Vein Magazine’s Dave DelVal recently caught up with Vein Specialist Philip R. Seaver, Jr., M.D., who provided us with some feedback on his plans to attend this year’s event.

How many years have you attended the IVC Annual Meeting?

This will be my second IVC meeting in Miami. I heard about IVC from Ron Bush, M.D., one of my mentors in phlebology. I looked on the Internet and found a good balance of practical, didactic and scientific presentations with further practical workshops and decided this forum was exactly what I wanted for my practice. I have also attended other local meetings focusing on venous disease.

What especially interests you about this year’s conference?

I look forward to learning new techniques and changes in the practice of phlebology over the previous year. Especially important are the new technologies used to perform the venous procedures that lead to better patient satisfaction. I am interested in workshops on marketing and adding to the services provided by my practice.

What are some of the challenges of your profession?

One of the biggest challenges is dealing with the insurance companies to provide more appropriate reimbursement for the procedures now done in office. We are saving the companies significant money by not using the hospital or ambulatory surgery centers, but are inadequately reimbursed. As a result, the excess payment required by the patient leads them to cancel their treatments, even where medically necessary. The fact that many insurance companies reimburse at rates less than Medicare says it all. The companies no longer look at the costs in given areas of the country, but rather base their allowables on the need to increase their profits. The insurance companies define ‘criteria’ for coverage to apply, frequently without any medical basis. More and more physicians become non-participating, resulting in limitation of access to the venous procedures, which can be life altering.

Philip R. Seaver, Jr., M.D. is a Board Certified Vascular and Cardiothoracic Surgeon and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, American College of Phlebology and American College of Chest Physicians.