ABSTRACT

In the United States, wheeled mobility devices (WMD) are classified as durable medical equipment (DME). Consistent with the definition of DME, wheeled mobility devices are typically covered by health insurance when deemed medically necessary. Despite the number of persons using wheelchairs, little knowledge is available about the types of wheelchairs provided, user’s specific diagnoses and the costs associated with WMD provision. The objective of this analysis was to define the number and types of wheelchairs and associated seating and mobility (S&M) accessories provided in the calendar year 2017. The analysis focused on user demographics, categories of WMDs and associated S&M equipment as well as cost accounting according to the type of insurance and contributions by beneficiaries. Analysis of over 81,000 wheelchair acquisitions found that manual wheelchairs accounted for nearly 90% with standard manual wheelchairs accounting for 86% of all wheelchairs provided. Wheelchair recipients tended to be older with the majority being female. Based upon ICD-10 diagnostic categories over 50% of captured ICD-10 codes came from three classifications, musculoskeletal (M), circulatory (I) and a general category of not otherwise classified disorders (R). Costs associated with seating and mobility equipment were fairly large, exceeding $79 million over a single calendar year.

摘要

在美国，轮式移动设备 (WMD) 被归类为耐用医疗设备 (DME)。与 DME 的定义一致，轮式移动设备通常在被认为有医疗必要时由健康保险承保。尽管使用轮椅的人数众多，但对所提供的轮椅类型、用户的具体诊断以及与提供大规模杀伤性武器相关的成本知之甚少。该分析的目的是确定 2017 日历年提供的轮椅和相关座椅和移动 (S&M) 配件的数量和类型。分析侧重于用户人口统计、大规模杀伤性武器和相关 S&M 设备的类别以及成本核算受益人的保险类型和供款。分析超过 81 个，000轮椅收购发现，手动轮椅占近90%，标准手动轮椅占提供的所有轮椅的86%。轮椅使用者往往年龄较大，其中大多数是女性。根据 ICD-10 诊断类别，超过 50% 的捕获的 ICD-10 代码来自三个分类，肌肉骨骼 (M)、循环 (I) 和未分类的疾病 (R) 的一般类别。与座椅和移动设备相关的成本相当大，一个日历年超过 7900 万美元。根据 ICD-10 诊断类别，超过 50% 的捕获 ICD-10 代码来自三个分类，肌肉骨骼 (M)、循环 (I) 和未分类的疾病 (R) 的一般类别。与座椅和移动设备相关的成本相当大，一个日历年超过 7900 万美元。根据 ICD-10 诊断类别，超过 50% 的捕获 ICD-10 代码来自三个分类，肌肉骨骼 (M)、循环 (I) 和未分类的疾病 (R) 的一般类别。与座椅和移动设备相关的成本相当大，一个日历年超过 7900 万美元。