In its nineteenth year, CTAAB reviewed twelve applications in order to make recommendations to the local health plans. A list of these applications and CTAAB’s findings appears in this report. Especially challenging were six applications for robotic surgery systems, two in Monroe County and four in the Central Finger Lakes. At the end of 2011, the applications for a robot in the Central Finger Lakes were still under consideration by CTAAB as CTAAB looked to the region’s hospitals to work together to develop relationships that would bring a robot to the area without unnecessarily duplicating services.
In 2011 in response to a growing interest on the part of providers to add hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) chambers, CTAAB requested a review of HBOT and the development of guidelines for this technology that would represent a community consensus on appropriate use. Wound care providers, health plan representatives, and clinicians on CTAAB developed a protocol for HBOT use, in particular its use for diabetic ulcers of the lower extremity. This effort was the first such project undertaken by CTAAB and represents a possible future direction for CTAAB.
Read the entire report here.