The combination of all times was reflected in the total care time (TCT) for each procedure. We recorded all physician fees collected for each procedure.

This total fee collected for each procedure was then divided by the TCT to determine the procedure-specific payment per unit time. All similar procedures were grouped together and the average reimbursement per procedure was reported.

Results: Data was collected on all 1103 procedures performed during this period. Insurance carrier distribution was 75% Medicare and 25% private insurance. The average reimbursement was $316/hour for open procedures and $556/hour for endovascular. Higher reimbursing procedures included visceral endovascular procedures ($701/hour) and caval filters ($751/hour). Lower reimbursing procedures included lower extremity bypass ($292/hour), dialysis access ($268/hour) and selleck chemical lower extremity amputations ($223/hour). Striking was the difference between Selleck PSI-7977 payment based on approach for similar conditions. Reimbursement for carotid stent vs carotid endarterectomy was $643/hour vs $383/hour, endovascular abdominal

aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair vs open $593/hour vs $359/hour.

Conclusion: This unique study demonstrates a “”real world”" experience of reimbursement per unit time and raises questions as to the validity of the RBRVS process. The disparity between payments for open and endovascular repair of similar conditions are typical of this inequality. These data do

not reflect the intangible time of operative planning, administrative matters, or overhead, and these factors must be considered when interpreting this data. Regardless, this study suggests that capturing detailed financial data is possible and is a more accurate source for future discussions on reimbursement. (J Vasc Surg 2010;52:1094-9.)”
“The non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic capable of inducing analgesia, is known to have psychotomimetic actions, but the Aldol condensation detailed mechanisms remain unclear because of its complex properties. The present study elucidated neural mechanisms of the effect of ketamine, at doses that exert psychotomimetic effects without anesthetic and analgesic effects, by evaluating cortical synaptic responses vivo. Systemic administration (i.p.) of low (1 and 5 mg/kg), subanesthetic (25 mg/kg) and anesthetic (100 mg/kg) doses of ketamine dose-dependently decreased hippocampal stimulation-evoked potential in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in freely moving rats. The behavioral analysis assessed by prepulse inhibition (PPI) of acoustic startle response showed that ketamine (5 and 25 mg/kg, i.p.) produced PPI deficit. Thus, the psychotomimetic effects observed in ketamine-treated groups (5 and 25 mg/kg, i.p.) are associated with the induction of synaptic depression in the hippocampus-mPFC neural pathway.