AMA Assigns CPT Code to Software Designed to Treat Adult Amblyopia (Lazy Eye)
RevitalVision announced that its standalone therapeutic vision training software, the only FDA-approved product for market, and clinically proven to improve vision in adult amblyopia (age 9-plus), received a unique Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) reimbursement code from the American Medical Association (AMA).
“Innovation is important to advance patient vision care, and it is vital to look at clinical evidence and creating a reimbursement environment so that health professionals can make a difference for people with eye and vision conditions,” Yair Yahav, chief executive officer, RevitalVision, said in a company news release. “Securing a CPT reimbursement code for this FDA-cleared Vision Training Software Program enables healthcare professionals to offer it to their patients. Given the success of our clinical studies, we will work to make RevitalVision the new standard of care for treating adult amblyopia.”
Amblyopia (known as lazy eye) is a vision disorder in which the brain fails to process inputs from one eye and, over time, favors the other eye. This results in decreased vision in the eye that otherwise appears normal. It is the most common cause of decreased monocular vision among children and younger adults, affecting one to five percent of the world population.
“RevitalVision is a great advance for adults and older children with amblyopia, who we previously could not treat,” said David Silbert, MD, FAAP, pediatric ophthalmologist and chief executive officer, Conestoga Eye. “I hope that this new code will push insurance companies to pay for this valuable treatment.”
The standard amblyopia treatment involves patching the dominant eye, and is most successful for children under the age of 7; however, after the age of 9 it is often considered untreatable.
Based on Nobel Prize recipient Dennis Gabor’s science, this approach resulted from more than two decades research by Prof. Uri Polat, head of Bar Ilan University’s School of Optometry and Vision Science. RevitalVision neural training program improves vision by 2.5 lines on average on the visual acuity chart, and 100% in contrast sensitivity (about 20% – 25% vision improvement). Most amblyopic patients also improve stereo acuity and binocular functions.
RevitalVision’s user friendly and easy to use web app vision training technology platform is performed from the comfort of the patient’s home computer for three to four 30-minute home training sessions per week, for a period of three months. Through repetitive practice of defined visual tasks, the brain is trained to be more efficient in processing visual information. RevitalVision specialized algorithms analyze performance and continuously adjust training sessions to improve vision, customized to patients’ specific needs.
A physician is able to closely monitor patient progress through an in-person office visit to measure actual vision improvement after 20 and 40 sessions, remote monitoring of patient’s training activity by actively accessing the management portal, and by receiving automated reports from the system.
CPT code numbers provide the most widely recognized pathway to report medical procedures and services for processing claims, conduct research, evaluate healthcare utilization, and develop medical guidelines and pursue healthcare documentation. Use of these codes facilitates reimbursement processes.