I-Flow (Lake Forest, California) said that effective Jan. 1, Medicare covers ON-Q to treat post-surgical pain under the hospital outpatient payment system (OPPS). The decision by Medicare to change the designation of the code that includes ON-Q (A4306) signifies that Medicare has recognized this therapy to be a payable covered benefit and therefore medically necessary, the company said.

I-Flow said it believes there are over 15 million surgeries performed annually in the U.S. where ON-Q can be used to deliver positive outcomes. I-Flow estimates that half are performed on an outpatient basis. To date, ON-Q’s market position has been supported by hospital inpatient procedures.

LCA Vision opens 60th center

LCA-Vision (Cincinnati), a provider of laser vision correction services under the LasikPlus brand, reported the opening of its 60 LasikPlus vision center in Westbury, New York.

A range of advanced technology allows the company to offer patients a wide choice of traditional laser vision correction and advanced custom wavefront procedures, the company said.

LCA-Vision owns and operates 60 LasikPlus fixed-site laser vision correction centers in the U.S. and a joint venture in Canada. LasikPlus vision centers are located in 45 markets in 28 states.