What Are The Guidelines For HBO In Diabetic Foot Wounds?
Four years ago, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved reimbursement of HBO treatments for diabetic foot wounds. Following this decision, virtually every private payor now reimburses HBO treatment of diabetic foot wounds. Medicare’s HBO reimbursement guidelines require patients to meet the following three criteria. • Presence of diabetes and lower extremity wounds • Thirty days of standard wound care have shown no improvement • Wounds must be Wagner Grade III (deep wound with abscess, osteomyelitis or tendonitis extending to those structures), Wagner Grade IV (gangrenous toes and forefoot) or V (gangrenous foot). Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not a “cure-all” treatment. It is an adjunctive therapy for proper wound care and is certainly not a substitute for vascular workup and revascularization efforts. In our wound care center, we assess the vascular status of lower extremity wounds with a skin perfusion pressure (SPP) monitor (Sensilase, Vasamed).
