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Practice Management Alert

Patient Protocol:
Step Up Your Benefits Verification for the New Year
Don’t leave eligibility checks to the last minute or you’ll face non-payment... Read more
News You Can Use:
Pay Attention to OIG's 2015 Hit List
Button up your place of service coding before you raise a red flag. If your practice d... Read more
Human Resources:
Follow These 11 Do's and Don'ts for Useful Performance Appraisals
Without actionable, focused feedback, employees can’t improve. Regardless of whe... Read more
What Would You Do? Same-Day, Same-Group E/M Services
Question: We are a large group with all the physicians billing under the same tax I... Read more
Reader Question:
Keep $147 Deductible for Part B Patients
Question: What will the 2015 Medicare deductible be? Washington Subscriber Answer:&n... Read more
Reader Question:
No CF Changes in Q1
Question: I usually hear news about a looming reimbursement cut for the next year a... Read more
Reader Question:
Learn the 'Unspecified' vs. 'Other Specified' ICD-10 Difference
Question: I have seen lots of great ICD-9 to ICD-10 crosswalks, but it seems like t... Read more
Office Policies:
Bust 3 Common Myths to Properly Provide Interpreter Services
Hint: Don’t pass the cost on to the patient. Your practice likely serves many ty... Read more
Human Resources:
Assess Billing and Coding Know-How Before Hiring With This Test
Start with these questions and alter the assessment to fit your practice. As the sayin... Read more
Compliance:
Glean 3 Key HIPAA Lessons from 2 HITECH Reports
Learn from the mistakes others made before your practice ends up in hot water.  R... Read more
What Would You Do? :
Record Transfer Fees
Question: Our practice discharged a patient due to non-payment, and one week later ... Read more
Reader Question:
Employ 24 for Hospital Visits in the Global
Question: If my doctor performs a surgery with a 90-day global, and he has subseque... Read more
Reader Question:
Decide Which Certification Your Practice Wants
Question: Our practice wants to hire only certified coders to ensure we are getting... Read more
CPT® 2015:
Evaluation & Management: Focus Your E/M Updates on CCM, Neonate Changes
Pay attention to revisions and deletions along with new codes. If your physicians perf... Read more
CPT® 2015:
General Surgery: Scour the 70+ General Surgery Changes Coming Next Year
Watch for code changes to colonoscopy, wound therapy, endoscopy, and more. If you are ... Read more
CPT® 2015:
Cardiology: Comb Through the Numerous Changes CPT® Will Throw at Cardiology Practices
You’ll see some codes change from temporary to permanent.  Every year, CPT&... Read more
Modifiers:
'X' May Soon Mark the Spot for Successful Same-Day Procedure Claims
Caution: Modifier 59 won’t be your CCI catch-all. When you hear “Correct C... Read more
CPT® 2015:
Neurosurgery & Pain Management: Pay Attention to Vertebroplasty, Kyphoplasty Code Changes That Could Cause Denials
Stop reporting imaging guidance separately. You’ll be reporting kyphoplasty and ... Read more
News You Can Use:
Get the Scoop on Global Periods Coming Your Way in 2017
If CMS gets its way, you may get paid less for surgical procedures. Whether your physi... Read more
Chart Auditing:
Boost Your Confidence with Chart Sampling
Which of the three sampling methods will work best for your practice? You know that pe... Read more
Clinic Billing Spotlight:
Learn the Ins and Outs of the CMS-855-B Form to Perfect Your Group Enrollment
Knowing which form applies to your clinic or group is the first step of the process. I... Read more
News You Can Use:
Your Post-Surgical Follow-up Encounters May Face a Coding Overhaul
All procedures may soon carry zero-day globals. If you a tired of having to check whet... Read more
What Would You Do?:
Patient Prevents Timely Filing
Question: We have a timely filing concern. Our physician saw a patient who didn&rsq... Read more
Reader Question:
Beware ABN Overuse
Question: I recently started working at a practice that I think overuses ABNs. Can ... Read more
Reader Question:
Determine POS Before Checking RVUs
Question: Using the RVUs provided for a particular code, how do I arrive at the app... Read more
Coding Corner:
Solidify Your Preventive + Problem-Oriented Coding Knowledge
Tip: You’ll need a modifier to explain the clinical scenario. If your providers ... Read more
Patient Relations:
Ease Patient Frustrations Over Surprise Preventive Turned Problem-Oriented Co-Pays
Addressing a problem means you may have to charge when patient didn’t expect to pa... Read more
Staff Health:
Keep Your Employees Healthy As Flu Season Approaches
Start incorporating best practices now before germ-laden patients flood in. While kids... Read more
What Would You Do? Payer Mix Can Vary By Location
Question: Our practice is going to be moving a few towns over, which means we will ... Read more
Reader Question:
Capture Record Review in MDM Calculation
Question: A patient had her past medical records, containing more than 10 years of ... Read more
Reader Question:
Help Employees Avoid Email Faux Pas
Question: We have several remote coders that work for our outpatient clinic. Becaus... Read more
Reader Question:
Remember GC for Teaching Physician Coding
Question: When a resident assists a surgeon in a teaching hospital, do we need to a... Read more
Reader Question:
99000 Isn't Your Only In-Office UA Code
Question: If we do a urinalysis (UA) dipstick test in the office lab and find an abnorma... Read more
Marketing:
Weigh the Pros and Cons of Having a Social Media Presence
Setting clear expectations is crucial. Social networking is a huge part of today&rsquo... Read more
HIPAA:
Assess Your BAA Terminology to Lessen Liability
September holds a key deadline. Last month, in “Let This Example Show You What N... Read more
News You Can Use:
Proposed CMS Rule May Ease Your Stage 1 and 2 MU Deadline Stress
Analyze your three compliance options carefully. If your practice is anticipating a st... Read more
Clip and Save:
Focus on 10 Key Points to Perfect Your MU Attestation
Leave your practice enough time to prepare.  Like many practices, you may have im... Read more
What Would You Do? Get to the Bottom of Record Release Refusal
Question: We’re treating a new patient and need to obtain the patient’s... Read more
Reader Question:
Watch for Payer Differences With Claim Forms
Question: I need some help concerning the rules for billing on the new CMS-1500 for... Read more
Reader Question:
Use Caution With Write Offs
Question:  At what point can we write off a patient balance as bad debt? Are there ... Read more
Reader Question:
Learn COB Rules For Correct Reimbursement
Question: What is the best way to ensure proper billing when a patient is covered b... Read more
Reader Question:
Base POS Choice on RVU Assessment
Question:  One of the ASCs we bill for has a “suite” the providers use ... Read more
HIPAA Case Study:
Let This Example Show You What Not to Do With Your BAs
Warning: You can be responsible for your BA’s violations. Your practice has a so... Read more
Office Guidelines:
Keep Track of Where Your Doctors Are When Your Ancillary Staff Performs Services
Otherwise, you could be violating supervision requirements.  Like many practices,... Read more
Human Resources:
Identifying 6 Signs Will Help Combat Dissatisfied Employee Problems
Don’t wait for the employee to quit before stepping in. During these challenging... Read more
What Would You Do?:
Flu Vaccine + E/M Code?
Question: I have been reporting flu vaccine with E/M visits and other in-office pro... Read more
Reader Question:
CMS, IPPS State 2015 Will Be the Year for ICD-10
Question: Has there been a new ICD-10 implementation date released yet? North Car... Read more
Reader Question:
Tackle UB-04 vs. CMS-1500 Dilemma
Question: I used to bill for a facility and am new to the role of practice manager ... Read more
Reader Question:
Ease Employees in to Software Transitions
Question: We read your article about the security issues with Microsoft Windows XP ... Read more
News You Can Use:
You'll Have At Least 1 More Year to Finalize Your ICD-10 Plans
Don’t miss the conversion factor freeze details, too.  Hidden in the contex... Read more
Test Your ICD-10 Readiness
In the last issue of Practice Management Alert, you found a five-question quiz for your ... Read more
ICD-10:
Don't Let Diabetes Mellitus Changes Complicate Your Coding
You’ll have two parent codes to start with, rather than just one. When your phys... Read more
ICD-10:
Focus on the Type of ADHD/ADD to Determine Dx Code
Combined type can now be separately reported from predominantly hyperactive types. You... Read more
ICD-10:
Brush Up on Your Terminology to Help Your Chest Pain Coding
Following inclusion notes will keep your coding on track. If your providers are in the... Read more
ICD-10:
Expand Your Acute Bronchitis Arsenal, Tenfold
Pointer: An unspecified code is okay sometimes. If your providers treat patients with ... Read more
What Would You Do?
Get a Grip on NEC and NOS Difference Question: was looking at the ICD-10-CM manua... Read more
Staffing:
Watch Out for Top Risk Areas When Adding NPPs
Incorrect incident-to billing isn’t the only pitfall of which to beware. Employi... Read more
Documentation:
Adopt 7 Documentation Best Practices for Compliant and Complete Records
While the provider captures notes just once, they may be reviewed countless times. Whe... Read more
ICD-10 Prep Quiz:
Find Out If Your Practice is Ready for ICD-10 Coding With These 5 Questions
Discover where you should focus your training in the next few months.  The conver... Read more
What Would You Do?:
What Constitutes 'Conflict of Interest'?
Question: My practice is involved in a variety of business ventures. I am working w... Read more
Reader Question:
No Master's Degree Means NP PECOS Trouble
Question:  I have heard that nurse practitioners must now have master’s degre... Read more
Reader Question:
Assess Risk on a Regular Basis
Question: We are having a bit of a debate in our practice. Some of us think that pe... Read more
Reader Question:
Avoid Billing Script Refill Alone
Question: Can we bill when the physician is only writing a prescription? We want to... Read more
Technology Tactics:
Protect Your Practice By Keeping Up with Computer Security Updates
When companies stop sending security patches, is it time to upgrade? When someone ment... Read more
ICD-10 Prep:
Don't Limit Your ICD-10 Focus to Coding
NGS answers practice questions about how to be ready come Oct. 1. For years the threat... Read more
Clip and Save:
Check Your Practice's Security Compliance With This Handy Checklist
Assess the level of risk to determine how quickly you need to address the problem. You... Read more
Clip and Save:
Identify 10 Signs You May Have A Security Issue
Circulate this list of red flags to watch for. In the article “Protect Your Prac... Read more
What Would You Do?
Review Tests Before Deciding on CLIA-Waived Status Question: As part of our practice a... Read more
Reader Question:
Hone Your Interviewing Skills
Question: I am a relatively new practice manager. While I am well versed in the hea... Read more
Reader Question:
Incomplete Claims Equal Denials
Question: Our practice has a few claims that have missing or incorrect information. I&rs... Read more
Reader Question:
Slow Patient Won't Justify Timely Filing Exception
Question: Our patient gave us her Medicare card but said Medicare was her secondary... Read more
Reimbursement Roundup:
Start the New Year Off With Better Pay Than Expected
But prepare for possible reimbursement drops in April. You can breathe a sigh of relie... Read more
HIPAA:
4 Steps Help Your Practice Work Through PHI Breach Assessments
Forget the ‘harm threshold’ and focus on ‘risk of compromise.’ ... Read more
CPT® 2014:
Don't Miss Last-Minute CPT® Changes That May Affect Your Coding
Check intro for ‘other qualified health care professional’ clarification. ... Read more
What Would You Do? Clear Up Copay Confusion
Question: Our surgeon routinely has patients come to the office one week after surgery, ... Read more
Clip and Save:
Follow the Path to Breach Notification Decision Making
You may not need to notify HHS. How can you know for sure when you need to make a brea... Read more
Reader Question:
Prepare Employees For Change With 6 Strategies
Question:Our practice will be going through a lot of change in the next few months due t... Read more
Reader Question:
Get the Scoop on ASC Allowed Procedures
Question: I might be transferring to manage our hospital’s ASC location and want t... Read more
Reader Question:
POS Determines Supply Reimbursement
Question:My doctors are concerned that our practice is losing money on supplies, such as... Read more
Reader Question:
Ask for Patient Insurance Card
Question: A patient came to our office. The physician performed an exam and administered... Read more
Reader Question:
Give Address Details for Home Visits
Question: If you are billing home visits (99341-99350) the place of service is 12. My qu... Read more
Reader Question:
Be Ready to Prove Your Case with Modifier 82
Question: Is there a difference in the reimbursement of procedures for modifiers 80 (Ass... Read more
Compliance:
Focus on 5 Areas for Improvement in Your Provider Documentation
While EMRs improve legibility, they may lead to other issues. When your practice faces... Read more
Coding Corner:
Shore Up Your Flu Shot Coding By Focusing on Strain and Administration
Makes sure you pay attention to the patient’s age as well. Tis the season &mdash... Read more
What Would You Do?:
Watch For Coding Trends
Question: We recently finished our first internal audit and found a potential issue: One... Read more
Reimbursement:
Expect a Big Dip in Medicare Reimbursement If Congress Doesn't Step In Again
Good news: Providers who treat chronic conditions may find a silver lining. You’... Read more
Reader Question:
Focus on Compromise with Feuding Employees
Question: We have two employees who work the front desk, checking in patients, collectin... Read more
Reader Question:
Use V Codes to Prove Medical Necessity
Question: Our ED recently treated two patients who sustained injuries when their car vee... Read more
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