Mercy leads region in bladeless cataract removal

Dr. Wendell Scott: The laser offers a level of precision that you can’t get freehand.

With a willingness to put patient care over cost, Mercy Eye Specialists has become the region’s top provider for cataract removal.

In the past three years, 10,000 patients have utilized the clinic’s cutting-edge laser system for what’s known as bladeless cataract removal. While the procedure is offered nationwide, Mercy is one of the few that don’t charge the patient extra.

“We had trouble with the idea of offering two classes of service to our patients,” said Dr. Wendell Scott, a Mercy ophthalmologist specializing in cataract surgery.

Scott said whether he and fellow surgeons perform the procedure the old-fashioned way or with the Femtosecond laser, insurance reimburses for the same amount. To offset the added laser cost, most physicians change patients an additional fee.

Mercy officials say the majority of the cost is offset by added volume, but the service also plays into the hospital’s mission.

“We bring care to all comers, not just those who can afford it,” said Kevin Rash, Mercy administrative vice president of surgery integrated clinical services.

Declining to disclose specific costs associated with the laser procedure, Rash said expenses are up about 20 percent year to year, a sharp contrast in an industry that strives for a 4 to 5 percent margin.

Cataract removal already was one of the system’s top procedures. Now, as Mercy’s only integrated clinic systemwide, and one of only three laser operations in southwest Missouri, Rash said patient volumes are on the rise. While the operation is among the top three surgical procedures at southwest Missouri’s four major hospitals, at Mercy, the procedure ranked No. 1, with 3,553 surgeries in 2013, according to Springfield Business Journal research. Volumes are up about 37 percent since laser removal began and Mercy predicts about 3,700 operations this year.

The technological move started simply as a way to streamline the cataract surgical approach and remove variation from physician to physician.

“We knew this procedure was high volume and started examining the costs,” Rash said. “Once all the doctors agreed on a path, we knew this technology had the ability to refine the surgery with a safer procedure for the patient.”

The first of its kind in the Midwest, and Scott said the first clinic worldwide to house two lasers, Mercy Eye Specialists has become a demonstration center for doctors nationwide. Now, 99 percent of all cataract removals at Mercy are done using the Catalys Precision Laser System.

During the procedure, the laser system maps the eye, makes a precise cut and enables the doctors to position the patient’s new lens. A study in the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery showed the laser is roughly 10 times more accurate than the manual technique.

“The laser offers a level of precision that you can’t get freehand,” Scott said, noting the removal also is safer for eye tissue and takes less time. “We’ve increased surgery volumes yes, but I’m not focused on the numbers.”

While Rash spearheaded the administrative process and Scott calls him key in “making people understand the laser’s value,” Rash says his best move now is to get out of the way and lets the doctors work.

Like helping Debbie Westfall, Mercy’s milestone 10,000th patient. At age 61, she developed cataracts at a much younger age than most adults and her sight quickly was getting worse. “They gave me back my sight,” Westfall said in a news release.