Practice Management Alert

Question:  The physicians and billers in my office can't seem to communicate with each other. How important is it that they keep the lines of communication open, and how can I encourage them to do so?

New York Subscriber

 Answer: If the billing staff and physicians in your office lead completely separate coding lives, you're bound to hit reimbursement snags you easily could have avoided, not to mention avoiding compliance problems.

To keep your billing and coding operations in compliance, billers, coders and physicians should work as a unit, and everyone's voice should be heard. Of course, in an often hectic physician practice, it can be a challenge to keep everyone informed of new coding and billing policies.

The solution? Hands-on, interactive training sessions are a great way to pack as much information as you can into limited training time for busy physicians and staffers. For example, "a great way to open the doors to communication is interactive chart reviews," offers Laureen Jandroep, OTR, CPC, CCS-P, CPC-H, CCS, school director and senior instructor for A+ Career Academy and the CRN Institute in Absecon, NJ.

During an interactive chart review, the physician sits down and reviews an E/M note, for example, to identify the key elements, Jandroep explains. Completing this little exercise gives the physician the opportunity to see first-hand exactly what information he needs to include so that coders can do their job accurately and billers can in turn collect every penny of reimbursement the practice deserves.