A Medicare cost comparison of minor cutaneous procedures by surgical setting.

Background: Regulations that cause minor cutaneous procedures to be moved from the physician's office to an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) or hospital may have the potential to unnecessarily increase the costs of these procedures from the Medicare perspective.

Objective: To investigate whether minor cutaneous procedures that could reasonably be performed in the office are being done in more intense settings (ASCs or hospitals), who is performing these procedures in alternative settings, and the cost of higher intensity settings.

Methods: Medicare claims data on a number of minor cutaneous surgery procedures performed by various medical disciplines, the location in which the procedures were performed, and the ratio of minor procedures done in each surgical setting by specialty were obtained using the 1992-2000 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS).

Treatment patterns and cost of nonmelanoma skin cancer management.

Introduction: Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common form of cancer in the United States, more common than all other cancers combined. The factors that affect the cost of skin cancer management are not well defined.

Objective: The objective was to estimate cost of episodes of NMSC care and the factors that impact those costs.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer: an episode of care management approach.

Background: The incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) was estimated at 1.3-million cases for the year 2000 and is on the rise. It is the most common form of cancer in the United States, more common than all other cancers combined.