If you would like to respond to these questions, please email us at eplabdigest@hotmail.com or go to www.eplabdigest.com and click on the email discussion group link. Our website is constantly being updated, so please check back often!

New Questions:

Practice Protocols
Is there a preprinted practice protocol reference for new trainees?
— anonymous
(Readers, to reply to this question, please type “Practice Protocols” in your subject line.)

Multiple Cardioversions, Same Session
How would you bill for multiple external cardioversions, same patient, same physician, same session? Can you only assign CPT code 92960, no matter how many times it takes to convert the patient?
— anonymous
(Readers, to reply to this question, please type “Multiple Cardioversions” in your subject line.)

Finding a Buyer
Our EP lab is planning to install a new 3D mapping system next week and would like to know if there are any emerging EP labs that might be interested in a gently used, fully functional Medtronic LocaLisa. I have no idea where to post something like this or how to make contact with labs who might be interested. I hate to see it collecting dust in a closet when a new lab could benefit from the equipment and the low cost of buying it used. Any ideas would be appreciated.
— Sharon Purkis, MBA, VP Cardiovascular Services
(Readers, to reply to this question, please type “Finding a Buyer” in your subject line.)


Under Discussion:

Working Abroad
I am interested in possibly working in an EP lab in either London or Paris for six months to a year. Does anyone know how I can go about doing this? Any information will be greatly appreciated.
— anonymous

I am sure that there are job opportunities in centers in London, but what discipline do you work in: nurse, physician or physiologist?
— name withheld

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- • In each issue of EP Lab Digest, find a listing of the latest questions and responses from our readers. Then email your EP-related questions and/or responses to “eplabdigest@hotmail.com • You can also go to “www.eplabdigest.com” and click on the Email Discussion Group link. Here you can read past questions, reply with your answers, and even ask your own questions. Our website is constantly being updated, so please check back often! Your question or response could appear in an upcoming issue of EP Lab Digest!

Other Questions Still Under Discussion:

Pay for CVTs
Is there a database or has anyone done a study for the pay ranges for CVTs working in the EP lab? I am not able to find out the pay scales for the Midwest and what responsibilities/job descriptions the CVTs are accountable for. Many labs in the Michigan area have RNs, RVCTs, RCIS's, and CVTs working the labs. Any help or direction would be appreciated.
— Patricia from St. John Health System
(Readers, to reply to this question, please type “Pay for CVTs” in your subject line.)

Free-Standing Lab
I need to know if anyone is getting reimbursed for EP studies done in a free-standing cath lab. We are going to be opening one in a couple of months and we need some input on the feasibility of using this for our EP studies. We are in the state of Florida, and as of right now, no one is doing this as far as we know. Please help.
— P. Vowell, Coding/Billing Specialist
(Readers, to reply to this question, please type “Free-Standing Lab” in your subject line.)

Credentialing and Education for EPs
Do you think there should be a credentialing exam for Electrophysiology technologists, analogous to the RCIS examination? Also, in your opinion, is there a need for formal education programs for electrophysiology?
— Letitia P. Esbenshade-Smith, Staff Educator, Cardiac Electrophysiology
(Readers, to reply to this question, please type “Exam/Education” in your subject line.)

Tilt Procedures
I am writing to you with the hopes that you will be able to offer some advice to an ongoing debate in our department: Is it common practice to write an admit note on a tilt patient for output testing in a hospital setting? This is excluding the H & P. Do you have forms that we would be able to see regarding documentation of the tilt procedure? We are having constant debate over discharge orders, and I wanted to see what the rest of the EP labs were utilizing for documentation.
— name withheld
(Readers, to reply to this question, please type “Tilt Procedures” in your subject line.)

Staff Placing Catheters for Diagnostic EP Studies
I have been trained by our EP doctor to place catheters in the CS, HRA, RVA, RVOT, etc. for the purpose of diagnostic testing during EP studies. The hospital in which I work now feels that this is not the standard of care; therefore, they will not allow this anymore. The doctor that trained me states that this is being done across the country. What are the standards of care regarding this matter? What policies are in effect at other facilities across the country?
— V. Maestas, ARRT RT (R)(T)(CV)
(Readers, to reply to this question, please type “Placing Catheters” in your subject line.)