2006 proposed fee schedule - American Society of Clinical Oncology

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allow for the same degree of direct patient interaction as
compared with individual therapy services.
As such, we were not able to conclude that the roles of
and interaction among the physician or practitioner at the
distant site and beneficiary at the originating site are
similar to the existing Medicare telehealth services.
Furthermore, the requestors did not submit comparative
analyses illustrating that the use of a telecommunications
system is an adequate substitute for the face-to-face
delivery of group MNT services (which is a requirement for
category 2). Therefore, we propose to not add group MNT (as
described by HCPCS codes G0271 and 97804) to the list of
Medicare telehealth services. However, we invite specific
public comments on whether the use of an interactive
telecommunications system is clinically adequate for
furnishing group MNT. Additionally, if the requestors were
to submit data showing that the use of a telecommunications
system does not change the diagnosis or treatment plan as
compared to face-to-face delivery, we would consider
approving group MNT as a category 2 service.
Diabetes outpatient Self-Management Training services (DSMT)
The DSMT benefit, described at section 1861(qq) of the
Act, is a comprehensive diabetes training program (one
component of which is MNT). We consider DSMT as a
category 2 request because the major portion of DSMT is