Anesthesia Coding Alert

Watch for a healthier bottom line, though you won't code any differently. Your teaching anesthesiologist will get a 50 percent pay boost when he supervises up to two residents and is present during key portions of the case, thanks to changes to the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Here's what you need to know about the change that goes into effect Jan. 1, 2010, according to CMS's Final Rule on the Physician Fee Schedule released Oct. 30. Embrace 100 Percent Pay With AA Cases The new payment guideline applies to a teaching anesthesiologist's involvement in each of two concurrent resident cases or in one resident case that is concurrent to another case paid under medical direction rules (such as one involving a nurse anesthetist or anesthesiology assistant). "An anesthesiologist covering a resident should be covering no more than two rooms because residents are there to learn," explains Scott [...]