll codes to enable a reimbursement pathway for point-of-care real-time fluorescence wound imaging for bacterial presence, location and load using the MolecuLight i:X® procedure. The two new category lll codes for the MolecuLight i:X procedure are:
(1) 0598T Noncontact real-time fluorescence wound imaging, for bacterial presence, location, and load, per session; first anatomic site (e.g. lower extremity), and
(2) 0599T each additional anatomic site (e.g. upper extremity) (List separately in addition to code for primary procedure) (Use 0599T in conjunction with 0598T)
Point-of-care fluorescence imaging of wounds is achieved using MolecuLight's handheld fluorescence imaging device, the i:X. These Category III codes indicate no other CPT codes describe this novel procedure. The codes become active on July 1, 2020.
"The AMA's issuance of these two new CPT codes for the MolecuLight procedure is an exciting milestone for the company and for the U.S. wound care industry overall," said Anil Amlani, MolecuLight's CEO. "The AMA's diligent scrutiny of our body of clinical evidence, a foundation for granting the CPT codes, recognizes the clinical utility of a diagnostic, point-of-care device and associated procedure to detect the presence, location and load of clinically-significant bacteria. The MolecuLight i:X provides this solution and can be incorporated into all clinical care settings and wound care workflows. Through our growing global user base, we see the invaluable utility the MolecuLight procedure provides to wound care clinicians in informing and improving their wound care assessments, providing actionable information to optimize their treatments and ultimately, in improving their patient outcomes."
"As a key participant in a number of clinical studies to validate the MolecuLight procedure, including a 350-patient study demonstrating improved wound assessment and a recent study demonstrating accelerated wound healing, I have witnessed the wide-spread utility of the MolecuLight i:X procedure," says Dr. Windy Cole, Medical Director of the UH Ahuja Wound Care Center in Cleveland, Ohio. "Wound care now has a diagnostic imaging solution that provides clinicians with the real-time detection of clinically significant bacteria. This is a fundamental break-through in wound care diagnostic imaging, and we now have a reimbursement pathway to support what I believe will become the standard of care for assessment of all wounds."
*NOTE: CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association.
About MolecuLight Inc.
MolecuLight Inc. (www.moleculight.com) is a privately owned Canadian medical imaging company that has developed and is commercializing its proprietary fluorescent imaging platform technology in multiple clinical markets. MolecuLight's first commercially released device, the MolecuLight i:X®, and its accessories deliver a real-time handheld fluorescence imaging solution for the global wound care market. The MolecuLight i:X provides clinicians with information about the fluorescent characteristics of wounds containing bacteria to assist in making improved diagnostic and treatment decisions. The company is also commercializing its unique fluorescence imaging platform technology for other markets with globally relevant, unmet needs including food safety, consumer cosmetics and other key industrial markets.
MolecuLight operates worldwide through its Headquarters and subsidiaries in various countries including MolecuLight Inc. (Canada), MolecuLight Corp. (USA), MolecuLight GmbH (Germany), MolecuLight France, MolecuLight UK Ltd., MolecuLight Italy S.R.L., and MolecuLight Holland B.V.
Each of these entities is supported by local MolecuLight Sales and Clinical Applications teams who support customers by providing clinical demonstrations, by delivering MolecuLight's comprehensive training program and by supporting the ongoing adoption of the i:X device.
Rob Sandler, Chief Marketing Officer, MolecuLight Inc., C. 416.274.8166, rsandler@moleculight.com, www.moleculight.com
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