Cardiac Event Detection

Cardiac event detection (CED) is covered as a non-implantable, patient/event-activated ambulatory monitor to diagnose infrequent symptomatic (paroxysmal) arrhythmias, to assess antiarrhythmic drug efficacy, and to monitor post-surgical/ablative arrhythmia patients. Coverage requires a 24-hour attended monitoring station with trained EKG readers, exclusive use of a non-implantable event recorder for the patient, physician order, and adherence to a packaged 30-day service period; testing beyond 30 days or repeat tests within a year require treating physician justification. Routine screening, use without identified symptoms, inpatient/facility-based use, time-sampling devices, shared recorders, and systems without continuous staffed monitoring are excluded from coverage.

"Cardiac event detection (CED) is covered to detect, characterize, and document symptomatic transient (paroxysmal) arrhythmias when symptoms are infrequent and a 24-hour ambulatory EKG is unlikely t..."