American Shared Hospital Services Comments on the Recently Approved Increase in Medicare Reimbursement for Outpatient Gamma Knife Procedures.SAN FRANCISCO -- American Shared Hospital Services (AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange :AMS AMS - Andrew Message System )(PCX (1) A bitmapped graphics file format that handles monochrome, 2-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit and 24-bit color and uses RLE to achieve compression ratios of approximately 1.1:1 to 1.5:1. Images with large blocks of solid colors compress best under the RLE method. See PC Paintbrush. :AMS), the leading provider of Gamma Knife Gamma Knife A trademark for a radiologic nonsurgical device used in stereotactic radiosurgery. Gamma knife A surgical tool that focuses beams of radiation at the head, which converge in the brain to form a lesion. (R) radiosurgery radiosurgery /ra·dio·sur·gery/ (-ser´jer-e) surgery in which tissue destruction is performed by means of ionizing radiation rather than by surgical incision. services, today announced that it is pleased that the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS (1) See content management system and color management system. (2) (Conversational Monitor System) Software that provides interactive communications for IBM's VM operating system. ) final ruling on changes to the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Physician Fee Schedule for 2006 includes an approximately 28% increase in Medicare outpatient reimbursement rates of Gamma Knife therapeutic procedures compared to current rates. CMS published its ruling in the Federal Register on November 2, 2005. "We are gratified grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. that the CMS ruling will assure the continued availability of Gamma Knife radiosurgery services to patients seeking treatment for serious brain disorders," said Ernest A. Bates Bates , Katherine Lee 1859-1929. American educator and writer best known for her poem "America the Beautiful," written in 1893 and revised in 1904 and 1911. , M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Shared. "The rate increase is likely to have a positive financial impact on AMS through the contractual relationships for certain of our retail sites. Equally important, by underscoring the value of the non-invasive Gamma Knife system in treating malignant and benign brain tumors, vascular malformations, facial pain and other conditions, we believe that this decision may accelerate adoption of this advanced technology and make its benefits available to even more people seeking treatment in the future." About AMS American Shared Hospital Services is building a profitable medical services company in an underserved niche -- turnkey technology solutions for advanced radiosurgical procedures. The Company's core business is supplying hospitals with the Gamma Knife -- a non-invasive treatment for malignant and benign brain tumors, vascular malformations and trigeminal neuralgia (facial pain). The Gamma Knife, the gold standard in radiosurgery, reduces surgical risk and patient discomfort, resulting in a shorter hospital stay and lower risk of complications. In most cases, Gamma Knife patients resume their normal activities within a few days of treatment, compared to weeks or months for patients who undergo conventional surgery. More than 250,000 patients worldwide have already received this treatment. American Shared Hospital Services is the world leader in providing Gamma Knife radiosurgery services. Safe Harbor Statement This press release may be deemed to contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and future plans of American Shared Hospital Services, which involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks of the Gamma Knife business and the risks of developing its IMRT IMRT Intensity-modulated radiation therapy Radiation oncology A format for delivering high-dose RT to regions–eg, nasopharynx, that are surrounded by radiation-sensitive areas; in IMRT, a broad radiation field is divided into hundreds of small pencil beams, and The Operating Room for the 21st Century(R) programs. Further information on potential factors that could affect the financial condition, results of operations and future plans of American Shared Hospital Services is included in the filings of the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2005 and June 30, 2005 and the definitive Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on June 16, 2005. |
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