REDMOND, Washington. – EndoGastric Solutions® (EGS), a leader in incisionless procedural therapy for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), announced today that the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has issued a Technology Coverage Statement on Minimally Invasive Surgical Options for GERD.
Randomized controlled trial data from Transoral incisionless fundoplication (TIF®) performed using the EndoGastric Solutions’ EsophyX® device system was in the AGA Statement cited.
The AGA Statement addresses transoral fundoplication for the management of patients with GERD. The key points are:
- Recognizing that the AGA medical position statement on the management of GERD has not been updated since 2008, AGA convened a multi‐disciplinary workgroup to develop a framework for selected services and procedures related to the diagnosis and treatment of GERD.
- The goal of GERD therapy is to control both the symptoms and mucosal damage.
- This procedure [transoral fundoplication] delivers patient outcomes similar to those provided by conventional antireflux surgery (ARS) procedures and does not limit future treatment options.
- In conclusion, the three‐year plus evidence [for the TIF procedure] is sufficient to demonstrate sustainable improvement in health outcomes, symptom relief, decrease in PPI utilization and improvement in esophageal pH with transoral fundoplication.
- Transoral fundoplication should be covered and reimbursed for appropriate patients who meet the selection criteria as described.
“This demonstrates key society support for the TIF procedure as an anti-reflux procedure option for chronic GERD suffers,” said Skip Baldino, President and CEO of EndoGastric Solutions. “We are grateful to the AGA and its panel of experts to issue such a review in advance of updates to existing society guidelines.”
“This statement by the AGA is important for advocacy work with payers,” said Philip Macdonald, Vice President, Healthcare Economics, Policy & Reimbursement. “Publishing new guidelines can be time consuming and cost prohibitive. The evolution of data-proven technologies to treat chronic diseases is accelerating so the Technology Coverage Statement by the AGA can help fill the gap during the society’s guideline review cycle. This ensures society membership is able to provide safe and effective treatments for chronic disease sufferers sooner.”
About Current Procedural Terminology (CPT®)
CPT codes are a listing of descriptive terms and identifying codes for reporting medical services and procedures. The purpose of CPT is to provide a uniform language that accurately describes medical, surgical, and diagnostic services, and thereby serves as an effective means for reliable nationwide communication among physicians and other healthcare providers, patients and third parties. CPT® is registered trademark of the American Medical Association.
The Federal Register has posted coding and payment information specific to the new CPT code, allowing patients to more easily receive access to treatment for GERD. Physicians and hospitals can reference CPT Code 43210 EGD esophagogastric fundoplasty and APC 5331 Complex GI Procedures for TIF procedures as of January 1, 2016.
NP02450-01B/-08A
