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no more SMA20s
Feb
24
Are the rest of you having trouble ordering SMA24s and SMA20s because of
HCFA mandates or is this a Texas thing? Regards Kim Burlingham, MD
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no more SMA20s
In a message dated 98-02-24 21:28:00 EST, hidden@email-address writes:
<< Are the rest of you having trouble ordering SMA24s and SMA20s because of
HCFA mandates or is this a Texas thing? Regards Kim Burlingham, MD
>>
I was told at a coding seminar last yr that it was now cheaper to order just
the tests we want of the SMACs and insurance cos wouldn't pay for the whole
thing. However, I have found that if I order the tests separately, the lab
does the SMAC anyway!
Maureen McLellan CPNP
In Arizona
no more SMA20s
Dogwood Ridge wrote:
> Are the rest of you having trouble ordering SMA24s and SMA20s because of
> HCFA mandates or is this a Texas thing? Regards Kim Burlingham, MD
Yep, now you have to order "comprehensive metabolic panel" - geez, a
horse of a different color, eh? The government loves to keep playing
the game of "call it a different name" and "change the rules" but we
smart doctors wont let this get in our way, eh? :)
Andrew MD
no more SMA20s
In a message dated 98-02-25 22:26:44 EST, hidden@email-address writes:
> Yep, now you have to order "comprehensive metabolic panel" - geez, a
> horse of a different color, eh? The government loves to keep playing
> the game of "call it a different name" and "change the rules" but we
> smart doctors wont let this get in our way, eh? :)
>
But please note--the comprehensive metabolic panel does not include CO2!
Moshe Adler, MD
no more SMA20s
> But please note--the comprehensive metabolic panel does not include CO2!
>
> Moshe Adler, MD
Why do the labs "always" try to exclude CO2 from their panels?
Is it that hard to measure a CO2?
Are pediatricians the only physicians that find this lab value helpful
and/or useful?
Andrew, MD
no more SMA20s
I've been told that the CO2 measurement was difficult to validate in blood
drawn and stored prior to being transported to the lab. Thus, offices and our
home care nurses were discouraged from requesting the value, and were told not
to "believe" values that were held prior to assay. I don't know if I ever
knew what the limits were for this problem, (if spun and separated within ____
minutes, result was reliable?). Not having a CO2 did make monitoring those
long term TPN patients just a tad more difficult.
Kelly Burch, PharmD
Your Child's Pharmacist
St. Louis, MO
hidden@email-address