Practice Management Alert
Check Your Version 5010 Status With This Handy Checklist
If you are counting on an extension of the Jan. 1, 2012 deadline for 5010 compliance "you will probably be very disappointed," warns Cyndee Weston, executive director of the American Medical Billing Association in Davis, Okla. Use the following checklist written by Weston to get your practice ready for Jan. 1: 1) Call your software vendor to find out if they have completed the update for your billing software program to accommodate the required changes. If they have not, find out when it will be available because time is running out. 2) Check with your clearinghouse to see if they have already tested claims with any other users of your software. If they have, there is a good chance your software has an update available to accommodate the required changes. You need to begin testing claims as soon as possible. Be prepared to work through issues and re-test if necessary. 3) Contact your largest payers to find out if they have any issue you need to be aware of or if they have any contingency plans and what those might be. 4) Consider submitting as many transactions as possible before December 31, 2011 using your current system. If you have any backlogs of claims, get them in now! 5) Consider getting a line of credit established with your lending institution. 6) If you experience problems with testing or getting claims paid after the January 1st deadline, drop your claims to paper until the problem has been resolved.
Practice Management Alert
- Fee Schedule News:
Prepare for 27 Percent Drop in Medicare Pay in 2012, If Congress Doesn't Step In
Some specialties will face even larger cuts if the physician 2012 Medicare fee schedule [...] - CPT® 2012 Primer:
Start Checking Time Documentation Before Reporting Initial Observation
Pay attention to inpatient guidelines for coding help.When CPT® 2011 debuted the subsequent observation care [...] - CPT® 2012 Primer:
Rejoice the Addition of a New Flu Vaccine Code, New Preventive Services Modifier
Caveat: You're already using both the code and the modifier. You may be cheering the [...] - CPT® 2012 Primer:
Add 'Other Qualified Healthcare Professional' Clarification to Your CPT® Manual
Watch out: The new definition isn't all good news.If you've wondered what "other qualified healthcare [...] - Version 5010:
Avoid Countless Denials in the New Year -- Check to See If You're Prepared for the 5010 Conversion
You're not too late to prepare for the Jan. 1 deadline, experts say.The drop-dead date [...] - Check Your Version 5010 Status With This Handy Checklist
If you are counting on an extension of the Jan. 1, 2012 deadline for 5010 [...] - ABN Advice:
Incorporate New ABN To Collect For Non-Covered Services Going Forward
Even though there aren't substantial changes on the form, you need to make the switch.Now [...]
