Pharmacy Question for the Week of March 18, 2019

Question:

What drugs are treated as supplies and therefore should not be billed separately to the beneficiary?

Answer:

The following are a list of drugs that should be treated as supplies:

• Sedatives administered to a patient while he/she is in the preoperative area being prepared for a procedure.
• Mydriatic drops instilled into the eye to dilate the pupils, anti-inflammatory drops, antibiotic drops/ointments, and ocular hypotensives that are administered to a patient immediately before, during, or immediately following an ophthalmic procedure. This does not refer to the patient’s eye drops that the patient uses pre-and postoperatively.
• Barium or low osmolar contrast media provided integral to a diagnostic imaging procedure.
• Topical solution used with photodynamic therapy furnished at the hospital to treat nonhyperkeratotic actinic keratosis lesions of the face or scalp.
• Antibiotic ointments such as bacitracin, placed on a wound or surgical incision at the completion of a procedure.