Catheter Kits
Catheter Kits greatly reduce the risk of urinary tract
infections in catheter users because they clean the urethral
area and help to prevent the introduction of bacteria into the
urinary tract. Catheter kits also reduce the risk of
cross-contamination, eliminate urine spills and splashes, and
simplify the teaching of self-catheterization. Catheter kits
offer a safe procedure for catheter users on the go.
Catheter kits contain insertion supplies: latex-free gloves, waterproof underpads, antiseptic swabs (BZK towelettes and/or povidone/iodine antiseptic swab sticks), gel lubricant, and a collection bag with an introducer tip. Catheter kits can be used with any brand or type of catheter: coude tip catheters, straight catheters, pediatric catheters, hydrophilic catheters, antibacterial catheters, and antibacterial hydrophilic catheters.
Medicare Coverage Criteria for Catheter Kits
Catheter kits are covered by Medicare when the basic coverage
criteria for intermittent catheters are met (the patient has
permanent urinary incontinence or urinary retention, and the
patient or caregiver is able to perform the catherization
procedure), and the following additional coverage criteria are
met:
The patient resides in a nursing facility, or is immunosuppressed, or has radiologically documented vesico-ureteral reflux while on a program of intermittent catheterization, or is a spinal cord injured female with neurogenic bladder who is pregnant, OR The patient has had distinct, recurrent urinary tract infections, while on a program of sterile intermittent catheterization twice within a 12-month period.
>The urinary tract infections must be documented with concurrent symptoms as follows. The urine culture must have greater than 10,000 colony forming units of a urinary pathogen and the patient must have one or more of the following symptoms: Fever greater than 38C or 100.4F, systemic leukocytosis, change in urinary urgency, frequency, or incontinence, appearance of new or increase in autonomic dysreflexia (sweating, bradycardia, blood pressure elevation), physical signs of prostatitis, epididymitis, orchitis, increased muscle spasms, pyuria (greater than 5 white blood cells [WBCs] per high-powered field)