Accessed through the Hayes Knowledge Center, the Evidence Analysis Solution addresses the following fundamental questions to help our clients determine coverage positions:
Health Problem: Patients eligible for bariatric surgery have excessive abdominal adipose tissue and enlarged and fatty livers. These conditions may complicate the technical performance of bariatric surgery and be associated with perioperative morbidity.
Technology Description: In this technology assessment, preoperative supervised weight loss programs a…
Health Problem: Damage to the hip structures may lead to hip pain and impaired hip function that may limit the ability to perform everyday activities. The most common cause of chronic hip pain and disability is damage to the articular cartilage or bones of the hip joint. While conventional total hip arthroplasty (THA) is usually successful in relieving hip pain and disability,…
Health Problem: Plantar fasciitis (PF) is inflammation of the plantar fascia, the thick connective tissue that lies between the heel bone and the base of the toes. Repetitive microtrauma leads to degeneration and inflammation of the plantar fascia, which causes chronic heel pain. PF is the most common cause of heel pain and the reason for more than 1 million patient visits per…
Health Problem: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is characterized by ongoing evoked or spontaneous regional pain that is out of proportion to known trauma or other causative lesion and shows variable progression over time. Type I CRPS (formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy [RSD]) typically occurs after an illness or injury that did not…
Health Problem: Forearm pain that arises from overuse of the wrist extensor muscles may be due to tendon damage at the lateral epicondyle, a condition known as lateral epicondylitis (LE) or tennis elbow. LE is a common condition that affects 1% to 3% of adults each year.
Technology Description: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is blood plasma with a higher-th…
Health Problem: Patients with osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), traumatic injury, or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may experience dysfunction in joints of the hand and fingers, including the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) and metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints. MCP joints are the key joints for finger function and allow for extension-flexion (straightening-ben…
Health Problem: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most common principal gastroenterology-related diagnosis in the United States, with 8.9 million diagnoses annually. GERD is the fifth most common hospital discharge diagnosis at 4.4 million.
Technology Description: Endoscopic therapy for GERD involves the use of a flexible endoscope placed tr…
Health Problem: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common disorder that can have many severe consequences including social isolation, excessive weight gain, alcohol or drug abuse, difficulty functioning at home and work, and desire to commit suicide. Although many antidepressant medications have been developed for treatment of MDD, these medications may not provide adequate …
Health Problem: An atrial septal defect (ASD) is a congenital cardiac anomaly that permits blood flow between the left and right sides of the heart. These defects can range from a few millimeters to 3 centimeters in diameter. ASDs occur in 0.1% of all live births and account for 10% of all congenital heart disease and up to 40% of congenital heart disease presenting in adultho…
Health Problem: Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is typically defined as depression that does not respond to at least 2 attempts at treatment of adequate duration with appropriate doses of antidepressants, but there is no official consensus definition.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that develops after an individual experiences or witnes…